The second half of Isaiah 19 stood out to me because of the
undeniable hope it gives us in the face of adversity, and the hope we have even
when we are feeling the weight of our sins.
To put this passage in context, the theme of Isaiah 13-35 is
that God is the master of the nations. Specifically, Isaiah 19-20 shows that
God is the master of Egypt. The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria in
722 BC, and as the century came to a close, the Southern Kingdom of Judah felt
the threat of Assyrian invasion even more keenly.[1]
Therefore, it was all the more tempting to turn to neighboring nations for help;
the most powerful of these being Egypt.
However Isaiah continues to warn Judah against this. “Whatever
we trust in place of God will eventually turn on us and destroy us.”[2]
Egypt cannot offer Judah anything they don’t already have with God’s help.
Furthermore, God has already rescued them from Egypt, so why would they put
their hope in her, rather than in God? These two chapters are broken into three
sections, the first is Isaiah 19:1-15 and speaks about Egypt’s actual
helplessness before God. The second is Isaiah 19:16-25 and shows that one day
Egypt will bow before God, and the final section is Isaiah 20:1-6 which gives
the reason that trusting in Egypt is foolish – for she will be overthrown as
well one day.
I would like to take a closer look at the second section:
Isaiah 19:16-25
16 In
that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at
the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the
Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of
what the Lord Almighty is planning against them.
18 In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the
language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border.
20 It will be a sign and
witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and
defender, and he will rescue them. 21 So the Lord will make
himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will
make vows to the Lord and keep them. 22 The
Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them.
They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their
pleas and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to
Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The
Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day
Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the
earth. 25 The
Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people,
Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
This section moves from the judgment on Egypt (19:1-15) to
the promises of Egypt’s redemption. It speaks of a future date when Egypt will
turn and worship God. The phrase, “in
that day” is repeated five times. This phrase typically refers to the
infamous “day of the Lord,” at the end times when God’s
kingdom is fully established upon the earth. The five segments that are
introduced by “in that day” show a
progression of Egypt going from being terrified at the thought of the Lord, to them joining with Assyria and Israel
in worship of this same God.[3]
“Egypt will look to Judah, at first fearfully, but then more confidently,
rather than the opposite being true.”[4]
God’s upraised hand (vs 16) is a sign of judgment, and, in many
cases, destruction. Isaiah 5:25 says, “Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his
people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake,
and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger
is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.” The people
of God learned that sin has its consequences, and must be punished lest the
sinner begin to deny that they have sinned at all.[5]
But those who are crushed will be
looking for a Redeemer, and Isaiah promises exactly that. It is not that
punishment somehow “pays” for sin. No one can do that short of forfeiting
forever any relationship with the holy God. Rather, the judgment alerts us to
start looking for the way out, a way God wants to show all of us, even the
complacent Egyptians among us.[6]
Thus, the Egyptians go from being a strong nation to being
judged by God and unable to stand before Him. Verse 18 then moves to show Egypt
turning to God. They will begin to swear allegiance to God, and then, in Verse
19, we find that there will even be an altar dedicated to the Lord in Egypt, and a monument (pillar)
at the border as if to show that the land has been claimed by God. See here
to learn more about altars, pillars, and monuments. This means that one
day, Egypt will enter into a covenant with God. As with Israel and Judah, the
God that had judged them will also deliver them. Verse 20 should remind us of
Judges (ex. Judges 3:9). When the Israelites were disobedient, God allowed them
to be oppressed. When they turned to God, cried out to Him and lived in
obedience, God raised up a judge, a champion to deliver them from their
oppressors and save them. Egypt, then, will experience God, just as Israel has.[7]
Verse 21 shows that, one day, the Egyptians will, like the
Israelites, live in obedience and faithfulness to God. In Verse 22, since God
has a relationship with Egypt, He will mold them into holiness using whatever
means necessary, even pain and suffering as in a plague. But rather than
striking them for destruction, it will be to make them faithful and holy.
Now we come to the most incredible part of this passage.
Verses 23-25 shows that God is truly Lord
over the nations. “In that day,” the
enmity between Egypt and Assyria will no longer exist, instead there will be a
highway running between the two countries, and the two people groups will
worship God together. They will no
longer be separated, but will be physically joined by the highway, and
spiritually commune in worship before God. This is amazing on two fronts:
first, it is amazing because these two peoples hated each other. They were
enemies through and through and would have done anything to see the
other harmed and destroyed. So the fact that they are worshiping God together
shows that God is truly a healing God if He can heal the hatred that existed
between Egypt and Assyria. Second, this verse speaks to the powerful love of
God. Egypt and Assyria were bad. Not just kind of bad, rotten to the core and
evil. God will change their hearts such that they will turn towards Him and
pursue holiness together. If God can change the hearts and character of these
people and heal them, then he can change and heal us as well.
Now Egypt and Assyria, previously the sworn enemies of God,
will be included in the promise of blessing that Israel enjoys. This blessing
goes back to the Abrahamic Covenant:
I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis
12:2-3)
The terms that had previously only been applied to Israel, “my people (Isaiah 10:24, 43:6, Hosea 1:10,
2:23, Jeremiah 11:4),” and “my handiwork/the
work of my hands (Isaiah 60:21, 64:8, Psalm 119:73, 138:8),” are now
applied to Egypt and Assyria as well to show their equal standing before God
with Israel. The term, “my inheritance,”
is still reserved for Israel, and perhaps this shows that Israel will still be
special before God, but it is more likely that these terms are equally applied
to these nations and people groups to show the power of God in bringing those
who were once His enemies to Himself and into holy relationship with Him.
Israel is the one who will bring these nations into the blessing of God, but
she cannot bless them if she is not devoted to God and faithful to His promises
in the meantime.
When we are tempted to believe that things are hopeless and
that the powerful will abuse their power without anything or anyone to stop
them, we must remember this passage. God is all-powerful, and one day will
bring those who abuse their authority and power to their knees before Him. The
wounded will be redeemed and saved. The oppressors will be given new hearts and
will be molded into the holy image of Christ. And we will all kneel before the
throne together and worship God with one voice. Those we are tempted to hate
today, may be the ones we kneel next to in God’s kingdom, because He loves all
His creation, not just those who confess His name now.
Therefore God exalted him to
the highest place
and gave him the name that is
above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and
under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the
Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
Wow! Very powerful! We serve an awesome God. I need to let go of my worries and anxieties about political situations, still praying for our leaders, of course, but trusting 100% in God's timing and grace.
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