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Is. 19:1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud,
and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his
presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
This chapter begins a prophecy directed to Egypt. It begins with a picture of the Lord coming
into Egypt on a cloud in such a way that causes fear in the heart of the
Egyptians and overpowers their idols.
This immediately makes me think of the cloud by which the Lord led the
Israelites and how He destroyed the Egyptian army during the Exodus (Exodus
14). It would be interesting to know
whether this connection was/is made in the minds of the Egyptians.
As in the previous chapter, I believe that the prophet
Ezekiel adds insight to this passage.
Ezekiel 30:6–9 “Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and
the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall
in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. And they shall be desolate in the midst
of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the
cities that are wasted. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set
a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed. In that day shall
messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid,
and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it
cometh.”
Emphasis is made that the fire that is set in
Egypt will spread to destroy the nations surrounding her.
Is. 19:2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they
shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour;
city against city, and kingdom
against kingdom.
Evidently, the fear and panic that ensue will cause the
Egyptians to turn on each other.
The truth of this scripture is emblazoned on headlines
across the world even as I am working on this section of scripture (July
2013). The military has just unseated
President Morsi and the nation is experiencing great infighting. This is just two years after a divided
country succeeded in removing President Mubarak from power.
Is. 19:3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I
will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the
charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
In their fear and panic, the Egyptians will seek help from
idols, charmers, them that have familiar spirits, and wizards—translate that,
from their false god to others that are considered to have otherworldly
wisdom. God will prove that counsel to
be useless, powerless and ineffective.
I thought the
Hebrew for the word idol was to the
point—good for nothing, no value, thing of nought.
Is. 19:4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord;
and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
Emphasis is made that it is the Lord who is going to give
Egypt into the hands of this cruel, fierce king. Could this be a reference to the coming
antichrist? Could it mean a leader that
precedes him that holds to the radical tenants of Islam?
Is. 19:5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be
wasted and dried up.
Is. 19:6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds
and flags shall wither.
Is. 19:7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and
every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.
Is. 19:8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into
the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall
languish.
Is. 19:9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave
networks, shall be confounded.
Is. 19:10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make
sluices and ponds for fish.
Not only is the Lord going to hand them over to a fierce
king, He is going to restrict their water resources. Egypt was and is very dependent on the
Nile. The proper rise and drop in the river
level at appointed times affect their food supply and their industry.
“Brooks of
defence” seems to be referencing “hemmed in channels” of water for irrigation
purposes. “Reeds” are a reference to a
category of plants that were used in making perfumes and incense. “Flags” are a reference to papyrus, which was
used to make baskets, ropes, boats, sandals, mats, and paper. Fish will no longer be abundant. “Fine flax” is used in the making of linen as
well as in making cooking oil and lamp oil.
“Sluices” is a word meaning “wages”; so this is a reference to those who
make their living from stocked fishing ponds.
All of these industries will be negatively affected.
Interesting
to note in light of this prophecy are the headlines in the news today of the
plans of Ethiopia to build a great dam that would severely affect the water
supply to Egypt.
Is. 19:11 Surely the princes of Zoan
are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become
brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am
the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
Is. 19:12 Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD
of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
Is. 19:13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived;
they have also seduced Egypt, even they
that are the stay of the tribes thereof.
Zoan and Noph were two of the main cities in lower
Egypt. The Lord is declaring that the
advisers and “wise counselors” of the Pharaoh (ruler of Egypt) would prove useless. No matter how distinguished their lineage may
be, they will not be able to tell Pharaoh what God has purposed upon Egypt.
Is. 19:14 The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and
they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
The Lord is
going to cause a wicked spirit to work among the counselors and advisors. This will result in their advice bringing
disaster upon Egypt. The gross
comparison is that Egypt could be compared to a drunken man wallowing in his
own vomit.
We don’t often think of God using evil spirits to
accomplish His purposes, but the Bible is very clear that He uses wicked men to
that end as well. God is the creator of
all, both good and evil.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create
evil: I the LORD do all these things.
God will accomplish His purposes in spite of and sometimes
in conjunction with the choices of His creation. He is Lord whether we accept Him as such or
not.
Isaiah 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself
that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in
vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am
the LORD; and there is none else.
Is. 19:15 Neither shall there be any
work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
Isaiah continues in his poetic repetitive form of
speaking. Isaiah 9:14-16 helps us to
understand that the Lord is speaking to the Egyptian leaders.
