Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 19:1
The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
1. On the superscription, see on ch. Isa 13:1.
rideth upon a swift cloud ] The same representation in Psa 18:10; Psa 104:3. It is based on the ancient conception of the thunder-storm as the emblem of Jehovah’s presence.
the idols ] the “non-entities” as in ch. Isa 2:8, &c.
shall be moved at his presence ] shall quake (ch. Isa 6:4, Isa 7:2) before him.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1 4. The dissolution of the Egyptian nationality by the judicial intervention of Jehovah.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The burden of Egypt – This is the title to the prophecy. For the meaning of the word burden, see the note at Isa 13:1. The word Egypt in the original is mtseraym; and it was so called after Mizraim the second son of Ham, and grandson of Noah. Sometimes it is called Mazor 2Ki 19:24; Isa 19:6; Isa 37:25; Mic 7:12; where, however, our English version has rendered the word by besieged place or fortress. The ancient name of the country among the inhabitants themselves was Chimi or Chami ( Chemu). The Egyptian word signified black, and the name was probably given from the black deposit made by the slime of the Nile. Mizraim, or Misrim, the name given to Egypt in the Scriptures, is in the plural form, and is the Hebrew mede of expressing the two regions of Egypt (so commonly met with in the hieroglyphics), or the two Misr, a name still used by the Arabs, who call all Egypt, as well as Cairo, Musr or Misr. (Wilkinsons Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 2). The origin of the name Egypt is unknown. Egyptus is said by some to have been an ancient king of this country.
Behold, the Lord – This is a bold introduction. Yahweh is seen advancing to Egypt for the purpose of confounding its idols, and inflicting punishment. The leading idea which the prophet wishes probably to present is, that national calamities – anarchy, commotion, revolution, as well as physical sufferings – are under the government and direction of Yahweh.
Rideth upon a swift cloud – Yahweh is often thus represented as riding on a cloud, especially when he comes for purposes of vengeance or punishment:
And he rode upon a cherub and did fly,
Yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
Psa 18:10
Who maketh the clouds his chariot,
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind.
Psa 104:3
I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven Dan 7:13. So the Saviour is represented as coming to judgment in the clouds of heaven Mat 24:30. Compare the sublime description in Hab 3:3-10.
And the idols of Egypt – It is well known that Egypt was celebrated for its idolatry. They worshipped chiefly the heavenly bodies; but they worshipped also all kinds of animals, probably as living symbols of their gods. Shall be moved. That is, shall tremble, be agitated, alarmed; or shall be removed from their place, and overthrown. The word will bear either construction. Vitringa inclines to the latter.
And the heart of Egypt – The strength; the courage; the rigor. We use the word heart in the same sense now, when we speak of a stout heart; a courageous heart, etc.
Shall melt – The word used here denotes to dissolve; and is applied to the heart when its courage fails – probably from the sensation of weakness or fainting. The fact alluded to here was probably the disheartening circumstances that attended the civil commotions in Egypt, when the people felt themselves oppressed by cruel rulers. See the Analysis of the chapter.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 19:1
The burden of Egypt
The prophecies concerning Egypt
The kingdom to which all the three prophecies (chaps.
18, 19, 20) refer is the same, namely, the Egypto-Ethiopian kingdom; but it is so dealt with that chap. 18 refers to the ruling people, chap. 19 to the ruled people, and chap. 20 embraces them both together. (F. Delitzsch.)
Egypt interwoven with the history of the kingdom of God
The reason why the prophecy occupies itself so particularly with Egypt is that no people of the earth was so closely interwoven with the history of the kingdom of God from the patriarchal time as Egypt. (F. Delitzsch.)
The oracle concerning Egypt: promise as well as threatening
Because, as the Thora impresses it, Israel must never forget that it long resided in Egypt, and there grew great, and enjoyed much good; so prophecy, when it comes to speak to Egypt, is not less zealous in promising than in threatening. Accordingly, the Isaianic oracle falls into two distinct halves; one threatening, Isa 19:1-15, and one promising, Isa 19:18-25; and between judgment and salvation there stands the terror in Isa 19:16-17, as the bridge from the former to the latter. (F. Delitzsch.)
Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud
The way of the Lord
Here is one way in which the Lord comes, namely, upon a swift cloud (Isa 19:1). The intimation is one of mystery. No man can tell which way the Lord will come today. Let us keep our eyes upon every point of the horizon; let us distribute the watchmen wisely and assign to each his sphere of observation; for by what door the Lord may enter the field of vision no man can tell,–by a political event, by some new movement in foreign policy, by the discovery of new riches in the earth, by great shocks which try mens strength, by grim sorrow, by cruel death, by judgments that have no name, by mercies tender as the tenderest love, by compassions all tears, by providences that are surprises of gladness: watch all these doors, for by any one of them the Lord may come into the nation, the family, the heart of the individual. This Divine policy, if it may be so named, baffles the watchers who trust to their own sagacity. If men will say they will circumvent God and know all the ways of His providence, behold God forsakes all ways that are familiar and that lie within the calculation of the human mind; and He startles those who watch with light from unexpected quarters with shakings and tremblings never before felt in the vibrations of history. Clouds and darkness are round about Him: the cloud that appears to be nothing but vapour may enshrine the Deity; the bush, yesterday so common that any bird might have alighted upon it, today burns with unseen, infinite energy. The Lord will come by what way He pleases,–now as if from the depths of the earth, and now as from the heights of heaven; blessed is that servant who is ready to receive Him and to welcome Him to the hearts hospitality of love. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XIX
Prophecy concerning Egypt, in which her lamentable condition
under the Babylonians, Persians, c., is forcibly pointed out,
1-17.
The true religion shall be propagated in Egypt referring
primarily to the great spread of Judaism in that country in
the reign of the Ptolemies, and ultimately to its reception
of the Gospel in the latter days, 18-22.
Profound peace between Egypt, Assyria, and Israel, and their
blessed condition under the Gospel, 23-25.
Not many years after the destruction of Sennacherib’s army before Jerusalem, by which the Egyptians were freed from the yoke with which they were threatened by so powerful an enemy, who had carried on a successful war of three years’ continuance against them; the affairs of Egypt were again thrown into confusion by intestine broils among themselves, which ended in a perfect anarchy, that lasted some few years. This was followed by an aristocracy, or rather tyranny, of twelve princes, who divided the country between them, and at last by the sole dominion of Psammitichus, which he held for fifty-four years. Not long after that followed the invasion and conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, and then by the Persians under Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. The yoke of the Persians was so grievous, that the conquest of the Persians by Alexander may well be considered as a deliverance to Egypt; especially as he and his successors greatly favoured the people and improved the country. To all these events the prophet seems to have had a view in this chapter; and in particular, from Isa 19:18, the prophecy of the propagation of the true religion in Egypt seems to point to the flourishing state of Judaism in that country, in consequence of the great favour shown to the Jews by the Ptolemies. Alexander himself settled a great many Jews in his new city Alexandria, granting them privileges equal to those of the Macedonians. The first Ptolemy, called Soter, carried great numbers of them thither, and gave them such encouragement that still more of them were collected there from different parts; so that Philo reckons that in his time there were a million of Jews in that country. These worshipped the God of their fathers; and their example and influence must have had a great effect in spreading the knowledge and worship of the true God through the whole country. See Bp. Newton on the Prophecies, Dissert. xii.
NOTES ON CHAP. XIX
Verse 1. The burden of Egypt.] That is, the prophet’s declaration concerning Egypt.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The burden of Egypt. Some learned men conceive that what was said more generally and darkly in the foregoing chapter, is here more particularly. and clearly explained to be meant of Egypt; it being usual for the prophets to mix obscure and plain passages together, and to clear the one by the other. Others understand that chapter of Ethiopia, and this of Egypt. But this controversy must be decided by an exact consideration of all the passages of the former chapter.
The Lord rideth, as a general in the head of his army, or as a judge riding the circuit to execute judgment.
Upon a swift cloud; which phrase showeth that the judgment shall come speedily, unexpectedly, and unavoidably. And clouds being very unusual in Egypt, the appearance of a cloud was a kind of prodigy, and a prognostic of some grievous calamity. Shall be moved from their seats, and from their former reputation. Or, shall shake or tremble. So far shall they be from helping the Egyptians, as they expect, that they shall tremble for themselves; which divers of the Egyptian gods, being living creatures, might properly do.
The heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it; they shall lose all their ancient strength and courage, for which they had been famous formerly.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. burden(See on Isa13:1).
upon . . . cloud(Psa 104:3; Psa 18:10).
come into Egypttoinflict vengeance. “Egypt,” in Hebrew, Misraim, pluralform, to express the two regions of Egypt. BUNSENobserves, The title of their kings runs thus: “Lord of Upper andLower Egypt.”
idolsthe bull,crocodile, c. The idols poetically are said to be “moved”with fear at the presence of one mightier than even they weresupposed to be (Exo 12:12Jer 43:12).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The burden of Egypt;…. Or a prophecy concerning Egypt, as the Arabic version; a very grievous one, declaring many calamities that should come upon them. The Targum is,
“the burden of the cup of cursing, to make the Egyptians drink.”
The people of the Jews reposed great confidence in the Egyptians their allies; wherefore, in order to break this confidence, it was necessary they should be acquainted with the destruction that was coming upon them, which is the design of this prophecy.
Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud: or a “light” one q denoting the speed with which he came, he would come quickly, light clouds move swiftly; the suddenness and unexpectedness of his coming, clouds being rarely seen in Egypt, where was no rain; and the irresistible power with which he would come, for who or what can stop the clouds of heaven? not anything on earth, not armies, nor castles, and fortified places. The Lord is represented as riding in great state and majesty, as a general at the head of his army against his enemies; or as a judge going to try and condemn criminals; he rides upon the heavens, walks on the wings of the wind, and the clouds are his chariot, Ps 68:4 so Christ is represented as coming in the clouds of heaven, and as sitting on a white cloud, when he shall come to judge the world, Re 1:7 though these words are not to be understood of that coming of his; and much less of his first coming in the flesh, to which they are weakly applied by Jerom and others; who, by the light cloud, understand the Virgin Mary, as the Christians of Syria; or the human nature of Christ, as Salmero, who relates, that upon Christ’s flight into Egypt, and entering into Heliopolis, and the temple there, in which were as many idols as days of the year, they all fell, and so this prophecy was fulfilled r but of the Lord’s coming to inflict punishment on the Egyptians; so the Targum,
“and, behold, the Lord shall be revealed in the cloud of his glory, to take vengeance on the Egyptians:”
and shall come into Egypt; not by Sennacherib king of Assyria, and his army, whom he should send to invade it, and enter into it, as some think; but rather by Cambyses and Ochus, kings of Persia; though it seems that what is here foretold should be done, was done, not by means of any foreign power, but by the Lord himself, who did by his own power and providence, or suffer to be done, what was done:
and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence; or tremble before him; these were many, the chief of them were Osiris and Isis, Apis, Serapis, Vulcan, Bubastis, c. some were living creatures, as cats, dogs, oxen, sheep, c. who might move and tremble, in a literal sense and some were images, “made with hands”, as the Septuagint here render the word; and which, as the Targum paraphrases it, should “be broken”; the sense is, that they could none of them save the Egyptians, or deliver them out of their distresses:
and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it; like wax before the fire; even the most courageous among them, their soldiers, their army, with their officers and generals; which were the heart of the people, and their defence, and who used to fight for them, and protect them, but now would be dispirited.
q “super nubem levem”, V. L. Pagninus, &c. r Vid. Hackspan. Not. Philolog. in S. Scrip. par. 584.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The oracle opens with a short introduction, condensing the whole of the substance of the first half into a few weighty words – an art in which Isaiah peculiarly excelled. In this the name of Egypt, the land without an equal, occurs no less than three times. “Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a light cloud, and cometh to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shake before Him, and the heart of Egypt melteth within it.” Jehovah rides upon clouds when He is about to reveal Himself in His judicial majesty (Psa 18:11); and in this instance He rides upon a light cloud, because it will take place rapidly. The word kal signifies both light and swift, because what is light moves swiftly; and even a light cloud, which is light because it is thin, is comparatively , i.e., literally dense, opaque, or obscure. The idols of Egypt shake , as in Isa 6:4; Isa 7:2), because Jehovah comes over them to judgment (cf., Exo 12:12; Jer 46:25; Eze 30:13): they must shake, for they are to be thrown down; and their shaking for fear is a shaking to their fall , as in Isa 24:20; Isa 29:9). The Vav apodosis in together the cause and effect, as in Isa 6:7. – In what judgments the judgment will be fulfilled, is now declared by the majestic Judge Himself.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Doom of Egypt. | B. C. 710. |
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. 3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. 4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts. 5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. 6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. 7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. 8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. 9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. 10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish. 11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? 12 Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. 14 The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. 15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. 16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it. 17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
Though the land of Egypt had of old been a house of bondage to the people of God, where they had been ruled with rigour, yet among the unbelieving Jews there still remained much of the humour of their fathers, who said, Let us make us a captain and return into Egypt. Upon all occasions they trusted to Egypt for help (ch. xxx. 2), and thither they fled, in disobedience to God’s express command, when things were brought to the last extremity in their own country, Jer. xliii. 7. Rabshakeh upbraided Hezekiah with this, ch. xxxvi. 6. While they kept up an alliance with Egypt, and it was a powerful ally, they stood not in awe of the judgments of God; for against them they depended upon Egypt to protect them. Nor did they depend upon the power of God when at anytime they were in distress; but Egypt was their confidence. To prevent all this mischief, Egypt must be mortified, and many ways God here tells them he will take to mortify them.
I. The gods of Egypt shall appear to them to be what they always really were, utterly unable to help them, v. 1. “The Lord rides upon a cloud, a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt. As a judge goes in state to the bench to try and condemn the malefactors, or as a general takes the field with his troops to crush the rebels, so shall God come into Egypt with his judgments; and when he comes he will certainly overcome.” In all this burden of Egypt here is no mention of any foreign enemy invading them; but God himself will come against them, and raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. He comes upon a cloud, above the reach of the opposition or resistance. He comes apace upon a swift cloud; for their judgment lingers not when the time has come. He rides upon the wings of the wind, with a majesty far excelling the greatest pomp and splendour of earthly princes. He makes the clouds his chariots,Psa 18:9; Psa 104:3. When he comes the idols of Egypt shall be moved, shall be removed at his presence, and perhaps be made to fall as Dagon did before the ark. Isis, Osiris, and Apis, those celebrated idols of Egypt, being found unable to relieve their worshippers, shall be disowned and rejected by them. Idolatry had got deeper rooting in Egypt than in any land besides, even the most absurd idolatries; and yet now the idols shall be moved and they shall be ashamed of them. When the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt he executed judgments upon the gods of the Egyptians (Num. xxxiii. 4); no marvel then if, when he comes, they begin to tremble. The Egyptians shall seek to the idols, when they are at their wits’ end, and consult the charmers and wizards (v. 3); but all in vain; they see their ruin hastening on them notwithstanding.
II. The militia of Egypt, that had been famed for their valour, shall be quite dispirited and disheartened. No kingdom in the world was ever in a better method of keeping up a standing army than the Egyptians were; but now their heroes, that used to be celebrated for courage, shall be posted for cowards: The heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it, like wax before the fire (v. 1); the spirit of Egypt shall fail, v. 3. They shall have no inclination, no resolution, to stand up in defence of their country, their liberty, and property; but shall tamely and ingloriously yield all to the invader and oppressor. The Egyptians shall be like women (v. 16); they shall be frightened and put into confusion by the least alarm; even those that dwell in the heart of the country, in the midst of it, and therefore furthest from danger, will be as full of frights as those that are situate on the frontiers. Let not the bold and brave be proud or secure, for God can easily cut off the spirit of princes (Ps. lxxvi. 12) and take away their hearts, Job xii. 24.
III. The Egyptians shall be embroiled in endless dissensions and quarrels among themselves. There shall be no occasion to bring a foreign force upon them to destroy them; they shall destroy one another (v. 2): I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians. As these divisions and animosities are their sin, God is not the author of them, they come from men’s lusts; but God, as a Judge, permits them for their punishment, and by their destroying differences corrects them for their sinful agreements. Instead of helping one another, and acting each in his place for the common good, they shall fight every one against his brother and neighbour, whom he ought to love as himself–city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. Egypt was then divided into twelve provinces, or dynasties; but Psammetichus, the governor of one of them, by setting them at variance with one another, at length made himself master of them all. A kingdom thus divided against itself would soon be brought to desolation. En quo discordi cives perduxit miseros!–Oh the wretchedness brought upon a people by their disagreements among themselves! It is brought to this by a perverse spirit, a spirit of contradiction, which the Lord would mingle, as an intoxicating draught made up of several ingredients, for the Egyptians, v. 14. One party shall be for a thing for no other reason than because the other is against it; that is a perverse spirit, which, if it mingle with the public counsels, tends directly to the ruin of the public interests.
IV. Their politics shall be all blasted, and turned into foolishness. When God will destroy the nation he will destroy the counsel thereof (v. 3), by taking away wisdom from the statesmen (Job xii. 20), or setting them one against another (as Hushai and Ahithophel), or by his providence breaking their measures even when they seemed well laid; so that the princes of Zoan are fools: they make fools of one another, every one betrays his own folly, and divine Providence makes fools of them all, v. 11. Pharaoh had his wise counsellors. Egypt was famous for such. But their counsel has all become brutish; they have lost all their forecast; one would think they had become idiots, and were bereaved of common sense. Let no man glory then in his own wisdom, nor depend upon that, nor upon the wisdom of those about him; for he that gives understanding can when he please take it away. And from those it is most likely to be taken away that boast of their policy, as Pharaoh’s counsellors here did, and, to recommend themselves to places of public trust, boast of their great understanding (“I am the son of the wise, of the God of wisdom, of wisdom itself,” says one; “my father was an eminent privy-counsellor of note in his day for wisdom”), or of the antiquity and dignity of their families: “I am,” says another, “the son of ancient kings.” The nobles of Egypt boasted much of their antiquity, producing fabulous records of their succession for above 10,000 years. This humour prevailed much among them about this time, as appears by Herodotus, their common boast being that Egypt was some thousands of years more ancient than any other nation. “But where are thy wise men? v. 12. Let them now show their wisdom by foreseeing what ruin is coming upon their nation, and preventing it, if they can. Let them with all their skill know what the Lord of hosts has purposed upon Egypt, and arm themselves accordingly. Nay, so far are they from doing this that they themselves are, in effect, contriving the ruin of Egypt, and hastening it on, v. 13. The princes of Noph are not only deceived themselves, but they have seduced Egypt, by putting their kings upon arbitrary proceedings” (by which both themselves and their people were soon undone); “the governors of Egypt, that are the stay and cornerstones of the tribes thereof, are themselves undermining it.” It is sad with a people when those that undertake for their safety are helping forward their destruction, and the physicians of the state are her worst disease, when the things that belong to the public peace are so far hidden from the eyes of those that are entrusted with the public counsels that in every thing they blunder and take wrong measures; so here (v. 14): They have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof. Every step they took was a false step. They always mistook either the end or the means, and their counsels were all unsteady and uncertain, like the staggerings and stammerings of a drunken man in his vomit, who knows not what he says nor where he goes. See what reason we have to pray for our privy-counsellors and ministers of state, who are the great supports and blessings of the state if God give them a spirit of wisdom, but quite the contrary if he hide their heart from understanding.
V. The rod of government shall be turned into the serpent of tyranny and oppression (v. 4): “The Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord, not a foreigner, but one of their own, one that shall rule over them by an hereditary right, but shall be a fierce king and rule them with rigour,” either the twelve tyrants that succeeded Sethon, or rather Psammetichus that recovered the monarchy again; for he speaks of one cruel lord. Now the barbarous usage which the Egyptian task masters gave to God’s Israel long ago was remembered against them and they were paid in their own coin by another Pharaoh. It is sad with a people when the powers that should be for edification are for destruction, and they are ruined by those by whom they should be ruled, when such as this is the manner of the king, as it is described (in terrorem–in order to impress alarm), 1 Sam. viii. 11.
VI. Egypt was famous for its river Nile, which was its wealth, and strength, and beauty, and was idolized by them. Now it is here threatened that the waters shall fail from the sea and the river shall be wasted and dried up, v. 5. Nature shall not herein favour them as she has done. Egypt was never watered with the rain of heaven (Zech. xiv. 18), and therefore the fruitfulness of their country depended wholly upon the overflowing of their river; if that therefore be dried up, their fruitful land will soon be turned into barrenness and their harvests cease: Every thing sown by the brooks will wither of course, will be driven away, and be no more, v. 7. If the paper-reeds by the brooks, at the very mouth of them, wither, much more the corn, which lies at a greater distance, but derives its moisture from them. Yet this is not all; the drying up of their rivers is the destruction, 1. Of their fortifications, for they are brooks of defence (v. 6), making the country difficult of access to an enemy. Deep rivers are the strongest lines, and most hardly forced. Pharaoh is said to be a great dragon lying in the midst of his rivers, and guarded by them, bidding defiance to all about him, Ezek. xxix. 3. But these shall be emptied and dried up, not by an enemy, as Sennacherib with the sole of his foot dried up mighty rivers (ch. xxxvii. 25), and as Cyrus, who took Babylon by drawing Euphrates into many streams, but by the providence of God, which sometimes turns water-springs into dry ground, Ps. cvii. 33. 2. It is the destruction of their fish, which in Egypt was much of their food, witness that base reflection which the children of Israel made (Num. xi. 5): We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely. The drying up of the rivers will kill the fish (Ps. cv. 29), and will thereby ruin those who make it their business, (1.) To catch fish, whether by angling or nets (v. 8); they shall lament and languish, for their trade is at an end. There is nothing which the children of this world do more heartily lament than the loss of that which they used to get money by. Ploratur lachrymis amissa pecunia veris–Those are genuine tears which are shed over lost money. (2.) To keep fish, that it may be ready when it is called for. There were those that made sluices and ponds for fish (v. 10), but they shall be broken in the purposes thereof; their business will fail, either for want of water to fill their ponds or for want of fish to replenish their waters. God can find ways to deprive a country even of that which is its staple commodity. The Egyptians may themselves remember the fish they have formerly eaten freely, but now cannot have for money. And that which aggravates the loss of these advantages by the river is that it is their own doing (v. 6): They shall turn the rivers far away. Their kings and great men, to gratify their own fancy, will drain water from the main river to their own houses and grounds at a distance, preferring their private convenience before the public good, and so by degrees the force of the river is sensibly weakened. Thus many do themselves a greater prejudice at last than they think of, [1.] Who pretend to be wiser than nature, and to do better for themselves than nature has done. [2.] Who consult their own particular interest more than the common good. Such may gratify themselves, but surely they can never satisfy themselves, who to serve a turn contribute to a public calamity, which they themselves, in the long run, cannot avoid sharing in. Herodotus tells us that Pharaoh-Necho (who reigned not long after this), projecting to cut a free passage by water from Nilus into the Red Sea, employed a vast number of men to make a ditch or channel for that purpose, in which attempt he impaired the river, lost 120,000 of his people, and yet left the work unaccomplished.
VII. Egypt was famous for the linen manufacture; but that trade shall be ruined. Solomon’s merchants traded with Egypt for linen-yarn, 1 Kings x. 28. Their country produced the best flax and the best hands to work it; but those that work in fine flax shall be confounded (v. 9), either for want of flax to work on or for want of a demand for that which they have worked or opportunity to export it. The decay of trade weakens and wastes a nation and by degrees brings it to ruin. The trade of Egypt must needs sink, for (v. 15) there shall not be any work for Egypt to be employed in; and where there is nothing to be done there is nothing to be got. There shall be a universal stop put to business, no work which either head or tail, branch or rush, may do; nothing for high or low, weak or strong, to do; no hire, Zech. viii. 10. Note, The flourishing of a kingdom depends much upon the industry of the people; and then things are likely to do well when all hands are at work, when the head and top-branch do not disdain to labour, and the labour of the tail and rush is not disdained. But when the learned professions are unemployed, the principal merchants have no stocks, and the handicraft tradesmen nothing to do, poverty comes upon a people as one that travaileth and as an armed man.
VIII. A general consternation shall seize the Egyptians; they shall be afraid and fear (v. 16), which will be both an evidence of a universal decay and a means and presage of utter ruin. Two things will put them into this fright:– 1. What they hear from the land of Judah; that shall be a terror to Egypt, v. 17. When they hear of the desolations made in Judah by the army of Sennacherib, considering both the near neighbourhood and the strict alliance that was between them and Judah, they will conclude it must be their turn next to become a prey to that victorious army. When their neighbour’s house was on fire they could not but see their own in danger; and therefore every one of the Egyptians that makes mention of Judah shall be afraid of himself, expecting the bitter cup shortly to be put into his hands. 2. What they see in their own land. They shall fear (v. 16) because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, and (v. 17) because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which from the shaking of his hand they shall conclude he has determined against Egypt as well as Judah. For, if judgment begin at the house of God, where will it end? If this be done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? See here, (1.) How easily God can make those a terror to themselves that have been, not only secure, but a terror to all about them. It is but shaking his hand over them, or laying it upon some of their neighbours, and the stoutest hearts tremble immediately. (2.) How well it becomes us to fear before God when he does but shake his hand over us, and to humble ourselves under his mighty hand when it does but threaten us, especially when we see his counsel determined against us; for who can change his counsel?
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
ISAIAH – CHAPTER 19
AN ORACLE CONCERNING EGYPT
This chapter contains threats of judgment and promises of blessing upon Egypt. To whatever extent the promised blessings may have already been fulfilled, the ultimate submission of Egypt under the yoke of Jehovah, and the impartation of His blessings, await the actual second coming of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom on the earth.
Verse 1-17: THREATENINGS OF JUDGMENT
1. Jehovah Himself is pictured as coming from heaven riding upon a swift cloud, and hastening to the judgment of Egypt, (Verse 1-4).
a. At the presence of the Lord the Egyptians will see how untrustworthy their idols really are (Verse 1; comp. Exo 12:12; Jer 43:12; Jer 44:8), and “the heart of Egypt” will be melted – utterly demoralized, (comp. Isa 13:7; Jos 2:11).
b. The Lord will stir up a civil war in Egypt – setting Egypt against Egypt, (Verse 2; comp. Jdg 7:22; 1Sa 14:20; 2Ch 20:23).
c. The “spirit of Egypt”, whereby she has been such a powerful people, will be emptied out; lacking counsel,. because the Lord has destroyed the wisdom of their wise men (Verse 11-14), they will seek counsel from: idols, charmers, familiar spirits and wizards, (Verse 3; Isa 8:19; 1Ch 10:13).
d. Jehovah, who rules over all (Psa 103:19; Dan 4:17), will deliver Egypt into the hands of a cruel lord, so that they will be ruled by a fierce king – the Assyrian! (Verse 4; Isa 20:4; comp. Jer 46:26; Eze 29:19).
2. They are also threatened with physical calamity, (Verse 5-10).
a. Divine judgment is upon the waters of Egypt; the rivers and streams thereof will become dry and foul, (Verse 5-6a; Isa 37:25; Isa 50:2; Eze 30:12).
b. All produce, dependent upon the rivers, will cease, (Verse 6b-7; comp. Isa 15:6).
c. Lamentation and mourning are heard from the fishermen who depended on the Nile for their livelihood, (Verse 8; comp. Eze 47:10).
d. Those who work with fine flax, and the weavers of white cloth, will be confounded, (Verse 9; Pro 7:16; Eze 27:7).
e. The very “pillars” and “foundations” (chief leaders, comp. Psa 11:3) of Egypt shall so crumble that those who work for hire (building dams and ponds for fish) will be grieved in their souls, (Verse 10).
3. The wretchedness of Egypt is graphically portrayed in verses 11-17.
a. The wisdom of their wise men is changed into folly, and the courage of her brave warriors is supplanted by cowardice because the Lord has mingled a “spirit of perverseness” in the midst of her, (Verse 11-14; comp. 1Ki 4:29-30; Isa 9:16).
b. Industry is suspended throughout the land, (Verse 15; comp. Isa 9:14-15).
c. Egypt is likened unto a trembling woman because the outstretched hand of the Lord is shaking over her, (Verse 16).
d. The land of Judah (allied with Assyria) will, in that day, become a terror to Egypt because Jehovah is her God and it is evident that His purposes will stand, (Verse 17; Isa 14:24).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
l. The burden of Egypt. The Prophet here prophesies against Egypt, because it was a kind of refuge to the Jews, whenever they saw any danger approaching them; for when they had forsaken God, to whom they ought to have had recourse, they thought that they had no help left to them but in the Egyptians. It was therefore necessary that that kingdom should be overthrown, that its wealth or its forces might no longer deceive the Jews; for so long as Egypt was prosperous, the Jews thought that, on account of its being exceedingly populous and highly fortified, they were far removed from danger, and therefore despised God, or at least paid scarcely any regard to his promises. This led to evil consequences in two respects; first, because when they ought to have relied on God alone, they were puffed up with that vain confidence in Egypt; and secondly, because whenever the Lord punished them, they defended themselves against his chastisements by the power of the Egyptians, as if by human resources they could make void his judgments, when they ought to have been turned to God altogether. On this subject Isaiah speaks more fully in a later portion of this book. (Isa 30:2.)
Behold, the Lord rideth on a swift cloud. This mode of expression is found also in other passages of Scripture, but in a general form. (Psa 104:3.) The Prophet applies it to this prediction, because the Egyptians thought that they were so well fortified on all sides, that there was no way by which God could approach them. He therefore ridicules their foolish confidence, and exhibits the exalted power of God, when he rideth on a swift cloud, by which he will easily make a descent upon them, and neither walls nor bulwarks shall hinder his progress. Again, because in addition to earthly aid the Jews were likewise bewitched by a false religion, on this ground also the Prophet ridicules their madness, because God will dash to the ground all the assistance which they expected to obtain from idols. I pass by the foolish notion which many have entertained, as to the idols which Christ overthrew in Egypt, when he was carried thither in infancy; for it does not deserve a refutation. (Mat 2:14.) This passage has been perverted to prove it, and to prove many conjectures of the same kind. But the Prophet’s meaning is totally different; for he speaks of the defeat of the Egyptians by the Assyrians, and shews that it ought to be ascribed to God, and not, as irreligious men commonly do, to fortune. He shews it to be a judgment of God, by whose hand all things are governed.
And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence. He declares that the idols shall fall; that is, that they shall be of no avail to the Egyptians, though they rely on their assistance, and think that they are under their protection. No nation ever was so much addicted to superstitions; for they worshipped cats, and oxen, and crocodiles, and even onions, and plants of every sort, and there was nothing to which they did not ascribe some kind of divinity. He means that the power of all those false gods, whom the Egyptians had taken for their protectors, will be overthrown. Having declared that the Egyptians rely in vain on their superstitions, he likewise casts down the pride which they cherished as to their earthly resources.
And the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of her. By the word heart he means the courage which sometimes fails even the bravest men, so that they do not attempt any action, even when their strength and forces are abundant, and in this manner he declares that they will be at war with God, who will melt their hearts within them, before they are called to contend with their enemies. Not only does he threaten that they will be terrified, but he likewise adds in the midst of the whole kingdom, where they had an exceedingly safe and peaceful dwelling, because they were far removed from every attack. It was the duty of all believers to consider this, when war was waged against the Egyptians; and we also ought to behold the same thing exemplified in all revolutions of kingdoms, which proceed solely from the hand of God. If the heart melts, if the strength fails, in men who are usually brave, and who had formerly displayed great courage, this ought to be ascribed to the vengeance of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
TRUE NATIONAL GREATNESS
Isa. 19:1-3; Isa. 19:14. The burden of Egypt, &c.
The prophecies of Isaiah take a wide range, embrace the fortunes of almost every nation, however remote, with whom the Israelites were brought into common relation, whether of policy or commerceMoab, Damascus, Tyre, Babylon, Ethiopia, Egypt. The prophet records the political and social phenomena of his day, not with the eye of a mere statesman or diplomatist, but as reviewing the moral as well as the political aspects of things, the eternal governing laws as well as the fitful moods and changes of a nations life, the spiritual as well as the material forces of the world.
Israel, in their dread of the great Assyrian monarchy, often cast wistful eyes towards Egypt, where they hoped to find a sure and powerful ally. The Egyptians accepted their subsidies, but thought they consulted their own interests best by observing what has been called amongst ourselves a masterly inactivity. Their strength was to sit still. They had a large standing army; but, as Rabshakeh showed, on a memorable occasion, that he knew (chap. Isa. 36:6) the nation, with all its outward semblance of prosperity, was being eaten up with a thousand moral and social cankers, which corrupted the very source of all national life. This chapter lays bare those wounds and bruises and putrefying sores.
