Preparing for Deliverance
Isaiah 19
‘The LORD Strikes and Heals Egypt’
In the previous chapter (Isaiah 18):
Isaiah renders a prophecy from the LORD God concerning the judgement of Cush, commonly called Ethiopia. The Sovereign LORD placed it in the heart of the king of Assyria to be his arm of judgement against Ethiopia, and although Ethiopia was a powerful nation with strong and polished people, Isaiah implies that they sent ambassadors to Israel to plead for help.
Israel refuses to enter into an alliance with Ethiopia, because Isaiah proclaims that it was God’s will to lead Assyria to attack Cush; so Israel did not interfere.
Isaiah concludes with the proclamation of a future of hope and purpose as Ethiopia will one day come to Israel and be one with them and bring sacrifice to the LORD God of Israel. Which is a shadow of Christ’s complete reign on the earth when all nations will confess Jesus as Lord.
In this chapter (Isaiah 19):
The prophet describes the judgement that the LORD gave him concerning the land of Egypt, another of the world’s most powerful nations at the time.
The descriptiveness of this burdensome prophecy increases its weight, in that every system that supports Egyptian livelihood is said to crumble, forcing this nation of slave owners into the bondage of another king.
Egypt’s legacy of experimentation with spirits, ghosts, and sages are described as the reasons that the LORD will pour out confusion on them. The violence within them will also multiply at the command of the LORD, turning one Egyptian against another. Isaiah explains that Egypt’s claims to divine knowledge will fall short, as no diviner among them will possess the knowledge to escape the coming judgement, instead the Egyptian will ignorantly destroy themselves in civil war.
After the LORD God strikes Egypt with judgement, then they will turn to him and he will heal them, as Isaiah again describes a future filled with hope and purpose. But unlike Ethiopia in Isaiah 18, who brought sacrifices to Israel for the LORD their God, Egypt will make their own altar on which they will offer sacrifices to Yahweh, the LORD God of Israel, for they will know him for themselves.
Again Isaiah points to the future global reign of the Messiah as he proclaims that Assyria, Egypt, and Israel will all unify in worship of the one True God.
Who is Egypt?
By the end of the book of Genesis, Egypt was the source of protection from famine for the descendants of Jacob (Israel), yet at the beginning of the Exodus story, Egypt was the enemy and persecutor of God’s people.
In Isaiah’s day, Egypt was familiar with the power of Israel and the LORD their God, as the great Exodus led by Moses would have had a lasting impression on them and their descendants just as it did for the children of Israel.
At one time, Egypt was the greatest superpower on the earth, but by Isaiah’s day, they too were under the increasing power of Assyria. With all of the wisdom and influence of the people of the Nile (Egyptians), one would think they would have dominated the world forever, but the LORD puts an end to everything in his time to fulfill his purpose.
We often imagine ancient Egypt as a peaceful utopian society overflowing with wealth and knowledge, but Isaiah tells us a different story. The worship of false god’s and the violent culture of Egypt is what inevitably stirs God’s judgement toward them. Their judgement in this manner is traced back in history to 671BCE, when King Esarhaddon of Assyria conquered Egypt.
Read Isaiah 19:1-4
Right away the LORD God confronts the known “spiritually wise” culture of the Egyptians, by proclaiming that the gods of Egypt will tremble in his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them (v.1). Then, the LORD proclaims a spirit of confusion over Egypt that will cause their people to fight against one another.
One of the key elements in all of God’s judgments, is that they often exacerbate the societal issues that brought upon that judgement. So we can assume that the culture of violence was already present in Egypt, and the LORD allowed that violence to multiply into all out civil war.
Again Isaiah reminds us of the LORD God’s awareness of Egypts culture of consulting with idols, spirits of the dead, ghosts, and familiar spirits for wisdom and insight. Yet the LORD God allows Egypt to reap the full reward of their idolatry, and proclaims that he will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of a hard master, and that a fierce king will rule over them (v.4). This also implies that the LORD was offended by the way that the Egyptians ruled their people, so he will cause them to reap what they have sown.