Isaiah 9:14-16 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch
and rush, in one day. The ancient and
honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the
tail. For the leaders of this people
cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
Most
commentators consider this prophecy of Egypt fulfilled when Assyria conquered
Egypt. In my mind that doesn’t preclude
it being a foreshadowing of more to come.
Is. 19:16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be
afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which
he shaketh over it.
When the Lord brings this prophecy to fulfillment in
Egypt, the people of Egypt will stand in fear of the “Lord of hosts.” I don’t think this statement applied when
Assyria conquered Egypt; neither did the following.
Is. 19:17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one
that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel
of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
“The land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt.” That doesn’t sound too far off from the truth
today, even though I’m sure they wouldn’t admit it. I tend to think this will be a more obvious
fact in the future. It will get to the
point that even the mention of Judah (the Jews) will instill fear in the
Egyptians because of Judah’s connection to the “Lord of hosts”—the One who
purposes to punish Egypt.
Is. 19:18 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the
language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The
city of destruction.
Canaan is a
reference to the land of Israel.
The day is coming when people in the land of Egypt will
speak Hebrew and recognize God as their Lord.
One of the first cities to be converted will be the “city of
destruction.” Some commentators connect
this with the city of Heliopolis or On, which was devoted to the worship of the
sun god, one of Egypt’s major deities. Instead
of worshipping the sun, they will worship the Son (Jesus). I think this part of the prophecy will find
fulfillment in the millennium.
I wonder if this is a hint that we will all speak Hebrew
in the millenium. I tend to think
so. The languages were confused to keep
the people from joining in rebellion against the Lord. It would make sense to me that we would
convert back to one language to facilitate service and obedience to the Lord.
Is. 19:19 In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of
the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.
Is. 19:20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts
in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the
oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall
deliver them.
The day is coming when Egypt will cry out to the Lord God
because of their oppression. They will
build an altar to the Lord in the center of the land and a memorial stone at
the border of the land acknowledging God as their Lord. At that time the Lord will send them a
deliverer.
As a note of
interest, there are some bible teachers that make a connection with these
verses and The Great Pyramid, and some of their articles are quite thought provoking.
Is. 19:21 And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall
know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall
vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.
When the time comes that Egypt openly acknowledges God as
Lord, they will prove their commitment to Him by their actions. They will offer Him sacrifices and give Him
gifts. When they make vows to God, they
will keep them.
The application is obvious. One who truly acknowledges God as Lord will
serve Him with obedience, devotion and commitment.
Is. 19:22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be
intreated of them, and shall heal them.
The message to Egypt begins with punishment and ends with
hope. Although the Lord will smite
(defeat, strike, put to the worse) Egypt, He will eventually bring them
healing. They will “return” to the
Lord.
As I thought about it, that would be a true statement
about any nation that chooses to follow God.
We all have the same root, the same forefathers. Adam and Eve were created in fellowship with
the Creator. Noah and his family were
saved through the flood through obedience to and faith in God. Somewhere along the way, people chose to
depart from the truth—to depart from God.
This prophecy ends up in a promise that the day is coming when Egypt
will return to God, and He will hear their prayers and will provide
healing—will make them whole again in relationship to Him. I think we can all agree that this is yet
future.
Egypt is often a type of the Gentile world, and I think
represents those who will turn to the Lord in faith after the time of God’s
wrath.
Is. 19:23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and
the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the
Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
Is. 19:24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with
Assyria, even a blessing in the midst
of the land:
Is. 19:25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the
work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
The day is coming when there will be a highway from Egypt
to Assyria that will pass through Israel.
The people of these nations will travel freely and safely from one
nation to the other; these three former enemies will be friends. They will all enjoy blessings from the Lord
God.
I think verse 25 is a way of stating in poetic style that
all these nations will be on equal footing before the Lord. I don’t think you can make a difference in
God’s people, the work of His hands, and His inheritance. Israel will enjoy a covenantal position of
prominence and prosperity in the millennial kingdom, but Egypt and Assyria will
also enjoy a position of blessing without jealousy and in acceptance of God’s
sovereignty.
The application here would be to the body of Christ. We are all part of one body. We are called to serve in different
positions. The toe is just as important
to God as the head. We are to be content
with how and where the Spirit calls us to serve. Jesus made it clear that humility and a
servant spirit are traits He values—and He set the example.
John 13:14-17 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also
ought to wash one another’s feet. For I
have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he
that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do
them.
Matthew 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
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