1. There was a day when Egypt had been famous for its wisdom. This wisdom had become a thing of the past (Isa. 19:11-12).
2. There was no unity of purpose, no coherence of action in the body politic. The true ideas of the family, of the municipality, of the nation, were lost. Every man was fighting against his brother (Isa. 19:2). It is history eternally repeating itself; it is the lament of Thucydides over Greece; of Horace, Livy, and Tacitus over the corruption of guilty imperialism, and over the absence of the masculine, simple, republican virtues of ancient Rome.
3. With the decay of public virtue comes the decay of public spirit, and then soon follows the decay of national strength. Then comes what these old Hebrew seers called the judgment; God coming out of His place to visit the earth; anarchy, internal dissolution, collapse, conquest by the foreigner; the giving over of the nation into the hand of a cruel lord; the establishment of a military despotism.
It were easy to point these remarks elsewhere, but let us look at home. Many feel that during the last decade of years or more England has been parting with many of her old traditions. Some of those principles which were merely corrupt remnants of a social and political system which has passed awayfeudalismwe have undoubtedly gained by losing. But there are others which we have lost, or are fast losing, to the great detriment of the commonwealth. The high sense of duty to the State overruling the sense of interest in the individual citizen; the true measure of a nations wealth and greatness, not by its revenue in pounds sterling, but by its revenue in the healthy bodies, and honest hearts, and pure, healthy homes of the people; the noble, self-sacrificing spirit of devotion to the call of duty; the principle of right recognised as a higher principle than that of expediency; a temper of loyalty in the strict sense of the word, of willing obedience to the law and those who represent the law; strict commercial integrity, and not the tricks of trade which have been generated by an unwholesome competitionthese are maxims of ancient wisdom which made England great, and the loss of which will make England small. Our greatness, whatever it has been, has not rested so much upon material forces, but, like Israels of old, upon moral. We can only hope that our position among the peoples will be maintained as long as we hold fast the principles by which it was won. These privileges are not things of chance, but the direct result of moral laws as immutable and irreversible as the laws which govern the physical world. God send us statesmen who will turn the nations mind away from delusive and partisan aims, and direct them seriously to efforts which may unite us all in one great crusade against evil; in which every soldier might certainly feel that he was fighting under the banner of Christ, in a righteous war, for objects which surely have a place in the redemption which Christ accomplished for the world.Bishop Fraser: Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvii. pp. 177, 178.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER NINETEEN
2.
EGYPT
TEXT: Isa. 19:1-15
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2
And I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3
And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4
And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
5
And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and become dry.
6
And the rivers shall become foul; the streams of Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither away.
7
The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
8
And the fishers shall lament and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9
Moreover they that work in combed flax, and they that weave white cloth, shall be confounded.
10
And the pillars of Egypt shall be broken in pieces; all they that work for hire shall be grieved in soul.
11
The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
12
Where then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt.
13
The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the cornerstone of heir tribes.
14
Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
15
Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do.
QUERIES
a.
When did the Egyptians fight against one another?
b.
What caused Egypts economic downfall?
c.
Why did Egypts wise men cause her to go astray?
PARAPHRASE
This is the destiny of Egypt. Behold, the Omnipotent God descends from heaven surely and swiftly upon Egypt. Egypts gods and her religion will be impotent to help her. Her whole populace will be gripped With paralyzing fear and confusion. I, God, will cause them to fight against each otherbrother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city and province against province. The national spirit of Egypt will be broken. I will cause all her plans to be frustrated. They will run in utter helplessness and confusion to their stone and wooden gods, to their magicians and sooth-sayers and to their sorcerers. But it will be useless for I will give them over to be ruled by a cruel despot. A fierce king will rule them. Furthermore, the waters of the Nile shall fail to inundate the fields and will practically waste away. The irrigation channels will become foul and useless; they will dry up and the reeds and rushes will wither away. The pasture-land along the Nile and all the grain fields will dry up and their soil will be blown away and they will not be cultivated any more. Fishermen will weep for lack of fish to catch. Those who fish with hooks and those who fish with nets will all be unemployed. Weavers of cloth will find their industry in a state of collapse for the crops of flax and cotton will disappear. The rich and influential and the wage earners will be frustrated and dismayed. What fools the princes of Zoan will be shown to be when this happens. The wisest counselors of Pharaoh will be shown to be as dumb as animals. Will all those wise men then dare to tell Pharaoh about the long line of wise men they have come from? Where are the wise men of Egypt? If they are so wise, let them predict what is going to be the destiny of Egypt. The leadership of the country in Zoan are acting foolishly. The leaders in Memphis are deceiving themselves. Those men who are the cornerstones of the nation have duped the whole country and given it stupid counsel. The Lord has caused a spirit of arrogant perverseness and warped judgment to pervade the land of Egypt. This has brought confusion and failure in every attempt of Egypt to perpetuate her world supremacy. She staggers stupidly and mindlessly as a drunken man staggers in his own vomit. No plan or program Egypt can devise will save her. No person, neither high nor low will be able to save her.
COMMENTS
Isa. 19:1-4 CIVIL DISORDER: Egypt was a constant and powerful enemy of the Hebrew people. In Isaiahs day, however, there were Jews advising the kings of Israel to form political alliances with Egypt and thus gain protection against Israels enemies on the other side of her in Mesopotamia (Assyria, Babylon, etc.). So, whether the threat of Egypt toward Israel be invasion or alliance, Isaiah was warning his people that they should trust God. God is going to execute His justice and judgment upon an idolatrous nation. Gods first step in judgment will be civil strife within Egypt herself. Governments founded on falsehood in any form, have the seeds of instability and self-destruction sown within them. Where there is falsehood there will be injustice. Where there is injustice there will be civil strife. These are divine moral laws which govern in the affairs of men. Only when a nation is governed by the principles of truth, honesty, justice and human dignity can there be national unity. This prophecy was fulfilled many times over in Egypt. Herodotus states that there were civil wars in the days of Psammetichus (cir. 655 B.C.). Daniel predicts periods of civil strife, brother against brother and brother against sister, in the days of the Ptolemies (cir. 300200 B.C.) (Cf. our comments on Daniel 11). There is still much civil strife in Egypt.
The giving over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king may parallel Eze. 30:13 where the prediction is that there shall no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt. Ezekiels predictions of Egypts downfall are found in Ezekiel chapters 2931. There it is said Egypt would be ruled by strangers. Since the days of Assyrian domination (722 B.C. following) Egypt has been ruled (or at least dominated) by a succession of foreign powers or persons. It has been subjugated by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Turks, English and Arabs. Even today the political ruler of Egypt is an Arab.
Now when a nations leadership is engaged in civil war and when its counselors turn to wizards and magicians for advice, that nations spirit is broken. False religion and false philosophy makes all standards of human conduct relative. There can be no absolutes built on a basis of falsehood. When relativism reigns, social structures disintegrate.
Isa. 19:5-10 COMMERCIAL DEPRESSION: God has both spectacular and non-spectacular ways of bringing about the demise of civilizations. When He would obliterate the Edomites He simply had to re-route the great caravan route from east to west around Edom. Edom soon disappeared. God, in a non-spectacular way, gradually reduced Egypt to an insignificant and lowly people by drying up her great sea (the River Nile). The Arabs today still call the Nile the sea (probably because of the way it used to inundate so much of the valley). In the great days of Egypts glory (3,0001,000 B.C.), she was the Breadbasket of the world. It was a highly developed civilization in the sciences of medicine, architecture, art and commerce. It was a powerful, world-controlling empire. They made linen so fine that there were 540 threads to the inch. They knew secrets of manufacturing glass still unknown today. They practiced dentistry, treatment of the eyes, brain surgery and other medical skills. Their astronomers and mathematicians were familiar with principles which would do credit to mathematicians of today. Their mechanical skills are unparalleled even today!
Once again the reader should refer to Ezekiels parallel passage on Egypt (Ezekiel 29-31). There it is predicted that Egypt would become desolate in the midst of desolations. The River Nile is far from being completely dried up. However, for many centuries now it has not produced the massive flooding of the Nile valley which was so necessary in ancient times to prepare the lowlands for pasture and crop. Windblown sand dunes and stony, sandy plains comprise 90% of Egypts land. The government fights a constant battle with the slowly creeping, encroaching Sahara desert. Tiny plots of vegetation are worked today with tools differing little from those of Pharaohs time. Today the foliage of reeds and rushes have, compared with ancient time, almost disappeared. This was one of Egypts largest industries in ancient times. Another of the chief industries of Egypt was its fisheries. Down to the time of the Roman invasion they had lost none of their productiveness. Today the fisheries have ceased to be important, and the fish in the river are few. Before the Russians supplied Egypt with some weapons of war, they were so powerless that a small, Israeli army could defeat them totally in a six-day-war!
The irrigation system, in spite of all the modern attempts to restore it to its former glory and efficiency, carries water to only a small fraction of the former territory served by the ancient canals. Many of those canals of ancient Egypt are today only soggy, foul-smelling bogs, unusable. Egyptians today attempt to irrigate using hand-made, wooden, water-screwsa method out of the ancient past. Over-population and superstition and absence of mechanization intensifies and increases Egypts desperation generation after generation. The pillars of Egypt, the men of influence and wealth, as well as the common wage earner, will grieve in their soul over Egypts humiliation to a lowly, groveling, emaciated people from such a powerful and glorious past.
But God said itand it is so!
Isa. 19:11-15 COUNSELING DISASTERS: Zoan was an ancient city, near the mouth of the Tanis branch of the Nile River (probably synonymous with Tanis), built seven years after Hebron (Num. 13:22). It was the capital of the 21st and 23rd dynasties of Egyptian history. Israelites who sought alliances with Egypt would probably have entered into negotiations with these princes. But the point is they gave Pharaoh stupid brutish counsel. They were as dumb as animals. How could they be expected to know any wisdom from Jehovah? Evidently Gods divine power and deity are clearly enough seen in the things that have been made (Cf. Rom. 1:18-23) that all men may have enough knowledge of Him to conduct the affairs of human and social relations wisely. But when men do not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, they become futile in their thinking and their senseless minds are darkened. Although they claim to be wise with human philosophies, they are fools. Their stupidity is seen in their exchanging the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Isaiah represents the stupidity of men who will take a tree and cut it in half, use half of it to build a fire and cook their meal and take the other half, carve a face on it and set it up as a god and worship it (Isa. 44:9-20). The remaining verses of Romans 1 show what happens when they exchange the truth of God for a lie (Cf. Rom. 1:24-32). The word perverseness in the English translation would better be rendered from the Hebrew as dizziness. When men deliberately and persistently believe and practice falsehood there is an inevitable stupor which settles into all human and social structures. God gives them up and they receive in their own persons the due penalty for their error, (Cf. Rom. 1:27). Men who cannot govern their own lives cannot govern a nation. Men who do not wish to practice truth and justice for themselves cannot legislate it for others. The princes of Zoan were drunk with the wine of rebellion against truth and morals. Sooner or later, however, the wine of rebellion and falsehood is vomited up and those who have drunk it are forced to stagger in the regurgitation of the filth they have swallowed. There is nothing that either head or tail of the nation can do. Social and national structures will cease to function properly. One is reminded of the disintegration of Germany after World War II. Totally helpless to function after defeat by the allies, she was saved only by the Marshall Plan. Gods moral principles remain true in every age.
QUIZ
1.
Why does idolatry inevitably result in civil and social disorder?
2.
How was Isaiahs prophecy fulfilled in the case of Egypts civil disorders?
3.
How developed was Egypts civilization in Isaiahs day and earlier?
4.
Describe the fulfillment of Isaiahs prophecy of Egypts economic disasters.
5.
What causes national leaders to give foolish leadership?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
XIX.
(1) The burden of Egypt.In its political bearings, as Egypt and Ethiopia were at this time under the same ruler, Tirhakah, as they had been before under Piankhi-Mer-Amon, this prophecy presents nearly the same features as the preceding. Its chief characteristic is that it presents the condition of the conquered nation as distinct from that of the conqueror. The opening words declare that the long-delayed judgment is at last coming, swift as a cloud driven by the storm-wind, upon the idols of Egypt. Men shall feel that the presence of the Mighty One is among them.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. The Lord rideth into Egypt Not the first time, not a strange visitation. The colour of the expression shows a plain recalling of the old events of Moses in Egypt. Exodus, chapters x-xii.
Upon a swift cloud This time the manner of Jehovah’s coming is beset with no hinderances, no hand-to-hand contest, as in old time. The almighty Providence glides easily, though swiftly, on to retribution. But retribution here is intended discipline. See Isa 19:22.
Idols moved presence The first effective inroads upon the idols of Egypt were made by the Persian Cambyses, (SMITH’S History of the World, vol. i, page 287,) B.C. 525. Later, Jewish settlements in Egypt gradually effected a reaction upon the whole idol system. Judaism, still later reinforced by the new power of Christianity, and Mohammedanism later still, quite demolished the old Egyptian religions.
The chief of the Egyptian idols were the bull, crocodile, etc. These are said to be moved, that is, agitated, stirred up, at prospect of destruction.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘The burden of Egypt. Behold Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. And the idols of Egypt will be removed at his presence, and the heart of Egypt will melt in the midst of it. And I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they will fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour, city against city, and kingship against kingship.’
The idea of Yahweh riding triumphantly on the clouds is found in Psa 18:10-15; Psa 104:3, but Baal was regularly known as ‘the rider on the clouds’ and the concept was thus a common one and probably borrowed from there. The idea is of Yahweh’s sovereignty over the world as he looks down on men, and of His heavenly and rapid approach.
Coming to Egypt in His power He will throw it into disarray. The idols will be thwarted at His presence, the people will be in fear and totally demoralised. This idea will be amplified in Isa 19:16-25, where Yahweh will conquer Egypt for Himself..
And He will cause civil war to break out, Egyptian against Egyptian, and brother against brother, and city and petty king will war against each other. And this was a true picture of Egypt prior to their invasion by Cush and partly explains the success of that invasion. It was, however, still strong enough to dissuade Assyria from advancing across its borders, even though they did have to be bought off with a gift of horses. But the nations who sought Egypt’s help saw the Cushites as excessively powerful precisely because they had defeated Egypt, for the nations had not appreciated the dire position that Egypt was in. In their eyes only a super-race could have conquered Egypt.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Isa 19:1-25 Judgment upon Egypt Isa 19:1-25 records Isaiah’s prophecy against Egypt.
Isa 19:19 Comments – F. F. Bruce tells us that a collection of ancient Aramaic manuscripts, mostly papyri, were discovered between 1893 and 1908 in the area of the first cataract of the Nile, at the place now called Aswan and the river-island nearby called by the ancient Egyptians as Yeb. The Greeks later called these two places by the names Syene and Elephantine. These manuscripts verified that a Jewish colony lived in Egypt during the period of the Persian Empire. In fact, a Jewish temple was built on the island of Elephantine. These Jews came to these locations originally as mercenary soldiers employed by Psammetichus II of Egypt (594 to 588 B.C.) This temple was later destroyed in 410 B.C. by Egypt in an attempt to purge its empire of other religions. [42]
[42] F. F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1963), 53-54.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Prophecies Against the Nations Isa 13:1 to Isa 27:13 records prophecies against twelve nations, culminating with praise unto the Lord. God planted the nation of Israel in the midst of the nations as a witness of God’s plan of redemption for mankind. Instead of embracing God’s promises and commandments to mankind, the nations rejected Israel and their God, then they participated in Israel’s destruction. Although God judges His people, He also judged these nations, the difference being God promised to restore and redeem Israel, while the nations received no future hope of restoration in their prophecies; yet, their opportunity for restoration is found in Israel’s rejection when God grafts the Church into the vine of Israel (Rom 11:11-32). The more distant nations played little or no role in Israel’s idolatry, demise, and divine judgment, so they are not listed in this passage of Scripture.
It is important to note in prophetic history that Israel’s judgment is followed by judgment upon the nations; and Israel’s final restoration is followed by the restoration of the nations and the earth. Thus, some end time scholars believe that the events that take place in Israel predict parallel events that are destined to take place among the nations.
Here is a proposed outline:
1. Judgment upon Babylon Isa 13:1 to Isa 14:27
2. Judgment upon Philistia Isa 14:28-32
3. Judgment upon Moab Isa 15:1 to Isa 16:14
4. Judgment upon Damascus Isa 17:1-14
5. Judgment upon Ethiopia Isa 18:1-7
6. Judgment upon Egypt Isa 19:1-25
7. Prophecy Against Ethiopia & Egypt Isa 20:1-6
8. Judgment upon the Wilderness of the Sea Isa 21:1-10
9. Judgment upon Dumah Isa 21:11-12
10. Judgment upon Arabia Isa 21:13-17
11. Judgment upon Judah Isa 22:1-25
12. Judgment upon Tyre Isa 23:1-18
13. Judgment upon the Earth Isa 24:1-23
14. Praise to God for Israel’s Restoration Isa 25:1 to Isa 27:13
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
A Threat of Destruction
v. 1. The burden of Egypt, v. 2. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians, v. 3. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof, v. 4. And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord, v. 5. And the waters shall fail from the sea, v. 6. And they shall turn the rivers far away, v. 7. The paper-reeds by the brooks, v. 8. The fishers also shall mourn, v. 9. Moreover, they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, v. 10. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish, v. 11. Surely the princes of Zoan, v. 12. Where are they? Where are thy wise men? And, let them tell thee now, v. 13. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph, v. 14. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof, v. 15. Neither shall there be any work for Egypt which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Isa 19:1-17
THE BURDEN OF EGYPT. It has been doubted whether this prophecy refers to the conquest of Egypt by Piankhi, as related in the monument which he set up at Napata, or to that by Esarhaddon, of which we gain our knowledge from the inscriptions of his son, Asshur-bani-pal. In the former case, we must suppose it written as early as B.C. 735; in the latter, its date might be as late as B.C. 690. The division of Egypt, “kingdom against kingdom,” is a circumstance rather in favor of the earlier date; but the “cruel lord,” and the mention of the “princes of Zoan and Noph,” are decisive for the later. Piankhi is anything rather than a “cruel lord,” being particularly mild and clement; Napata (Noph) is under him, and cannot be said to have been “deceived” or to have “seduced Egypt;” and Zoan plays no part in the history of the period. Esarhaddon, on the contrary, was decidedly a “cruel” prince, and treated Egypt with great severity, splitting it up into a number of governments. Zoan was one of the leading cities of the time, and Noph was the leading power on the Egyptian side, the head of the patriotic party which resisted the Assyrian monarch, but to no purpose. We may, therefore, regard this prophecy as one of Isaiah’s latest, placed where it is merely on account of its head-tugthe compiler having placed all the “burdens” against foreign countries together.
Isa 19:1
The Lord rideth upon a swift cloud. Natural imagery to express the rapidity of Divine visitations (comp. Psa 104:3). God, being about to visit Egypt with a judgment of extreme severity, is represented as entering the land in person (so in Isa 13:5). The idols of Egypt shall be moved. Neither Piankhi nor any other Ethiopian conqueror made war on the Egyptian idols; but the Assyrians were always bent on humbling the gods of the hostile countries (see above, Isa 10:10; and comp. Isa 36:18-20). We have no detailed account of Esarhaddon’s campaign; but we find Asshur-bani-pal’s first victory over Tirhakah immediately followed by the presentation to him in his camp of Egyptian deities, i.e. of their images. These were probably taken to Nineveh, or else destroyed. At a later date, the same monarch deprived an Egyptian temple of two of its sacred obelisks. The heart of Egypt shall molt (coup. Isa 13:7; Psa 22:14).
Isa 19:2
I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians. The disintegration of Egypt commenced about B.C. 760-750, towards the close of the twenty-second dynasty. About B.C. 735 a struggle began between Plan-khi, King of Upper Egypt, and Tafnekhf, King of Sais and Memphis, in which the other princes took different sides. Ten or twelve years later there was a struggle between Bocchoris and Sabaeo. From this time onwards, until Psamatik I. reestablished the unity of Egypt, the country was always more or less divided, and on the occurrence of any crisis the princes were apt to make war one up, n another. Kingdom against kingdom. During the period of disintegration, the title of” king” was assumed by most of the potty princes, though they were little more than chiefs of cities.
Isa 19:3
They shall seek to the idols. The Egyptians believed that their gods gave them oracles. Menephthah claims to have been warned by Phthah, the god of Memphis, not to take the field in person against the Libyans when they invaded the Delta, but to leave the task of contending with them to his generals. Herodotus speaks of there being several well-known oracular shrines in Egypt, the most trustworthy being that of Maut, at the city which he calls Buto. The charmers them that have familiar spirits wizards. Classes of men corresponding to the “magicians” and “wise men” of earlier times (Gen 41:8). (On the large place which magic occupied in the thoughts of the Egyptians, see ‘Pulpit Commentary’ on Exo 7:11.) There was no diminution of the confidence reposed in them as time went on; and some remains of their practices seem to survive to the present day.
Isa 19:4
The Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord. It has been observed above that Piankhi will not answer to this description. It will, however, well suit Esarhaddon. Esarhaddon, soon after his accession, cut off the heads of Abdi-Milkut, King of Sidon, and of Sanduarri, King of Kundi, and hung them round the necks of two of their chief officers. In an expedition which he made into Arabia, he slew eight of the sovereigns, two of them being women. On conquering Egypt he treated it with extreme severity. Not only did he divide up the country into twenty governments, but he changed the names of the towns, and assigned to his twenty governors, as their main duty, that they were “to slay, plunder, and spoil” their subjects. He certainly well deserved the appellations of “a cruel lord,” “a fierce king.”
Isa 19:5
The waters shall fail from the sea. By “the sea” it is generally allowed that the Nile must be meant, as in Isa 18:2 and Nah 3:8. The failure might be caused by deficient rains in Abyssinia and Equatorial Africa, producing an insufficient inundation. It might be aggravated by the neglect of dykes and canals, which would be the natural consequence of civil disorders. Wasted and dried up; rather, parched and dried up. Allowance must be made for Oriental hyperbole. The meaning is only that there shall be a great deficiency in the water supply. Such a deficiency has often been the cause of terrible famines in Egypt.
Isa 19:6
And they shall turn the rivers far away; rather, and the rivers shall stagnate (Cheyne). Probably the canals are intended, as in Exo 7:19 (see ‘Pulpit Commentary,’ ad loc.). The brooks of defense shall be emptied. Some render this “brooks of Egypt,” regarding matsor as here used for “Mitsraim;” but our translation is more forcible, and may well stand. The “brooks of defense” are those which had hitherto formed the moats round walled cities (comp. Isa 37:25; Nah 3:8). The reeds and flags shall wither. Reeds, flags, rushes, and water-plants of all kinds abound in the backwaters of the Nile, and the numerous ponds and marshes connected with its overflow. These forms of vegetation would be the first to wither on the occurrence of a deficient inundation.
Isa 19:7
The paper reeds by the brooks, etc.; rather, the meadows on the river, along the banks of the river, and every seed-plot by the river. The banks of the Nile were partly grass-land (Gen 41:2, Gen 41:18), partly cultivated in grain or vegetables (Herod; 2.14), in either case producing the most luxuriant crops. All, however, depended on the inundation, and if that failed, or so far as it failed, the results predicted by the prophet would happen.
Isa 19:8
The fishers also shall mourn. The fisherman’s trade was extensively practiced in ancient Egypt, and anything which interfered with it would necessarily be regarded as a great calamity. A large class supported itself by the capture and sale of fish fresh or salted. The Nile produced great abundance of fish, both in its main stream and in its canals and backwaters. Lake Moeris also provided an extensive supply (Herod; 2.149). All they that east angle into the brooks; rather, into the river. Fishing with a hook was practiced in Egypt, though not very widely, except as an amusement by the rich. Actual hooks have been found, not very different from modern ones, and representations of angling occur in some of the tombs. Sometimes a line only is used, sometimes a rod and line. They that spread nets. Nets were very much more widely employed than lines and hooks. Ordinarily a dragnet was used; but sometimes small fry were taken in the shallows by means of a double-handled landing-net.
Isa 19:9
They that work in fine flax. Linen of great fineness and delicacy was woven in Egypt, for the priests’ dresses, for mummy-cloths, and for corselets. Solomon imported “linen yarn” from his Egyptian neighbors (1Ki 10:28), and the Phoenicians a linen fabric for their sails’ (Eze 27:7). In the general decline of Egyptian prosperity, caused by the circumstances of the time, the manufacturers of linen would suffer. They that weave networks; rather, they that weave while clothes. Cotton fabrics are probably intended. Shall be confounded; literally, shall blush, or be ashamed.
Isa 19:10
And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof; rather, and the foundations thereof shall be broken, or crushed to pieces (Kay). The rich and noble, the foundations of the fabric of society, seem to be meant. All that make sluices, etc. Translate, all that work for hire (comp. Pro 11:18) shall be grieved in soul. The meaning is that all classes, from the highest to the lowest, shall suffer affliction (so Lowth, Gesenius, Knobel, Kay, Cheyne).
Isa 19:11
Surely the princes of Zoan are fools. Zoan, or Tanis, which had been an insignificant city since the time of the shepherd-kings, came to the front once more at the time of the struggle between Egypt and Assyria. Esarhaddon made it the head of one of the petty kingdoms into which he divided Egypt. Early in the reign of his son it revolted, in conjunction with Sais and Mendes, but was ere long reduced to subjection by the Assyrians. Its king, Petu-bastes, was taken to Nineveh, and there probably put to death. Its “princes” were, no doubt, among those who counseled resistance to Assyria. The counsel of the wise, etc.; literally, as for the wise counsellors of Pharaoh, their counsel is become senseless. Two classes of advisers seem to be intendednobles, supposed to be qualified by birth; and “wise men,” qualified by study and education. Both would now be found equally incapable. Pharaoh. Probably Tirhakah is intended. It is possible that he was really suzerain of Egypt at the time of Sennacherib’s invasion, when Shabatek was nominally king. It is certain that, after the death of Shabatok, he was recognized as sovereign both of Ethiopia and of Egypt, and ruled over both countries. Esarhaddon found him still occupying this position in B.C. 673, when he made his Egyptian expedition. Tirhakah’s capital at this time was Memphis. How say ye, etc.? With what face can you boast of your descent, or of your learning, when you are unable to give any sound advice?
Isa 19:12
Where are they? where, etc.? rather, Where, then, are thy wise men? If thou hast any, let them come forward anti predict the coming course of events, what Jehovah has determined to do (compare similar challenges in the later chapters of the book, Isa 41:21-23; Isa 43:9; Isa 48:14, etc.).
Isa 19:13
The princes of Noph. There are no grounds for changing “Noph” into “Moph.” “Noph” is probably “Napata,” known as “Nap” in the hieroglyphic inscriptionsthe original capital of the Ethiopian kings, and, when Memphis had become their capital, still probably regarded as the second city of the empire. The “princes of Noph” would be Tirhakah’s counselors. They have also, etc. Translate, Even they have led Egypt astray, who are the corner-stone of her tribes. Strictly speaking, there were no “tribes” in Egypt, much less “castes,” but only classes, marked out by strong lines of demarcation the one from the other. Herodotus gives seven of thempriests, soldiers, herdsmen, swineherds, tradesmen, interpreters, and boatmen. But there were several others also, e.g. agricultural laborers, fishermen, artisans, official employee, etc.
Isa 19:14
The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit, etc. “Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?” (Amo 3:6). To bring Egypt into so distracted a state, the hand of God had been necessary. He had introduced into the nation “a spirit of perverseness.” Those in whom this spirit was had then “led Egypt astray in all her doings.” They had made her “like a drunken man,” who “staggers” along his path, and slips in “his own vomit.” Long-continued success and prosperity produces often a sort of intoxication in a nation.
Isa 19:15
Neither shall there be, etc. Translate, And there shall be for Egypt no work in which both the head and the tail, both the palm branch and the rush, may (conjointly) work. The general spirit of perverseness shall prevent all union of high with low, rich with poor.
Isa 19:16
In that day; or, at that time; i.e. when the Assyrian invasion comes. Shall Egypt be like unto women (comp. Jer 51:30). So Xerxes said of his fighting men at Salamis: “My men have become women” (Herod; 8.88). Because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord (comp. Isa 11:15 and Isa 30:32). The Egyptians would scarcely recognize Jehovah as the Author of their calamities, but it would none the less be his hand which punished them.
Isa 19:17
The land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt. In Manasseh’s reign Judaea became subject to Assyria, and had to take part in the hostile expeditions, which both Esarhaddon and his son, Asshurbanipal, conducted against Egypt. Egypt had to keep her eye on Judaea continually, to see when danger was approaching her. If is not likely that Isaiah’s prophecies caused the “terror” here spoken of. Every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid; rather, when any one maketh mention thereof, they shall turn to him in fear. The very mention of Judaea by any one shall cause fear, because they will expect to hear that an expedition has started, or is about to start, from that country. Because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts. This is how Isaiah views the Assyrian attacks on Egypt, not how the Egyptians viewed them. The fear felt by the Egyptians was not a religious fear. They simply dreaded the Assyrian armies, and Judaea as the country from which the expeditions seemed to issue.
Isa 19:18-22
THE TURNING OF EGYPT TO JEHOVAH. The chastisement of the Egyptians shall be followed, after a while, by a great change. Influences from Canaan shall penetrate Egypt (Isa 19:18), an altar shall be raised in her midst to Jehovah (Isa 19:19), and she herself shall cry to him for succor (Isa 19:20) and be delivered (Isa 19:20). Egypt shall even become a part of Jehovah’s kingdom, shall “know him,” and serve him with sacrifice and oblation (Isa 19:21), and perform her vows to Jehovah, and have her supplications heard by him, and be converted and healed (Isa 19:22).
Isa 19:18
In that day. Not really the day of vengeance, but that which, in the prophet’s mind, is most closely connected with itthe day of restitutionwhereof he has spoken perpetually (Isa 1:25-27; Isa 2:2-4; Isa 4:2-6; Isa 6:13, etc.). The two are parts of one scheme of things, and belong in the prophet’s mind to one time. Shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan. It is quite true, as Mr. Cheyne remarks, that the Eastern Delta was from a very early date continually more and more Semitized by an influx of settlers from Palestine, and that Egyptian literature bears strong marks of this linguistic influence. But this is scarcely what the prophet intends to speak about. He is not interested in philology. What he means is that there will be an appreciable influx into Egypt of Palestinian ideas, thoughts, and sentiments. “Five” is probably used as a “round” number. The first manifest fulfillment of the prophecy was at the foundation of Alexandria, when the Jews were encouraged to become settlers by the concession of important privileges (Josephus, ‘Contr. Ap.,’ Isa 2:4), and where they ultimately became the predominant element in the population, amounting, according to Philo (‘In Flaec.,’ 6), to nearly a million souls. The next great Palestinian influx was under Ptolemy YI. (Philometor), when Onias fled from Palestine with a number of his partisans, and obtained permission to erect a Jewish temple near Heliopelis. The site of this temple is probably marked by the ruins at Tel-el-Yahoudeh. It seems to have been a center to a number of Jewish communities in the neighborhood. In this double way Jehovah became known to Egypt before Christianity. A Christian Church was early established in Alexandria, possibly by St. Mark. Swear to the Lord of hosts; i.e. “swear fidelity to him.” One shall be called, The city of destruction. Some manuscripts read ‘Ir-ha-Kheres, “City of the Sun,” for ‘Ir-ha-heres, “City of Destruction,” in which case the reference would be plainly to Heliopelis, which was in the immediate neighborhood of Tel-el-Yahoudeh, and which in the Ptolemaic period may well have fallen under Jewish influence. Even if ‘Ir-ha-heres stand as the true reading, the name may still have been given with allusion to Heliopolis, the prophet intending to say, “That city which was known as the City of the Sun-God shall become known as the City of Destruction of the Sun-God and of idolatrous worship generally.” That Heliopolis did actually fall under Jewish influence in the Ptolemaic period appears from a remarkable passage of Polyhistor, who says of the Exodus and the passage of the Red Sea, “The Memphites say that Moses, being well acquainted with the district, watched the ebb of the tide, and so led the people across the dry bed of the sea; but they of Heliopolis affirm that the king, at the head of a vast force, and having the sacred animals also with him, pursued after the Jews, because they were carrying away with them the riches which they had borrowed from the Egyptians. Then, “they say,” the voice of God commanded Moses to smite the sea with his rod, and divide it; and Moses, when he heard, touched the water with it, and so the sea parted asunder, and the host marched through on dry ground.” Such an account of the Exodus would scarcely have been given by Egyptians unless they were three parts Hebraized.