This points to humanity and our sometimes violent nature. In what ways have we allowed confusion to consume our thinking and turn us to fight against one another?
Read Isaiah 19:5-10
Egypt seems like a desert to us today, but it was once a tropical oasis in the middle of the North Eastern African desert lands, with the Nile river as its secret source of strength. The Nile river was the womb of Egypt as well as the source of the nation's wealth and stability, it supported the whole nation and its economy depended upon the flow of its waters. So when the LORD proclaims that the Nile will be dried up, in essence he is saying that the heart of Egypt will stop beating, causing a national heart attack of the greatest proportions – and all who work for wages will be grieved (v.10).
Though not directly stated, our current condition in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, shows us the ramifications of an economic collapse. Not only are workers grieved for wages, businesses go bankrupt, homes are foreclosed, possessions are repossessed, and parents cannot feed their children. Egypt built an entire nation on the dependence of the Nile and their spiritual guides rather than on the LORD God of Israel, who showed them his power on countless occasions. If the Nile dries, and the wise men are confused; Egypt’s fall is inevitable.
What are you building your life and the life of your family upon? Is it something that you can truly depend on?
Read Isaiah 19:11-15
Isaiah highlights the confusion, stupidity, and foolishness of the kings of Egypt who go to their own sages for council. Therefore as with the multiplication of their own violence, the LORD proclaims that their confusion will also multiply, until they are so deluded that they can no longer function, as a drunkard staggers around in vomit (v.14).
Consider your own misjudgments and reflect on a revelation from the Apostle Paul:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
Read Isaiah 19:16-17
This proclamation of judgement is concluded, but before Isaiah shifts the conversation, he again confronts the violent nature of Egypt, even down to the specificity of violence in the home toward women. The LORD God takes a stand against domestic abuse, and makes this clear by proclaiming such punishment on Egypt as a nation (v.16).
Isaiah proclaims that Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians (v.17), even though it is the Assyrians who will conquer them. This implies that at one time between when the prophecy was given to Isaiah and when it was completely fulfilled, Egypt learned that their judgement was ultimately the doing of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
The chapter addresses social violence and civil war as well as domestic violence, how might violence in society be a reflection of violence in homes and families?
Read Isaiah 19:18-25
I'm so glad that although God does not give us every answer, he does give us the conclusion of some stories. And as this chapter concludes, we are given the privilege of knowing the purpose behind God's plan to judge the nations of the world; in that it would cause all of them to one day swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts (v.18).
Isaiah proclaims that there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of Egypt and a pillar to the LORD on the border of the land of Egypt. The pillar and altar to the LORD will serve as a reminder when hardships come, that when they cry to the LORD, he will send them a savior to defend and deliver them (v.20). The LORD promises that on that day the Egyptians will truly know the LORD because he will make himself known to them, and they will make sacrifices to him in their own land just as the Isrealites do in Judah and Jerusalem.
Perhaps this whole chapter could be summarized by verse 22; “The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them” (v.22). God’s judgement is thus both a striking, and a healing, though when it is poured out it is intended to feel only as the former. Afterward however, those who survive God’s judgement and are spared by his mercy (not of their own works), turn to him and reap the rewards that were always God’s purpose to give all of them had they only repented from their errors sooner.
The healing will be completely fulfilled as described by Isaiah, when Egypt, Assyria, and Israel unify under Yahweh, the LORD God of Israel. And although these three nations once faced God’s harsh judgement and were at war, they will become a triune blessing in the midst of earth (v.24); God’s people, the work of God's hands, and God's heritage.
God’s ultimate purpose in this chapter was to cleans Egypt of idolatry and violence, so he could unify them with his people Israel, and with Assyria so that the three of them could worship the LORD God of Israel together. In what way are Christians all called to a similar purpose by Jesus Christ today?