The Insufficiency of the Stronger
W. Clarkson Isaiah 20:5, 6 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. Assyria attacked Ashdod with designs on Judaea. Judaea rested on Egypt and Ethiopia; but these "powers" would be utterly defeated by Assyria, and their citizens led away into captivity with every circumstance of humiliation and shame. In that hour of fear and humiliation (ver. 5) the inhabitants of Judaea would be constrained to argue from the insufficiency of Egypt and Ethiopia to their own helplessness. If such strong nations as these are ignominiously overthrown, "how shall we escape?" We conclude - I. THAT TIMES OF SEVERE TRIAL AWAIT US ALL. Not only collectively but individually considered. As separate, individual souls we must anticipate that the future has in store for us not only the pleasant, the gratifying, the successful, but also the unpleasant, the painful, even the overwhelming. Some of the more crushing sorrows it may be our fortune to escape, but every one of us will have his share. Sickness which threatens to be fatal; bitter disappointment which appears to throw the whole future path into darkest shadow; bereavement which takes away the very light of our eyes; the sudden loss which strips the tree of branch as well as bloom; the financial or (what is a thousand times worse) the moral failure of beloved friend or near relation; the last illness unexpectedly arriving and extinguishing many a cherished purpose; the powerful temptation inviting and almost constraining to folly, or vice, or crime; - one or more el these things, or things as bad as these, will certainly overtake us all. II. THAT THOSE WHO ARE STRONGER THAN WE ARE SOMETIMES FOUND TO BREAK BENEATH THE BLOW. We hear or read of men who in mental capacity, in educational advantages, in worldly endowments, or in the number of their friends, are superior to ourselves, but who cannot stand the strain of their trial. Either their health breaks down, or their sanity seriously suffers, or their faith fails, or their courage and energy succumb, or their moral character is lost, and consequently their reputation is shattered, never to be restored. III. THAT IF THESE STRONGER SOULS ARE BEATEN, WE MUST BE IN DANGER OF DEFEAT. If Egypt and Ethiopia are led into captivity, how shall Judaea be delivered - "how shall we escape?" The storm in which such noble vessels founder will wreck our fragile bark. On any ordinary human calculations we cannot hope to be victorious where spirits so much stronger and wiser than we are have been crushed. But we need not yield to despondency; if we are the disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, and if, therefore, "the Lord is on our side," we may find relief and rest in the thought - IV. THAT WE HAVE A SAFE REFUGE IN AN ALMIGHTY SAVIOR. So long as Judea was faithful to Jehovah, she had no need to be afraid of Assyria, and she could afford to witness the overthrow of the Egyptian and Ethiopian armies. So long as we are loyal to our Divine Lord we may go fearlessly forward into the future. If the good Shepherd - "the great Shepherd of the sheep" - be our Guardian, we will "fear no evil," though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, though the darkest shadows shut us round. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. WEB: They will be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.