Isa 19:19
There shall be an altar to the Lord. An altar to the Lord was undoubtedly erected by Onias in the temple which he obtained leave to build from Ptolemy Philometor. Josephus says that he persuaded Ptolemy by showing him this passage of Isaiah (‘Ant. Jud.,’ 13.3; ‘Bell. Jud.,’ 7.10). And a pillar at the border thereof. It is not clear that any “pillar” was ever actually erected. The erection of pillars for religious purposes was forbidden by the Law (Deu 16:22). But this would be a pillar of witness (Gen 31:52), and would mark that the land was Jehovah’s. Dr. Kay suggests that “the Jewish synagogue first, and afterwards the Christian Church at Alexandria, standing like a lofty obelisk, with the name of Jehovah inscribed upon it, at the entrance of Egypt,” sufficiently fulfilled the prophecy.
Isa 19:20
It shall be for a sign. The outward tokens of Jehovah-worship shall witness to God that he has in Egypt now a covenant people, and he will deal with them accordingly. He shall send them a savior, and a great one. This does not seem to point to any earthly deliverer, but to the Savior from the worst of all oppressors, sin and Satan, whom they will need equally with the rest of his people.
Isa 19:21
The Lord shall be known; rather, shall make himself known, as in Eze 20:5, Eze 20:9; by answering prayer, by spiritual influences, and the like. The Egyptians shall know the Lord (comp. Jer 31:34, “They shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest”). And shall do sacrifice and oblation; rather, shall serve with sacrifice and oblation. The bulk of the Jews settled in Egypt, together with their Egyptian proselytes, went up year by year to worship Jehovah at Jerusalem, and make offerings to him there (see Zec 14:16-19). Christian Egypt worshipped God with sacrifice and oblation in the same sense as the rest of the Church (Mal 1:11).
Isa 19:22
And Jehovah shall smite Egypt, smiting and healing; i.e. Jehovah shall indeed “smite Egypt,” as already prophesied (Isa 19:1-16), but it shall be with a merciful object, in order, after smiting, to “heal.” His smiting shall induce them to “return” to him, and when they return he will forgive and save (comp. Zep 3:8, Zep 3:9; Jer 12:14-16). Egypt was a Christian country from the third century to the seventh; and the Coptic Church (though very corrupt) still remains, knowing Jehovah, and offering the holy oblation of the Christian altar continually.
Isa 19:23-25
UNION BETWEEN EGYPT, ASSYRIA, AND ISRAEL. Assyria’s conversion to God will follow or accompany that of Egypt. The two will be joined with Israel in an intimate connection, Israel acting as the intermediary. There will be uninterrupted communication, common worship, and the common blessing of God extending over the three.
Isa 19:23
Shall there be a highway. The phraseology resembles that of Isa 11:16; but the purpose is different. Then the “highway” was to facilitate the return of the Israelites to their own land. Now the object is perfectly free communication between the three peoples. The Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. “Shall serve” means “shall worship” (see verse 21). The “Assyrians” represent the inhabitants of the Mesopotamian regions generally. As, from the time of Alexander, Hebrew influence extended itself largely over Egypt, so, even from an earlier date, it began to be felt in the Mesopotamian countries. The transplantation of the ten tribes, or a considerable portion of them, into Upper Mesopotamia and Media, was the commencement of a diffusion of Hebrew ideas through those regions. The captivity of Judah still further impressed these ideas on the native races. Great numbers of Jews did not return from the Captivity, but remained in the countries and cities to which they had been trans ported, particularly in Babylon (Josephus, ‘Ant. Jud.,’ 11.1). The policy of the Seleucid princes was to establish Jewish colonies in all their great cities. In the time between Alexander and the birth of our Lord, the Hebrew community was re cognized as composed of three great sectionsthe Palestinian, the Egyptian, and the Syro-Babylonian. Constant communication was maintained between the three branches. Ecclesiastical regulations, framed at Jerusalem, were transmitted to Alexandria and Babylon, while collections made in all parts of Egypt and Mesopotamia for the temple service were annually carried to the Palestinian capital by trusty persons. It is thus quite reasonable to regard as an “initial stage in the fulfillment of this prophecy” the state of things existing at this period (Kay). The more complete fulfillment was doubtless after Pentecost, when Christianity was preached and established in Egypt and Libya on the one hand, in Parthia, and Media, and Elam, and Mesopotamia on the other (Act 2:9, Act 2:10).
Isa 19:24
In that day shall Israel be the third; rather, a third. Not third in rank, for Isa 19:25 shows that she would retain a pre-eminence, but the common intermediary, brining the other two together. A blessing in the midst of the land; rather, in the midst of the earth. Judaean monotheism, upheld by God’s people in Palestine, Egypt, and Mesopotamia, would be a blessing, not only to those three countries, but to the world at large. So, and still more, would Christianity.
Isa 19:25
Whom the Lord of hosts bless; rather, forasmuch as the Lord of hosts hath blessed him. “Him” must be understood collectively, of the threefold Israel, spread through the three countries, which all partake of the blessing. The three countries are able to be a blessing to the world at large, because God’s blessing rests upon them. Egypt my people. Egypt’s great work in Jewish times, by which she became a blessing to the world, was her translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, commanded by Egyptian kings, and executed at Alexandria, the Egyptian capital. Neo-Platonism certainly owed much to this source. Stoicism probably something. Assyria the work of my hands. Assyria did no such work as Egypt. Neither the Targum of Onkelos nor the Babylonian Talmud can be compared for a moment with the Septuagint. Still the Mesopotamian Jews were a blessing to their neighbors. They kept alive in the East the notion of one true and spiritual God; they elevated the tone of men’s thoughts; they were a perpetual protest against idolatry, with all its horrors. They, no doubt, prepared the way for that acceptance of Christianity by large masses of the population in Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and even in Persia, of which we have evidence in the ecclesiastical history of the first seven centuries. Israel mine inheritance (comp. Isa 47:6; Isa 63:17).
HOMILETICS
Isa 19:1-17
Egypt’s punishment, a proof both of God’s song-suffering and of His inexorable justice.
The punishment of Egypt by the Assyrian conquest, on which the prophet enlarges in this chapter, may be regarded in a double light.
I. AS STRONGLY EXHIBITING THE LONG–SUFFERING AND MERCY OF GOD.
1. Consider the long persistence of Egypt in sins of various kindsidolatry, king-worship, practice of magic, kidnapping of slaves, cruel usage of captives, impurity, indecency; consider that her monarchy had lasted at least sixteen hundred years, and that both in religion and in morals she had continually grown worse.
2. Bear in mind her treatment of God’s peoplehow she had first oppressed them (Exo 1:8-14), then endeavored to exterminate them (Exo 1:15-22); this failing, made their bondage harder (Exo 5:6-19); repeatedly refused to let them go; sought to destroy them at the Red Sea (Exo 15:9); plundered them in the time of Rehoboam (1Ki 14:25, 1Ki 14:26); alternately encouraged and deserted them in their struggles against Assyria (1Ki 17:4; 1Ki 18:21, 1Ki 18:24).
3. Note also that she had helped to corrupt God’s people. In Egypt many Israelites had worshipped the Egyptian gods (Jos 24:14; Eze 20:8). They had brought from Egypt an addiction to magical practices which had never left them. Manasseh, in calling his eldest son “Amon,” intended to acknowledge the Egyptian god of that name. Under these circumstances, it is marvelous that Egypt had been allowed to exist so long, and, on the whole, to flourish; and the marvel can only be accounted for by the extreme long-suffering and extraordinary mercy of Almighty God.
II. AS A DECISIVE PROOF OF GOD‘S INEXORABLE JUSTICE. However long God defers the punishment of sin, it comes at last with absolute certainty. It might have seemed as if the hardships suffered by his people in Egypt had escaped God’s recollection, so many years was it since they had happened. It might have seemed as if all Egypt’s old sins were condonedas if she was to escape unpunished. Sixteen centuries of empire! Why, Rome herself, the “iron kingdom,” that “broke in pieces and bruised” all things (Dan 2:4), was not allowed more than twelve centuries of existence. But Egypt was allowed a far longer term, not only of existence, but of prosperity. Since the time of the shepherd-kings, four hundred years before the Exodus, she had suffered no great calamity. Even the Ethiopians had not been so much foreign conquerors, as princes connected by blood and identical in religion, who claimed the crown by right of descent from former Egyptian sovereigns. But God had all the time been waiting, with his eye upon the sinful nation, counting her offences, remembering them against her, and bent on taking vengeance. And the vengeance, when it came, was severe. First, internal discord and civil war”kingdom against kingdom, and city against city” (verse 2); then conquest by an alien nationconquest effected by at least three distinct expeditions, in which the whole land was overrun, the cities taken and plundered, and army after army slaughtered; finally, subjection to a “fierce king,” a “cruel lord” (verse 4). And the sufferings of war aggravated, apparently, by the natural calamity of a great droughta failure of the inundation either for one year, or possibly for several (verses 5-8). Truly, when the day of vengeance came, Egypt was afflicted indeed! No wonder she “was afraid, and feared because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts” (verse 16). It is, indeed, “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31).
Isa 19:22
Smiting and healing closely connected in God’s counsels.
God’s smiting is no doubt twofold,
(1) remedial and
(2) penal; but by far the greater portion of it is of the former kind.
Once only has he visited mankind at large penaltyat the Deluge; but a thousand times has he visited them remedially. Similarly with nations. He smote Egypt in Moses’ time with the ten plagues, not to destroy, but to chasten. So again at the Red Sea. So now by the hands of Esarhaddon and his son. So by Nebuchadnezzar, Cambyses, Ochus. And at last he bowed their hearts and caused them to turn to him, first partially, when Judaism gained an influence over them; afterwards, as a nation, when they accepted Christianity. Former chastisements had doubtless some remedial force, or the nation would scarcely have been borne with so long; but they did not fully heal, and blow after blow became requisite. So God went on “smiting and healing.” And the course of his providence is similar with individuals. Primarily he smites to heal. Each offence brings down his red, but the stroke is comparatively light at first, and intended to warn, admonish, call to amendment. If men persist in wrong courses, the blows become heavier. But still the intention is the same; it is sought to bring them to repentance. God has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth. Only after repeated trials, after blow upon blow, warning upon warning, if they will not repent, if they will not be healed, the penal sentence goes forth to “pluck up and destroy” (Jer 12:17).
Isa 19:23, Isa 19:24
Unity in religion joins together the bitterest foes.
As, ultimately, the establishment of the kingdom of Christ among all the nations of the earth (Isa 2:2) will produce a reign of universal peace, so that men will everywhere “beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks” (Isa 2:4), so, on a lesser scale, wherever true religion prevails, asperities are softened, old enmities die out and disappear, a friendly spirit springs up, and former adversaries are reconciled and become friends. Assyria, Egypt, Israel, long the bitterest foes, were drawn together by a common faith in the later days of Judaism and the earlier ones of Christianityfelt sympathy one with another, and lived in harmony. The Papacy was an attempt to bring all the Roman communion into a species of political unity, to abolish wars between its various members, and unite it against heathendom. This attempt had, however, only a partial success, owing to the admixture of bad with good motives in those who were at the head of the movement and had the direction of it. That war has not yet ceased among all Christian nations is a slur upon Christianity, and an indication that nations are still Christian in name rather than in spirit. The league of Assyria, Egypt, Israel, may well be held up to the modern Christian world as an example that should shame it into the adoption of “peace principles.” If such foes, so fiercely hostile, so long estranged, could become close friends through the influence of a community of religion, why cannot the Christian nations of modern times attain to a similar unity?
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON
Isa 19:1-4
Coming judgment upon Egypt.
The historical allusions in this passage cannot be positively cleared up. So far as the discovery of inscriptions in recent years enables us to lift a little the veil which hangs over the land, we see it shaken to the center by the wars of rival chieftains. A victory of Sargon over the Egyptian king Shabatok, in B.C. 720, has been made out from Assyrian inscriptions; and, again, the conquest of Egypt by Esarhaddon in B.C. 672, who divided the land into twenty small tributary kingdoms. The chapter may refer to this event, and it may not (see Cheyne’s Introduction to the chapter).
I. THE ADVENT OF JEHOVAH. “He rideth upon a swift cloud” (comp. Psa 18:10, “He rode upon a cherub, and did fly;” comp. Psa 104:3). To study those magnificent winged figures, which pass generally under the name of griffins, in our museums and works of art, and as they are described by Ezekiel in the land of captivity (1.), may be the best way to realize the significance of this poetry. We must throw ourselves into that mood of mind in which all life and movement in nature is symbolic of the infinite power and majesty of the Divine Beingaudibly the wind, visibly the strong gathering cloud upon the horizon. This picture, then, is a hint
(1) of the majesty of Jehovah;
(2) of his ascendency in the world of spirit.
The “not gods” of Egypt shall shake before him. He comes to judge them. The God of Israel is on his way to punish the teeming multitudes of Memphis, Pharaoh, and Egypt, and their gods and kings. The idols are to be destroyed, their images are to cease; and the secular power, which has been supported by a false religion, shall be laid low (comp. Exo 12:12; Jer 46:25; Eze 30:13). A striking contrast is suggested between the pure sublime religion of Jehovah and the debased worship of the Egyptians, whose reverence for cats, and bulls, and crocodiles, and onions attracted the satire of later times. How could such worshippers do other than tremble, their heart melting within them at the approach of the light that reveals and judges the voluntary darknesses and confusions of the mind? As Calvin remarks, we should behold the same thing exemplified in all revolutions of kingdoms, which proceed solely from the hand of God. If the heart melts and the strength fails in men who are usually brave, and who had formerly displayed great courage, this ought to be ascribed to the judgment of God.
II. THE JUDGMENTS DESCRIBED.
1. Internal dissension. One canton is set against another. There will be the feud of brother with brother, fellow with fellow, city with city, and kingdom with kingdom. Men’s hearts are in the hand of God. Whenever we see in a nation social dissension setting in, unity and co-operation no longer possible, it is a sign that a new force is at work, that a new light has come in, that existing customs are being criticized, in short, that “God has awoke to judgment.” Such times are times for self-scrutiny, for thoughtful study, for earnest prayer.
2. The sense of the hollowness of existing institutions. Terrible is it when a nation suddenly awakens to find its strongest ideals reduced to empty and mocking delusions; terrible also for the individual. The “heart made empty.” Sometimes it is a “science falsely so called;” sometimes a spurious faith, which is suddenly found to be a leaking cistern, and the water of life has fled. Under these conditions there will be a feverish outbreak of old superstition. Men will resort to the “not gods” and to the “spiritualists”the “mutterers,” who pretend to give voices and messages from the other world. So men have done in our time. The history of the heart repeats itself from age to age. If men have not genuine religion, they must have the counterfeit of it; and they will love the lie and cling to the cheat when the possibility of the truth is no longer within reach.
3. Subjection to the tyrant. The land will be shut up into the hand of a hard lord, and a fierce king shall rule over them. And is not tyranny the last sign of Divine displeasure, as viewed from another side it is the last sign of degeneracy and weakness in a nation’s manhood? “Hence we see how great is the folly of men who are desirous to have a powerful and wealthy king reigning over them, and how justly they are punished for their ambition, though it cannot be corrected by the experience of every day, which is everywhere to be seen in the world” (Calvin).J.
Isa 19:5-10
The drying up of the Nile.
Nothing has left a deeper mark on the traditions of Eastern lands than the impressions of burning heat, the drying up of springs, the consequent suffering. Egypt was the “gift of the Nile,” Herodotus said. Well might the presence or absence of its waters denote the pleasure or the wrath of Deity.
I. THE DESCRIPTION. The Pelusiac arm of the Nile is dried. The neglected canals, dykes, and reservoirs become stagnant, the vegetation withers. The bright oasis of the Nile will melt away into the surrounding desert. The canals, first undertaken as a necessary work of civilization and culture, become naturally neglected and choked up in time of civil war.
II. THE EFFECTS ON PEACEFUL INDUSTRY. Besides agriculture there were three main sources of Egyptian wealth: the fishing, the linen manufacture, and the cotton manufacture. There was abundance of fish in the Nile, and it was a great article of food. The combed flax was prepared for the priests’ clothing and for the mummy-cloths, and the cotton for dress in general. The result is universal consternation in all ranks and classes. The wealthy classes, the “pillars” of the land, and the artisan population are alike in despair.
III. THE COINCIDENCE OF THE SPIRITUAL AND THE NATURAL WORLD. A fertile land, an industrious people, peace and plenty, the favor of God,these are ideas that He linked together in the thought of the prophet, forming one causal chain. The displeasure of Jehovah, the effect in war, and this, again, working desolation in the face of nature and cutting at the root of industry,these form another chain of connected representations. From the sources and springs of the mighty Nile up to the seat of thought, passion, and motion in the mightier human heart, all are in the hands of Jehovah. Alike in every occupation of the industrial and of the political and intellectual world, let us own our dependence upon him.J.
Isa 19:11-15
The folly of statesmen.
God hath made foolish the wisdom of this world, in Egypt as in other lands. And the marks and characters of folly are everywhere the same.
I. THE SPIRIT OF BOASTING. The king and his priestly counselors possess sacred books, which they consult as a college in times of emergency. The priests boast of being “sons of the wise,” and sons of ancient kings. The Pharaoh himself belonged to the royal stock. Boasting is ever a sign of weakness. The strong man needs not to talk of his strength; he feels it, and others feel it. Wisdom is distinguished by the absence of self-conceit, and is impressive by its silence and modesty.
II. PROOFS OF FOLLY.
1. Inability to read the signs of the times. Prediction was their favorite occupation; how is it they cannot read the thoughts of Jehovah toward the land? They resort to false methodsastrology, divination, etc. Truth may not really be loved, or it may be sought by paths that can only lead away from it. It is not by mere reading, it is not by digging in quaint and curious lore, that we can arrive at sympathy with the mind of God. All the learning of the schools is folly unless we keep the light within brightly burning, the conscience clear, the mind, if not the knees, ever bent in the attitude of uplooking and prayer.
2. Bad administration. They lead the country astray. The priestly class, that is, the intellectual and educated class, looked upon as the “corner-stone of the tribes,” are themselves under an illusion, and their “light and leading” is an ignis-fastus. We are too much dazzled by the acuteness, the knowledge, the abilities, the vast grasp of facts, in our great men. Often the cleverness of such overreaches itself, and great men stumble and fall, and” run into great dangers which any peasant or artisan would have foreseen.” They become inebriated by their own thoughts. But it ever sobers the mind to collect itself, so to speak, in God. “This wit, this insight, is mine, peculiarly mine”he who speaks with himself thusis on the brink of some fatal delusion. “It is God’s peculiar gift to me; it is a talent from him, to be used for his world”this is the thought that steadies; and “if our Wisdom rest on God, he wilt truly be a steadfast Corner-stone, which no one shall shake or overthrow.”
III. JUDICIAL INFATUATIONS. These delusions are traced to the judicial act of Jehovah. It is he who has put a cup of enchantment to their lips, so that the power of discernment is suspended. The image of drunkenness fitly represents their state. It is a spirit of “perverseness,” or of “subversion.” And the people have imbibed the same, so that they stagger about helplessly; there is no consistency, no agreement, no firm and joint action. It is an awful thingthe being “given over to a reprobate mind.” Nor dare we accuse the Almighty of injustice. We are ready enough to throw the blame of our own aberrations upon others, upon circumstances, or even upon him. But what “right” have we to anything, from the light of the sun to the light of reason in the soul? God gives and God deprives, for reasons inscrutable to us and no[, to be questioned. But, “the heart has reasons that reason knows not of;” and the heart knows that, if its choice be true, its asking will not be refused, the needed guidance will not be denied.J.
Isa 19:16-25
Mingled judgment and mercy.
I. THE EFFECT OF JUDGMENT. The hind will be like timid and trembling women, for the mighty hand of Jehovah will be brandished aloft in judgment. Whenever it is felt that Divine power is working on the side of the foe, the most warlike nations lose heart. “God with us!”a watchword that nerves the feeblest arm, and fills the faintest heart with courage. “God against us!”the hand of the bravest hangs down, the knees of the stoutest tremble. Judah, Jehovah’s seat of empire, will be a terror to the proud land of Egypt. The seeming weakest community, the most insignificant individual, will be a power if the truth is operating through it. It is not magnitude that is appalling; it is spiritual force. Men will shudder at the Name of Judah; it will be a symbol of a purpose never successfully resisted. But when thus the prospect is at its darkest for Egypt, a light of hope glimmers.
II. PROMISES OF GOOD.
1. A view of Egypt‘s conversion to the true religion here opens. There will be five cities speaking the tongue of Canaan, or Hebrew, the language of the worship of Jehovah. They will take the oath of loyalty to him. And it seems that the city known as “city of the sun” shall be called” city of the breaking down of idolatrous altars.” And an altar of the true religion, with the pillar marking the holy place, will be seen, visibly witnessing to the Lord of hosts in the land. There is now a covenant between Jehovah and the repentant and restored land. He will no longer be their Foe, but their Friend; and when they cry to him, in the midst of distress and oppression, he will hearken, and send a Helper and Deliverer. The people will sacrifice to him, and he will make himself known; Whether in the land or at Jerusalem (comp. Zec 14:16-19) is not stated.
2. This cannot be without previous suffering. Never does conversion from evil, from obstinate persistence in it, occur without suffering. But the suffering is beneficent, inflicted by love. God smites to heal. It is a thought echoed back from many a page: “I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and heal; He has torn, and he will heal us; hath smitten, and will bind us up;” “He wounds, and his hands make whole” (Deu 32:39; Hos 6:1; Job 5:18). The fire of his wrath consumes, but purifies. “Then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may call upon the Name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent” (Zep 3:8, Zep 3:9). There lives a fund of pity in the heart and constitution of naturecompassion in Jehovah, the Hebrew prophet said (Jer 12:14, Jer 12:15). “God does not punish that he may punish, but that he may humble; wherefore, when humility is produced, his punishments proceed no further. God is of too great mercy to triumph over a prostrate soul” (South).
III. THE HAPPY RESULT. Peace replacing war, trust substituted for mutual hate. There is to be intercourse between Egypt and Assyria, a free highway between the two lands. Nay, there shall be a triple alliance, Israel being the third, and blessing is thus to be diffused over all the earth. Where Jehovah’s blessing is, there is and must be prosperity. Thus have the clouds dispersed, and the golden year seems to have begun, “peace lying like a lane of beams across the sea, like a shaft of light athwart the land.”
PERSONAL APPLICATION. To avoid national judgment, to secure the Divine favor, let each inquire into his own sins. Personal sins bring down national judgments. If there were no personal, there could be no national sin. In punishing the many, God does not overlook the individual. There is no suffering of a nation without the suffering of its members, no repentance which is not that of men one by one, no prosperity and favor which is not reflected from a million faces and hearts. There is infinite ground of hope from the promises of God, and from their actual fulfillment.J.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Isa 19:1
God’s presence a trouble.
“Behold the Lord shall come into Egypt and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.” The presence of God would produce consternation among the people. This is significant enough. It need excite no wonder, indeed, that the coming of the holy and righteous One into the midst of those who had provoked him by their idolatries would result in quaking of spirit, in liveliest agitation. What could await such guilty ones but the most serious rebuke, the most distressing judgments? But the presence of God is not only troublous to idolatrous Egyptians, but to his own servants. So the prophet himself found (Isa 6:5). The psalmist “remembered God, and was troubled” (Psa 77:3). Why is this? Concerning the trouble which the presence of God brings to the human spirit, we remark
I. THAT HIS KNOWN NEARNESS TO US AND POWER OVER US MIGHT BE EXPECTED TO PRECLUDE SUCH ALARM. Why should we be concerned to find God appearing unto us? Do we not know well that he is “not far from any one of us;” that “in him we live and move and have our being?” Do we not know that he is judging our actions and our attitude toward himself every moment, and is, moreover, expressing his judgment by Divine bestowals and inflictions day by day? Why should terror or alarm, or even apprehension, seize us because he manifests himself to us, and constrains us to feel conscious that we are standing in his near presence? But, however we may reason thus, it is the fact
II. THAT OBSERVATION AND EXPERIENCE UNITE TO PROVE THAT HIS FELT PRESENCE DOES TROUBLE US. Both Old Testament and New Testament history show that any visitant from the unseen world causes “the heart to melt;” and if any mere messenger (angel), how much more he who reigns over all that realmthe Divine and eternal Spirit himself? And we find now that when men, in the full possession of their spiritual faculties, have believed themselves to be in, or to be about to pass into, the near presence of the Eternal, their spirit has shrunk and trembled at the thought. We ask
III. THE EXPLANATION OF THE FACT. The explanation is found in two things.
1. In our sense of God‘s greatness, and the corresponding consciousness of our own littleness. Those who move in a humble social sphere are agitated when they find themselves in the near presence of human rank, especially of high rank, more especially of royalty; how much more so when men feel themselves to be (or to be about to be) before the King of kings, the infinite God!
2. In our sense of God‘s holiness and the corresponding consciousness of our own imperfection and sin.
(1) The Christian man may have his reason for apprehension; for has he not to bring his life of Christian service to the judgment of his Divine Master, for his approval or his disapproval; and is he not conscious that this his service has come short of his Lord’s desire, if it has not been blemished or even stained by many sins?
(2) The impenitent man has abundant reason for anxiety and even for alarm; for he is the child of privilege and opportunity; he has known his Lord’s will; he has heard many times the sacred summons; he has often felt the movings of the Divine Spirit in his heart. But he has “judged himself unworthy of eternal life;” he has striven to silence the voices which came to him from heaven. He is open to the most terrible and intolerable rebuke of God (Pro 1:24, etc.); he lies exposed to the penalty of deliberate disobedience, of persistent rejection of the grace of God (Luk 12:47; Joh 3:18, Joh 3:19, Joh 3:36; Heb 10:26-31; Heb 12:25).C.
Isa 19:2-10
A picture of penalty.
The threatened penalty of Egypt as painted by the prophet here will, on examination, be found to be essentially the penalty with which God causes sin to be visited always and everywhere.
I. STRIFE, especially internal strife (Isa 19:2). The guilty nation will find itself plunged into civil war (Egypt, Greece, Rome, France, Americanorthern and southern states, etc.), or rent with bitter and vindictive factions; the guilty family will have its domestic harmony destroyed by petty broils and miserable disagreements; the individual soul will be compelled to expend its powers in internal strifeconscience having a long and perhaps desperate struggle with passion; reason, which urges to immediate decision, contending with the evil spirit of procrastination; the will to submit to Divine demands doing stern, protracted battle with a desire to conform to the good pleasure of the unholy and the unwise.
II. DELUSION. (Isa 19:3.) As the, Egyptians, paying the penalty of disobedience, were to abandon the counsels of human wisdom for the fancies and fooleries of the juggler, so will men find that sin leads down from the guidance of reason to the dictates of folly and the misleadings of delusion. It is not long before the sinner experiences “the deceitfulness of sin;” before he finds that he does not impose ca other men half so much as he is imposed upon, or as he imposes on himself. He comes to think that utterances which are earthly, or of lower origin than that, are the voices of heaven; he “calls evil good, and good evil;” counsel which he ought to abjure as diabolical, he deems excellent and wise; neglecting truths and principles which would be his salvation, he falls back upon sentiments which lead down, with certain path, to innermost and uttermost ruin.
III. BONDAGE. (Isa 19:4.) It is one of the most certain and one of the saddest penalties of sin that the wrong-doer is handed over to the despotism of “a cruel lord.” By what truer or more descriptive terms could these enemies of the soul be characterized into whose iron grasp the transgressor falls? Is not the insatiable craving for strong drink or for the hurtful narcotic a “cruel lord?” What but cruel lords are covetousness, ambition, lasciviousness, the voracity or extreme delicacy of those “whose God is their belly”the passion which demands and will not be denied, which consumes the time, which saps the energy, which steals the manhood that should be devoted to nobler ends, that should be laid on a worthier altar? The victims of vice are “holden with the cords of their sins;” they are “in the hand of a cruel lord,” who will make them pay “the uttermost farthing.”
IV. SHRINKAGE. (Isa 19:5-10.) Egypt should be pitiably reduced; the waters of its life-giving river should be wanting (Isa 19:5), its vegetation should fade and die (Isa 19:6), its industries should be stopped (Isa 19:8, Isa 19:9), its chief men should be overthrown (Isa 19:10). All Egyptian life, through its length and breadth, should be struck a ruinous blow, should shrink from fullness and power into feebleness and decline. Under the dominion of sin, human life suffers a ruinous reduction. Made for God, for his likeness, for his fellowship, for his service, for the highest forms of usefulness and the noblest order of enjoyment, we sink into folly, into selfishness, into smallness of aim and littleness of accomplishment; our lives are narrowed, lessened, shriveled. It is the pitiful penalty of departure from God, of withholding our hearts from our Divine Friend. In Christ we realize the fair and blessed opposites of these. In him is
(1) peace (Joh 14:27; Joh 16:33; Eph 2:14);
(2) enlightenment (1Co 14:20; Eph 1:18; Col 1:9); freedom (Joh 8:32-36; Rom 6:18; Gal 5:1); enlargement (Mat 5:45; Joh 15:14; Rom 8:17; Eph 2:6; Rev 1:6).C.
Isa 19:11-14
Leaders that mislead.
The strong, energetic language of the prophet respecting the princes and counselors of Egypt express for us the vast injury which is wrought by untrustworthy teachers in every place and time, and the duty of the people to be on their guard against such seducers (Isa 19:13).
I. THE LEADERS THAT MISLEAD. (Isa 19:10-13.) These are:
1. In the nation, leading their fellow-countrymen into a false and spurious patriotism; into vain-gloriousness; into luxury and extravagance; into the ruinous error that the fascinations of military glory are preferable to the advantages of peaceful industry, etc.
2. In the Church, leading their fellow-members into theological error; into doctrine which is not a faith but only a philosophy, or which is not a faith so much as a superstition; into indulgence in emotion without the cultivation of Christian morality; or into habits of virtue that do not rest on the basis of personal attachment to God, etc.
3. In the family, leading their children into laxity of belief; into the conviction that worldly success is of greater account than the favor of God and the possession of spiritual integrity; into the practice of dubious habits which tend to immorality or irreligion, etc.
II. THEIR LAMENTABLE RELIGIOUS IGNORANCE. (Isa 19:12.) The “wise men” of Egypt could not tell “what the Lord of hosts had purposed; “they did not know his mind. What availed all their other knowledge, all their political sagacity, all their pretentious skill, it they were utterly ignorant of what was in the mind of God? Our leaders of to-day, in whatever sphere they may preside, are useless and worse than useless if they cannot propose those measures, if they cannot commend those doctrines, if they cannot foster those habits and instill those principles, which are according to the mind of God, which contain the will of Jesus Christ. To advise the policy, to repeat the phrases, to build up the character which they themselves received of their fathers, may be wholly inadequate, utterly inapplicable, entirely wrong; what is wanted in our leaders is the power to perceive the mind of God, to especially understand what is “his will concerning us in Christ Jesus,” to guide and teach and train so that their disciples shall live in the light of his truth and the enjoyment of his friendship.
III. THE MISCHIEF WHICH THEY WORK. (Isa 19:13, Isa 19:14.) These men seduced Egypt from the true path, and they led her to err and stagger in false paths. The immensity of the evil which is wrought by False leaders, whether in the nation, the Church, or the home, is seen by regarding it on the negative and on the positive side.
1. They seduce from the saving truth. (1Jn 2:26.) They lead men from the fear of the living God; from the faith and love of Jesus Christ; from the produce of the heavenlier graces, and therefore from living the nobler and worthier life; from the possession of a peace which no distractions can disturb, and of a treasure which no thief can steal, and of a hope which triumphs over death.
2. They lead into the saddest and even the grossest evils. Their disciples “err as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.” A painful but graphic picture of those who are led astray into evil paths, into beliefs which are not only false but shocking, into companionships and alliances which are not only unsatisfactory but demoralizing, into habits which are not only wrong but shameful. It is the duty of the community, in view of the fact that false and foolish leaders have always abounded, and that their influence is disastrous,
(1) to be sedulously on guard lest these should be appointed;
(2) to depose those that are found unworthy of their charge,
(3) to realize that every individual man is responsible to God for the faith he holds and the life he lives (Luk 12:57; Gal 6:4, Gal 6:5),C.
Isa 19:18-22
Smiting and healing.
We may glean from these verses
I. THAT THE BLOWS WHICH WE SURFER IN OUR ORDINARY EXPERIENCE COME FROM THE HAND OF GOD. No doubt the various calamities by which Egypt was afflicted came to her in the ordinary ways, and appeared to her citizens as the result of common causes. They accounted for them by reference to general laws, to visible human powers, to known processes and current events. Yet we know them to have been distinctly and decidedly of God, by whatever instrumentalities they may have been brought about. “The Lord shall smite Egypt” (Isa 19:22). So now with us; the evils which overtake ussickness, separation, disappointment, losses, bereavement, etc.may occur as the result of causes which we can discover and name; nevertheless they may be regarded as visitations, as chastisement, as discipline, from the hand of God.
