CALVARY PANDAN However, in this chapter of BIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Isaiah, Egypt will be judged by the God of Israel for her many sins and what DHW BIBLE CLASS she did against Israel. Chapters like these in the Scriptures teach every LESSON 19 Bible student the truth of God’s THE BOOK OF ISAIAH sovereignty over the affairs of all mankind. There is no nation on earth CHAPTER 19 that is not under God’s authority. The God of Israel is the one and only living Theme: “One Salvation for All!” and true God, and beside Him there is no other. Man may make God in his own image and even deny Him as THEME VERSE God, but this does not in any way Isaiah 19:24-25 (KJV) “In that day affect God’s absolute jurisdiction over man, not even in the slightest. Egypt shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the was a nation with a very long and midst of the land: Whom the LORD of celebrated history from her pyramids hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be and kingdoms that transcend many Egypt my people, and Assyria the work centuries. of my hands, and Israel mine Regardless of her super power inheritance.” status and military might, Egypt is just another pawn in God’s over plan of salvation for mankind that will INTRODUCTION eventually culminate in the coming of The next nation to be judged by Jesus Christ. This chapter of Isaiah is God is the nation of Egypt. There is no instructive from the perspective of Middle Eastern nation more involved in God’s absolute control over Egypt’s God’s plan of salvation than Egypt. destiny and very existence! It is very This began from the first book of the comforting to know that this same God Bible even as early as the days of is the God of Christians only. Abraham (Genesis 12:10). Whether voluntarily or otherwise, Egypt has and will always be intractably part of Israel OUTLINE existence, even to this very day! If not 1. Egypt will be Given Over (vv.1- for the spiritual significance, her 10); geographical proximity to the Land of 2. Bad Counsel, Speedy Promise makes her Israel’s neighbour Destruction (vv. 11-17); for life. The cross border relationships bound to exist whether peaceable or 3. Gracious Salvation upon Egypt warlike depends on the rulers at that (vv. 18-25); time. Solomon’s first wife was an Egyptian princess (cf. 1 Kings 3:1). DHW LESSON 19 ISAIAH 19 COMMENTARY Internal strife will turn into civil Egypt Will Be Given Over war. How painful to see brother killing The destruction upon Egypt will brother as the punishment from God. be quick. The swiftness of her The magnitude of this civil war is destruction is described by the use of described vividly in verse 2. The battle the imagery of the LORD riding on a will be brother against brother, swift cloud. It is significant at this everyone against his neighbour, city juncture to note that the name used to against city and kingdom against describe this swift judgement is the kingdom. All relationships are covenantal Name given only to Israel destroyed. All past fellowship and and not to Egypt. The reason is to friendships are ignored, replaced by inform Egypt and Israel that it will be fighting and killing. In the midst of this Israel’s God who will punish Egypt and implosion of a great nation, the spirit of must not be misconstrued as an Egypt shall fail. It is painful to be called accident or some other god that an Egyptian when brothers are killing brothers. There can only be shame. punishes Egypt. The word for “swift” has the idea of lightness, like The LORD will destroy the something floating off the ground. The counsel or plan of the Egyptians. movement is swift because of zero Whatever they might plan to avert the resistance. The use of the word “cloud” LORD’s judgement will all fail. The means that the LORD will come from LORD will destroy all their plans. They heaven swiftly and quietly! The will seek idols, charmers, those with destination of the swift approach of the familiar spirits and the wizards to help LORD is Egypt! Egypt is doomed for them but all to no avail. They LORD judgement for her many sins. The will surely thwart all their evil plans. destruction of Egypt is mentioned in Instead the LORD will give the the next few verses. Egyptians over into the hand of a cruel Before this happens, the LORD lord. This cruel lord could refer to describes the reaction of the either the Assyrians who will soon Egyptians. The idols of Egypt shall be come and defeat the Egyptians as the moved i.e. tremble or stagger. There next superpower of that region, or the are many gods in Egypt. These gods Babylonians, or even the Persians. would include Osiris and Isis, Apis, The identity of this cruel king is not Serapis, Vulcan, Bubastis, and many mentioned here. All of the next three others. They will tremble before the superpowers will defeat the Egyptians presence of the LORD. The heart of and are cruel kings. The Bible the Egyptians shall melt in the midst of describes these kings as fierce each in the LORD. When hearts are turned to their own way. Be this as it may, this liquid it refers to total and abject fear. prophetic judgement came to pass in This kind of fear is crippling and it the near future from Isaiah’s devastates a person. perspective. 2 DHW LESSON 19 ISAIAH 19 The next four verses describe released water, and ponds for fishes the extent of the destruction of Egypt. will be without jobs. The River Nile is Egypt’s life source. The word for fish is “nephesh” Her major cities are all built along this which means living things or living river that carries water from inland and souls. In the context of sluices and the mountains flowing into the ponds it is correct to translate it as Mediterranean Sea through seven “fish” for fish are found in ponds. The tributaries. If the River Nile dries up as literal sense would be “sluices and the LORD declares here, then the ponds for living thing.” economy of Egypt is ruined and the people will suffer great famine and Bad Counsel, Speedy Destruction drought. Note the language of Isaiah The LORD turns His attention 19:5-8 “And the waters shall fail from now to the leaders of fortified Egyptian the sea, and the river shall be wasted cities. Zoan was a city of great and dried up. And they shall turn the longevity as she was mentioned even rivers far away; and the brooks of in the days of Moses (Num. 13:22). As defence shall be emptied and dried up: one of the major cities in Egypt her the reeds and flags shall wither. The leaders would be filled with pride and paper reeds by the brooks, by the arrogance that they could achieve mouth of the brooks, and everything anything they wanted and they sown by the brooks, shall wither, be probably prided themselves in their driven away, and be no more. The ability to remain so strong after fishers also shall mourn, and all they hundreds of years of existence! Their that cast angle into the brooks shall history alone would be enough to fill lament, and they that spread nets them with pride in themselves and upon the waters shall languish.” The their ancestry. This was precisely what entire nation of Egypt will suffer great they did as verse 11 reveals. The catastrophe and death by these princes of Zoan are called fools here calamities. by the LORD. The counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh who probably Those who depend entirely lived in Zoan are described here by the upon the river to survive, their trade of LORD as brutish – foolish or stupid. weaving fine flax and net works will be They gave counsel to Pharaoh such as confounded. They will be “I am the son of the wise, the son of dumbfounded and find no explanation ancient kings?” for the devastation. They will be How can man be so foolish to helpless and simply have to resign believe that their past glory can protect themselves to suffer. There is them from the present destruction? absolutely nothing they can do to Just because one was not destroyed in prevent the destruction of their the past does not mean that he will not livelihoods. They shall be broken in be destroyed in the present. History their purposes is how the LORD has proven over and over again that describes their failures. All those who empires come and go. There are no make sluices i.e. canals for the flood of 3 DHW LESSON 19 ISAIAH 19 exceptions. Every empire founded and stops attacking and undermining the ruled by sinful man will rise and fall. No perfect Bible. matter how mighty and great they The LORD calls these princes might appear at the height of their of Zoan who thought themselves to be glory and splendour, they will very wise “fools”! They have become inevitably fall. It is only a matter of fools by their counsel to Pharaoh. The time. This evidenced by the fall of the princes of Noph are deceived. Noph Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, was the capital city of Upper Egypt Grecians, Romans, including the where decisions made there.