Isaiah 19-20

God continues to tell of coming judgment against the nations through Isaiah.  We have seen with this and will see again today some amazing words of hope for the nations as well as for Israel.

·        Ch. 19: Egypt and her gods ran up against the God of Israel in the time of Moses and Egypt lost in a big way.  That is the message here, again (v1).

o   19:2-4: We noted yesterday how Ethiopia used division and weakness in the power structure of Egypt to gain control of the government.  That is the subject here.  The spirit of Egypt refers to her great heritage of wise men and a long history of stability.  All this had now failed her.

o   19:5-10: Egypt depended much on a productive Nile Valley.  This failed.

o   19:11-15: Egypt boasted of her wise men.  They also failed.  Notice v14: God mingled a perverse spirit in her midst so that what succeeded in the past now resulted in error.

o   In that day again takes us to the future.

§  19:16-17: The time is coming when Egypt will be in fear of Israel.  That was not true in Isaiah’s day.  These words were encouraging to Hezekiah who, in the face of the Assyrian presence in the land, considered turning to Egypt as an ally.

§  19:18-22: Egypt will turn to the Lord.  There will be a City of Righteousness, an altar and a memorial pillar to the Lord in Egypt.

§  19:23-25: There will be a highway (i.e. ease of travel) from Egypt through Israel to Assyria.  The three nations will together be blessed of the Lord.  Remember that God’s blessing on the Gentiles is to come in the context of Israel’s desolation and spiritual restoration (Rom. 11:11-15; Deut. 32:43).  What an amazing prophesy this is!

·        Ch. 20: Now Isaiah prophecies of both nations together, Egypt and Ethiopia.

o   20:1: Historically this event, when the Assyrian king sent his commander against Ashdod (a city of the Philistines that would have required the Assyrian army to go through Judah to get there), occurred around 711BC.

o   20:2-3: God instructed Isaiah to disrobe, a surprise to be sure.  And he was required to do this for three years.  Isaiah known the One he serves and is obedient to the Lord.  Why did God require this of His prophet?

o   20:4: It was a picture of what Assyria would do to Egypt and Ethiopia.

o   20:5-6: The message was for Judah and Hezekiah, again as a warning not to put their trust in Egypt in the face of the Assyrians.

These are prophecies concerning the nations.  You can see God’s love and compassion as well as His justice.  We should never confuse God’s choice of Israel as an indication of indifference or dislike for the rest of the world.  For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).