II. THAT THESE WOUNDS OF GOD‘S CAUSING ARE INTENDED BY HIM TO ABOUND UNTO THE HEALTH OF THE WOUNDED SPIRIT. “He shall smite and heal.” God’s main purpose in smiting was to bring about a far healthier condition than existed before. Afterwards the chastening would “yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness;” and for this end chiefly, if not wholly, it was sent. We are to consider that this is always God’s design in sending affliction to his children. He smites that he may heal, and that the new health may be much better than the oldthat the blessing gained may greatly outweigh the loss endured (2Co 4:17). To part with bodily health and to obtain spiritual soundness, to lose material possessions and secure treasures which make “rich toward God,”this is to be enlarged indeed.
III. THAT THE RESTORATION OF THE SMITTEN SPIRIT IS ATTENDED AND FOLLOWED BY VARIOUS BLESSINGS.
1. The soul addressing itself to God in earnest prayer. “They shall cry unto the Lord” (Isa 19:20); “He shall be entreated of them” (Isa 19:22). This is an act of returning from folly and forgetfulness unto the God who has been forsaken: “They shall return,” etc. (Isa 19:22; see also Isa 19:21).
2. The soul seeking God’s acceptance in his appointed way. “There shall be an altar to the Lord” (Isa 19:19). However interpreted, this passage points to the special means appointed by God through Moses for obtaining forgiveness of sin, and suggests to us the one wayrepentance and faithby which we must seek and may find the Divine mercy.
3. Profession of attachment to God. These five cities should “swear to the Lord of hosts” (Isa 19:18), The pillar at the border would perhaps be an obelisk, making mention of his Name as the One that was worthy of human adoration.
4. The service of the lip. They would “speak the language of Canaan”the language spoken by the people of God. Language is far from being everything, but it is far from being nothing (Psa 19:4; Mat 12:37; Rom 10:10). By truthful, kindly, helpful speech, and in sacred song, we may do much in serving and in pleasing God.
5. Consecration. “They shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and shall perform it;” the solemn presentation of self unto a Divine Savior and a lifelong redemption of the vow.C.
Isa 19:23, Isa 19:24
The crown of privilege.
The promise of the text may not have seemed to Israel so gracious and so inspiring as many others; but it was one that might well have been considered surpassingly good. For it predicted that the time would come when Israel should be closely associated as “a third” with two great world-powers- Egypt and Assyria; not, indeed, to triumph over them, but to be “a blessing in the midst” of them. This is the very crown of privilege. Concerning privilege itself we may consider
I. ITS UNDOUBTED EXISTENCE. There are “elect” nations and individuals; it is not only a truth written in the pages of Scripture, but a fact confirmed by all testimony and observation, that God has conferred on some much more than he has allotted to others. To one nation (man) he gives one talent, to another two, and to another five. Physical strength, intellectual capacity, force of character, material wealth and natural advantages, knowledge, revealed truth,these are some of the privileges by which ‘men and nations are favored.
II. ITS PERIL. The great danger attending the possession of privilege is that of entirely mistaking the object of the Creator in conferring it; of assuming that he bestowed it simply for the gratification or the exaltation of its recipients. This was the disastrous mistake which the Jews made: hence their spiritual arrogance, their selfishness, their pitiable exclusiveness, their misreading of Scripture, their maltreatment of their Messiah. It is a mistake we are all tempted to make; it is one against which we do welt to guard with the utmost vigilance; for it is a sinful one, and one that carries ruin in its train.
III. ITS CROWN. This is to be “a blessing in the midst of the land;” to be a bond of union between other powersa “third” to the Egypt and Assyria by which we may be surrounded. Privileged lands, like England, find their crown, not in military successes, nor in annexations, nor even in well-filled banks or well-fitted vessels; but in giving free institutions to neighboring or even distant nations, in conveying the message of Divine mercy to heathen lands, “in being a blessing in the midst of the earth.” Privileged men find the crown of their life, not in possession, nor in enjoyment, nor in conscious superiority to others “that are without;” but in distributing, in imparting, in making others partakers of the peace and joy and hope that fill their own hearts, in broadening the belt of light on which they stand, in sowing the seed of the kingdom in land which now bears only briers and thorns, in being “a blessing in the midst of the land.”C.
Isa 19:25
Lights in which God regards us.
The words intimate that there are various aspects in which the Divine Father looks at his human children, and they may suggest reciprocal views on our part.
I. LIGHTS IN WHICH GOD REGARDS US.
1. As those to whom he is nearly related. Egypt in her hour of obedience has become “my people,” i.e. closely connected with God, and having, therefore, serious claims upon him. God does regard his own as those who are most closely, most intimately, most tenderly related to him, standing in such close relation that they may confidently reckon on the continuance of his kindness, on the protection and interposition of his strong arm.
2. As those who are the product of his Divine energy. “Assyria the work of my hands.” We who are trusting and rejoicing in him and walking in his truth are frequently to remind ourselves that we are not the product of our own wisdom and effort, but are “his workmanship created in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:10; and see 1Co 3:9; 2Co 5:5). God has expended on us Divine thought, Divine love, Divine sorrow, Divine patience, Divine discipline.
3. As those in whom he finds a Divine delight. “Israel mine inheritance.” In Israel, when that people was faithful to his rule, God found his portion, his inheritance. In us, when we are attentive to his voice, responsive to his love, obedient to his commands, submissive to his will, he finds a Divine satisfaction (Joh 15:11).
4. As those on whom he can confer blessedness. “Whom the Lord shall bless;” “Whom God blesses, they are blessed indeed.” Theirs is not mere physical excitement, or temporary gratification, or dubious delight, but true, abiding, elevating joy.
II. RECIPROCAL VIEWS WE SHOULD TAKE OF HIM. We should consider God:
1. As One to whom we are most intimately related more closely, indeed, than to any human kindred.
2. As One to whom we owe everything we are, as well as everything we have.
3. As that One in whom, in whose friendship, service, presence, we find (and hope to find) our true and lasting heritage.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Isa 19:2
Political commotion regarded as Divine judgment.
“And I will spur Egypt against Egypt, and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his fellow, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.” Civil war does far more serious and permanent mischief to a nation than foreign war. There are no such distressing conditions brought about by any other agencies as those which follow civil war. There can be no true heroism in its scenes; because the impulse is either mercenary, or it is class hatred and passion. Patriotism is swallowed up in mere sectional interests. The historical connections of this prophecy seem to be made clear by the recent discoveries of Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions. There has been found an inscription containing a proclamation of one Piankhi, who, in the eighth century B.C; united under his scepter the whole of Egypt and Ethiopia. Lower Egypt was divided among rival princes, whose connection with their over-lord was merely nominal, and civil wars from time to time arose. That which is true of actual civil war, is in measure true of times of political excitement and conflict, when party feeling runs high. Some of the evils of such times may be pointed out.
I. THESE TIMES OF COMMOTION SET CLASS AGAINST CLASS. It is curious to notice that political conflict is never confined to the subject about which it arose. It is opening the flood-gates and letting out all the waters of class jealousy.
II. THESE TIMES DISTURB SOCIAL ORDER. Breaking up families and friendships, and diverting men’s minds and energies from their ordinary occupations.
III. THESE TIMES INTERFERE WITH BUSINESS. Which is very sensitive to disturbed conditions of the body politic. Mutual trust is essential to business development, and the sense of security gives value to property.
IV. THESE TIMES GIVE INFLUENCE TO EVIL MEN. The demagogue finds then his opportunity. The masses of society gain undue importance. Noise has more power than intelligence. Reason’s voice can seldom be heard. She keeps still, for it is an evil time.
V. THESE TIMES SERIOUSLY HINDER CHRISTIAN AND CHARITABLE ENTERPRISE. Diverting both energy and money. So seasons of political commotion become agencies in executing Divine judgments, and become times of national warning and correction.R.T.
Isa 19:3
Temptation to trust in diviners.
“They shall seek to the charmers.” “A time of panic, when the counsels of ordinary statesmen failed, was sure in Egypt, as at Athens in its times of peril, to be fruitful in oracles and divinations.” The most remarkable instance recorded in Scripture is that of King Saul, who in his extremity, and after having himself driven the witches out of his land, imperiled his life to consult the witch of Endor. And even in these days there are most curious survivals of the old spirit, in the consultations of fortune-tellers, and the confidence placed in the guesses of prophesiers, and the vague generalities of so-called astrologers. Large numbers of ignorant and only partly educated people hold to this day their confidence in lucky and unlucky times, and their fears of thirteen at the table, the ticking of the death-watch, and the coffin-shaped cinder. In times of national distress men who pretend to prophesy find their harvest, and trade upon the fears and hopes of men.
I. THE UNIVERSAL DESIRE TO PIERCE THE UNSEEN AND THE FUTURE. On this desire rests the success of modern spiritualism. Where there is no restful confidence in God’s love and lead, men try to force aside the veils that hide God and God’s purposes from mortal view. Man can do so much in the present that he is fretted and annoyed because he can get no guarantees for tomorrow, and every day must act upon the uncertainty whether, for him, there will be any to-morrow. After this life, what then? Men are angry because no fellow-man has ever answered that question or ever can. Revelation from God can alone relieve the mystery. Show how in all ages men have peered into the dark future, and been compelled to confess that they could see nothing but the “folds of the wondrous veil.”
II. THE MORAL REASONS WHY THE FUTURE IS HIDDEN FROM US.
1. It is necessary for our probation.
2. It prevents procrastination by impression of the supreme value of now.
3. It keeps from the self-security which nourishes free indulgence in sin.
4. It makes our life manifestly a life of faith.
III. THE REST WHICH RELIGION GIVES FROM THE CARE ABOUT THE FUTURE. Religion brings God into direct relations, and gracious relations, with the individual. Past, present, future, are all in God’s control. If the soul is in right relations with God, the present is his overruling, and the future is his provision. If we are with God, all is well, here or there.R.T.
Isa 19:5-10
The withholding of God’s gifts making man’s woe.
These verses are suggestive of the thousandfold forms of trouble that follow on an unusually low Nile, or the failure of the Nile flood. It is peculiar to the valley of the Nile, and the Delta forming the land of Egypt, that cultivation of the soil depends upon the yearly flooding of the river, which, by canals, sluices, ponds, and ditches, is led over the fields as the great fertilizer. Holy Scripture gives us the picture of supreme distress following on the failure of the Nile for seven successive years in the times of Joseph. The complete dependence of the country on this periodical overflow, and the fact that all agricultural arrangements are adapted to this peculiarity, involved a remarkable helplessness throughout the land when the Nile failed to rise. The people could not do what they were accustomed to do, so they did not know what to do, and could not, in any effective way, make up for this calamity. If their river be dried up, their fruitful land will soon be turned into barrenness, and. their harvests cease. Two things are suggested for consideration.
I. THE WONDERFUL WAY IN WHICH THINGS ARE LINKED TOGETHER. So that failure in one thing brings on a most varied train of evils. The prominent thing here is the failure of the Nile flood; but how many things are found to depend on that!the basket-trade; the paper-trade; the farmer’s trade; the fish-trade; the flax-trade; the net-trade; the builder’s trade. So is it still. The cotton supply from America was checked a few years ago, and the consequences reached, in one way or another, all classes of society. Depressions in trade first affect one branch, but presently rise to the highest and descend to the lowest classes of society; and so it is again and again proved that, “we are members one of another.”
II. THE WONDERFUL WAY IN WHICH ALL PROSPERITY IS MADE DEPENDENT ON THE FIRST GIFTS OF GOD. Man’s riches are God’s gifts. Man can never add to the wealth of the world by exchanges, which only vary the possessors. Air, rain, sunshine, water, electricity, coal, increase from field and beast, are man’s riches; and these are first things that are absolutely dependent on God, and out of man’s control. God withholds the rains, and a nation is in misery; God tempers the air, and plague sweeps away the multitudes; God stops the flood, and Egypt pines away in its helplessness. The source of all real good is God, in whose hands are the very springs and sources of all human happiness and prosperity.R.T.
Isa 19:14
Men’s minds a sphere in which God’s judgments may work.
“The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof.” Failure in recognizing men’s minds and wills, as spheres of Divine operation, makes difficult to us such cases as that of Pharaoh, whose heart the Lord is said to have hardened; or that of the prophets in the time of Ahab, amongst whom God had sent a “lying spirit.” But the apostle distinctly taught that all the sides and all the forces of man’s nature are in God’s control, and that he can work his purposes through them all, Writing to the Romans (Rom 1:28), Paul says of the Gentiles, “God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” And the heathen have a motto which embodies the same truth, “Whom the gods would destroy they first dement”a sentence involving a belief in the control of the gods over men’s minds. A further illustration may be found in the prayer offered by David in the time of his extreme peril: “O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness” (2Sa 15:31). This truth we can clearly see and fully accept.
I. GOD HAS CONTROL OVER MAN‘S CIRCUMSTANCES. These are, undoubtedly, the usual spheres of Divine operation. Life in the midst of varying circumstances, arid subject to the influence of circumstances, is our present lot. God’s providence we assume to have its sphere in things and events; and too easily we may come to limit God’s working to the incidents of life, and keep him entirely in the external spheres, reaching us only through our senses. So we need to have set before us the further and more searching truth, that
II. GOD HAS CONTROL OVER MAN‘S MIND AND HEART. This may be difficult to harmonize with our notions of man’s free-will and independence. But man’s free-will is not an absolute thing; it is set within careful and precise limitations. Man has liberty within a tether; and he cannot be trusted beyond the tether. God never looses his hold on him. The point, however, which especially cans for illustration and enforcement here is, that God may execute his judgments on man in the sphere of his mind. A state of stubbornness, perversity, and hardening may be traced by man as the natural response of certain minds to certain circumstances. We are taught to look deeper, and see in bad mental states and moods not Divine permissions only, but Divine operations and Divine judgments. The mental blindness and deafness, the narrow-mindedness, the skeptical tendency, of a particular age, we view aright when we regard as Divine judgment working towards humility.R.T.
Isa 19:19
The cry of distress after the true God.
The erection of the altar and the pillar would be a sign of desire after God. “In Isaiah’s time it must have seemed incredible that the firmly organized idolatrous system of Egypt should ever be broken up. Yet such a result was brought about by a series of movementsAssyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and Greekwhich commenced almost immediately after the date of the above prediction. In the district of Heliopolis, on the site of a ruined temple at Leontopolis (twenty miles north-east of Memphis), the high priest Onias IV. built his temple, under a special license from Ptolemy Philometor.” The chapter deals with the corrective judgments which were to come upon Egypt, and gives this prophecy as the assurance that they will in measure prove efficient; and Egypt in her distress will cry after the true God; and the presence of Jews in her midst would give direction to her cry. We only suggest the following topics for illustration:
I. THE MISSION OF ALL NATIONAL DISTRESS IS CONVINCEMENT OF THE CLAIMS OF GOD.
II. THE PRESSURE OF NATIONAL DISTRESS IS A PERSUASION TO CALL UPON GOD. III. THE ARRANGEMENTS OF GOD‘S PROVIDENCE ALWAYS HELP MEN‘S DESIRE TO SEEK GOD. Illustrated in the fact that Jews were settled in Egypt, and witnessing for Jehovah, when the people’s hearts were turning towards him. From this we may proceed to show how our establishing missions in various parts of heathendom proves to be providential help afforded to peoples who have begun to cry after God. Our “altar” and our “pillar” are thus for “a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts.”R.T.
Isa 19:22
God both Smiter and Healer.
“The meaning is not simply that the stroke should be followed by healing, nor is it simply that the stroke should possess a healing virtue; but both ideas seem to be included.” The full thought is expressed by the Prophet Hosea (Hos 6:1, Hos 6:2), “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” Henderson says, “The doctrine here taught is, that when God has purposes of mercy towards a sinful people, he will continue to visit them with calamities till they are humbled, and thus brought into a fit state for appreciating the value of his mercies.” For illustrations of the same view of God’s working, see Job 5:17-19; Isa 57:15-19; Hos 5:15. There are few conceptions of God which should seem so tender and so restfully satisfying as this to conscious sinners who long to be freed from their sins. God will not leave us alone; he will smite. God will watch the effects of his smiting, and take the first opportunity to heal. God never smites save with the prospect before him of healing, and with gracious intentions of making his healings an unspeakable blessing”the intention of healing is predominant throughout” (comp. Zep 3:8, Zep 3:9; Jer 12:5-7).
I. THESE TWO THINGSSMITING AND HEALINGARE OFTEN SEVERED IN MAN.
1. Some smite for others to heal.
2. Some smite in malice, and do not want us to be healed.
3. Some smite in willfulness, and do not care whether we are healed.
4. Some smite in kindness, but are unable to heal the wounds they make.
And so often men do not know how to smite, though they mean well, and so the wounds they make are mischievous, and only wounds, not really corrective agencies. Man’s bungling ways in smiting and healing, make us say, after David, “Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of man.”
II. THESE TWO THINGSSMITING AND HEALINGARE ALWAYS UNITED IN GOD.
1. In God’s thought.
2. In God’s arrangement.
3. Given time enough, also in God’s action.
Because of the union God’s smitings can always be severe enough to be efficient. He can venture to smite harder than any man can ever do, But God’s wounds never go beyond his healing power. The most striking illustration is perhaps that set before us in the story of Job. In dealing with him we know not which to admire mostGod’s wonderful smitings, God’s wonderful healings, or the gracious way in which the smitings and the healings fitted in together.R.T.
Isa 19:24
The God-fearing man a blessing wherever he is found.
Israel is the type of the God-fearing man, and it is prophesied of Israel, as a nation, that when it is linked in friendly alliance with Egypt and Assyria, its testimony for the true God, and its example of noble living in the fear of God, would make it a blessing in the lands. The prophecy was fulfilled in the time of the Hasmonean princes. Compare the promise made to Abraham, as a man of God and man of faith, that “in him, and in his seed, all nations of the earth should be blessed” (Gen 22:18). Scripture intimates that the Jews have been the great conservators of the two foundation-truths, of
(1) God’s unity and
(2) God’s spirituality,
for the whole world, and that they are yet to be the great agents in the conversion of the world to God, as revealed in Jesus Christ; and perhaps no race is so widely scattered over the earth, or so efficiently represented in all lands, as the Jews. They may be a “blessing” indeed, when the veil is taken away, and they see in Jesus of Nazareth the world’s Messiah and Savior. We, however, for the purpose of this homily, think of the Jew in the world as representing the godly man set in various circumstances, and exercising a gracious influence in his circle, whatever it may be. He is a source of blessing, a means of blessing, and an object of blessing.
I. HE IS A SOURCE OF BLESSING. This term brings up for consideration his unconscious influencethe blessing which flows from the good man, by virtue of what he is, rather than of what he does. A beautiful picture, a work of perfect art, a gracious and gentle-mannered person, exert power for good apart from conscious intention. And so the pure are the “salt of the earth.”
II. HE IS A MEANS OF BLESSING. This term brings to view his conscious influence. For the good man lies under trust, and wants to be faithful. And the good man, by virtue of his goodness, is full of concern for the well-being of others; so his life must be an active charity. Like his Master, he is “ever going about, doing good,” inventing ways in which he can become a blessing.
III. HE IS AN OBJECT TO BE BLESSED. By God, whoso work he is doing, whose Name he is honoring, and whose service he is commending. God never forgets our work of faith and labor of love, but ensures that all who are a blessing are blessed.R.T.
Isa 19:25
All nations belonging unto God.
This is a singular and even surprising expression. These nations were idolatrous, and they came under severe Divine judgments, and yet God claims them as his, and even declares his favor towards them, using the same terms concerning Egypt and Assyria as concerning his own people Israel, and saying, “Blessed is my people Egypt, and the work of my hands Assyria, and mine inheritance Israel.” ‘Speaker’s Commentary’ says, “The widespread influence of the Jews over Syria, and the adjacent countries under the Syro-Macedonian kings, as well as over Egypt under the Ptolemies, may represent an initial stage in the fulfillment of the prophecy. A second stage commenced with that great day, which sent devout men back from Jerusalem into Egypt and Libya on one side, into Parthta, Media, Elam, and Mesopotamia, on the other (Act 2:9, Act 2:10), to tell how “God, having raised up his Son Jesus” (the Prince and the Savior), had sent him to bless “the Jews first, and in them all nations.”
I. AS INDIVIDUALS, COMPOSING NATIONS, ALL MEN ARE GOD‘S CREATION. So he has natural rights in them all. “It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;” then “Come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”
II. AS LOCATED IN PARTICULAR POSITIONS, NATIONS HAVE THE BOUNDS OF THEIR HABITATIONS APPOINTED BY GOD. See St. Paul’s argument in Act 17:26.
III. AS ENDOWED WITH NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS, ALL NATIONS ARE CALLED TO THE SERVICE OF GOD. For nations have special gifts, as truly as individuals; and wherever there are gifts there must be responsibility. The genius of every nation is its special ability to witness for and work for God. It has been well said that Israel, Greece, and Rome were three countries of God’s election; Israel called to witness for religion, Greece for art, and Rome for law. But a similar statement might be made concerning every nation.
IV. AS UNDER MORAL TRIAL, ALL NATIONS ARE WITHIN THE SUPERVISION OF GOD. The true way to regard national history and experiences is this: In them, God’s dealings with individuals find open and public illustration; and so individuals may learn moral lessons that have personal application to themselves.
V. AS NEEDING A REDEEMER, ALL NATIONS SHARE IN THE ONE PROVISION MADE BY GOD. God loves the world. All have sinned. There is only one Name, but by it all men everywhere may be saved.R.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Isa 19:1. The burden of Egypt The fifth discourse of the second book of Isaiah’s prophesy contained in this chapter, delivered at another time, and much later than the preceding, copiously sets forth the fate of Egypt, a nation from the remotest antiquity famous in the east. The scene of the prophesy is, according to Isaiah’s manner, elegantly laid. He introduces God, borne upon a swift cloud, coming into Egypt to execute the decrees of his justice, to the confusion of the idols of that superstitious country. He then describes the evils and calamities, as well of the approaching as of future time, which should fall upon Egypt; in which the presence of God, as the judge of this people, should be observed. The prophesy is twofold. The FIRST part describes the evil which should happen to Egypt; wherein we have, first, a figurative proposition, which sets forth the argument of the prophesy, Isa 19:1. Secondly, the evils about to happen to Egypt are enumerated; Isa 19:2-4. Thirdly, the consequence of these evils, Isa 19:5-10. Fourthly, the immediate cause of these evils, the want of salutary counsel in the princes of Egypt; Isa 19:11-17. The LATTER part exhibits, first, a proposition concerning the grace of God and the knowledge of true religion, to be communicated to the Egyptians; Isa 19:18 to the middle of 20. Secondly, the causes of that benefit:middle of 20 to 22. Thirdly, some notable adjuncts of it, Isa 19:23-25. Some expositors interpret this prophesy literally, others mystically; but the more judicious are for the literal interpretation; and Vitringa thinks, that the greater part of the prophesy refers to the time of Cambyses, and the desolation brought upon Egypt by the Persians: But of this we shall speak more at large in the following notes. Concerning the history of Egypt we refer the reader to Vitringa and the Univ. Hist. vol. 1: p. 319 and vol. 2: p. 97.
Behold, the Lord rideth, &c. The prophet begins with an elegant proposition, wherein he advises us that God is there present where he judges, or that the judgments of God are most certain testimonies of his presence among men as their ruler and judge, and that, the time of his longsuffering being completed, he will execute his judgments suddenly, and more swiftly than human expectation. See Mal 3:5. The first effect of God’s coming to judgment upon Egypt is said to be, the commotion of the idols. The prophet declares, that at the approach of God they should be moved, and fall from their places, like Dagon at the presence of the ark. The second effect is, that the heart of Egypt should melt in the midst of it; that is, the Egyptians should be in so great a consternation, that their very souls should faint within them, through dread of their approaching calamities. See Deu 20:8. Luk 21:26. Hereby the prophet means to inform us, that the prince who should come upon Egypt, and lay it waste, should approach with the most swift and rapid motion, as the executor of the decrees of the divine justice; that he should throw down and destroy their idols, and fill all Egypt with the greatest consternation. Now it is certain, that Cambyses, about forty-four years after the delivery of this prophesy, exactly fulfilled these things; particularly with respect to the idols of Egypt. His first attempt, says Bishop Newton, was upon Pelusium, a strong town at the entrance of Egypt, and the key of the kingdom; and he succeeded by the stratagem of placing before his army a great number of dogs, sheep, cats, and other animals, which being held sacred by the Egyptians, not one of them would cast a javelin, or shoot an arrow that way; and so the town was stormed and taken in a manner without resistance. He treated the gods of Egypt with marvellous contempt, laughed at the people, and chastised the priests for worshipping such deities. He slew Apis, or the sacred ox, which the Egyptians worshipped, with his own hand, burned and demolished their other idols and temples; and would likewise, if he had not been prevented, have destroyed the famous temple of Jupiter Ammon. Ochus too, who was another king of Persia, and subdued the Egyptians again, after they had revolted, plundered their temples, and caused Apis to be slain, and served up in a banquet to him and his friends. See Bishop Newton and Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
b) Prophecies that give Warning not to Trust in False Help Against Assyria
Isaiah 19, 20
) EGYPT NOW IN TIME TO COME
Isaiah 19
Various expositors from Eichhorn to Hitzig have attacked the genuineness of this chapter in whole or in part. But one may judge in advance how little valid the alleged reasons for this are, by the fact that Knobel rejects them all, and is decided in his recognition of Isaiah, as its author. We may therefore spare ourselves the investigation of these doubts, and so much the more as in our exposition of particulars, it will appear how very much the thoughts and expressions correspond to Isaiahs way of thinking and speaking. The chapter is very artistically arranged. It evidently divides into three parts of which the first (Isa 19:1-15) shows how the Lord by His judgments reveals His arm to the Egyptians (Isa 52:10; Isa 53:1); the second (Isa 19:16-17), as a transition, sets forth how Egypt fears before Jehovah; finally the third (Isa 19:18-25) presents the prospect that Egypt will fear the Lord as third in the confederation with Assyria and Israel.
_________________
) How the LORD reveals His arm to the Egyptians by severe judgments
Isa 19:1-15
1The Burden of Egypt.
Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud,
And 1shall come into Egypt:
And the idols of Egypt 2shall be moved at his presence,
And the heart of Egypt 3shall melt in the midst of it.
2And I will 4set 5the Egyptians against the Egyptians:
And they shall fight every one against his brother,
And every one against his 6neighbor;
City against city,
And kingdom against kingdom.
3And the spirit of Egypt 7shall fail in the midst thereof;
And I will 8destroy the counsel thereof:
And they shall seek to the idols, and to the 9charmers,
And to 10them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizzards.
4And 11the Egyptians will I 12give over into the hand of a 13cruel lord;
And a 14fierce king shall rule over them,
Saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts.
5And the waters shall fail from the sea,
And the river shall be wasted and dried up.
6And 15they shall turn the rivers far away;
And the brooks of 16defence shall be emptied and dried up:
17The reeds and flags shall wither.
7The 18paper reeds by the brooks, 19by the mouth of the brooks,
And 20everything sown by the brooks,
Shall wither, be driven away, 21and be no more.
8The fishers also shall mourn,
And all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament,
And they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish..
9Moreover they that work in fine flax,
And they that weave 22networks, shall be confounded.
10And 23they shall be broken in the 24purposes thereof:
All that make sluices and ponds 25for fish.
1126Surely the princes of Zoan are fools,
27The counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish:
How say ye unto Pharaoh,
I am the son of the wise,
The son of ancient kings?
12Where are they? where are thy wise men?
And let them tell thee now, and let them know
What the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
13The princes of Zoan are 28become fools,
The princes of Noph are deceived;
29They have also seduced Egypt, even they that are30 31the stay of the tribes thereof.
14The Lord hath mingled 32a perverse spirit in the midst thereof:
And they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof,
As a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
15Neither shall there be any work for Egypt,
Which the head or tail, branch or rush may do.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
Isa 19:1. is one of the words that occur only in the first part of Isa 6:4; Isa 7:2; Isa 24:20; Isa 37:22., in some sense as the enclosure that contains the or , frequent: Isa 26:9; Isa 63:11; Psa 39:4; Psa 51:12; Psa 55:5, etc., see on Isa 2:8. , see on Isa 13:7.
Isa 19:2. On comp. at Isa 9:10.
Isa 19:3. comp. Green Gr., 141, 1; Isa 24:1; Isa 24:3., . ., probably kindred to , which is used of the soft murmuring of a brook, Isa 8:6, and of soft, slow, gentle stepping or acting, Gen 33:14; 2Sa 18:5, etc. and , compare on Isa 8:19.
Isa 19:4. , Plural, with the abstract notion of dominion, comp. Gen 39:20; Gen 42:30; Gen 42:33; in Isa. again only Isa 26:13. Isa 25:3; Isa 43:16; Isa 56:11., properly to shut up, only here in Isaiah.
Isa 19:5. The form , as also Isa 41:17, and Jer 51:30 can be referred to (comp. Psa 73:9; Psa 88:7), as is done by Hitzig, if the meaning to seat oneself, desidere suited our passage and Isa 41:17. But in both places (also Isa 19:5 on account of the before ) it is too evident that the meaning exaruit, to become dry, is demanded by the context. Moreover the whole of verse 5 is with little alteration taken from Job 14:11. For there it reads: . It is seen that the expressions differ somewhat in the first clause, while in the second clause they are literally alike. Job employs the language as the figure for growing old and dying off, without any reference to the Nile. Isaiah applies it to the Nile particularly, and hence exchanges (diffluunt) for .
Isa 19:6. There is no substantive ; so may not be taken as denominativum, though even Ewald ( 126 b) adopts the view. Olshausen ( 255 b) explains the form as simply a blunder; is to be restored. The meaning must be to produce, to spread a stench.The plural occurs only here in the first part of Isaiah; in the second part: Isa 41:18; Isa 42:15; Isa 43:2; Isa 43:19-20; Isa 44:27; Isa 47:2; Isa 50:2. Isa 18:1-2; Isa 18:7; Isa 33:21. comp. Isa 38:14; Isa 17:4.On see Exeg. Com. on Isa 19:1. is an Egyptian word. According to Ebers (1. c. I. p. 338) the sacred name of the Nile in the hieroglyphic text is Hapi, the profane name, on the other hand, Aur. Along with the latter name often stands aa, i, e., great, therefore, Aur-aa = great river. The ancient hieratic form Aur became, in the mouth of the people, iar or ial (r and l are exchanged according to fancy in Egyptian, Ebers, p. 96). From Aur-aa came iaro. So the word sounds also in Koptic. The plural occurs Isa 33:21, of water ditches, used for defence; Job 28:1 of the shafts that the miner digs. Otherwise the word is used only of the canals of the Nile: Exo 7:19; Exo 8:1, etc. Comp. Isa 7:18; Isa 37:25; 2Ki 19:24. cane, hence , canalis, Isa 35:7; Isa 36:6; Isa 42:3; Isa 43:24; Isa 46:6. a reed, Exo 2:3; Exo 2:5; only here in Isaiah. ( kindred to ) marcescere, to languish, occurs again only Isa 33:9.
Isa 19:7. (from , nudum esse, loca nuda), occurs only in this place. These evidently correspond to the Egyptian (Gen 41:2; Job 8:11), the Nile, or reed, or rush-meadow on the bank of the Nile. Comp. Ebers l. c. p. 338. can hardly signify the mouthing. For wherefore should only the meadows at the mouthing of the Nile wither? Rather (comp. Psa 133:2) the mouth of the Nile here is the same as the lips of the Nile elsewhere ( Gen 41:3, hieroglyphic sept., Ebers, l. c. p. 339., . . can mean here only the place of sowing, the sowed field (comp. Isa 23:3)., dispellere, dissipare, occurs again only Isa 41:2. a form of expression that occurs relatively the oftenest in Job 3:21; Job 23:8; Job 24:24; Job 27:19. Comp. beside Psa 37:10; Psa 103:16; Pro 23:5, etc.
Isa 19:8. comp. Isa 3:26. and are found only here in Isaiah; on the former compare Job 40:25; on the latter, Hab 1:15. comp. on Isa 16:8.
Isa 19:9. are lina pectinata, i.e., linen stuff made of hackeled, pure, fine flax. is . .; so also is . The root of the latter (Isa 29:22) means candidum, then nobilem, splendidum esse. We encounter this meaning again in nobilis, fine, white bread, (Gen 40:16), probably, too, in the proper names (ingenuus) (nobilitas). Accordingly would be a fine white garment. Whether the stuff was linen or cotton is not to be determined from the word itself. The distinction from rather favors the opinion that it was cotton. The ending j is an old singular ending; comp. Ewald, 164, c; 177 a.
