Isaiah 31

Verses 1-9, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the Lord! Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And will not call back His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together. For thus the Lord has spoken to me: 'As a lion roars, And a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice Nor be disturbed by their noise), So the Lord of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill. Like birds flying about, So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.' Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold— sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves. 'Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of mankind shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, And his young men shall become forced labor. He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,' Says the Lord, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.”

Judah was guilty of the sin of trusting in men, horses and chariots, over trusting in God. They likely were able to justify their behavior to themselves and others, regardless of the truth; but were not looking for reasons to trust God. They probably did not think that they had abandoned their faith, but their actions would speak another story.  James 2:17‭-‬18‭, ‬24, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works...You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”  Our works do not save us, lest we become prideful in thinking we are better than we are; but our works are proof or demonstration of our faith. You may not need them to be saved, but they certainly flow from you when you are saved. Just as it is evident when you put your faith in the strength of man. 

Our faith, or lack thereof, does not hinder God's ability to get His will accomplished, though. He would defend and deliver Jerusalem, regardless of the Jew's faith. Although, He did invite them to repent. This meant that they would need to forsake their idols, all things that came before God, and return to Him only. You may think you can survive on your own, but God has ways of getting you to realize your need for Him. Therefore, consider why you should put your trust in Him. He has already demonstrated His love for us by sending His son to die in our place.  I John 5:18‭-‬21, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under  the  sway of the wicked one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”