301 Ho! uncontrolled children, says the Lord, who give effect to a purpose which is not mine, and who make an agreement, but not by my spirit, increasing their sin: 2 Who make a move to go down into Egypt, without authority from me; who are looking to the strength of Pharaoh for help, and whose hope is in the shade of Egypt. 3 And the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame, and your hope in the shade of Egypt will come to nothing. 4 For his chiefs are at Zoan, and his representatives have come to Hanes. 5 For they have all come with offerings to a people of no use to them, in whom is no help or profit, but only shame and a bad name.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 30:1-5
Commentary on Isaiah 30:1-7
(Read Isaiah 30:1-7)
It was often the fault and folly of the Jews, that when troubled by their neighbours on one side, they sought for succour from others, instead of looking up to God. Nor can we avoid the dreadful consequences of adding sin to sin, but by making the righteousness of Christ our refuge, and seeking for the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. Men have always been prone to lean to their own understandings, but this will end in their shame and misery. They would not trust in God. They took much pains to gain the Egyptians. The riches so spent turned to a bad account. See what dangers men run into who forsake God to follow their carnal confidences. The Creator is the Rock of ages, the creature a broken reed; we cannot expect too little from man, or too much from God. Our strength is to sit still, in humble dependence upon God and his goodness, and quiet submission to his will.