Isa 19:10. The word occurs again only Psa 11:3; and there means undoubtedly pillars, posts. This meaning suits perfectly in this place also. Only verse 10 is not to be connected with what precedes, but is to be construed as the theme for what follows, yet in the sense that the following verses specify exclusively the notion . Only at the end of Isa 19:15 the underlying thought of Isa 19:10 recurs. For head and tail, palm branch and rush is only another expression for that which is called foundation pillars and hired laborers. (compare , mercenarius) means merces, pay, and occurs again only Pro 11:18. They are, therefore, qustum facientes, hired laborers; a comprehensive designation of the lower classes.The expression recalls Isa 14:23. The meaning troubled, which some give to in our text, would form a solitary instance. Everywhere else the word means stagnum, palus (Isa 35:7; Isa 41:18; Isa 42:15), or arundinetum (Jer 51:32). The word is used for the pools, puddles, swamps made by the Nile (Exo 7:19; Exo 8:1).
Isa 19:11. is verb. denom. from , brutus, stolidus. The Niph. only here in Isaiah; comp. Jer 10:14; Jer 10:21., this is said because the prophet has in mind a single priest: he thinks, perhaps, of the , the chief of the entire priesthood, (Ebers, l. c. p. 344).
Isa 19:13. , infatuated, only here in Isa; comp. Num 12:11; Jer 5:4; Jer 50:36., betrayed; Niph. only here; Hiph. Isa 36:14; Isa 37:10. is = . Memphis (comp. Delitzsch and Brugsch Hist. dEgyptc). the corner; then by metonymy for the corner-stone, Job 38:6; comp. Isa 28:15; Jer 51:26; Psa 118:22.
Isa 19:14. , perverseness, . ., compare 1Ki 22:22 sq. see on Isa 19:1. , Isa 5:22.
Isa 19:15. before and is here equivalent to or (comp Ewald, 352, a; Jer 44:28)
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Jehovah draws near to the judgment against Egypt: the idols flee, the nation is dispirited (Isa 19:1). This is the theme of the discourse. In what follows the Prophet lets the Lord Himself set forth how He means to carry out in detail what is announced in Isa 19:1. The Egyptians shall war on one another (Isa 19:2); bereft of all prudent deliberation, they shall seek counsel from the idols and wizards (Isa 19:3). But it is of no use. Egypt is subjected to a harsh rule (Isa 19:4). The Nile dries up; its rushes and canes wither (Isa 19:5-6), and also the meadows and fields on its banks (Isa 19:7); its fisheries come to a miserable end (Isa 19:8); the preparation of linen and cotton stuff ceases (Isa 19:9). The highest as well as the lowest classes are ruined (Isa 19:10); the priests and the wise men that boast an ancient royal descent are at an end with their wisdom; they know not what the Lord has determined concerning Egypt (Isa 19:11-12); they are altogether perplexed in their thoughts, so that they only lead Egypt about in a maze (Isa 19:13-14). Neither for the highest nor the lowest does labor for the general benefit succeed any more (Isa 19:15).
2. The burdenmidst of it.
Isa 19:1. Mizraim, is not the native name for the land of Egypt. The ancient Egyptians never used it. It is neither to be found in the hieroglyphic inscriptions, nor can it be explained from the Koptic language. The Egyptians called their land (the Nile valley) Cham; Koptic, Keme, Kemi, Chemi (i.e. black). Mizraim is the name given to the land by its eastern, Semitic neighbors. Ebers (l. c., p. 71 sqq.) proceeds from , which means coarctatio, and then munimentum, fortification (Psa 31:22; Psa 60:11; Mic 7:12; Hab 2:1, etc.). Egypt is so named, Isa 19:6; Isa 37:25; 2Ki 19:24; Mic 7:12. Ebers maintains that the eastern neighbors so named Lower Egypt primarily, from the circumvallation that extended through the entire Isthmus, from Sues of Pelusium to the Red Sea, and thus completely shut off Lower Egypt from the East; so that it was an , a land shut off by fortification for those eastern neighbors. But when the Hyksos had forced an entrance into the land, they learned for the first that it was far larger than they had supposed, viz., that it extended beyond the southern extremity of the fortification far up the Nile to the cataracts: in other words they learned that there was a Lower and an Upper Egypt. Hence the dual . Although the normal dual of would sound differently, yet Ebers is right in saying that the inflection of proper names often takes its own peculiar form (l. c., p. 86). It is debatable whether the original distinction between and was afterwards strictly adhered to. In Isa 11:11, is evidently used in the narrower sense in which was originally used. [ is here the name of the ancestor (Gen 10:6), put for his descendants. J. A. A.Mizraim, or Misrim, the name given to Egypt in the Scriptures, is in the plural form, and is the Hebrew mode of expressing the two regions of Egypt (so commonly met with in the hieroglyphics), or the two Miser, a name still used by the Arabs, who call Egypt, as well as Cairo, Musk, or Misr. Wilkinsons Mann. and Cust. of Anc. Egypt, I. 2, quoted by Barnes in loc., who adds: The origin of the name Egypt is unknown. Egyptus is said by some to have been an ancient king of the country].
Jehovah sets out for Egypt to hold an assize there. He rides swiftly thither on light clouds (Psa 18:11; Psa 68:34). Egypts idols flee before Him. They recognize in Him their lord and master, Luk 4:34. The people are dispirited; their courage sinks. One is involuntarily reminded of the visitation Egypt once before experienced on the part of Jehovah (Exo 12:12). Idols and people of Egypt have once before felt the power of Jehovah: just for this reason they flee and tremble before Him (comp. Jer 46:25; Eze 30:13; 1Sa 5:3).
3. And I will setLord of hosts.
Isa 19:2-4. Duncker (Gesch. des Alterth., I. p. 602) says: It cannot be determined whether this passage refers to the anarchy that followed the expulsion of the Ethiopians (Diodor., I. 66) about the year 695, or the contests that preceded Psammetichus ascending the throne (between 678670). But it appears that the anarchy after the withdrawal of the Ethiopians was not considerable. Herodotus (II. 147) especially praises the beautiful harmony of the Dodecarche. And if misunderstandings did arise, they might be taken into the Prophets comprehensive glance as essentially of the same sort with those that soon after preceded the sole dominion of Psammetichus. Such periods of internal discord, any way, occurred often in Egypt. Thus a papyrus discovered by Harris in 1855, and belonging to the time of Ramses III., leaf 75 sqq. informs us: The land of Egypt fell into a decline: every one did as he pleased, long years there was no sovereign for them, that had the supreme power over the rest of things. The land of Egypt belonged to the princes in the districts. One killed another in jealousy. Comp. Eisenlohr, The great Harris Papyrus; a lecture, Leipzig, 1872. Thus even the disturbances with which Egypt was visited in consequence of the irruption of the Ethiopian king Pianchi Meramen may be included, which Stade (De Is. vatt. aeth., p. 30 sqq.) holds to be intended by the cruel lord and fierce king Isa 19:4. For when Isaiah wrote, if the date given above is correct, the events under Pianchi Meramen belonged to the past and not to the future. By the aid of Ionian and Karian pirates (Herod. II. 152) Psammetichus subdued his opponents, after an eight years contest, in the decisive battle of Momemphis.
What the Prophet says (Isa 19:3) of the emptying out of the spirit of Egypt and swallowing up its counsel (comp. Isa 3:12) indicates the impotence of the rulers to help the situation with such means as shall be at their command. In their extremity they will apply to their idols, their interpreters, i.e. the mutterers. But in vain. Egypt is handed over to a harsh rule and a stern king. It cannot be denied that these terms apply very well to Psammetichus and the subsequent kings of his race, Necho and Hophra, for they called in foreign help to the support of their dominion, and gave thereby a blow to the old Egyptian existence from which it never recovered. We are told by Diodorus (I. 67) and Herodotus (II. 30) that, in consequence of the favor that Psammetichus showed to foreigners, more than 200,000 Egyptians of the military caste emigrated to Ethiopia during the reign of that king. Under Necho, of the laborers on the canal that was to connect the Nile with the Red Sea, 120,000 perished (Her. II. 158). Hophra or Apries was dethroned because an expedition against Cyrene, for which he had employed an army composed only of Egyptians, ended in severe defeat. For his conduct was construed to be an intentional devotion of the Egyptians to destruction (Herod. II. 161169; IV. 159). These and other historical events may be regarded as belonging to the fulfilment of our prophecy. But they do not exhaust it. Nothing was less in Isaiahs mind than to make those transactions the subject of special prediction. How would we in that case apply what follows, where he speaks of the Nile drying up and vegetation ceasing? Can this, too, be meant literally? By both declarations the Prophet means only to announce to Egypt a judgment by which, on both sides of its life, the historical and the natural, it shall be reduced to extremities. This judgment has not been realized by only one or a few definite events. It is realized by every thing that precedes the conversion of Egypt to Jehovah (Isa 19:21 sqq.) and contributes to it; and to that belongs, above all, its oppression by a foe from without, that is by Assyria. This moment, it is true, does not appear especially in chapt. 19, but to the presentation of this the complementary chapt. 20 is exclusively devoted.
4. And the watersconfounded.
Isa 19:5-9. The Nile is called a sea (comp. Isa 18:2; Isa 27:1; Nah 3:8; Mic 7:12?), not merely because of its normal breadth within its own banks, but also because it really spreads out like a sea at the time of overflow, which to suit the context, must be regarded as the special allusion here. Hence Herodotus (II. 97) calls it the sea of Egypt. Comp. Plin. Hist. nat., 35, 11. The water of the Nile resembles a sea. Seneca Quaest. nat. IV. 2. At first it abates, then by continued accession of waters it spreads out into the appearance of a broad and turbid sea, Gesen. in loc. If , sea designates the Nile in its overflow, then means the stream within its normal bed, and the , streams and ditches, mean the arms and canals of the Nile. With the drying up of the Nile and its branches perishes, of course, the vegetation that depends on them, and thus also the fisheries and the important manufacture of linen and cotton. On the extraordinary, productive fisheries of the Nile, comp. Wilkinson, l. c. I. and II. Linen garments were especially worn by the priests. In the temples they were allowed to wear only linen garments. All mummy bandages also were required to be of linen. On the manufacture of linen and cotton in Egypt, see Wilkinson II.
5. And they shall be brokenrush, may do.
Isa 19:10-15. In these verses the Prophet portrays the ruin of Egypt in another aspect of its national life, viz.: the division into castes, in which he especially sets forth the highest class as overtaken by the ruin. By (see under Text. and Gram.), is not to be understood the lower classes (Hendewerk and Ewald) nor weaving (with a reference to , Roorda, Rosenmueller and others). They are the upper classes, the highest castes (comp. Isa 3:1). These shall be i.e., cast down, crumbled to ruins (comp. Isa 53:5; Isa 53:10; Isa 3:15; Isa 57:15), what is thus predicated corresponding to the figurative meaning of the subject, in which I see an allusion to the ruins. For already in Isaiahs time there were buildings in Egypt whose origin dated back more than a thousand years.
Is it not fitting that the Prophet compares the humiliation of the grandees of Egypt to the ruins of its ancient buildings, and the sorely visited lower classes to swamps of its Nile? (See Text, and Gram. on Isa 19:10).
In what follows he depicts further the coming to nought of the grandees, setting forth especially the bankruptcy of their wisdom, so celebrated of old (Act 7:22; Herod. IV. 6, 77, 160). The princes of Zoan are only fools. (Zoan = Tanis, the royal residence of Lower Egypt, situated in the Delta of the Nile, comp. Ebers, l. c., I. p. 272 sqq.; identical with Ramses, according to Brugsch, address before the Oriental Congress, London, 1874). The sages among the counsellors of Pharaoh, are properly those of the counsellors who alone deserve the predicate wise. The expression recalls her wise ladies in the song of Deborah (Jdg 5:29) which must also be translated: the wisest among her princesses. On the , the priestly counsellors of Pharaoh, see Ebers, l. c. I. p. 341 sqq.
As to the name Pharaoh, it reads in the hieroglyphic and hieratic writing Peraa or Per, which means literally great house (comp. sublime Porte). Comp. Ebers, p. 263 sqq. The word designates also simply the kings palace (Ebers, ibid.).
The Prophet assumes that the Egyptian priests base their claim to wisdom on two circumstances: 1) on their antiquity, 2) on their high, royal origin. If the ancient kings were of a priestly race, which is correctly assumed, and if the wisdom of the priests was traditional, then the counsel which they gave the king originated from a source which must enjoy the highest consideration in his eyes. How lamentably, says Isaiah, must this counsel, proceeding from such high authority, come to confusion. Did they know what God had determined against Egypt, they could then take measures against it (Isa 19:12). As it is they are in a maze. They are themselves infatuated, and deceived; hence the corner-stone of its tribes (i.e., the tribe, viz.: the class on which the whole Egyptian body politic rests; the priestly class) leads the whole land astray (Isa 19:13). The Lord has, in fact, as it were, mingled a spirit of perverseness in the inward part of Egypt, so that by the very ones in whom, so to speak, the understanding of the land concentrated, the land is led astray in the most shameful manner. This shameful leading astray he expresses by a very revolting figure: he compares Egypt to a drunken man rolling about hither and thither in his own vomitings (Isa 19:14). Comp. Isa 28:8; Jer 48:26 uses the same figure of Moab.Thus Egypt becomes poor in deeds. All it does is nothing done. Neither head nor tail; neither palm-branch nor rush, i.e., neither the highest nor the lowest (comp. on Isa 9:13) will accomplish anything. With this the Prophet returns back to the thought from which (Isa 19:9) he started out.
Footnotes:
[1]cometh.
[2]move, or flee.
[3]melts.
[4]Heb. mingle.
[5]Egypt against Egypt.
[6]of stern command and rough tread.
[7]Heb. shall be emptied.
[8]Heb. swallow up.
[9]mutterers.
[10]the necromancers.
[11]Egypt.
[12]Or, shut up.
[13]harsh dominion.
[14]stern.
[15]the rivers shall stink.
[16]of Egypt.
[17]Reed and rush.
[18]meadows.
[19]on the bank of the.
[20]all the sown ground of.
[21]Heb. and shall not be.
[22]Or, white works.
[23]her pillars shall be ruins, all laborers for hire soul-swamps.
[24]Heb. foundations.
[25]Or, of living things.
[26]Only fools are the.
[27]The wise among the counsellors of Pharaoh, their counsel is.
[28]infatuated.
[29]And the corner-stone of its castes has led Egypt astray.
[30]Or, governors.
[31]Heb. corners.
[32]Heb. a spirit of perverseness.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
In this chapter, Egypt, the original and sworn foe to Israel, comes in for her judgment. Great misery and distress are threatened to Egypt. The close of the chapter contains great mercy, which is promised to Egypt in calling the inhabitants to Christ.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Here is the same subject of national distress for the burden of Egypt, as that of Damascus or Moab, though the end differs: foreign wars, and domestic jealousies are predicted: so that every man’s hand is to be against his brother. As a nation and people, Egypt is described as most calamitous. Famine, and the want of bread; and fish, which their rivers supplied in plenty, were to fail by the Lord’s drying up the waters. In short, a general desolation was to take place, in the burden of Egypt. If we spiritualize the history, it may be said, and said with truth, that there is a very Egypt, and the burden of Egypt falls in upon the soul, whenever the Lord remits the out-pouring of his Holy Spirit. Reader, do you not find, in the risings of sin within, and the remains of in dwelling corruption in the soul, that, like the Egyptian darkness, even a deadness and a darkness which may be felt is induced, and a burden indeed, of an intolerable nature, comes over the mind? And in such seasons, doth not the very spirit fail, and everything seems to be, for the time, in respect of grace, lost? And how often is the poor heart tempted to cry out, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord? Lam 3:18 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The Burden of Egypt
Isa 19:1
In the preface to a volume of travel-letters by Dr. Liddon, his sister says: ‘Dr. Liddon’s interests were always the same. This was nowhere more evident than in Egypt, which had for him extraordinary fascinations, because, as he would frequently explain, the life of the ancient Egyptians all pointed one way; their monuments and their literature alike show that they held the real business of this life to be preparation for death. It was neither on their palaces nor on their public buildings that they lavished their art and their wealth, but on their temples and their tombs. “What an example for us,” he would often say; “one that can only fill us with humiliation and shame.”‘
I. That the true business of life is to prepare for death has ever been the belief of all serious, of all catholic, Christians, from Dr. Liddon to Thomas Carlyle’s peasant father ‘impressively pronouncing the words, “Prepare us for these solemn events, death, judgment, and eternity”‘. It may have receded in the thin and washy versions of Christianity current in our day, but it must return. For life is a judgment as well as a discipline, and unless the moral nerve has been cauterized to death, the soul must seek the way by which alone the offended justice of God can be met in peace. And desire as well as fear, the desire of the soul created for God and restless till it finds Him, can be contented only with the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The faith that joins us to Christ and restores us to God must be maintained by steady preparation the preparation of prayer, labour, and self-scrutiny for the supreme hour when, in presence of the Lord of Truth, the spirit makes its answer.
But we are told ‘other worldliness’ has gone out of fashion, that our business is with the rectification of life on earth. Yes; but that can only be accomplished by souls detached from time, though detained within it. Nothing, said St. Paul, could separate him from the love of Christ; neither life nor death, things present nor things to come. Neque instantia . And neither did Christ’s love separate him from things present Rather it made him and it makes all in the same case the true servants and rulers of the present.
To depreciate or stand aloof from the great tasks of social reform is a real denial of Christ. These questions will never be settled by war. They cannot be settled so long as personal passion and pique envy, jealousy, and malice are in the ascendant. They will yield only to those who are content to live and die humble servants of God, yet brave and free citizens.
II. This readiness will give us the transfigured courage of love. We shall not flinch at the slings and arrows of our foes; these cannot touch the immortal part. We shall not pander to the vain hopes of those we serve, but tell them plainly that stern limits are set to the efficacy of earthly good; and that all possessions will but leave them poorer if they miss salvation. We shall not be dismayed when foes and friends alike turn upon us. The best cause may come to such a pass that all men will seem to forsake it and flee; the rain will descend, the floods come, the winds blow and beat upon the house. But what is built on the rock will stand. The disciple is not greater than his Lord, and it may be, as Heine says, that wherever a lofty soul utters its thoughts there is Golgotha. Even so in the bold and free acceptance of death there is given perfect courage and perfect self-command. Jesus died among legions of peace-breathing angels, and His peace passes to the prepared soul in death. When the cruellest blow falls, when the few human faces that made our inner world are fading, the hope rooted in Christ remains, for we know they depart to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father. The affections are no more nerves to suffer with when in Christ, bereavement and death are met with the fullness of willing love.
W. Robertson Nicoll, Ten Minute Sermons, p. 153.
References. XIX. 23, 24. J. Wordsworth, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lvi. 1899, p. 346. XIX. 23-25. W. L. Watkinson, ibid. vol. lii. 1897, p. 236; see also The Blind Spot, p. 21. XIX. 24. J. H. Shakespeare, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lii. 1897, p. 228. XIX. 24, 25. Hugh Price Hughes, Essential Christianity, p. 249. J. Scott Lidgett, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxxi. 1907, p. 156.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Divine Action
Isa 19
We seem to have fallen upon commonplace times, unless indeed we have the prophetic instinct and imagination which can turn even apparent commonplaces into things really grand and spiritually significant. What great winds roar through these prophecies of Isaiah! what startling judgments fall upon the nations! what trumpetings and thunderings! what rendings and revolutions! and yet we seem to be standing in quietness and peace, and nothing is occurring around us which does not lie easily within the limits of the coldest calculation. Perhaps, however, there would be more stirring of the divine energy if we had the hearing ear and the seeing eye: that energy may still be moving on, but we may have lost its music through our spiritual indifference. If the picture is in the eye of the beholder, if the music is in the ear of the listener, if eloquence is in the hearer as much as in the speaker, then may we not turn upon ourselves with pungent accent and say that it is because we have lost the faculty of observation, the eyes of insight, and the power of attention, that we allow providence now to move on without recognition and without praise? It is a common observation that to the humorist humorous things are constantly occurring that he sees them where dull eyes would take no note of them. So, to the philosopher philosophy is always evolving itself, arresting his attention, fascinating him with new aspects, and delighting him with new possibilities. So it would be to the student of providence, or history, of God. If the right spirit were in us there would be no want of material. All winds are alike to the dead; the cemetery knows nothing of the thunderstorm or of the quiet beauty of the dawn. If we had more life, we should have more insight and more knowledge, and be quite sure that God still reigns and holds everything within the grasp of his almighty hand. Probably Isaiah had more life than we have; so he had more gift of prophecy. If we have resigned the prophet’s mantle, and said we have fallen upon insignificant days, God may let us have our own way so far; he may allow us to feed upon the wind and to satisfy our hunger with the sand of the desert. If we do not see great things to-day, it is not because great things are not occurring, but because we have lost the faculty of sight and the genius of reverent attention. We may be gleaners in a great historic field. To that humble capacity we may at least betake ourselves. Those who were immediately interested in the occurrences related in such a chapter have passed on: now we may modestly find our way into the field which they once occupied, and by looking carefully around we may be able to see an ear or two of corn, which, rightly used, planted in the right soil, and fostered by the right conditions, may even now bring forth thirty and sixty fold.
The prophet is great in this chapter; indeed, Isaiah is always great. Yet how wonderful it is that his greatness subsides so as to allow the divine majesty even the advantage of a background. Isaiah’s power of language never fails him, his harp is never out of tune, his fingers never lose their cunning; and he is as great in these minor burdens which he is now uttering as in the greater burdens we have already studied: yet he steps aside and allows the divine action to be seen in all its energy and mystery. Let us note a few points in that divine action.
Here is one way in which the Lord comes namely, “upon a a swift cloud” (v. i). The intimation is one of mystery. No man can tell which way the Lord will come to-day. Let us keep our eyes upon every point of the horizon; let us distribute the watchmen wisely, and assign to each his sphere of observation; for by what door the Lord may enter the field of vision no one can tell, by a political event, by some new movement in foreign policy, by the discovery of new riches in the earth, by great shocks which try men’s strength, by grim sorrow, by cruel death, by judgments that have no name, by mercies” tender as the tenderest love, by compassions all tears, by providences that are surprises of gladness: watch all these doors, for by any one of them the Lord may come into the nation, the family, the individual heart. This divine policy, if it may be so named, baffles the watchers who trust to their own sagacity. If men say they will circumvent God and know all the ways of his providence, behold God forsakes all ways that are familiar and that lie within the calculation of the human mind; and he startles those who watch with light from unexpected quarters, with shakings and tremblings never before felt in the vibrations of history. “Clouds and darkness are round about him”: the cloud that appears to be nothing but vapour may enshrine the Deity; the bush, yesterday so common that any bird might have alighted upon it, to-day burns with unseen, infinite energy. The Lord will come by what way he pleases, now as if from the depths of the earth, and now as from the heights of heaven; blessed is that servant who is ready to receive him and to welcome him to the heart’s hospitality of love.
Notice a method of administration which belongs to all the ages of Providence. It is recorded in the second verse:
“will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.” ( Isa 19:2 )
Civil war is the cruellest of all. When men are stretching forth the neck of their expectation that they may behold in the far distance an approaching enemy, God troubles them with home difficulties, and they who were going forth to win new laurels on distant fields have to turn round and slay one another, sons of the same parents, inheritors of the same soil! This is distinctly ascribed to the divine energy and will: “I will set”: I will create the war, I will make it of the kind known as internecine; men who have known one another a lifetime I will make enemies; and this shall all be done that good may be wrought out, which under any other circumstances would be impossible. This method of administration, we say, obtains and prevails in all ages. This is the meaning of many a controversy, of many a quarrel, of many a dissension, in cabinets, in families, in nations. Men are surprised that they should turn upon their brothers with disdain, and even with cruel hatred. It is indeed matter of surprise and great sorrow, and if looked at within narrow limits it would seem to be a reflection upon Providence; but when does God ask to be judged within the four corners of human imagination or criticism? He not only does the deed, he does it within a field which he himself has measured, and within the range of declarations which have about them all the mystery and graciousness of evangelical prophecies. We must, therefore, look not only at the incident, but at all its surroundings and to all its issues. When we are puzzled by household difficulties, by commercial perplexities, by unions that only exist for a moment and then dissolve or are turned into sourness and alienation, we must never forget that there is One who rules over all, and who may be the Author of this fratricidal war. The mystery of Providence is infinite. Lord, increase our faith!
Observe, further, the religion of bewilderment. It is graphically set forth in the third verse:
“And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.” ( Isa 19:3 )
How often have we seen men seek out their deities in the time of trouble! To know what a man’s religion really is we must wait until all heaven is dark with thunderclouds, and until what he believed to be the solid earth feels under his feet like a quaking bog; then we shall know whether he has been playing the little philosopher, adventuring his little intellectual all with the small empiric, or whether there is in him the real seed of God, the true life divine. Imagine the picture: all Egypt is bewildered and dismayed, not knowing which is east, which is west, which is the upper place, which is the underground; all distinctions, boundaries, limits, are blurred and obliterated; and hear the howling and the crying for the deities to whose care the heart and all its issues have been entrusted! What a call for charmers, and for familiar spirits, and for wizards, and for anything that can mutter and offer some religious hope to the shattered fancy of man! Thus God educates the world. There come times in human history when a man revises all his ideas, conceptions, theories, hypotheses, and professions: what a casting out of the ship there is of all these things in the great storm-hour! The ship is heavy laden and the sea is heavy upon her planks, and all hope of being saved is taken away then out go all the false theories, and prejudices, and philosophies, and mutterings, and impieties, and hypocrisies, if haply even yet the poor ship may be saved. It is well that such times should occur; they are cleansing times, dismantling and disburdening times; and, rightly used, we come out of them with simpler prayers, larger faith, tenderer love. Lord, show us the meaning of all thy shakings of the earth, and all the evermore truly governed but seemingly ungoverned perplexities of the human mind.
Then there is a wonderful action of Providence in the matter of natural blessings:
“The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish” ( Isa 19:7-10 ).
The natural food of Egypt shall be taken away. What does the country produce? God will one day lay his hand upon it all, and taking it from us will leave nothing but emptiness, that we may learn in hunger the prayer we could not have learned in fulness. God will empty the Nile God will lay his hand upon the busy mill in the manufacturing districts and order it to be quiet; God will intercept the incoming of the hemp, the flax, the cotton whatever the product may be so that it shall be lost on the way, and the men who were expecting its arrival shall be confounded with disappointments. All these things are God’s. And all these prophecies show on what a deep rock-basis lies the great word of Christ, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you,” for the Lord is God of the rivers and the fords and the seas, and the vineyards and the wheatfields and the olive-yards, and God will rain into the wilderness feathered fowl from heaven if such should be his determination and purpose. He is Lord of all. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. Our daily bread is given to us from heaven: blessed are they who recognise the gift, and who eat the bread as sacramental flesh, having in it meanings of life and immortality, not obvious to the merely carnal eye. Let us ask questions about our poverty and about our unprosperous harvests, our withering fields, our rivers choked with dead fish, our sluices and networks that we cannot move or set in successful action. Let the question be religious. No question is worth asking that does not bore its way into the heart of things. Whilst others may be asking flippant questions about the decay of industry, the depression of trade, the clouding of commercial prospects, let those who believe in an over-ruling Providence renounce all trivial inquiries, and begin to ask their questions within the shadow of the altar. It may be that we have sinned, and that God’s only way of touching our conscience is through the impoverishment of the body. No man may dogmatise on these things; but holy, noble, large, reverent questions may be asked surely, when the earth trembles and becomes uncertain in her very revolutions.
Then there is an action of the divine energy upon the mind as shown in ver. 14:
“The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.” ( Isa 19:14 )
What is this action? It may be indicated by a familiar word which does not occur in the text. When we read of a “perverse spirit” we may substitute for that expression dizziness. God turns a man dizzy, so that he is drunk, but not with wine. How many powers has the Almighty! We have seen by how many doors he may come in. How many are the actions of God in human history! He makes Egypt dizzy; he does not strike Egypt with a rod of iron, or confound her by some great phenomena that burn all over the face of heaven to affright her, he simply sends dizziness into the nation, so that the king feels all things going round, and the mean man is sure that he has lost his wit and sense and shrewdness; he fixes his eye upon stable pillars, and, behold, they move, they circulate, and he says, Is it I or is it the pillar moving? so that he cannot reason, he cannot put things together; when he begins to count he forgets his reckoning, when he commences a story he cuts it off at an inferior point, and cannot conduct it to a period; yet he says he is well, he is without a pain, he cannot account for this whirl, this movement, it is taking him on and on, and away and away; he says, What is it? How God can humble men! The strong man shall need a little child to lead him, and the sagacious man may require a child to help his memory, for his recollection is quite withered; and they who once were proud ask to be allowed to take the meanest position; and men whose judgment was once waited for because of its completeness and solidity are now not reckoned with the counsellors of the land. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Now the Lord himself will prophesy. The Lord in going away from a people sometimes suddenly turns round and looks at them, and behold there is a smile where once there was a frown:
“In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it. And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them” ( Isa 19:19-22 ).
Here the Lord says that Egypt is given over to himself in holy obedience and love and homage. The Lord shall be the God of Egypt; Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands unto God; lands that have been filled with idols shall be cleansed of all their folly and wickedness, and in the midst of them shall stand the pillar of God, emblem of righteousness and purity, and the border thereof shall be as a border of gold, set with precious stones. There is always a line of hope even in connection with the darkest judgment. The Lord never gives up the issue of things to the devil. He recognises the devil’s existence, and allows him to operate within certain lines upon the life of nations and the life of individuals, but always he sees the latter end, and says, The evening shall be brighter than the morning; when all this tragedy is completed Jesus shall have the heathen for his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession. We see but a little, we know next to nothing; but God who is enthroned in eternity tells us that there shall yet arise upon the earth a morning without a cloud, there shall shine over the whole land a day in which there is no frown of judgment. In these vaticinations the soul lives; and because they are written in the Book of God, souls that otherwise would be cast into dejection toil with hopefulness because their assurance is in God.
From studies of this kind we learn that the scheme of Providence is one. Details vary, but the divine movement never changes as to its moral characteristics and its beneficent purpose. We have seen how prophets and poets are at liberty to decorate great judgment-utterances with all manner of illustration and imagery, trope and metaphor, according to the fertility of the individual genius; but the innermost thing is always the same, namely, Say ye unto the righteous, It shall be well with him; say ye unto the wicked, he is on the way to ruin. We learn that escape from judgment is impossible. God handles all the nations one after another Moab, and Damascus, and Egypt, and the desert sea, and the Valley of Vision, and the land of Tyre, all are under his notice, and if any one of them seems to be missed it is only for a moment; the time comes when the smallest of the peoples as well as the greatest shall be judged by the living God. The eternal lesson is that the only security is in being right. Righteousness fears no judgment. “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” The good man cares not who comes up the path, he can bring no danger to him. The honest soul is not frightened by the rustling of a leaf, no footfall shakes down the cowardice of his frail security; he says, I live in God, I am the servant of the living God, I know no will but God’s; come, go, who will, who may, my foundation standeth sure, and is inscribed in letters of gold with this legend, “The Lord knoweth them that are his.” “Righteousness exalteth a nation.” Righteousness is the glory of any man. How calm is the righteous man! Others are hearing noises which affright them; they are sure the hour of crisis has come; an unfamiliar voice means the upsetting of judgment which is already shaken, but the righteous man is calm in the darkness and in the light, he has an abundance of peace in the storm, his vintage is empurpled with richest grapes even in the winter time, and all his mountains are covered with cattle even when other lands are depopulated and ruined; if he have nothing, he yet has all things; if his hands are empty, his heart is overflowing; he says, “A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” To be at peace with God is to control all things; for it is to be one with God. The immediate burden is passed, the historical reference is fulfilled, but the eternal thing that looks upon us all is this, that God is on the throne, and that he will judge morally. To whom much has been given from him shall much be expected. He that knew his Lord’s will and did it not shall be beaten with many stripes; he who did his best, though that best was but little, shall be recognised and honoured. The way of the Lord is equal. Blessed are they who, through the Son of God, Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world, are at peace with God through the Atonement which was wrought out in Gethsemane and on Calvary. For that blessedness let all men seek!
