Commentary - Isaiah 31:6-7

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but potent passage, the prophet Isaiah pivots from rebuking Israel's foolish reliance on Egyptian military might to issuing a profound call to repentance. This is not a mild suggestion to try a little harder. The backdrop is one of deep-seated, high-handed rebellion against the very God who constituted them as a people. Isaiah is reminding them that their political and military problems are, at root, theological problems. Their flirtation with foreign powers is simply a symptom of their adulterous affair with idolatry.

The call to "Return" is therefore the central hinge of the text. This return is not just a strategic retreat from a bad alliance, but a turning back to a personal God against whom they have personally sinned. The promised result of this genuine turning is a radical rejection of their idols. The idols their own hands have fashioned will be seen for what they are, worthless trinkets and sinful absurdities, and will be cast aside. This is a picture of true revival, where the folly of sin is recognized and the beauty of covenant faithfulness is restored. It is a gospel invitation couched in Old Testament prophetic language.

Outline

Context In Isaiah

Chapter 31 is part of a larger section of Isaiah (chapters 28-33) that pronounces "woe" upon those in Judah who are looking to Egypt for salvation from the looming Assyrian threat. The prophet has just excoriated them for trusting in chariots and horsemen, things of "flesh, and not spirit" (Isa. 31:3). This reliance on Egypt was not just a foreign policy blunder; it was a profound act of unbelief, a rejection of the Lord who had promised to be their shield and defender. Isaiah's message is consistent: trusting in the creature rather than the Creator is the height of folly and the depth of sin.

Thus, the call to repentance in verse 6 is the only logical and righteous response to the charges laid out in the preceding verses. It is the divine alternative to the path of destruction they are currently on. The passage serves as a sharp, merciful interruption to the litany of woes, offering a way out. That way out is not a new political strategy but a fundamental reorientation of the heart, away from self-made solutions and back to God Himself.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 6 Return to Him against whom you have deeply rebelled, O sons of Israel.

The verse opens with a command that is the bedrock of all gospel preaching: Return. The Hebrew word here is one of turning, of coming back. This is not a call to self-improvement but to relational restoration. Notice it is "Return to Him." Repentance is not an abstract activity performed in a vacuum; it is a turning away from one thing and a turning to a Person. Sin is personal, and so repentance must be. God is not offering a set of principles, but Himself.

The indictment that follows is severe: against whom you have deeply rebelled. This is not a minor infraction. The language suggests a profound and deliberate revolt. They haven't just wandered off; they have dug in their heels in the wrong direction. This is the condition of every man apart from grace. We are not just flawed; we are rebels. Our sin is not a series of unfortunate mistakes, but a deep-seated mutiny against our rightful King. Acknowledging the depth of the rebellion is the necessary prerequisite for a genuine return.

And who is being addressed? O sons of Israel. This is a covenantal address. God is not speaking to strangers, but to His own children, those He chose, redeemed from Egypt, and entered into a covenant with. This makes their rebellion all the more heinous, but it also provides the very basis for the appeal. He is their God, their Father. The name "Israel" itself speaks of their history with Him. He is reminding them of who they are supposed to be. For us in the new covenant, this is a reminder that we who are in Christ have been brought into the commonwealth of Israel. We are the true sons of Abraham, and this call to return from our own idolatries is addressed to us as well.

v. 7 For in that day every man will reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made for you as a sin.

This verse describes the inevitable result of the returning spoken of in verse 6. When that true turning happens, certain consequences follow. For in that day points to a future time of decision and clarity, a day of the Lord's visitation. When God moves in the hearts of His people, when they truly return, the scales fall from their eyes.

And what do they do? Every man will reject his silver idols and his gold idols. The repentance will be personal ("every man") and it will be thorough. The idols, no matter how valuable, will be thrown away in disgust. Silver and gold cannot save. This is a direct assault on materialism and the worship of wealth. But the principle extends to every kind of idol. Whatever we trust in apart from God, whether it is money, power, political saviors, or our own righteousness, is a worthless idol. True repentance sees these things for the cheap trinkets they are and casts them aside.

The final clause reveals the root of the problem: which your hands have made for you as a sin. Here is the ultimate absurdity of idolatry. Men take the good things God has given them, silver and gold, and use the hands God gave them to fashion a god substitute. It is a profound act of cosmic arrogance. You are worshipping the work of your own hands. You are bowing to something that you yourself created. This is the essence of all false religion and all secular humanism. Man makes something, and then calls it god, or calls himself god. The prophet exposes this as not just foolish, but as a sin. It is a violation of the first and second commandments. The act of making the idol is itself the sin. When true repentance comes, this foolishness becomes glaringly obvious, and the idols are sent to the scrap heap where they belong.

Application

The message of Isaiah here is perennial. We, like ancient Israel, are constantly tempted to trust in the chariots of Egypt. We look to political solutions, financial security, technological advancements, or our own cleverness to save us from the Assyrians of our day. But all of these are "flesh, and not spirit." They are idols fashioned by our own hands, and trusting in them is a deep rebellion against the living God.

The call for us is the same: "Return to Him." This is not a call to clean ourselves up first. Repentance is not the coin we put in God's vending machine to get forgiveness. True repentance is itself a gift of God. We return because He calls us. We turn because He turns us. And the central point of that turning is the cross of Jesus Christ. He is the one who dealt with our deep rebellion once and for all. He is the one who enables us to cast away our idols.

Therefore, we must examine our own lives. Where are our silver and gold idols? What have our hands fashioned as a security apart from Christ? Is it our 401k? Our political party? Our reputation? Our moral performance? "In that day," the day we truly see Christ for who He is, we will see these things for what they are and reject them. Let us pray for that clarity of vision, for the grace of a true return, so that we might worship the Creator alone, and not the fleeting works of our own hands.