Commentary - Isaiah 31:4-5

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but potent passage, Isaiah delivers a word from Yahweh that is designed to radically reorient the trust of Judah. They were looking down to Egypt, trusting in the flesh of horses and the mechanics of chariots (Is. 31:1). In response, God declares not just His willingness to save, but the very nature of His saving action. He presents two distinct, yet complementary, images of His character. First, He is the ferocious, unmoveable lion, utterly resolved to accomplish His purpose over Jerusalem. No amount of human clamor or opposition can distract or deter Him. Second, He is the hovering, protective mother bird, shielding her young with swift and tender care. This is not a contradiction, but a revelation of the fullness of God's sovereign might. His power is not brutish, but fiercely protective. His tenderness is not weak, but backed by omnipotence. The passage culminates in a direct allusion to the foundational act of redemption in Israel's history, the Passover, promising a deliverance that is just as certain and just as gracious.

The central thrust here is a call to look up, away from the false securities of the world, and to see God as He truly is: both the Lion of Judah and the one who gathers His children under His wings. The folly of trusting in Egypt is exposed not by a simple command to stop, but by a glorious vision of who it is they are failing to trust. This is God's standing invitation, which is to trade our flimsy reeds for the rock of our salvation.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

Verse 4: The Lion's Growl

For thus says Yahweh to me, “As the lion or the young lion growls over its prey..." The word comes directly from Yahweh, and it comes with a potent simile. God is not describing a distant, abstract power. He is giving Isaiah, and through him Judah, a picture to hold in their minds. He is like a lion, and not just any lion, but one that has successfully taken its prey. The prey here is Jerusalem, Mount Zion. The growl is a possessive, defensive sound. It is a warning. This is His. The lion does not growl when it is hunting; it growls when it is standing over its kill, daring any to approach. God's purpose for Zion is as fixed and settled as that lion's possession of its meal. He has it, and He will not let it go.

"Against which a multitude of shepherds is called out, And it will not be dismayed at their voice nor afflicted at their noise..." Now the image is filled out. The opposition is mustered. A "multitude of shepherds" is summoned. This is not just one man with a staff; it is a whole company, making a great deal of noise, shouting, banging things together. This represents the Assyrian army, with all its might and all its threats. It represents any and every force that would presume to challenge God's claim on His people. And what is the lion's reaction? He is not dismayed. He is not afflicted. The Hebrew indicates he is not terrified by their shouts or humbled by their commotion. All their frantic activity is just noise. It does not alter the lion's resolve one bit. This is a profound statement about the sovereignty of God. The combined forces of a global superpower are, to Him, like the impotent shouting of shepherds trying to spook a lion that has no intention of being spooked.

"So will Yahweh of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.” Here is the application of the simile. Just as the lion is resolute, so Yahweh of hosts will descend. He is the Lord of armies, the true commander. He is coming down "to wage war." Now, this phrase can be tricky. Is He coming to wage war against Zion or for Zion? Given the context of the whole chapter, and especially the verse that follows, it is clear He is coming down to fight upon Mount Zion, to make it His battlefield for the defense of His people. He is not fighting against His prey, but over it, just as the lion stands over its kill. He is descending to engage the Assyrians, the noisy shepherds, on the very ground they seek to conquer. His presence is the true defense. Judah was looking for horses and chariots, but God says He Himself is coming to fight.

Verse 5: The Mother Bird's Wings

"Like flying birds so Yahweh of hosts will defend Jerusalem." The imagery shifts in a startling way. From the fierce, grounded, immovable lion, we move to the swift, hovering, protective bird. The image is one of a mother bird fluttering over her nest to protect her young. Think of the vulnerability of the chicks and the fierce, darting protectiveness of the mother. This reveals the other side of God's character. His mighty sovereignty is not a cold, impersonal force. It is a warm, personal, and tender protection. He is not just a king; He is a father. He is not just a warrior; He is a guardian. This is the God who Jesus lamented over this same Jerusalem, saying He longed to gather them "as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings" (Matt. 23:37). The defense He offers is total, an overhead shield against all attack.

"He will defend and deliver it;" The action is stated plainly. The promise is doubled for emphasis. He will defend, providing a shield. And He will deliver, securing a rescue. This is not a partial victory. It is a complete salvation. The hovering wings are not just for show; they are effective. God's protection is not a mere sentiment; it is an effectual act.

"He will pass over and provide a way of escape." Here Isaiah reaches back into the very heart of Israel's redemptive history. The Hebrew for "pass over" is pasach, the root of the word for Passover (Ex. 12:23). When the angel of death came through Egypt, he "passed over" the houses marked with the blood of the lamb. God is promising a new Passover. Just as He shielded His people from the destroyer in Egypt, He will now shield Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat. He will interpose Himself. He will cover His people. This is a gospel promise embedded in the heart of the Old Testament. The ultimate fulfillment, of course, is in Christ. God in Christ "passes over" our sins, not because we are innocent, but because the blood of the Lamb has been applied to the doorposts of our hearts. The only true escape from judgment is to be covered by the one who was not passed over, but was instead struck down for our transgressions. God's deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib was a powerful historical object lesson, pointing to the much greater deliverance He would accomplish at the cross.

Application

The central application for us is exactly what it was for Judah: where is our trust? It is a perennial temptation for the people of God to look to the modern equivalents of Egypt's horses and chariots. We trust in political solutions, financial security, technological advances, or our own strategic cleverness. God's word here cuts through all of that. He does not just tell us not to trust in the flesh; He shows us the one in whom we ought to trust.

We must learn to see God as He is revealed here. He is the sovereign Lion. Our problems, our enemies, the cultural forces arrayed against the church, they may seem like a "multitude of shepherds," making a terrifying racket. But to the Lion of Judah, it is just noise. He is not panicked. He is not impressed. His purposes are not threatened. We can have true stability and peace when we know that our God is immovably sovereign over His "prey," His redeemed people.

At the same time, we must fly to Him as our refuge, as chicks to a mother's wings. His sovereignty is not something to be feared, but something to take shelter in. He defends, He delivers, He covers. And He does all this through a great act of "passing over." Our only safety from the just condemnation of God is the substitutionary work of His Son. Because the wrath of God fell upon Jesus, it now passes over us. The application, then, is to repent of our trust in worldly saviors and to run to Christ, the one who is both the conquering Lion and the sacrificial Lamb.