Prayer
Almighty God, we know thee through thy Son, Jesus Christ. Did he not say unto us, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father? and is he not known unto us as Immanuel, and as God manifest in the flesh? We read his life, therefore, that we may read thy life, thou Infinite One. Into this condescension hast thou come, that we may peruse thy ways and understand somewhat of thy purpose, and follow thee in all the great mystery of thy providence. We watch the Son of man, not that we may see him alone, but that we may see the Father also, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Beyond the man we see thyself, Father of us all. Help us thus to read the life of thy Son; then shall it be a new life to us, a new mystery will show itself in it day by day. The Lord grant unto us a wise and understanding heart, that we may read all nature aright, and all providence; that we may put the pieces and sections of history together with a skilful hand, and thus discover that in so doing we are wise master-builders, erecting a temple, building a sanctuary, yea, rearing an altar; and we shall see that every place is holy ground and every spot of earth is the gate of heaven. May we read ourselves aright, these wondrous mysteries that are within us, these incalculable palpitations, throbbings, pulsings, urgings of a strange force: may we know that what is within us is of the nature of divinity; may we understand that God breathed into the nostrils of man the breath of life, and that he became, by what processes we know not, a living soul. Help us to rear the soul into all strength and healthfulness and nobleness; may we bestow more culture upon the soul than upon the body. We know that in our body is written the condemnation of death, but on our soul is written the signature of God. May we be wise men herein, caring for the greater more than for the less, showing intenser concern about the infinite future than about the decayed past and the transient present. The years are flying away; more have gone in many instances than can be yet to come upon the earth; the tale is more than half told, yea, it has now come down to its last paragraphs and trembling sentences, so that the earth recedes, and time rolls back, and nothing is so near as heaven’s brightness as the judgment of eternity. We would be solemn in this view, composed in mind, sober in understanding, putting away from us all levity, frivolity, folly, and looking calmly upon the certainties of things, knowing that now as ever there is but a step between us and death. Yet: we would be joyful; thou hast not brought us into thy Church to make us sad: whosoever has been crucified with Christ shall be raised with him, and in the anticipated glory of resurrection thy people may despise the shame of the Cross and triumph over all its abasement. Enable us to look at the future from the Cross of Christ. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: all kings shall bow down before him, and bring gold and incense in worship; all nations shall call the Redeemer blessed. These words were spoken in the night time of history, yea, when the darkness was sevenfold; and we have lived to see the dawning of the brighter day, the beginning of the infinite splendour. Enable us to believe that the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish every prophecy. Save us from self-trust, from intellectual vanity, from supposing that ought depends upon us but humble toil: may we know that the decree is written in eternity, and that the covenant dates from unbeginning time. Thus may we be lifted up in the whole Christian thought, raised to a vital atmosphere, inspired by the Holy Ghost to read, and think, and understand. Thou lookest upon the whole earth, in the midst of summer, and in the depth of winter; thou knowest its poor little tragic history, full of sin and self-sufficiency, and bitterness and all evil a very hell in space. Yet thou dost love the earth as if it were an only star, as if thine own peace and blessedness depended upon its purity and tranquillity. Thou didst send thy Son to be born upon it, to live upon it, to teach it, to redeem it; yea, he has made it twice sacred by his birth and by his resurrection. He was twice born here; we will call it Christ’s natal place; we will think of the cradle, and of the grave that was vanquished, and bless the Lord that Christ has touched our history and made it noble. Lord, many whom thou lovest are sick, and the Sabbath bells cannot raise them even into momentary gladness: life is ebbing away; all the little joys of time have departed one by one from their dim eyes, and young children who seem born only to laugh are filled with crying and tears. Thou dost permit the earth to open and swallow up the loved remains of our dead. Thou knowest best; the whole nation is within thy rule, and thou wilt not withhold thy blessing where the stroke is severest. O Physician of men, Healer of broken hearts, Emancipator of slaves, look upon us, come near us, touch us every one, and give us to feel that the earth sin-laden is yet not God-forsaken. Amen.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XXVII
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IN ISAIAH
The relation between the New Testament Christ and prophecy is that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. To him give all the prophets witness. All the scriptures, the law, the prophets, and the psalms, testify of him. And we are fools, and slow of heart to credit adequate testimony when we distrust any part of the inspired evidence.
Of the ancient prophets Isaiah was perhaps the most notable witness of the coming Messiah. An orderly combination of his many messianic utterances amounts to more than a mere sketch, indeed, rather to a series of almost life-sized portraits. As a striking background for these successive portraits the prophet discloses the world’s need of a Saviour, and across this horrible background of gloom the prophet sketches in startling strokes of light the image of a coming Redeemer.
In Isa 2:2-4 we have the first picture of him in Isaiah, that of the effect of his work, rather than of the Messiah himself. This is the establishment of the mountain of the Lord’s house on the top of the mountains, the coming of the nations to it and the resultant millennial glory.
In Isa 4:2-6 is another gleam from the messianic age in which the person of the Messiah comes more into view in the figure of a branch of Jehovah, beautiful and glorious. In sketching the effects of his work here the prophet adds a few strokes of millennial glory as a consummation of his ministry.
In Isa 7:14 he delineates him as a little child born of a virgin, whose coming is the light of the world. He is outlined on the canvas in lowest humanity and highest divinity, “God with us.” In this incarnation he is the seed of the woman and not of the man.
The prophet sees him as a child upon whom the government shall rest and whose name is “Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6 ). This passage shows the divinity of Christ and the universal peace he is to bring to the world. In these names we have the divine wisdom, the divine power, the divine fatherhood, and the divine peace.
In Isa 11:1-9 the prophet sees the Messiah as a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, i.e., of lowly origin, but possessing the Holy Spirit without measure who equips him for his work, and his administration wrought with skill and justice, the result of which is the introduction of universal and perfect peace. Here the child is presented as a teacher. And such a teacher! On him rests the seven spirits of God. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. He judges not according to appearances and reproves not according to rumors. With righteousness he judges the poor and reproves with equality in behalf of the meek. His words smite a guilty world like thunderbolts and his very breath slays iniquity. Righteousness and faithfulness are his girdle. He uplifts an infallible standard of morals.
In Isa 40:3-8 appears John the Baptist, whom Isaiah saw as a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the coming King.
In Isa 11:2 ; Isa 42:1 ; Isa 61:1-3 the prophet saw the Messiah as a worker in the power of the Spirit, in whom he was anointed at his baptism. This was the beginning of his ministry which was wrought through the power of the Holy Spirit. At no time in his ministry did our Lord claim that he wrought except in the power of the Holy Spirit who was given to him without measure.
In Isa 35:1-10 the Messiah is described as a miracle worker. In his presence the desert blossoms as a rose and springs burst out of dry ground. The banks of the Jordan rejoice. The lame man leaps like a hart, the dumb sing and the blind behold visions. The New Testament abounds in illustrations of fulfilment. These signs Christ presented to John the Baptist as his messianic credentials (Mat 11:1-4 ).
The passage (Isa 42:1-4 ) gives us a flashlight on the character of the Messiah. In the New Testament it is expressly applied to Christ whom the prophet sees as the meek and lowly Saviour, dealing gently with the blacksliding child of his grace. In Isa 22:22 we have him presented as bearing the key of the house of David, with full power to open and shut. This refers to his authority over all things in heaven and upon earth. By this authority he gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter one for the Jews and the other for the Gentiles who used one on the day of Pentecost and the other at the house of Cornelius, declaring in each case the terms of entrance into the kingdom of God. This authority of the Messiah is referred to again in Revelation:
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying. Fear not: I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Rev 7:17
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphis write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and shutteth and none openeth. Rev 3:7
In Isa 32:1-8 we have a great messianic passage portraying the work of Christ as a king ruling in righteousness, in whom men find a hiding place from the wind and the tempest. He is a stream in a dry place and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
In Isa 28:14-18 the Messiah is presented to w as a foundation stone in a threefold idea:
1. A tried foundation stone. This is the work of the master mason and indicates the preparation of the atone for its particular function.
2. An elect or precious foundation stone. This indicates that the stone was selected and appointed. It was not self-appointed but divinely appointed and is therefore safe.
3. A cornerstone, or sure foundation stone. Here it is a foundation of salvation, as presented in Mat 16:18 . It is Christ the Rock, and not Peter. See Paul’s foundation in 1 Corinthians:
According to the grace of God which was given unto me; as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1Co 3:10-11 .
In Isa 49:1-6 he is presented as a polished shaft, kept close in the quiver. The idea is that he is a mighty sword. In Revelation, Christ is presented to John as having a sharp, twoedged sword proceeding out of his mouth.
In Isa 50:2 ; Isa 52:9 f.; Isa 59:16-21 ; Isa 62:11 we have the idea of the salvation of Jehovah. The idea is that salvation originated with God and that man in his impotency could neither devise the plan of salvation nor aid in securing it. These passages are expressions of the pity with which God looks down on a lost world. The redemption, or salvation, here means both temporal and spiritual salvation salvation from enemies and salvation from sin.
In Isa 9:1 f. we have him presented as a great light to the people of Zebulun and Naphtali. In Isa 49:6 we have him presented as a light to the Gentiles and salvation to the end of the earth: “Yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.”
In Isa 8:14-15 Isaiah presents him as a stone of stumbling: “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.”
The prophet’s vision of his maltreatment and rejection are found in Isa 50:4-9 ; Isa 52:13-53:12 . In this we have the vision of him giving his “back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.” We see a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. His visage is so marred it startled all nations. He is a vicarious sacrifice. The chastisement of the peace of others is on him. The iniquity of others is put on him. It pleases the Father to bruise him until he has poured out his soul unto death as an offering for sin.
The teaching of Isaiah on the election of the Jews is his teaching concerning the “holy remnant,” a favorite expression of the prophet. See Isa 1:9 ; Isa 10:20-22 ; Isa 11:11 ; Isa 11:16 ; Isa 37:4 ; Isa 37:31-32 ; Isa 46:3 . This coincides with Paul’s teaching in Romans 9-11.
In Isa 32:15 we find Isaiah’s teaching on the pouring out of the Holy Spirit: “Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest,” and in Isa 44:3 : “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.”
In Isa 11:10 he is said to be the ensign of the nations: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting place shall be glorious.”
Isa 19:18-25 ; Isa 54:1-3 ; Isa 60:1-22 teach the enlargement of the church. The great invitation and promise are found in Isa 55 .
The Messiah in judgments is found in Isa 63:1-6 . Here we behold an avenger. He comes up out of Edom with dyed garments from Bozra. All his raiment is stained with the blood of his enemies whom he has trampled in his vengeance as grapes are crushed in the winevat and the restoration of the Jews is set forth in Isa 11:11-12 ; Isa 60:9-15 ; Isa 66:20 . Under the prophet’s graphic pencil or glowing brush we behold the establishment and growth of his kingdom unlike all other kingdoms, a kingdom within men, a kingdom whose principles are justice, righteousness, and equity and whose graces are faith, hope, love, and joy, an undying and ever-growing kingdom. Its prevalence is like the rising waters of Noah’s flood; “And the waters prevailed and increased mightily upon the earth. And the water prevailed mightily, mightily upon the earth; and all the high mountains, that are under the whole heavens, were covered.”
So this kingdom grows under the brush of the prophetic limner until its shores are illimitable. War ceases. Gannenta rolled in the blood of battle become fuel for fire. Conflagration is quenched. Famine outlawed. Pestilence banished. None are left to molest or make afraid. Peace flows like a river. The wolf dwells with the lamb. The leopard lies down with the kid. The calf and the young lion walk forth together and a little child is leading them. The cow and the bear feed in one pasture and their young ones are bedfellows. The sucking child safely plays over the hole of the asp, and weaned children put their hands in the adder’s den. In all the holy realms none hurt nor destroy, because the earth is as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the fathomless ocean is full of water. Rapturous vision! Sublime and ineffable consummation! Was it only a dream?
In many passages the prophet turns in the gleams from the millennial age, but one of the clearest and best on the millennium, which is in line with the preceding paragraph, Isa 11:6-9 : “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together: and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.”
The prophet’s vision of the destruction of death is given in Isa 25:8 : “He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it,” and in Isa 26:19 : “Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead.”
The clearest outlines of the prophet’s vision of “Paradise Regained” are to be found in Isa 25:8 , and in two passages in chapter Isa 66 : Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees, as one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hands of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants ; and he will have indignation against his enemies. Isa 66:10-14
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make shall remain before me, saith Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith Jehovah. Isa 66:22-23
QUESTIONS
1. What is the relation between the New Testament Christ and prophecy?
2. What can you say of Isaiah as a witness of the Messiah?
3. What can you say of Isaiah’s pictures of the Messiah and their background?
4. Following in the order of Christ’s manifestation, what is the first picture of him in Isaiah?
5. What is the second messianic glimpse in Isaiah?
6. What is Isaiah’s picture of the incarnation?
7. What is Isaiah’s picture of the divine child?
8. What is Isaiah’s vision of his descent, his relation to the Holy Spirit, his administration of justice, and the results of his reign?
9. What is Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah’s herald?
10. What is the prophet’s vision of his anointing?
11. What is the prophet’s vision of him as a miracle worker?
12. What is the prophet’s vision of the character of the Messiah?
13. What is the prophet’s vision of him as the key bearer?
14. What is the prophet’s vision of him as a king and a hiding place?
15. What is the prophet’s vision of the Messiah as a foundation stone?
16. What is the prophet’s vision of him as a polished shaft?
17. In what passages do we find the idea of the salvation of Jehovah, and what the significance of the idea?
18. What is Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah as a light?
19. Where does Isaiah present him as a stone of stumbling?
20. What is the prophet’s vision of his maltreatment and rejection?
21. What is the teaching of Isaiah on the election of the Jews?
22. Where do we find Isaiah’s teaching on the pouring out of the Holy Spirit?
23. Where is he said to be the ensign of the nations?
24. What passages teach the enlargement of the church?
25. Where is the great invitation and promise?
26. Where is the Messiah in judgment?
27. What passages show the restoration of the Jews?
28. What is the prophet’s vision of the Messiah’s kingdom?
29. What is the prophet’s vision of the millennium?
30. What is the prophet’s vision of the destruction of death?
31. What is the prophet’s vision of “Paradise Regained?”
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
XIV
THE BOOK OF ISAIAH PART 6
Isaiah 13-23
This section is called “The Book of Foreign Prophecies,'” because it treats of the foreign nations in their relation to Judah and Israel.
There are ten foreign nations here mentioned, as follows: Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Ethiopia, Egypt, Dumah, Arabia, and Tyre, with second prophecies against Egypt, Ethiopia, and Babylon, and one thrown in against Israel, Judah) Jerusalem, and Shebna, each. This Shebna was probably a foreigner. He was to be degraded from his high office and Eliakim was to take his place.
The radical critics assign to this section a much later date because of the distinctly predictive prophecies contained in it. There is no question that it reflects the condition of Babylon long after the time of Isaiah, and unless one believes heartily in supernatural revelations, the conclusion that it was written much later than the time of Isaiah, is unavoidable. The author accepts it as a prophecy of Isaiah and holds tenaciously to the theory of the unity of the book.
In Isaiah 13-23 the prophet gives us a series of judicial acts on various surrounding peoples, each of whom embodied some special form of worldly pride or ungodly self-will. But Asshur-Babel was conspicuous above all the rest. After fourteen centuries of comparative quiet, she was now reviving the idea of universal empire, notwithstanding the fact that Nimrod’s ruined tower stood as a perpetual warning against any such attempt. This was the divine purpose, that God might use it for his own instrument to chastise, both the various Gentile races, and especially his own people, Israel. This was the “hand that is stretched out upon all the nations” (Isa 14:26 ), to break up the fallow ground of the world’s surface, and prepare it for the good seed of the kingdom of God. Not only are these chapters (Isaiah 13-23) thus bound together inwardly, but they are also bound together outwardly by a similarity of title. We cannot detach Isaiah 13-14 from what has gone before without injury to the whole series, because
1. It is only in these chapters that we have the full antithesis to the mighty overflowing of the Assyrian deluge in Isaiah 7-8, and Isa 10 .
2.Isa 12 is a fit introduction to Isaiah 13-14, in that the deliverance of Zion, so briefly alluded to in Isa 12 , requires a further view of the enemies’ prostration, which these chapters supply. In Isa 14:2-27 we find the song of triumph analogous to Exo 15 , rather than in Isa 12 .
3.Isa 14:27 seems to be a fit termination of the section which began with Isa 7:1 .
4. There are many verbal links that connect these chapters with the preceding chapters. For example, take Isa 10:25 and Isa 13:3 ; Isa 10:27 and Isa 13:5 ; Isa 9:18 and Isa 13:13 , et multa al.
5. The complete cutting off of Ephraim foretold in Isa 7 requires a fuller revelation of the divine purpose concerning Asshur-Babylon, as its counterpoise and this is found in Isaiah 13-14.
From Isa 14:28 we infer that this prophecy was written toward the end of Ahaz’s reign. At that time spiritual darkness had won the conquest of the whole world. The “lamp of God” was now dark in his tabernacle. Hoshea, king of Israel, was the vassal of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and Ahaz had long ago surrendered himself to Tiglath-pileser. So the light of prophecy, with such a background, was very luminous now. Assyria was at this time at the height of her power, but Isaiah tells with distinctness that Assyria shall be broken in pieces in the Holy Land, and it is certain that Assyria received just such a blow in the defeat of Sennacherib’s army.
The prophet also saw the doom of Babylon, the city which was at this time the real center of the empire. He even mentions the instruments of the destruction, commencing with the Medes, who were not at this time an independent nation. Nothing can be more definite than Isaiah’s statements as to the absolute ruin of the “Golden City,” which prediction at the time must have seemed to violate all probability. Yet we have abundant evidence that it was all fulfilled, both regarding the nearer event of its capture by the Medes and also the ultimate desolation of its site.
The significant word with which each of these prophecies opens is the word “burden” which has here its original and ordinary meaning. This original meaning of the word seems to be supplied from 2Ki 9:25 , where it is used to mean the divine sentence on Ahab: “Jehovah laid this burden upon him.” The appropriateness of its use here is in the fact that the prophecy to which it is prefixed is usually denunciatory in character, and always so in Isaiah. It is easy to see that it here means a grievous threatening oracle. It is claimed by some that this word is used elsewhere in a good sense, as in Zec 12:1 and Mal 1:1 , but upon close examination of these passages in their connection it will be seen that they are denunciatory and that the word has its primary meaning in these instances also.
The reason that Babylon was given first consideration among the enemies of God’s people seems to be the fact that a divine revelation came to Isaiah at this early date (725 B.C.) showing that Babylon was to be the great enemy to be feared, as the ultimate destroyer of Judah and Jerusalem, the power that would carry the Jewish people into captivity. The main points of the denunciation against her are as follows:
1. The instruments of God’s destruction of Babylon are the far-away nations, which God himself will assemble for this work of destruction (Isa 13:2-5 ).
2. The vivid description of the sweeping devastation, which is all inclusive in the objects of its vengeance (Isa 13:6-16 ).
3. The Medes are named as the instruments to begin this work, and the permanent effects of the desolation to follow (Isa 13:17-22 ).
4. The reason for all this is God’s favor to Jacob who had been oppressed by these foreigners (Isa 14:1-2 ).
5. Israel’s parable of exaltation over Babylon reciting their oppressive work and God’s intervention which humbled Babylon and exalted Israel (Isa 14:3-20 ).
6. The final announcement of Babylon’s doom and the permanency of its desolation (Isa 14:21-23 ).
The prophecy against Assyria under this first burden consists of God’s oath of assurance to his people that his purpose already foretold concerning Assyria should stand. Babylon in the first part of the prophecy is presented as the most formidable enemy of God’s people, but it had not yet become so fearful then. But Assyria was their dread at this time. So Isaiah comes nearer home to meet their present need and assures them that they need not fear the Assyrian for God’s purpose concerning him should stand.
There are several things in this burden that call for special consideration:
1. In Isa 13:2-5 the prophet speaks of the mustering of the host to battle as if it were then in the process of assembling, indicating the vividness of it all to the prophet’s mind as present, though it was only a vision of the future.
2. In Isa 13:3 Jehovah speaks of his “consecrated ones,” clearly referring to the Medes and Persians. Now in what sense were they “consecrated ones”? It means that they were the instruments of his purpose, set apart for the specific work of executing his judgment. They were consecrated, or set apart, by the Lord for this work though they themselves were ungongcious of the function they performed. There are many illustrations of such use of men by the Lord recorded in the Scriptures, two notable examples of which are Cyrua and Caesar Augustus.
3. In Isa 13:10 there is a reference to the darkening of the heavenly luminaries. This is an expression of Nature’s sympathy with the Lord. When he is angry, the lights of the heavens grow dark, as at the crucifixion of our Lord, and as it will be at the end of the world. So it is often the case in the time of great judgments. There seems also to be a special fitness in the expression here in view of the importance attached to the signs of the heavenly bodies by the Chaldeans at this time.
4. The desolation described in Isa 13:20-22 is witnessed by every traveler of today who passes the site of this once glorious and proud Babylon.
5. In Isa 14:9-11 we have the glad welcome given to these Babylonians in their entrance into the lower spirit world. The inhabitants of this region are represented as rising up to greet and welcome these unfortunate Babylonians. The idea of personal identity and continued consciousness after death is here assumed by the prophet.
6. In Isa 14:12 there is a back reference to the fall of Satan who, before his fall, was called Lucifer. Here Babylon in her fall is represented as Lucifer) the bright star of the morning from heaven. Our Saviour refers to the incident of Satan’s falling also in Luk 10:18 , and we have a like picture of him in Rev 12:7-9 , all of which must be considered in the light of the analogue of Satan’s fall when he sinned and was cast out of heaven.
7. In Isa 14:25 Jehovah says he will “break the Assyrian in his land,” which refers to the destruction of Sennacherib’s host from which Assyria never recovered. In Isa 14:26 the Lord explains that Assyria was the hand that he had stretched out for chastisements upon the nations of the world as they were related to Judah and Israel.
The series of burdens from Isa 14:28-23:18 may be viewed as an unrolling of the “purpose concerning the whole earth,” just mentioned in Isa 14:26 . Though the prophet stands on his watchtower and turns his eye around to the different points of the horizon and surveys the relation in which each nation stands to the advancing judgment, his addresses to the nations must be thought of as chiefly meant for the warning and comfort of Israel, which had too often adopted the sins of those whom she was meant to sanctify.
The burden of prophecy against Philistia is a warning to Philistia, following closely upon the death of Tiglath-pileser which brought great rejoicing to Philistia, because they thought the rod that smote them was broken. The prophet here reminds them that out of the serpent’s root there would come forth the adder. In other words, there would arise from Assyria an enemy far more deadly than the one who had been cut off, and instead of being a mere serpent he would be a fiery flying serpent. The reference is, probably, to Sargon who took Ashdod, made the king of Gaza prisoner and reduced Philistia generally to subjection. At this time the poor of Israel would feed safely, but Philistia was to be reduced by famine and the remnant slain by the Assyrians who are here referred to as “a smoke out of the north.” Then God’s people will answer Philistia’s messengers that Jehovah had founded Zion and in her the afflicted would take refuge.
Some critics say that the bulk of the prophecy against Moab (Isa 15:1-16:12 ) is quoted by Isaiah from an earlier writer, and that he merely modified the wording and added a few touches here and there. To this we answer that speculations of this kind are in the highest degree uncertain and lead to no results of any importance whatever. What matters it whether Isaiah quoted or not? There is no proof that he did and it makes no difference if be did. The author will contend that Isaiah was the original author of these two chapters until the critics produce at least some proof that he quoted from an earlier author.
A brief outline of these two chapters is as follows:
1. A vivid picture of Moab’s overthrow (Isa 15 ).
2. Moab exhorted to flee to the house of David for shelter, but refuses to make the right use of his affliction (Isa 16:1-12 ).
3. A confirmation of the prophecy and its speedy fulfilment (Isa 16:13-14 ).
For the picture of Moab’s overthrow the reader may read Isa 15 . It is a vivid account of this overthrow and cannot be well improved upon.
In Isa 16:1-5 we have an exhortation to Moab to take refuge with the house of David. Perhaps there is here an implication that Moab is not safe in his relation to Israel but that there would be safety for him if he would take shelter under the wings of Judah. Anyhow, there is a promise to Moab that he might find shelter and security, if only he would comply with the conditions herein set forth. But the pride of Moab was the cause of his downfall, which was utterly complete and accompanied by great wailing (Isa 16:6-8 ).
The prophet was moved to pity and tears for Moab upon witnessing such desolation and sadness as should come to this people. No gladness, no joy, no singing, and no joyful noise was to be found in his borders (Isa 16:9-12 ). Such a prophetic sight of Jerusalem made Jeremiah the weeping prophet and moved the blessed Son of God to tears. “Your house is left unto you desolate” is the weeping wail of our Lord as he saw the sad fate of the Holy City.
The time set here by the prophet for the humiliation of Moab is exactly three years, strictly measured, as a hireling would measure the time for which he would receive his pay, the fulfilment of which cannot be determined with certainty because we do not have the exact date of the prophecy, nor do we know which one of the different invasions that would fulfil the conditions is really meant. Considering the date given in Isa 14:28 we may reasonably conclude that the date of this prophecy was in the first or second year of Hezekiah’s reign, and may have had its fulfilment by Shalmaneser, who besieged Samaria in the fourth year of the reign of Hezekiah, sending a detachment to these eastern parts of the country.
It is said that Damascus has been destroyed and rebuilt oftener than any other Eastern city. This may account for the fact that Damascus, treated so severely by Tiglath-pileser, was again in a position to attract the attention of Shalmaneser when he advanced against Samaria. In the time of Jeremiah the city had been rebuilt, but we do not hear of any more kings of Damascus.
The burden of prophecy against Damascus includes two prophecies concerning Israel and Judah and one concerning Ethiopia, and the main points of this prophecy are the ruin of Damascus (Isa 17:1-3 ) ; only a remnant left to Jacob who would look to Jehovah, because he had forgotten the God of his salvation (Isa 17:4-11 ) ; the multitude of the heathen invaders suddenly destroyed (Isa 17:12-14 ) ; Ethiopia’s interest in these movements, and her homage to Jehovah according to which she sends a present to him (Isa 18:1-7 ).
There are several things in this burden that need special attention:
1. The language referring to the overthrow of Damascus is not to be pressed too far. Damascus was besieged and temporarily destroyed, but it revived. See Jer 49:23-27 ; Eze 27:18 ; and the New Testament references. Damascus is still a city of importance.
2. In Isa 17:12-14 we have an account of the sudden destruction of the Assyrian army which was literally fulfilled in the destruction of Sennacherib’s host (2Ki 19:35-37 ).
3. There is some controversy as to what nation is referred to in Isa 18:2 ; Isa 18:7 , but it is surprising that there should be such controversy, since the evidence is overwhelming that the nation here mentioned was Ethiopia. This is a region south of Egypt and far up the Nile. The inhabitants, though black, were not ignorant and weak, but a nation of vigor and influence in the days of Isaiah. Cf. the Abyssinians.
4. The act of homage to Jehovah by Ethiopia as mentioned in Isa 18:7 is not given and therefore not easily determined and can be ascertained only with some probability. There is evidence that Ethiopia was intensely interested in the downfall of Sennacherib which is prophesied in this connection, therefore, it is probable that the present was sent to Jehovah in connection with Ethiopia’s alliance with Israel which existed at this time. It is true that the conditions in Egypt at the time Isaiah gave his prophecy against it were not favorable. The government and idolatry were most securely established and the things predicted seemed most improbable, from the human point of view.
Then what the reason for a prophecy against Egypt at such a time as this? The men of Ephraim and some in Judah were at this time bent on throwing themselves upon Egypt for protection against Assyria. This was both wrong in itself and impolitic. So Isaiah was hedging against such alliance by showing the coming humiliation of the power to which they were looking for aid.
There was an element of hope in this prophecy for the Israelites. The tender sympathy expressed for penitent Egypt in Isa 19:20-23 must have assured the Israelites that if they would return to their God, he would be entreated of them and heal them.
The prophecy against Egypt in Isa 19:1-4 is a prophecy relating to the political condition of Egypt, in which Jehovah will cause civil strife and confusion, destroying the power of their idols and the wisdom of their wise, and will place over them one who is a “cruel Lord” and a “fierce king.”
The fulfilment of this prophecy is found in the internal strife in Egypt during the days of Tirhakah and Psammetichus iii the early part of the seventh century B.C. and the conquering of Egypt by Esar-haddon, who was decidedly a “cruel prince” and treated Egypt with severity, splitting it up into a number of governments, yet this prophecy has been referred to Sargon, to Cambyses, and to Darius Ochus, and some think it is applicable to the successive rulers of Egypt, generally, viz: Chaldean, Persian, Greek, Roman, Saracen, and Turkish. But this is not probable.
The picture in Isa 19:5-10 is a picture of the distressful condition of Egypt while passing through the trying ordeal just prophesied. Then follows (Isa 19:11-15 ) a picture of the confusion of the wise men of Egypt as their wisdom is turned into folly.
There are five happy effects of this judgment on Egypt, in stages which reach a happy climax:
1. The Egyptians are stricken with fear because of Jehovah and because of the land of Judah, similar to the fear that came upon them when they were visited with the ten plagues (Isa 19:16-17 ).
2. Egypt shall learn the language of Canaan and swear unto Jehovah. The language here referred to is the Hebrew which was spoken largely in the country after the introduction of so many Jews there. The “five cities” represents, perhaps, the low and weakened condition of Egypt after the judgment is visited upon it (Isa 19:18 ).
3. The worship of Jehovah is established in Egypt (Isa 19:19-22 ). This was literally fulfilled in the building of the temple at Leontopolis by Onias IV, with special license from Ptolemy Philometor, to whom he is said to have quoted this passage from Isaiah. Here was offered sacrifice to Jehovah and the oblation, according to this prophecy. Through the Jewish law and influence the idolatry of Egypt was overthrown and they were prepared for the coming Saviour, whom they received through the evangelization of the missionaries in the early centuries of the Christian era.
4. The consequent union of Egypt and Assyria in worship (Isa 19:23 ).
5. The unity and equality of the nations in blessing. This and the preceding stage of this happy effect finds a primary fulfilment in the wide-spread influence of the Jews over Syria and the adjacent countries under the Syro-Macedonian kings, as well as over Egypt under the Ptolemies. But a larger fulfilment is to be found in the events at Pentecost, which sent devout men back from Jerusalem into Egypt and Libya on one side, and into Parthis, Media, Elam, and Mesopotamia, on the other, to tell how God, having raised up his Son Jesus (the Prince and Saviour), had sent him to bless the Jews first, and in them all nations.
The prophecy of Isa 20 is a prophecy against Egypt and Ethiopia, who were the hope of Israel in alliance, to be delivered from Assyria, which the prophet labored to prevent. It consists, (1) of the historical circumstance. This is related in Isa 20:1 which gives the date at the year in which Tartan came to Ashdod, etc. (2) Isaiah’s symbolical action and its meaning (Isa 20:2-4 ). This was a common occurrence with the prophets. Here the action symbolized the humiliating captivity of Egypt and Ethiopia which was fulfilled either by Sennacherib or by Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. (3) The reason for this visitation upon Egypt and Ethiopia, viz: Israel looked to these powers instead of Jehovah and they could not be blessed while they were in alliance with backslidden Israel. So the Lord was taking care of Israel in his dealings with Egypt and Ethiopia.
“The burden of the wilderness of the sea” (Isa 21:1-10 ), is a prophecy against Babylon and contains a vivid description of the marshalling of forces against Babylon for her destruction, the overwhelming sympathy of the prophets, the expelling of sensual security, instructions to the Lord’s watchman, the fulfilment, and the final declaration. The forces marshalled for her destruction are the Medes and Elamites under Cyrus and the prophet leaves us not in doubt that the reference here is to Babylon. There can be no mistake that this prophecy has its fulfilment in the capture of Babylon by Cyrus. All this is because of her relation to Israel and therefore the encouragement of God’s people and the glory of the one eternal Jehovah.
“The burden of Dumah” is generally conceded to be a prophecy against Edom, because the word “Seir” occurs in it as the place from which the one is represented as calling to the prophet. The word “Dumah” means silence and is used allegorically, “of the Silent Land” of the dead (Psa 94:17 ), and refers here, perhaps, to the silent or low state of Edom at this time. In this burden someone is represented as calling to the prophet out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night?” To which the watchman replied, “There is a brighter day ahead, but it is to be followed by a period of darkness for you; if you will repent, you may do so.”
The prophecy against Arabia is a prophecy of the desolation to come upon Arabia and her borders, deranging their commerce and causing flight and privation, which would be accomplished in one year. The date of the prophecy is not very well determined but the fulfilment is found in Sargon’s expedition into Arabia during which the caravans had to leave their regular routes and “take to the woods.”
