Trusting the Vehicle?

Isaiah 31:1-3

Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help
and who rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord!

Yet he too is wise and brings disaster;
he does not call back his words,
but will rise against the house of the evildoers,
and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.

The Egyptians are human, and not God;
their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
the helper will stumble, and the one helped will fall,
and they will all perish together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I'm the friendly stranger in the black sedan
Won't you hop inside my car
I got pictures, candy, I'm a lovable man
And I can take you to the nearest star

I'm your vehicle, baby
I'll take you anywhere you wanna go
I'm your vehicle, woman
But now I'm sure you know

That I love ya
(Love ya)
I need ya
(Need ya)
I want ya
I got to have ya
Great God in Heaven you know I love you

"Vehicle" written by Jim Peterik and recorded by the Ides of March from their self-titled album.

Who do you trust? Often people tend to pick the flashiest, most powerful looking people or thing to trust. Back in the day of the prophet Isaiah when the terror from Assyria wasn't far off, the people could have come to the temple and prayed for salvation from the Lord God. But as history shows, the people don't always look to the Lord first.

A quick scanning of the historical books of the Bible show us that people usually did what they thought was wise before calling upon the Lord. This is one of the overriding themes of Judges! And Kings! And Chronicles!

This reading from Isaiah shows us is that when the Assyrians were threatening God's chosen they did not seek first the counsel of God. Some of them went to Egypt and sought defense in the form of horses, chariots, and charioteers. You could just see the Egyptians making promises too, pictures, candy, they would even take them to the nearest star. "Great God in Heaven you know I love you!"

There's the creepy promise, but it's not so creepy if you think you're the one taking advantage of the one driving the chariot. But the Lord promises one thing, in the end God is God and people are people. If you place your faith in horses and Egyptians and vehicles you will surely all perish together.

This is tough to hear in our day too. We all want the latest security system. Nations work out treaties with nations. As the old saying goes, "Politics makes strange bedfellows," and when we try too hard to use our wits and wiles to create our security we make some very strange bedfellows.

In times like this it is actually difficult to place faith in God because we don't now how or (worse) when God will act. But this is our issue, it's the nature of sin that has us trusting more in the vehicle to bring peace than in the one who created peace in the first place.

More's the shame, because the only place to look for peace is to the one who first created peace, shalom. We have to look only to the Holy one of Israel. Faith in vehicles, whether they are bombers or chariots, may bring "victory," but they can never bring peace.