God's Judgment Upon Egypt in Isaiah 19:1-15
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God’s judgment upon Egypt in Isaiah 19:1-15: its probable reasons and some implications for contemporary Africa by PETER G. WATT A thesis submitted for the degree of MASTER OF THEOLOGY at the SOUTH AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY DECEMBER 2011 Supervisor: Dr Kevin Smith Declaration I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this dissertation is my own original work and has not previously in its entirety or in part been submitted to any degree or institution for a degree. P.G. WATT (01-12-2011) ii Dedication I would like to dedicate this thesis to the people who have inspired, motivated and supported me in the process: Dr Kevin Smith – for his consistent and enthusiastic willingness to help with such patience and insight. My wife Sandy – for freedom, encouragement and proof-reading. Joaquim Mahlalela – a co-labourer and mentor who has introduced me into the psychology, stories and spiritual realities of Africa which has added such passion for this field of study. Peter van Niekerk – for recognizing the need to explore this area of Biblical and spiritual truth in the contemporary African context. The leaders and members of West City Fellowship – for providing me with the opportunity, and affording me the time and space to pursue this study whilst I was in pastoral leadership. iii Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to examine whether Isaiah 19:1-15 has any relevance and implications for contemporary Africa. Isaiah 19:1-15 is used as the anchor text to explore the possible reasons why God responds to Egypt with acts of judgment. This examination requires a thorough analysis of the chosen text, taking into consideration authorship, audience, historical and theological context, as well as an understanding of the mechanics of the prophetic ministry. Of the four reasons which are presented, it is argued that the most likely primary reason and target of the threatened judgment by God are the idols of Egypt. An investigation into the nature of worldview, and most especially the African worldview and experience of the spiritual realm, leads into an evaluation of African Traditional Religions. A cross-section of authors and researchers are sifted in order to appraise whether certain aspects of traditional African religious practices can be deemed as idolatrous, and a turning aside from the primacy of Christ. If indeed this is true, then the truths revealed in Isaiah 19:1-15 can be contextualised for the current African reality. The conclusion of the study acknowledges that the final answer can at best be probable, but at worst only possible. However, even if only possible and plausible, then the warnings contained in Isaiah 19:1-15 need to be taken seriously for any nation that perpetuates idolatrous practices. Given the desire to be relevant to my lived African context, then the study has given sufficient grounds to believe that the truths and patterns unlocked from the anchor text need to be noted for a contemporary African audience. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 A. ORIENTATION ........................................................................................................... 1 a) Motivation for this study ........................................................................................... 1 b) Background ............................................................................................................. 1 B. THE PROBLEM .......................................................................................................... 3 a) The main problem .................................................................................................... 3 b) Delimitations ............................................................................................................ 4 C. THE PLAN .................................................................................................................. 5 a) Research design ...................................................................................................... 5 b) Overview of chapters ............................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2 Context ......................................................................................................... 7 A. THE HISTORICAL SETTING OF ISAIAH 19:1-15 ...................................................... 7 a) Authorship ............................................................................................................... 7 b) Relevant historical setting ........................................................................................ 9 c) Intended audience ................................................................................................. 13 B. THE LITERARY SETTING OF ISAIAH 19:1-15 ........................................................ 19 C. THE THEOLOGICAL SETTING OF ISAIAH 19:1-15 ................................................ 24 v a) The Mission of God ............................................................................................... 24 b) Theology of the Prophetic Books ........................................................................... 31 i) The nature of prophetic literature ........................................................................ 31 ii) The nature of prophecy ...................................................................................... 35 iii) Oracles against the nations ............................................................................... 41 c) The theology of Isaiah ........................................................................................... 44 D. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 49 CHAPTER 3 Probable reasons for judgment ............................................................ 50 A. LITERARY REVIEW ................................................................................................. 50 a) The views of various scholars on Isaiah 19:1-15.................................................... 50 b) Analysis of interpretive issues ................................................................................ 56 B. EXEGESIS OF ANCHOR TEXT ............................................................................... 60 a) Author-intended meaning of Isaiah 19:1-15 ........................................................... 60 b) Meaning for the original readers ............................................................................ 62 C. PROBABLE REASONS FOR JUDGMENT PRONOUNCED IN ISAIAH 19:1-15 ..... 68 a) Judah’s trust in Egypt ............................................................................................ 68 b) Egyptian enslavement of Israel.............................................................................. 71 c) The hubris of Egypt ................................................................................................ 72 d) The idols of Egypt .................................................................................................. 74 i) The Plagues of the Exodus as Precursor ............................................................ 75 ii) Gods over nations .............................................................................................. 81 vi iii) The mission of God ........................................................................................... 85 D. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 89 Chapter 4 Significance for contemporary Africa ...................................................... 90 A. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS ............................................................................... 90 a) Is God Nationalistic or Universal by nature? .......................................................... 90 b) Why contemporary Africa? .................................................................................... 91 B. WORLDVIEW ........................................................................................................... 92 a) The dilemma of worldview ..................................................................................... 92 b) What is worldview? ................................................................................................ 93 c) Is there a common African worldview? .................................................................. 96 d) Christianity wrapped in western worldview .......................................................... 100 C. AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS ................................................................... 104 a) Correspondence and Continuity with Christianity ................................................ 105 b) Conflict with Christianity ...................................................................................... 108 i) From general to specific revelation ................................................................... 108 ii) Idolatry .............................................................................................................. 110 iii) The primacy of Christ ...................................................................................... 118 D. APPLICATIONS...................................................................................................... 124 a) The reality of the demonic realm ........................................................................