“The burden of the valley of vision” (Isa 22:1-25 ) is a prophecy against Jerusalem in which we have set forth a vivid picture of the revellings of the city (Isa 22:1-4 ) ; then a description of an outside foreign army threatening the city, causing surprise, and a hasty preparation for the siege (Isa 22:5-11 ); instead of humbling themselves, putting on sackcloth and weeping, and appealing to God’s mercy, they try to drown care in drink and sensual enjoyment (Isa 22:12-14 ) ; then follows the degrading of Shebna from his high office and the placing of Eliakim in his position (Isa 22:15-25 ). The events herein described were fulfilled either in Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem or in that of Nebuchadnezzar. There are some difficulties in fitting this prophecy to either siege and in matters where we have such limited knowledge it does not become us to be dogmatic. Some parts fit one better, and other parts fit the other better, but all things considered, the author is inclined to believe that this prophecy refers to the Assyrian invasion.
There are three distinct paragraphs given to the burden of Tyre (Isa 22:13 ): (1) The greatness of Tyre as a city of commerce and the wail of distress for the fate of the city; (2) Jehovah’s purpose to cause this destruction and stain the pride of all her glory; (3) Babylon, an example of what will come to Tyre and the promise of Tyre’s returned prosperity after seventy years. After this period Tyre will revive and be of service to Jehovah’s people. The first part of the prophecy fits into the history which shows the many reverses of this city and may refer to the Babylonian siege specifically. The last part of the prophecy may have its fulfilment in the orders of Cyrus to the Tyrians to rebuild the Temple, and the Tyrian ships were of incalculable aid in disseminating Judaism before Christ and Christianity since Christ.
QUESTIONS
1. What is the section (Isaiah 13-23) called and what the appropriateness of the title?
2. What the foreign nations mentioned in this book of prophecies and what additional prophecies thrown in?
3. What the position of the radical critics relative to this section?
4. What the connection between the parts of this section?
5. What the special connection between Isaiah 13-14 and the preceding section?
6. What the date of the prophecy in Isaiah 13-14, what the conditions both in Israel and Judah, and also in the other nations, at this time, and what the sure light of prophecy in this dark hour?
7. What the significant word with which each of these prophecies opens, what its meaning, and what its appropriateness in this connection?
8. Why was Babylon given by the prophet first consideration among the enemies of God’s peoples and what the main points in this denunciation against her?
9. What the prophecy against Assyria under this first burden and why put in here?
10. What the special things to be noted in this burden?
11. How may the series of burdens from Isa 14:28 and Isa 23:18 be viewed and what the object of the warnings?
12. What the burden of prophecy against Philistia and how is the destructive work upon the country here described?
13. What say the critics of this prophecy against Moab (Isa 15:1-16:12 ) and what the reply?
14. Give a brief outline of these two chapters.
15. Give the picture of Moab’s overthrow?
16. What the exhortation and promise to Moab in. Isa 16:1-5 ?
17. What the cause of the downfall that was to follow?
18. How did this sight of the future destruction of Moab affect the prophet and what examples of other such sympathy in the Bible?
19. What the time fixed for the humiliation of Moab and when its fulfilment?
20. What is a remarkable characteristic of Damascus, and for what does it account?
21. What does this burden against Damascus include and what the main points in it?
22. What are the things in this burden that need special attention?
23. What the conditions in Egypt at the time Isaiah gave his prophecy against it?
24. What is the reason for a prophecy against Egypt at such a time as this?
25. What element of hope in this prophecy for the Israelites?
26. What the prophecy against Egypt in Isa 19:1-4 and when was it fulfilled?
27. What the picture in Isa 19:5-10 ?
28. What is set forth in Isa 19:11-15 ?
29. What the important and happy effects of this judgment on Egypt?
30. What the prophecy of Isa 20 and what its contents?
31. What “The burden of the wilderness of the sea” (Isa 21:1-10 ), and what its striking points?
32. What is “The burden of Dumah” and what its interpretation?
33. What the prophecy against Arabia and when the fulfilment?
34. What “The burden of the valley of vision” (Isa 22:1-25 ), and what the salient points in the prophecy?
35. What the outline of the burden of Tyre and what the salient points of the interpretation?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Isa 19:1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
Ver. 1. The burden of Egypt. ] See Isa 13:1 .
Behold the Lord rideth.
Upon a swift cloud,
And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence.
And the heart of Egypt shall melt.
a Hist. Scholast.
Isaiah Chapter 19
This chapter gives “the Burden of Egypt,” and is followed in the next by a personal sign enjoined on the prophet, as a token of the degradation soon to befall Egypt and Ethiopia. The general drift is so clear as to render prolonged remarks almost useless.
“The burden of Egypt. Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt. and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall be made void in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel thereof; and they shall seek unto the idols, and unto the conjurers, and unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto the soothsayers. And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts” (vv. 14). The prophet thus boldly and with the fullest moral truth sets forth the sure overthrow of the great realm of the old world’s prudence, and of debasing idolatry, and abundant natural riches. What availed the boasted bulwarks of their watery barriers, if Jehovah, Who “rideth upon a swift cloud,” dooms Egypt to humiliation and decay? Worse than idle their appeal to their false gods; for their idols should be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt melt in its midst. Intestine division and civil war (v. 2) should be added to the overwhelming assaults from without; and the downfall be consummated by infatuated counsels as well as the wasting away of all national spirit; for on their recourse in their distress to their old haunts of superstition and sorcery, God would shut them up to the hard bondage of cruel lords and a fierce king.
But the hand of Jehovah should be not only upon the defences of the country, but upon its internal supports, and this in all that was their glory and their confidence. For is not this Ezekiel’s “great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is my own, and I have made it for myself?” (Eze 29:3 ). Surely it is the same, of whom Isaiah here predicts, “And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. And the rivers shall stink; the streams (or, canals) of Egypt shall be diminished and drain away: the reeds and the flags shall wither. The meadows by the Nile, by the banks of the Nile, and everything sown by the Nile, shall be dried up, be driven away, and be no [more]. And the fishers shall mourn, and all they that cast hook into the Nile shall lament, and they that cast nets upon the waters shall languish. And they that work in fine flax, and they that weave cotton (or, white stuffs), shall be ashamed. And her pillars shall be broken in pieces, all workers for hire shall be sad of soul” (vv. 5-10).
The prophet next (v. 11) proceeds to taunt this haughty power in that for which, most of all, it stood high in its own conceit and the reputation of men. For who has not heard of “the wisdom of the Egyptians “? Who does not know of their science and civilisation while the most renowned lands of the west, which early aspired to the sovereignty of the world, had not yet emerged from their condition of wild untutored barbarism? “The princes of Zoan [are] utterly fools; the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become senseless. How say ye unto Pharaoh, I [am] the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where [are] they then, thy wise [men]?” is the piercing challenge of the prophet; “and let them tell thee now; and let them make known what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt” (vv. 11, 12).
Alas! how many now are wrapped up in the same carnal security. How many in our day, like the wise counsellors of Egypt, are caught in their own craftiness, too wise to heed the sure and solemn words of divine prophecy; not wise enough to guard themselves from foolish superstition, or still more foolish incredulity! Is it not a maxim among the sages of Christendom, that prophecy cannot be known till the event accomplishes it and fixes its interpretation? Than which notion, we dare to say, none can be produced less reasonable in itself or more flatly contrary to the word of God. Not a believer in the Old Testament but protests against the sinful error; for not a soul then was justified who did not look onward, trusting his soul and spiritual hope on that which was as yet necessarily in the womb of the future – the coming of the woman’s Seed, the Messiah. And are believers of the New Testament called of God to be less trustful, less to realise what is coming, with incomparably more light of revelation? What! we, to whom God has revealed by the Spirit, that which, as the brightest of old was compelled to say, “eye had not seen, nor ear heard, neither had entered into man’s heart” to consider?
Even on grounds of reason, of which some are so vainglorious, what can be more opposed to it, seeing that God has beyond controversy given His prophetic revelation? Is this alone, of all scripture, to be put under human ban? Even on grounds of personal danger the suicidal folly of such scepticism as this is most apparent. For as the great central point of prophecy is the nearness of the day of Jehovah, which is to judge all the pride and irreligion, all the idolatry and rebellion against God, found then on earth and specially in Christendom, it will be too late for men, before they believe, to await that event which will prove the truth of the prophecies in their own destruction. In short and in every point of view the maxim is as false as it is perilous. It really amounts to blotting out all direct use of prophecy whatsoever: for it refuses to hear its warning till its voice is wholly changed. Prophecy accomplished becomes in effect history rather than prophecy (no small value of which is the silencing of God’s enemies); it properly has, while unfulfilled, the admonition and comfort of His people for its primary aim.
But to return. “The princes of Zoan [the ancient royal city of Egypt, named Tanis in profane authors] are become foolish, the princes of Noph [Moph, or Memphis, Hos 9:6 ] are deceived; and the corner-stones of its tribes have caused Egypt to err. Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst thereof; and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunkard staggereth in his vomit. Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do” (vv. 13-15). They are judicially confounded of God in their policy.
Now we ought not to be indisposed to allow a measure of accomplishment in the time of the prophet. Only let not this measure be allowed to exclude the complete fulfilment which yet remains to be made good. Such a germinant inclusive style, we have seen, is the habit of Isaiah, as indeed of the prophets. Enough was then accomplished for a stay to the faithful; but it was no more than an earnest of that punctual and full payment which God will yet render, in honour both of His own words and of the Lord Jesus when His manifested glory dawns and His world-kingdom comes (Rev 11:15 ). “In that day shall Egypt be like unto women, and it shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, which he shaketh over it. And the land of Judah shall be a dismay unto Egypt: every one that thinketh of it shall be afraid for himself, because of the counsel of Jehovah of hosts, which he purposeth against it (or, them)” (vv. 16, 17). Egypt has its part to play in the tremendous convulsions which precede Jehovah’s appearing; and to this our chapter looks onward, with which compare Dan 11:40-43 . Out of that land shall He gather some of His outcast people (Isa 11:11 , Isa 11:15 ), and in the process, as we know, destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and with His mighty wind shake His hand over the river, the Euphrates, smiting it into seven streams.
But mercy shall rejoice over judgement; and at the very time when Egypt shall be as women trembling at the shaking of Jehovah’s hand, and the very mention of the land of Judah shall strike terror, “In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction (or, Heres). In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Jehovah of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto Jehovah because of the oppressors, and he will send them a Saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. And Jehovah shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day and serve with sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto Jehovah and perform it. And Jehovah will smite Egypt; he will smite and heal: and they shall return to Jehovah, and he will be entreated of them and will heal them” (vv. 18-22). Thus evidently shall Jehovah then deliver and revive Egypt. In that day there will be doubtless not only a governing but a religious centre for all the nations of the earth (Isa 2:3 ). For Jehovah shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Jehovah and His name one (Zec 14:9 ). It will be accomplished in and by the Lord Jesus, Who shall build the temple of Jehovah and bear the glory, and sit and rule upon His throne, as Priest as well as King (Zec 6:12 , Zec 6:13 ). His house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples (Isa 56:7 ). But this will not hinder the fulfilment of Mal 1:11 : “For from the rising of the sun even unto its setting, My Name shall be great among the nations; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My Name, and a pure oblation.” Under this universal provision for the local worship of the nations falls the special assurance of it for Egypt in that day, which Isaiah here predicts. It was the more impressive to declare it of a nation so debased by idolatry as Egypt of old.
The efforts of interpreters to explain these verses are as manifold as they are vain: and justly are they doomed to darkness who see not the link with Christ, and with Christ the glory of His people Israel then, if they despise Him now. Origen, Eusebius, etc., interpreted it of the flight into Egypt (Mat 2:13 ,Mat 2:14 ), and of the overthrow of idolatry and spread of Christianity there also; Jerome embraces along with this an application to the wasting of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar. Others have tried to find its accomplishment in the temple which Onias induced Ptolemy Philometor to build for keeping the Jews and their worship in Egypt, and which after 200 years was destroyed under Vespasian, like that in Jerusalem. Moderns generally apply it in substance as Jerome did (in part historically, of the disasters under Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Psammetichus, or the Romans; and in part mystically, of the triumphant spread of the gospel past, present, or future). These speculations do not seem to call for refutation: to state them is to condemn them sufficiently.
The true reference to the future crisis on the earth is yet more confirmed by the blessed intimations of the closing verses. “In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; whom Jehovah of hosts will bless, saying, Blessed [be] Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance” (vv. 23 25). It is not a heavenly scene, but earthly. It is not the present church condition, where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, and Christ is all and in all, but a future state of large yet graduated blessing of nations. It is not this dispensation, where tares are mingled with the wheat, but the coming age when all scandals are removed from the scene where the Great King reigns in righteousness. That nation, so proud of its natural wisdom, the old oppressor and frequent snare of Israel, shall be humbled to the dust, and out of the dust cry to Jehovah God of Israel, Who shall send them a mighty deliverer; and they shall know Him and worship Him acceptably, Who smote them but will heal them with a great salvation. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, Jehovah’s name will be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto it and a pure oblation; for His name shall be great among the heathen. No wonder therefore that there shall be an altar to Jehovah in the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah – a sign and a witness unto Jehovah of hosts in that land. At the same time nothing will supersede Zion as the earth’s exalted and religious centre.
But what of that later oppressor of Israel? Has Jehovah but one blessing for the stranger-foe? Has He not reserved a blessing for the Assyrian? Yes, for the Assyrian also. The haughty rival of the north and east shall be brought into the rich blessing of Jehovah. “In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria.” Old jealousy and long-lasting animosity shall flee apace and for ever; intimacy and generous trust and mutual love shall cement the alliance that is founded on Jehovah truly known. “And the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.” Happy, though none then be despised and poor! “In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria.” That is, Israel shall form one of the trio here specified, and stamped with singular favour in the millennial day. For indeed Jehovah shall bless them, “saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.” Thus again is Abraham ‘s blessing verified and manifested. “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” But even here, as it appears, the due place of Israel is maintained, and the rank of the others nicely distinguished in God’s wisdom, however large His goodness to the rest; for Israel has the glorious title of Jehovah’s inheritance, if Egypt be called His people and Assyria fashioned for His praise, the work of His hands.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 19:1-4
1The oracle concerning Egypt.
Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom.
3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confound their strategy,
So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead
And to mediums and spiritists.
4Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master,
And a mighty king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
Isa 19:1 the Lord is riding on a swift cloud This is metaphorical language describing YHWH as
1. controller of nature
2. director of nature’s power
3. swift in His coming
See Psa 18:10; Psa 104:3. The phrase has Messianic connections in Dan 7:13 and Mat 26:64; Mar 14:62.
As with many OT phrases that describe YHWH we find that similar ones are used of pagan deities or rulers of the ANE. Riding on clouds is used of Ba’al in Ugaritic poems. As God’s people encountered the hyperbolic statements/claims of the surrounding nations, she attributed them to her God, the only God, the one in whom they may truly find their fulfillment. This is true of phrases such as King of kings and LORD of lords and so many other popular titles of YHWH.
and is about to come to Egypt YHWH’s presence again is both a judgment (Isa 19:1-15) and a salvation (Isa 19:16-23). It is this double meaning that runs through much of Hebrew prophecy. The literary technique known as reversal dominates this genre. It is like antithetical parallelism taken to a larger piece of writing (as is paradox).
Egypt will be judged to be cleansed and prepared to worship YHWH. He will come to her in deliverance as He has to Judah. YHWH’s heart is directed at humans made in His image (cf. Gen 1:26-27), not just a select group of humans (i.e., Israel). He uses Abraham’s seed to accomplish a larger purpose (cf. Gen 3:15)!
The idols of Egypt Egypt had many gods (Exo 12:12; Num 33:4). Her idolatry and spiritism are delineated in Isa 19:3.
1. idols (BDB 47)
2. ghosts of the dead (BDB 31, found only here)
3. mediums (BDB 15, necromancers, cf. Deu 18:11)
4. spiritists (BDB 396, wizards, familiar spirits, cf. Deu 18:11)
See note at Isa 8:19.
The plagues of the Exodus purposefully depreciated many of the Egyptian gods for the purposes of producing faith in both Israelites and Egyptians (i.e., mixed multitude, cf. Exo 12:38).
In this text the people claimed to have the power or spiritual connection (i.e., familiar spirit) to communicate with the dead (cf. Lev 19:31; Lev 20:6; Lev 20:27; Deu 18:11; 1Sa 28:8; 2Ki 21:6; 2Ch 33:6; Isa 8:19; Isa 19:3). They were seeking information about and control of the future, but apart from YHWH. This is caused by
1. the fallen nature of humanity
2. self-deceived priests/prophets
3. demon activity
4. search for spiritual power over our lives and the lives of others
The last two lines of Isa 19:1 are parallel.
1. the idols of Egypt will tremble, BDB 631, KB 681, Qal PERFECT, cf. Isa 6:4; Isa 7:2 (twice); Isa 19:1; Isa 24:20 (twice); Isa 29:9; Isa 37:22
2. the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them, BDB 587, KB 606, Niphal IMPERFECT, cf. Isa 13:7; Jos 2:11; Jos 5:1; Jos 7:5 (i.e., holy war terminology)
Isa 19:2 One wonders if this relates to
1. the military advance of the Nubian rulers against the native Egyptians of the Delta region
2. the conflicts between the different cities of Egypt, each with their special gods
This internal conflict between the same people and their armies is another example of holy war (i.e., Jdg 7:22; 1Sa 14:20; 2Ch 20:23).
I will. . . Isaiah is speaking directly for YHWH (Isa 19:2-4). YHWH causes
1. civil war, Isa 19:2
2. demoralization, Isa 19:3 a
3. confused counsel/strategy, Isa 19:3 b
4. reliance on false gods, Isa 19:3,c,d
5. the coming of a cruel master, a mighty king, Isa 19:4
NASB, REBI will incite
NKJVI will set
NRSV, TEV,
NJB, LXX,
PESHITTAI will stir up
This VERB (BDB 696 I or BDB 1127) is used twice in the Pilpel stem (Isa 9:11 and here). In context it seems to mean
1. stir up
2. provoke
3. incite (Ethiopian root)
The Arabic root means to stink (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 233).
Isa 19:3 confound This Hebrew root (BDB 118 I) normally means to swallow. Many scholars assume a second meaning for the same root, confound or confuse (BDB 118 III, cf. Isa 3:12; Isa 9:15; Isa 28:7).
Isa 19:4 In context (cf. Isa 20:4) this could refer to (1) Assyria (cf. chap. 20) or (2) Nubian invaders (cf. chap. 18). The same terminology is used for Babylon in Jer 46:26; Eze 29:19. YHWH directs world empires for His purposes.
You must decide if this is typical ANE royal hyperbole, so common in the ancient world, or reality (i.e., a biblical world view). Inspired authors take the terminology of the ANE and apply it to YHWH. Its validity is a faith issue! Is the Bible a unique, inspired, self-revelation of the one true God? This is the issue! See my sermons on Why I Trust the OT and Why I Trust the NT online at www.freebiblecommentary.org in the Biblical Interpretation Seminar section (revised Video Seminar 2009, Lesson 3).
I will deliver This VERB (BDB 698, KB 755, Piel PERFECT) means hand over to (cf. Targums, LXX, Peshitta). The Piel appears only here. The VERB does appear in the Niphal in Gen 8:2 and Psa 63:11, where it means be stopped. The Piel connotation comes from an old Aramaic root. Therefore, there may be two separate Hebrew roots.
burden. The fourth of the seven burdens.
rideth. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia.
Chapter 19
Now he turns to Egypt.
The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians ( Isa 19:1-2 ):
So God is speaking here of a civil war.
and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom ( Isa 19:2 ).
There’s going to be civil turmoil and war within Egypt.
And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts ( Isa 19:3-4 ).
And then he begins to make some very interesting predictions.
The waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. And they shall turn the rivers far away ( Isa 19:5-6 );
The word there is translated in one of the new versions, “And they shall dam the river far away.”
and the brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast their hook into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread their nets upon the waters shall languish. Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make the sluices and ponds for fish. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say you of the Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? ( Isa 19:6-11 )
Now here is a prediction that the river shall be dammed far away. The Aswan Dam surely answers to this prediction. As early as 1970 they began to discover some of the ecological problems that were created by the building of the Aswan Dam. In a report made to the Congress and has become a part of the Congressional record, number S3448, in an ecology report the first thing that they drew the attention to was the smog in Los Angeles as an ecology disaster. But the second thing was the DDT problem that since has been resolved by laws. But then the third thing was Egypt, and here is what was said, “The Aswan Dam has slowed down the Nile. Six hundred miles downriver the sandbars have stopped building up on the delta. The Mediterranean is flooding the delta and one million fertile acres have disappeared under saltwater. Below the dam, snails carry the blood flukes of schistosomiasis. And thousands of men and women and children are going to die of this painful, cruel disease. The Nile no longer carries its nutrient-rich sediments out to sea, and the fish are disappearing and the fishing families are moving to the slums of Cairo and Alexandria. That source of food is disappearing. Also, oxygen from the loss of the greenery and water.”
Now ten years later, as further studies are made concerning the ecological damage of the building of the Aswan Dam, the first thing, of course, that the prophet here does talk about is the saltwater intrusion into the delta, the rich delta farmland area. And this has continued. The idea of damming up the Aswan was, of course, to create a control of the water flow into the irrigation canals and so forth and hopefully to open up thousands of new agricultural acres by the irrigation projects. But they have discovered that through the saltwater intrusion and into the most fertile area of Egypt, into the delta, the Nile delta, through the saltwater intrusion, they have lost over twice the acreage, agriculture acreage as they were gaining. You see, it used to be at the flood tide as the Nile River would bring the silt and all into the Mediterranean, that it built up these silt dams against the Mediterranean creating this very fertile delta area much like we have down in El Centro and so forth, that fertile area that has been built up by the Colorado over the years.
Now with the Nile no longer flooding, they’ve lost the agricultural area by saltwater intrusion from the Mediterranean. First thing he predicted. But not only that, all the reeds and so forth that used to grow along the Nile were killed because there is a little snail that sort of feeds, eats at its roots, but it used to be carried away every year in the flood season. But now that there is no more flood season, these little snails have destroyed all of the reeds and everything that used to be along the Nile River. Even as Isaiah said.
Now in 1970 the fishing industry was beginning to disappear, it has now totally disappeared. It doesn’t exist. They do not have any more fishing industry. There in the Mediterranean there used to be tremendous schools of fish that supplied Egypt with one of its greatest protein sources. Just an overabundant supply of fish, because they would feed on the rich nutrients that were carried by the Nile River on into the Mediterranean Sea. But now that there is no great flooding and the carrying of these nutrients in, the fish, they don’t know what happened to them, if they just left and gone someplace else, or just disappeared. But there is no more fishing industry. It is amazing to me that 2700 years ago, God inspired the prophet Isaiah to not only prophesy the building of the Aswan Dam as they will turn away the river far away, but also to prophesy those ecological disasters that would be created by the damming of the Nile River. There has even been suggestions by the Egyptians that the Aswan Dam be blown up in order to seek to correct the ecological disasters that have resulted from its building.
It is interesting then that at the end of the prophecy he sort of takes off against those engineers and counselors that advised them to build the Aswan Dam. “The counselors of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish. How can they say, ‘I am wise, the son of the ancient kings’?”
Where are they? where are the wise men? and let them tell you now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts has purposed upon Egypt ( Isa 19:12 ).
Men are so wise. Now let them tell you. God has already told you what damages are going to happen. These men are so wise let them tell you what God has purposed.
The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man who is staggering in his own vomit ( Isa 19:13-14 ).
What a graphic picture.
Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shakes over it. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that makes mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it ( Isa 19:15-17 ).
And so interesting as we look at the situations today and see how clearly and concisely God has actually spoken of these things. “The land of Judah even again becoming a terror unto Egypt.”
In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction. In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day ( Isa 19:18-21 ),
“In that day,” begins to go ahead into the future into the day of the Lord. When God is going to work, of course, in the coming of Jesus Christ throughout the world. But Egypt is going to become a religious center for the worshipping of the Lord. Right now, of course, Egypt is strongly Moslem. They have laws in Egypt against witnessing, proselytizing; it’s a capital crime. If you seek to lead a Moslem to Jesus Christ in Egypt, you could be put to death. It’s a capital offense to seek to convert a Moslem to another faith. But in that day, the Lord shall be known to Egypt. They’ll know the Lord.
and they will do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them ( Isa 19:21-22 ).
Now Egypt will be smitten by the antichrist, actually, when he takes his forces and he starts a move towards Africa to conquer Africa. He will pass through Egypt. He’ll get to the borders of Ethiopia, at which time tidings out of the north and the east will trouble him, for he will hear that the Chinese have been moving their armies westward. And he will turn in all of his fury to meet the invading armies of the east and of the north, the regrouped forces of Russia, and they will meet in a deadly conflict in the valley of Megiddo. So Egypt is going to suffer. They will be conquered by the forces of Europe as they begin their invasion of Africa. But it is an invasion that will never be completed, because as soon as Egypt is taken, as they start to move against Ethiopia, is when the news comes of the invading forces from the east and from the north at which time the antichrist will turn to meet them with the European forces. And thus the battle of Armageddon.
In that day ( Isa 19:24 )
The day of the Lord after He has healed them and established them, actually Assyria, which is modern-day Iraq, and Egypt will have a highway going between them passing through Israel. And the three nations will be joined together in a beautiful harmony and accord in the glorious day of the Lord.
it shall be that Israel shall be a third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance ( Isa 19:24-25 ).
And so God’s glorious work in that day; that day when Jesus comes to establish God’s kingdom. “
Isa 19:1-4
Isa 19:1-4
THE BURDEN OF EGYPT
This well organized chapter naturally divides into two sections. The first (Isa 19:1-15) falls into three stanzas or strophes: (a) strophe 1 (Isa 19:1-4) prophesies the overthrow of Egypt through strife and their suffering under a cruel ruler; (b) strophe 2 (Isa 19:5-10) prophesies the drying up of the Nile and the total collapse of Egypt’s economy; (c) strophe 3 (Isa 19:11-15) foretells the incompetence of Egypt’s vaunted wise men. The total picture that emerges in these fifteen verses is that of the total ruin of Egypt. “We may see in this section of the oracle Isaiah’s determination to persuade the court of Judah not to embark on any alliance with Egypt against Assyria.
The second division of the chapter (Isa 19:16-25) is Messianic and is composed of five sub-paragraphs, each of them beginning with the words “in that day.” The paragraphs begin in Isa 19:16; Isa 19:18-19; Isa 19:23-24. Although the prophecies of this section could refer to historical events prior to Christianity, to the extent that this might be true, we believe that the great thrust of the passage is Messianic and that whatever fulfillments might have come in pre-Christian times such fulfillments were typical of the far more perfect fulfillments in Christ and the age of the Gospel. For example the return of Judah from captivity is far more adequately fulfilled in the acceptance of Christ by the “righteous remnant” of Israel and their release from the captivity of sin.
Isa 19:1-4
“The burden of Egypt. Behold Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel thereof; and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah.”
We appreciate Cheyne’s rendition of the word “idols” in Isa 19:1; Isa 19:4, as “not-gods. Commentators find little agreement as to when the strife indicated here actually took place. Payne identified it with “disorders preceding the accession of Piankhi in 715 B.C.” Newton placed it “in the times of Nebuchadnezzar. The general opinion seems to link it with the period immediately prior to 714 B. C.
There is the same uncertainty about the identity of the “cruel lord” who will rule over Egypt. Hailey cited a number of such rulers who dominated Egypt: “Ashurbanipal (663 B.C.), Nebuchadnezzar, Cambyses (525 B.C.), and Xerxes I. Hailey also noted that the Lord here might not have been speaking of an individual. Lowth pointed out that the word in the Hebrew for “lord” is actually plural; and he rendered the place “cruel lords,” referring to a succession of them. Peak also accepted this and added the name of “Artaxerxes Ochus as another one of the “cruel lords.”
Various dates within Isaiah’s lifetime are suggested for this chapter, Rawlinson suggesting 735 B.C. and 690 B.C. as possible dates, depending upon the certain identity of the time of the “civil strife” and of the “cruel lords.” We consider the questions regarding all of these things as academic. It really makes no difference at all. God’s “burden” against Egypt was fulfilled many times in many centuries by many developments down to the present day; and there were repeated fulfillments in the pre-Christian centuries.
Isa 19:1-4 CIVIL DISORDER: Egypt was a constant and powerful enemy of the Hebrew people. In Isaiahs day, however, there were Jews advising the kings of Israel to form political alliances with Egypt and thus gain protection against Israels enemies on the other side of her in Mesopotamia (Assyria, Babylon, etc.). So, whether the threat of Egypt toward Israel be invasion or alliance, Isaiah was warning his people that they should trust God. God is going to execute His justice and judgment upon an idolatrous nation. Gods first step in judgment will be civil strife within Egypt herself. Governments founded on falsehood in any form, have the seeds of instability and self-destruction sown within them. Where there is falsehood there will be injustice. Where there is injustice there will be civil strife. These are divine moral laws which govern in the affairs of men. Only when a nation is governed by the principles of truth, honesty, justice and human dignity can there be national unity. This prophecy was fulfilled many times over in Egypt. Herodotus states that there were civil wars in the days of Psammetichus (cir. 655 B.C.). Daniel predicts periods of civil strife, brother against brother and brother against sister, in the days of the Ptolemies (cir. 300-200 B.C.) (Cf. our comments on Daniel 11). There is still much civil strife in Egypt.
The giving over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king may parallel Eze 30:13 where the prediction is that there shall no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt. Ezekiels predictions of Egypts downfall are found in Ezekiel chapters 29-31. There it is said Egypt would be ruled by strangers. Since the days of Assyrian domination (722 B.C. following) Egypt has been ruled (or at least dominated) by a succession of foreign powers or persons. It has been subjugated by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Turks, English and Arabs. Even today the political ruler of Egypt is an Arab.
Now when a nations leadership is engaged in civil war and when its counselors turn to wizards and magicians for advice, that nations spirit is broken. False religion and false philosophy makes all standards of human conduct relative. There can be no absolutes built on a basis of falsehood. When relativism reigns, social structures disintegrate.
These two chapters (19, 20) contain the burden of Egypt. Its doom is first declared (19: 1-15) . Jehovah’s advent will result in the destruction of idols, in civil war, in failure in counsel, and in the government of the Egyptian people by a cruel lord, a false king. This day of visitation will be one of physical catastrophe. The waters of the Nile will fail, and consequently all industry-fishing, weaving, and building-will be paralyzed. Egypt is to be utterly discomfited by the failure of its rulers, of its people, and of all its enterprises.
EXPOSITORY NOTES ON
THE PROPHET ISAIAH
By
Harry A. Ironside, Litt.D.
Copyright @ 1952
edited for 3BSB by Baptist Bible Believer in the spirit of the Colportage ministry of a century ago
ISAIAH CHAPTERS NINETEEN AND TWENTY
THE BURDEN OF EGYPT
AS WE STUDY THESE CHAPTERS, however little we understand all the details referred to, we cannot fail to recognize the hand of GOD dealing with this one-time proud, haughty kingdom in retaliatory judgments because of its independent spirit and proud attitude toward the people of the Lord, who, in centuries gone by, had been subjected to cruel bondage and often since had suffered through Egyptian violence. Even though, at the time Isaiah prophesied, Egypt was outwardly in alliance with Judah, she proved utterly undependable when it came to helping Ahaz and, later, Hezekiah to stand against the onrush of the Assyrian armies.
The philosophy of history might be summed up in the words of Gal 6:7 by substituting “nation” for “man” and “it” for “he”: Whatsoever a nation soweth, that shall it also reap. All down through the centuries the blessing of GOD has rested upon nations that followed after righteousness, even in measure, and His judgments have fallen when corruption and violence took the place of subjection to His hand. There is not enough agreement among historians and archaeologists to enable us to speak positively as to just when the predictions contained in the first part of this chapter were fulfilled, but we may be absolutely certain that whether as yet we have monumental confirmation of them they all came to pass as divinely foretold.
We do know that about the time of Isaiah’s prophecy, Egypt was for some years in a state of internal strife, Pharaoh himself having proven unable to control the populace or even the Egyptian armies. As a result, his dynasty was overthrown and a number of independent states were set up, until eventually a king arose who was able to unite them again into one empire.
It should be remembered that Egyptian records go back to the very dawn of history. In the beginning the religion of Egypt was a pure monotheism. That which the Apostle Paul in Romans 1 says of the heathen generally was manifested in that country to a marked degree. When they knew GOD they turned away from Him and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, setting up images, first of all made like to corruptible men, whom they recognized as gods of the various forces of nature. Later they deified birds like the sacred Ibis, and beasts like the sacred Bull and the Cat of Bubastes, and then degenerated even to the worship of reptiles such as the sacred Crocodile and the Asp, and last of all, even deified certain forms of insect life,
of which the sacred Scarab is the one with which we are most familiar.
