Woe to the Rebellious Children!

"'Woe to the rebellious children,' says the Lord, 'Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who walk to go down to Egypt, and have not asked My advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt'" (Isaiah 30:1-2).

The prophet Isaiah is relating to the children of Israel a message from their Father and God. It is clear based on the greater context of the book that Israel had drifted away from the Lord. In Isaiah 1:4, God called them a "sinful nation." Of course, their spiritual apostasy resulted in a variety of problems. Not only does sin lead to natural consequences, but God's hand of chastisement comes down upon us as well, and no doubt, Israel was feeling the effects of both.

But here, God expresses disappointment that they were adding "sin to sin." How so? According to verse one, they were trying to remedy their problems by their own means, and by the means of Egypt when they should have been seeking the advice and counsel of the God against whom they had sinned.

The lesson here is simple.

All of us sin, and we all have to deal with the consequences of our sins. Perhaps we are faced with discouragement, depression, guilt, stress, resentment, or bitterness because our poor decisions have left us with baggage. How should we react when these problems mount in our lives? Should we turn to self-help books, worldly counselors, drugs or alcohol? Should we flee for refuge to a modern-day "Egypt" or apparent safe-haven?

I'm not saying that there is no value in some of these things. However, if we learn anything from history, and if this passage teaches us anything, it's that we need to turn first and foremost to the Lord. We need to seek His will in prayer. We need to approach His throne of grace, asking Him for help and mercy in our time(s) of need (Heb. 4:16). He wants us to humble ourselves in such a way.

And the fact is, if we DO NOT turn to Him for help, He calls us "rebellious children" who are only adding "sin to sin." By seeking to resolve our problems (many of which we've created for ourselves) by turning to worldly counselors and self-help books (modern-day "Egypts") instead of the Lord, we're basically saying to Him, "Lord, you're not good enough. Your counsel is not as good as Dr. Phil's."

Just so that it's clear - and I can't believe I feel the need to clarify this point - I'm not saying that it's wrong to read books or seek counseling, nor am I saying that you're not really a person of faith if you can't find all of the answers to life's problems in the Bible and in prayer. My only point, based on Isaiah 30:1-2, is that God expects us to turn to Him for help, and is frustrated when we do not.

And most of all, let's not elevate or think more highly of the world's counsel than God's.