Year 3, Day 4: Isaiah 19-20

Egypt

Isaiah 19 continues the oracles against foreign lands.  This time, we will focus on Egypt.  Remember that Egypt is the proverbial enemy of God.  It is Egypt that taught the Hebrew people to first love other gods.  It is Egypt to whom the Hebrew people of the period of the kings consistently tried to turn for help rather than putting their faith in God.  Throughout almost the whole of the scriptures, Egypt not only symbolizes a place of physical bondage but it also symbolizes a place of spiritual oppression and false hope.  It is in that context that we now turn to Isaiah 19-20.

The Lord Comes Swiftly

Notice the scathing attack that begins from the very first verse.  The Lord is coming swiftly and the idols of the Egyptians tremble.  They are powerless against the Lord.  The very heart of Egypt – their idolatry – will melt.  Egypt is powerless against the Lord.  Egypt’s gods are impotent against the Lord.  The age-old battle between God and Egypt is alive in Isaiah.  This time, God is coming to Egypt to bring judgment rather than to free His people from oppression.

Note also that the coming of the Lord upon Egypt is not merely an attack on the gods of people.  The coming of God is a demonstration of where true wisdom rests.  The counselors in Egypt will be confused.  The mediums and the necromancers will have no answer for their leaders or their people.  God is not just dealing with Egypt from the perspective of power; God is dealing with Egypt from the perspective of wisdom, insight, and counsel.  Likewise, see Isaiah 19:11-15.

As we turn to verses 5-10, notice that the next thing God promises to attack is nature.  The Nile will dry up.  What water remains will turn foul.  The fertile lands that Egypt depended upon as the Nile flooded its banks would become barren.  The gods of Egypt all had a hand in nature.  God’s domination over Egypt’s nature is another sign of His coming judgment upon them and their gods.

The economy will also suffer.  Fish will not be caught – implying that they cannot be sold, either.  Flax will not be able to be harvested.  Cotton will be unable to be woven.  Those who depend upon work for pay will grieve.  God’s judgment against Egypt will be thorough. 

It will be a spiritual and economic war.  The two most important dynamics of Egypt’s culture – religion and economy – will be assaulted by the Lord. 

A More Eternal Perspective

Moving into the section at the end of chapter 19, we have a passage that speaks about the Day of the Lord.  It seems as though Isaiah’s focus shifts from temporal perspective to an eternal one.  As Isaiah speaks about the battle against the gods of Egypt, he shifts focus to a time when the gods are officially defeated.  Isaiah speaks about a time when Egypt will worship God.  It seems at the end of this chapter that Isaiah is speaking even into our future – after the Messiah has come again and all people will be brought before God.

Notice that as we continue through that passage Isaiah even implies that Assyria and Egypt will both be brought together in the worship of the Lord.  Again we have a passage of grace following a passage of judgment as we have seen in the prior chapters.  Even Assyria – who overextends themselves and seeks for selfish glory greater than God’s plan – is invited to God’s presence.  Even Egypt – the bastion of false worship and false hope – is invited to God’s presence.  What a powerful statement of God’s power to say that the enemies of God will eventually turn into a people that shall bring glory to His name!

A Sign Is Given

As we turn to Isaiah 20, we leave the chapters with oracles against the nations behind us.  We hear a story where Isaiah is to go about the city naked and barefoot.  Of course, makes this one of the more memorable chapters in Isaiah. 

Before we talk about what this means, imagine the shame and disgrace that this would bring upon a Jew.  For a Jew, nakedness was something to be avoided – especially in public.  For a Jew to be naked in public was an almost unspeakable offense.

What is God’s point?  Isaiah’s behavior is a sign to the Egyptians and Cushites that if they get involved in God’s work, they will be captured and humiliated.  Perhaps even more importantly, God’s point to the Hebrew people is that there is going to be no help from a human source upon which they can depend.

So what can we learn from these chapters?  Well, God takes the worship of false gods as a pretty grievous offense.  Yet, if we are willing to humble ourselves before Him and repent, we can know salvation.  Of course, such salvation can come from no source but God alone.

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