No man’s life nor the life of a nation is any better than that of the gods that are worshiped, and so Egypt became debased politically, morally, and spiritually, until at last that once-proud empire was destroyed and became a base kingdom, not to be reckoned among the major dominions.
In the opening verses of chapter nineteen, GOD is pictured as riding upon the divine chariot, coming down from heaven to deal with this guilty nation.
“The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof; and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards” (verses 1-3).
GOD’s patience with Egypt had at last come to an end.
He Himself would deal with their false gods, demonstrating their inability to deliver, and manifesting His own omnipotence. Terrified by the sufferings to which they were exposed, the worshipers of these idols would seek in vain for help from their false deities. The heart of the people would fail and in their desperation they would turn to those who professed to deal with departed spirits, the necromancers and other charlatans, who already abounded in great numbers in that land of superstition.
No longer respecting the king who ruled over them, city after city would revolt and independent rival states be set up. This new system, however, would not result in peace and security because of the jealousies of the various names, or counties, as we might call them.
“And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish” (verses 4-10).
After some years of almost constant civil war and internal strife, history records the rise of a cruel and tyrannical leader known as Psammetichus who founded a new dynasty and succeeded in bringing about at least an outward semblance of unity. He is generally considered to be the “cruel lord” referred to in verse 4. On the other hand, a question may be raised as to whether all that we have here was to follow in immediate sequence.
Some have thought that the prophecy looked on to the day when Egypt would be so weakened that she would be powerless to resist the onslaught of the Arabs and, later, the Ottoman Turks, and that the cruel lord referred not to anyone individual but to the succession of Ottoman rulers who subjected Egypt to the very hardest servitude and taxed the people so as to reduce them to the most desperate poverty.
The verses that follow tell of the destruction of all of the great commercial enterprises in which Egypt once excelled, and the centuries since bear witness to the literal fulfillment of these prophecies. In some way the great fishing industry of Egypt was brought to an end and the Nile that once abounded with fish ceased to be productive. Egypt, at one time the center of the papyrus Industry which in olden times took the place of the paper to which we are now accustomed, ceased to produce this material because the papyrus plant no longer grew in quantities on the banks of the Nile.
It is a well known fact that Egyptian linens were exported into all civilized lands and this industry was a source of enormous income to the merchants of that land, but singularly enough and in exact accord with this prophecy, the production of flax came almost to an end, and that which had been an Egyptian monopoly was taken up by other nations and Egypt never since has been a linen-producing country to any serious extent. So literally have these prophetic words been fulfilled.
“Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do” (verses 11-15).
The prophecy definitely depicts a time of great business depression and political perplexity when Pharaoh’s counselors proved themselves unable to handle the situation aright. Their advice offered no real solution of the problems that the nation was facing. The princes of Zoan (the Egyptian Tanis), and of Noph (known to us as Memphis), sought in vain for a way out of the conditions that confronted them.
The reason for their failure comes out clearly in the closing verses of this section. They refused to turn to the only One who could have helped them, that is the GOD of Israel, whom they had despised. Therefore, they were like drunken men, unable to control themselves or their country, a spirit of perversity having taken hold upon them. In all that we have seen thus far, we are again reminded of that which comes out so plainly in other parts of Scripture, that Egypt is a type of this present evil world – that godless system which once held the people of GOD in bondage when they were made to serve with rigor under the lashing of the lusts of the flesh.
This world has grown no better throughout all the centuries during which the gospel has been preached and the Lord has been taking out a people for His name. Rather has it become hardened in its attitude toward GOD and His Word; “Evil men and seducers,” we are told, “shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2Ti 3:13). Nor will this state of things be changed until the now-rejected CHRIST returns from heaven in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who know not GOD. Then will His kingdom of righteousness supersede all the kingdoms that man has set up and “the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.”
Starting with verse 16, we have five distinct sections each beginning with the words “In that day,” all therefore looking forward to the Day of the Lord, the day of the Lord’s triumph.
In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it” (verses 16, 17).
There is a very definite sense in which these words are even now in course of fulfillment. We have seen Israel returning in unbelief to her own land and one of her chief adversaries has been the nation of Egypt, which appears to dread the growing power of the nation once enslaved by the Pharaohs.
But according to these verses the acknowledged weakness of Egypt and the recognition of GOD’s manifested power in permitting the resettlement of His people in their own land, will prove to be the precursor of blessing, and Egyptian enmity will come to an end in the day that Israel shall turn to GOD in repentance and receive the Messiah they once rejected. But if we take the prophecy as having to do with the times shortly following Isaiah’s day, we see only the fear of Egypt, as of old, lest the Israelites should multiply and become stronger than they. However, Judah was carried away by Babylon and for the time being the Lord’s testimony ceased to exist in the land of Palestine.
“In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction” (verse 18).
Commentators generally refer this prophecy to the migration of many of the Jews to the land of Egypt following the destruction of the first temple. We know from history that the day came when many thousands of Israelites dwelt in the cities of Egypt and synagogues were erected there and the law of Moses read and taught. It may be that it is to this the verse refers, but there is also the possibility that it is looking on to a future day when the relations of the Egyptians and the Jews shall become very close indeed, as both together shall acknowledge the one true and living GOD. The City of Destruction mentioned here is generally considered to be Heliopolis, “The City of the Sun.” Its Hebrew name was Ir-ha-cheres, which by the change of one letter became Ir-ha-heres, “The City of Destruction.” John Bunyan was wisely guided when he selected this as the name for the original home of his Pilgrim, who declared that he was born in the City of Destruction, and had the name, Graceless.
“In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a Saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it. And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them” (verses 19-22).
Many have been the conjectures as to the real meaning of this passage. Most of us are familiar with the views of the Anglo-Israelites and others, even including the founder of the Russellite Movement, now known as “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” who maintain that the altar and pillar here spoken of refer to the Great Pyramid. This pyramid is supposed to have been erected by divine instruction and the length of its passages, etc., to indicate the exact period of the Times of the Gentiles, and many theories have been founded upon it as to the time when this age would end by the coming of the Lord JESUS. But all the dates once suggested have expired and still the word remains true that of that day and hour knoweth no man. The Great Pyramid is not an altar nor is it a pillar. It is simply a gigantic tomb.
It seems evident that in the last days when Egypt shall turn to the Lord, this altar and pillar in the form of a memorial of some kind where worship is offered to the Lord, will be set up in the border of Egypt, but it is useless to speculate where GOD has withheld further information. Surely, however, the Saviour yet to be sent to Egypt can be none other than our blessed Lord JESUS who, after Egypt has learned its lesson because of the judgments that have been poured upon it, will heal it and bring it into lasting blessing.
In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians” (verse 23).
This surely refers to millennial days when these two great Gentile powers, or perhaps more accurately, the people who shall dwell in their lands in that day, will have friendly commercial relations with one another and, with Israel, will be recognized as the people of the Lord. See also Isa 35:8-10. Then these one-time warring powers will be brought into fullness of blessing as we read in the next two verses.
“In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance” (verses 24, 25).
Thus we see Jew and Gentile enjoying together the blessings of the promised kingdom when the Lord Himself takes over the government of the universe.
The twentieth chapter still refers to GOD’s dealing with Egypt, but now a definite date is given.
“In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,)
and fought against Ashdod, and took it; at the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape? (chapter 20).
Sargon, the king of Assyria, was unknown to history until his name was, in our times, found upon monuments, and thus Isaiah’s record confirmed. Scripture does not need to be vindicated by the often conflicting histories of ancient times nor by archaeological inscriptions, for we may be sure of this, the Bible is GOD’s inerrant Word and therefore always right, even though some of the ancient records might be in conflict with it; but again and again it has pleased GOD through the spade of the archaeologist to give full confirmation of the truth of His Word concerning doubts and questions that unbelievers have been only too glad to raise.
Sargon exercised tremendous power though but for a short time. Isaiah was commanded by GOD to become a sign to the Egyptians of the hardships that would be brought upon them by the Assyrian armies. He was commanded to lay aside his outer garments and put off his sandals and walk “naked and barefoot” before the people as an indication of the circumstances the Egyptians would have to face. Observe, it was not nudity but nakedness that was commanded.
To an Oriental, the laying aside of his long robe gave him the appearance of nakedness, and it was in this way that Isaiah became a sign. Others have pointed out that we are not here told that the prophet had to go about in this manner for the three years of Egyptian punishment, but that in all likelihood, three days on his part answered to the three years in which they were to suffer. As to the rest of this chapter, in their desperation the Egyptians would recognize their helplessness and cry out for a deliverer.
That Deliverer was yet to be revealed, as we have seen, in the coming Day of the Lord.
~ end of chapter 19, 20 ~
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CHAPTER 19
The Burden of Egypt
1. The judgment announced (Isa 19:1-15) 2. Egypt blest with Israel in the last days (Isa 19:16-25) Egypt has passed through many judgments. Hundreds of years after the divine predictions had been given the Word of the Lord was accomplished. The final judgment upon Egypt comes in that day when the Lord appears in visible glory. Egypt will come, like other nations, to the front once more at the close of the times of the Gentiles. But mercy is also in store for Egypt. Egypt will be called His people. When the Lord smites Egypt that land will return to Him. It will then be lifted out of the dust and receive a place of blessing only second to that which Israel will enjoy.
burden
(See Scofield “Isa 13:1”)
Egypt: Jer 25:19, Jer 43:8-13, Jer 44:29, Jer 44:30, Jer 46:1-28, Eze 29:1 – Eze 32:32, Joe 3:19, Zec 10:11, Zec 14:18
rideth: Deu 33:26, Psa 18:10-12, Psa 68:4, Psa 68:33, Psa 68:34, Psa 104:34, Mat 26:64, Mat 26:65, Rev 1:7
the idols: Isa 21:9, Isa 46:1, Isa 46:2, Exo 12:12, 1Sa 5:2-4, Jer 43:12, Jer 46:25, Jer 50:2, Jer 51:44, Eze 30:13
the heart: Isa 19:16, Exo 15:14-16, Jos 2:9, Jos 2:11, Jos 2:24, Jer 46:5, Jer 46:15, Jer 46:16
Reciprocal: Exo 15:15 – melt Exo 19:9 – Lo Num 33:4 – upon their gods 1Sa 5:3 – Dagon was 1Sa 6:5 – off your 2Sa 17:10 – utterly melt Job 12:24 – He taketh Isa 13:1 – burden Isa 13:7 – every Isa 17:1 – burden Isa 19:3 – the spirit Isa 19:22 – he shall smite Isa 40:22 – It is he that sitteth Jer 4:13 – Behold Jer 43:11 – he shall smite Jer 46:13 – Nebuchadrezzar Jer 51:18 – in the Eze 1:4 – a great Eze 30:3 – a cloudy Eze 30:18 – a cloud Nah 1:3 – his way Nah 1:14 – out Hab 3:8 – ride Zep 3:6 – cut Luk 9:34 – there Act 1:9 – a cloud Rev 10:1 – clothed Rev 14:14 – behold
Isa 19:1. The burden of Egypt Concerning the term burden, see on chap. 13:1. Not many years after the destruction of Sennacheribs army before Jerusalem, by which the Egyptians were freed from the yoke with which they were threatened by so powerful an enemy, who had carried on a successful war of three years continuance against them, the affairs of Egypt were again thrown into confusion by intestine broils among themselves, which ended in a perfect anarchy that lasted some years. This was followed by an aristocracy, or rather tyranny, of twelve princes, who divided the country between them, and at last by the sole dominion of Psammitichus, which he held for fifty-four years. Not long after that, followed the invasion and conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar; and then by the Persians under Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. The yoke of the Persians was so grievous, that the conquest of the Persians by Alexander may well be considered as a deliverance to Egypt; especially as he and his successors greatly favoured the people, and improved the country. To all these events the prophet seems to have had a view in this chapter; which contains the fifth discourse of the second part of Isaiahs prophecies, delivered at another time, and much later than the preceding, and copiously setting forth the fate of Egypt, a nation, from the remotest antiquity, famous in the East. See Bishop Lowth and Vitringa.
Behold, the Lord rideth on a swift cloud As a general at the head of his army: or, as a judge going in state to the bench, to try and condemn malefactors. He makes the clouds his chariots, and rides upon the wings of the wind, with a power far above the reach of opposition or resistance, and with a majesty far excelling the greatest pomp and splendour of earthly princes. He is said to ride upon a swift cloud, to signify that the judgment should come speedily and unexpectedly: for Gods judgments do not linger when the time of his long-suffering is completed. And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence From their seats, and from their former reputation. Or they shall shake or tremble, as the word , here used, properly signifies. So far shall they be from helping the Egyptians, as they expect, that they shall tremble for themselves. And the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it The Egyptians shall lose all their ancient strength and courage, and their very souls shall faint within them, through dread of their approaching calamities. From these particulars of the prediction we learn, that the prince who should come upon Egypt, as the executer of the decrees of the divine justice, should approach with the most swift and rapid motion; that he should throw down and destroy their idols, and fill all Egypt with the greatest consternation. Now it is certain that Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, the Persian, exactly fulfilled these things, particularly with respect to the idols of Egypt. The first attempt made by Cambyses, says Bishop Newton, was upon Pelusium, a strong town at the entrance of Egypt, and the key of the kingdom; and he succeeded by the stratagem of placing before his army a great number of dogs, sheep, cats, and other animals, which being held sacred by the Egyptians, not one of them would cast a javelin or shoot an arrow that way: and so the town was stormed and taken, in a manner, without resistance. He treated the gods of Egypt with marvellous contempt, laughed at the people, and chastised the priests for worshipping such deities. He slew Apis, or the sacred ox which the Egyptians worshipped, with his own hand; and burned and demolished their other idols and temples; and would likewise, if he had not been prevented, have destroyed the famous temple of Jupiter Ammon. Ochus, too, who was another king of Persia, and subdued the Egyptians again, after they had revolted, plundered their temples, and caused Apis to be slain, and served up in a banquet to him and his friends.
Isa 19:4. A cruel lord. Such was Nebuchadnezzar; and after him, Cambyses, and other Persian kings. One oppression succeeded another, as illustrated in Daniel 11.
Isa 19:11. The princes of Zoan. This was the most ancient city of lower Egypt, as appears from its being but seven years less ancient than Hebron. Numbers 13. It is called Taneos by the LXX, and Tanes or Tanis by the Chaldee, and the ancient geographers. This is done, says Poole, by the omission of a letter. Troan is made Tanes, as Tuor or Tsur is made Tyre. It was the key of the Nile, and the capital of Tanis. Rosetta has now succeeded Zoan.
Isa 19:13. The princes of Noph; that is, Memphis, where the kings of Egypt were interred. Hence some would change the Hebrew letter nun for mem.
Isa 19:18. In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts: one [of the five cities] shall be called destruction. Just the reverse is the reading of the LXX; , the city of righteousness. Dr. Lowth reads, the city of the sun; that is, Heliopolis, r ha-cheres. Lowth [of whom I would make a more frequent use, only Dr. Clarke has reprinted the whole volume of his notes on Isaiah] adds, this passage is attended with much difficulty. First, with regard to the true reading; for Onias the third being a refugee in Egypt during the captivity, built a temple at Heliopolis in imitation of that in Jerusalem, which continued till the time of Vespasian, by whose command it was destroyed. Egesippus. lib. 2. cap. 13. Now, though the present Hebrew text reads, ha-heres, which by the alteration of a single letter makes it destruction, it is conjectured by some, that the Jews out of contempt for a rival temple, falsified the reading of Isaiah. Be that as it may, Isaiah certainly never imagined that his words would be construed to favour the temple at Heliopolis, and leave the mount of God, the place he chose with fire from heaven. Still it must ever strike the reader, that the word destruction, after the prophet had spoken so many handsome things of the five cities, is very incongruous.
Isa 19:19. In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of Egypt. When Onias, son of Onias the highpriest, went into Egypt, favoured by the king, Ptolemy Philometor, he erected an altar to the Lord at Heliopolis, and offered burnt-offerings, alleging this text of Isaiah in defence of a conduct so unusual among the Jews.
REFLECTIONS.
Egypt was one of the most ancient kingdoms of the earth. It was first inhabited by Mizraim son of Ham or Cham, and grandson of Noah. Genesis 10. The Turks and Arabs still call it Mizir. It is usually divided into three parts; the lower or the Delta; the middle or the country above Cairo; and Thebais or upper Egypt. The river Nile waters it for six hundred miles, and makes it the most fruitful country in the world. About the 29th of June it begins to rise by the tropical rains in Abyssinia and towards the mountains of the moon, and its waters encrease for forty days, and decrease in forty days more. It sometimes rises thirty one feet, and sometimes but sixteen: twenty four feet is the medium. Our Bruce visited the Abyssinian source of the Nile, but the western and main source, which is said to be lake Nilid, near the mountains of the moon, is as yet unknown to us. Ancient Egypt was once the most flourishing kingdom in the world, and said to contain three thousand cities. Sesostris was the most celebrated of all its kings. His father, whom the learned say was Amenophis, or Memnon, trained him for conquest. All the males born on the same day he educated at court, and made them companions of his son, and captains in his army. This young prince first subdued the Arabs, then Libya, and next he reduced the Abyssinians to tribute. Not long after he marched against Jerusalem, and snatched away the riches of Solomon from the hand of Rehoboam. He carried his conquest beyond the Ganges, and even to the north of Asia as far as the Scythians. After a career of conquests for nine years Sesostris returned to Egypt loaded with spoil, and his chariot drawn by captive kings. But Egypt afterwards fell, never to rise to its former glory. Thus the sacred writings mark the sentence of heaven against a faithless nation.
The calamities here predicted against Egypt are six in number.
(1) Civil commotions. I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: Isa 19:2. This was fulfilled after the death of Sethon; or after Sennacheribs invasion proved abortive, when twelve tyrants divided the kingdom, and often fought one against another. Psammiticus subdued his eleven rivals, and reigned in all fifty four years.
(2) Confusion of counsel was another calamity predicted against Egypt: Isa 19:14. When God is about to punish a nation, he apparently commissions his angels to baffle the wisest counsellors, and deceive the most experienced generals. Whereas on the contrary, the invader succeeds in his measures, and even beyond his expectations.
(3) Famine was another scourge. The Lord would deny the periodical rains, which would occasion the brooks and canals to dry up, and the fish to die; and the Egyptians, not eating many of the animals of which we eat, would be driven to extreme want: Isa 19:5-8.
(4) Another plague was the almost total loss of trade. The starving weavers and manufacturers were confounded: Isa 19:9. The want of bread, and the want of work, are the heaviest of visitations on the poor.
(5) Imbecility was the character of their kings. They advised and retracted; they gave orders, and countermanded them again: Isa 19:11. The government was characterized by weakness of council, and indecision of conduct. Jerome reads Isa 19:11, Stulti principes Taneos, sapientes concilliarii Pharaonis, dederunt concillium incipiens.
(6) This naturally dispirited the army: they who were so bold and valiant under Sesostris, were now timid and fearful like women: Isa 19:16. Now, all these calamities came upon them in succession. Sennacheribs war is supposed to have occasioned the anarchy; and Nebuchadnezzar visited them with his heavy hand of conquest. Cambyses, son of Cyrus, was a cruel king, and God soon gave him his reward. Advancing against the Ethiopians as a fool, without order, without guides, without discipline, he saw his army perish in the desert for want of food, before he had reached the enemys country. Lastly, Isaiah saw that Egypt would be a sanctuary for the Jews who should escape the sword of the Chaldees: and at one time the number of the refugees was so great that five cities did literally speak the language of Canaan. Alexander the great was a saviour to them, and the Ptolemies were their patrons. God blesses the nation that receives his exiled people. This prophecy may however have a reference to the future conversion of Egypt to the christian faith.
Isaiah 19. Oracle on Egypt.This is one of the most difficult chapters in the book. It falls into two sections, Isa 19:1-17 and Isa 19:18-25. If Isa 19:1-17 is in the main from Isaiah, it probably refers to an anticipated conquest of Egypt by Assyria. Three possibilities are then open: (a) the defeat of Egypt by Sargon at Raphia in 720 B.C. (pp. 59, 71); (b) the occasion which called forth the similar prophecy in Isaiah 20; (c) the early part of Sennacheribs reign, when Judah was planning an alliance with Egypt. It is true that no Assyrian king ruled over Egypt till 672, when Esarhaddon did so (p. 60). But it is better to regard the cruel lord and fierce king, into whose power Egypt is to be delivered, as an Assyrian rather than a native ruler, even though it is difficult to fix the precise historical occasion to which the prophecy belongs. But its Isaianic authorship is by no means unquestioned. No agreement, however, has been reached as to its date if non-Isaianic. The cruel lord would probably be a Persian king. Cambyses (529522), Xerxes (485465), and Artaxerxes Ochus (359338) have been suggested. Isa 19:18-25 forms an appendix. Its tone is strikingly different from that of the earlier part. In the former part of the prophecy the tone is both threatening and sarcastic towards Egypt, while in the latter it is very sympathetic. Stylistically the passage does not resemble Isaiahs work, and it is most difficult of all to account for the very circumstantial details into which the prophet enters, if it is Isaiahs. The main objection to a post-exilic date has been the reference to a pillar in the land of Egypt as a sign that Egypt will turn to God. Since pillars are forbidden in Deu 16:22, it is urged that the prophecy must be earlier, while this is confirmed by the fact that the altar would conflict with the Deuteronomic law of a single sanctuary (Deuteronomy 12). But the pillar may have merely a memorial character, and be mentioned here because pillars were so numerous in Egypt. And in spite of Dt. a temple was actually erected in Egypt in the second century B.C. The date is very uncertain, especially since the text and meaning of Isa 19:18 are quite unsettled. The view that this verse refers to the temple founded at Leontopolis about 160 B.C. is dubious, though the variation in the text may have expressed later judgment upon this temple.
Isa 19:1-17. Yahweh rides on a cloud (cf. Psa 104:3, and, if the cherubim originally represented the thundercloud, Psa 18:10) and enters Egypt. He strikes dismay into her and her gods, for He is about to judge them. He afflicts Egypt with civil war; Egypts intellect is paralysed, so, incapable of wise counsel, she has recourse to the idols and occult arts. In spite of this she falls under the sway of a tyrant. The Nile, here called the sea (cf. Isa 18:2)for it was more like a sea than a river when it overflowed its bankswill dry up, and the canals on which the country depended for its system of irrigation will also be dry. The land will be barren, vegetation fail, the fishermen and weavers be thrown out of employment. The princes and counsellors of the king have become foolish; how can they boast their descent from ancient sages and kings? Pharaoh is twitted with the helplessness of his advisers, the chief caste has caused Egypt to go astray. Yahweh has mixed a draught for the leaders, consisting of a spirit of infatuation which makes them incapable of directing the people aright. The people, thus misdirected, go astray like a drunken man. No one, either high or low, can render effective help. As Yahweh smites Egypt with blow after blow, she is filled with terror like a woman, and the very mention of Judah will dismay her, since the author of her trouble is Judahs God.
Isa 19:2. Egypt was divided into small provinces, which were very jealous of each other and constantly at feud. When the central power was weakened, they easily drifted into civil war.
Isa 19:7. The text is probably corrupt; the LXX is quite different.
Isa 19:9. Linen was worn by the priests and used for bandaging mummies. Cotton was worn by the non-priestly classes.
Isa 19:10. The pillars of society may be the upper classes or the labourers, but perhaps we should read they that weave it, i.e. the fabrics mentioned in Isa 19:9.
Isa 19:11. Zoan is Tanis in the N.E. of the Delta, once the chief commercial city of Egypt. It was the capital of Egypt during the Hyksos dynasty (pp. 52, 54), and also under Rameses II and other important Egyptian kings.
Isa 19:13. Noph is Memphis, a city on the left bank of the Nile, shortly before it branches to form the Delta. It was founded by Menes, the first monarch of the 1st dynasty, and was for a long time one of the most important cities of Egypt.tribes: render castes.
Isa 19:15 b. Cf. Isa 9:14.
19:1 The {a} burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD {b} rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
(a) Read Isa 13:7 .
(b) Because the Egyptians trusted in the defence of their country, in the multitude of their idols and in the valiantness of their men the Lord shows that he will come over all their munitions in a swift cloud, and that their idols will tremble at his coming and that men’s hearts will faint.
Sovereign Yahweh was about to visit Egypt, and when He did, her idols would prove impotent and her people fearful. He had done this at the time of the Exodus (Exo 12:12), but Egypt was to receive a repeat lesson.
2
CHAPTER XVII
ISAIAH TO THE FOREIGN NATIONS
736-702 B.C.
Isa 14:24-32; Isa 15:1-9; Isa 16:1-14; Isa 17:1-14; Isa 18:1-7; Isa 19:1-25; Isa 20:1-6; Isa 21:1-17; Isa 23:1-18
THE centre of the Book of Isaiah (chapters 13 to 23) is occupied by a number of long and short prophecies which are a fertile source of perplexity to the conscientious reader of the Bible. With the exhilaration of one who traverses plain roads and beholds vast prospects, he has passed through the opening chapters of the book as far as the end of the twelfth; and he may look forward to enjoying a similar experience when he reaches those other clear stretches of vision from the twenty-fourth to the twenty-seventh and from the thirtieth to the thirty-second. But here he loses himself among a series of prophecies obscure in themselves and without obvious relation to one another. The subjects of them are the nations, tribes, and cities with which in Isaiahs day, by war or treaty or common fear in face of the Assyrian conquest, Judah was being brought into contact. There are none of the familiar names of the land and tribes of Israel which meet the reader in other obscure prophecies and lighten their darkness with the face of a friend. The names and allusions are foreign, some of them the names of tribes long since extinct, and of places which it is no more possible to identify. It is a very jungle of prophecy, in which, without much Gospel or geographical light, we have to grope our way, thankful for an occasional gleam of the picturesque-a sandstorm in the desert, the forsaken ruins of Babylon haunted by wild beasts, a view of Egypts canals or Phoenicias harbours, a glimpse of an Arab raid or of a grave Ethiopian embassy.
But in order to understand the Book of Isaiah, in order to understand Isaiah himself in some of the largest of his activities and hopes; we must traverse this thicket. It would be tedious and unprofitable to search every corner of it. We propose, therefore, to give a list of the various oracles, with their dates and titles, for the guidance of Bible-readers, then to take three representative texts and gather the meaning of all the oracles round them.
First, however, two of the prophecies must be put aside. The twenty-second chapter does not refer to a foreign State, but to Jerusalem itself; and the large prophecy which opens the series (chapters 13-14:23) deals with the overthrow of Babylon in circumstances that did not arise till long after Isaiahs time, and so falls to be considered by us along with similar prophecies at the close of this volume. (See Book V)
All the rest of these chapters-14-21 and 23-refer to Isaiahs own day. They were delivered by the prophet at various times throughout his career; but the most of them evidently date from immediately after the year 705, when, on the death of Sargon, there was a general rebellion of the Assyrian vassals.
1. Isa 14:24-27 -OATH OF JEHOVAH that the Assyrian shall be broken. Probable date, towards 701.
2. Isa 14:28-32 -ORACLE FOR PHILISTIA. Warning to Philistia not to rejoice because one Assyrian king is dead, for a worse one shall arise: “Out of the serpents root shall come forth a basilisk. Philistia shall be melted away, but Zion shall stand.” The inscription to this oracle (Isa 14:28) is not genuine. The oracle plainly speaks of the death and accession of Assyrian, not Judaean, kings. It may be ascribed to 705, the date of the death of Sargon and accession of Sennacherib. But some hold that it refers to the previous change on the Assyrian throne-the death of Salmanassar and the accession of Sargon.
3 Isa 15:1-9 – Isa 16:12 -ORACLE FOR MOAB. A long prophecy against Moab. This oracle, whether originally by himself at an earlier period of his life, or more probably by an older prophet, Isaiah adopts and ratifies, and intimates its immediate fulfilment, in Isa 16:13-14 : “This is the word which Jehovah spake concerning Moab long ago. But now Jehovah hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt with all the great multitude, and the remnant shall be very small and of no account.” The dates both of the original publication of this prophecy and of its reissue with the appendix are quite uncertain. The latter may fall about 711, when Moab was threatened by Sargon for complicity in the Ashdod conspiracy or in 704, when, with other states, Moab came under the cloud of Sennacheribs invasion. The main prophecy is remarkable for its vivid picture of the disaster that has overtaken Moab and for the sympathy with her which the Jewish prophet expresses; for the mention of a “remnant” of Moab; for the exhortation to her to send tribute in her adversity “to the mount of the daughter of Zion”; {Isa 16:1} for an appeal to Zion to shelter the outcasts of Moab and to take up her cause: “Bring counsel, make a decision, make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts, bewray not the wanderer;” for a statement of the Messiah similar to those in chapters 9 and 11; and for the offer to the oppressed Moabites of the security of Judah in Messianic times (Isa 16:4-5). But there is one great obstacle to this prospect of Moab lying down in the shadow of Judah-Moabs arrogance. “We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud,” {Isa 16:6, cf. Jer 48:29; Jer 48:42; Zep 2:10} which pride shall not only keep this country in ruin, but prevent the Moabites prevailing in prayer at their own sanctuary (Isa 16:12)-a very remarkable admission about the worship of another god than Jehovah.
4. Isa 17:1-11 -ORACLE FOR DAMASCUS. One of the earliest and most crisp of Isaiahs prophecies. Of the time of Syrias and Ephraims league against Judah, somewhere between 736 and 732.
5. Isa 17:12-14 -UNTITLED. The crash of the peoples upon Jerusalem and their dispersion. This magnificent piece of sound, which we analyse below, is usually understood of Sennacheribs rush upon Jerusalem. Isa 17:14 is an accurate summary of the sudden break-up and “retreat from Moscow” of his army. The Assyrian hosts are described as “nations,” as they are elsewhere more than once by Isaiah. {Isa 22:6; Isa 29:7} But in all this there is no final reason for referring the oracle to Sennacheribs invasion, and it may just as well be interpreted of Isaiahs confidence of the defeat of Syria and Ephraim (734-723). Its proximity to the oracle against Damascus would then be very natural, and it would stand as a parallel prophecy to Isa 8:9 : “Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of the distances of the earth: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces”-a prophecy which we know belongs to the period of the Syro-Ephraimitic league.
6. Isa 18:1-7 -UNTITLED. An address to Ethiopia, “land of a rustling of wings, land of many sails, whose messengers dart to and fro upon the rivers in their skiffs of reed.” The prophet tells Ethiopia, cast into excitement by the news of the Assyrian advance, how Jehovah is resting quietly till the Assyrian be ripe for destruction. When the Ethiopians shall see His sudden miracle they shall send their tribute to Jehovah, “to the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, Mount Zion.” It is difficult to know to which southward march of Assyria to ascribe this prophecy-Sargons or Sennacheribs? For at the time of both of these an Ethiopian ruled Egypt.
7. Isa 19:1-25 -ORACLE FOR EGYPT. The first fifteen verses (Isa 19:1-15) describe judgment as ready to fall on the land of the Pharaohs. The last ten speak of the religious results to Egypt of that judgment, and they form the most universal and “missionary” of all Isaiahs prophecies. Although doubts have been expressed of the Isaiah authorship of the second half of this chapter on the score of its universalism, as well as of its literary style, which is judged to be “a pale reflection” of Isaiahs own, there is no final reason for declining the credit of it to Isaiah, while there are insuperable difficulties against relegating it to the late date which is sometimes demanded for it. On the date and authenticity of this prophecy, which are of great importance for the question of Isaiahs “missionary” opinions, see Cheynes introduction to the chapter and Robertson Smiths notes in “The Prophets of Israel” (p. 433). The latter puts it in 703, during Sennacheribs advance upon the south. The former suggests that the second half may have been written by the prophet much later than the first, and justly says, “We can hardly imagine a more swan-like end for the dying prophet.”
8. Isa 20:1-6 -UNTITLED. Also upon Egypt, but in narrative and of an earlier date than at least the latter half of chapter 19. Tells how Isaiah walked naked and barefoot in the streets of Jerusalem for a sign against Egypt and against the help Judah hoped to get from her in the years 711-709, when the Tartan, or Assyrian commander-in-chief, came south to subdue Ashdod.
9. Isa 21:1-10 -ORACLE FOR THE WILDERNESS OF THESEA, announcing but lamenting the fall of Babylon. Probably 709.
10. Isa 21:11-12 -ORACLE FOR DUMAH. Dumah, or Silence – Psa 94:17; Psa 115:17, “the land of the silence of death,” the grave – is probably used as an anagram for Edom and an enigmatic sign to the wise Edomites, in their own fashion, of the kind of silence their land is lying under-the silence of rapid decay. The prophet hears this silence at last broken by a cry. Edom cannot bear the darkness any more. “Unto me one is calling from Seir, Watchman, how much off the night? how much off the night? Said the watchman, Cometh the morning, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire, come back again.” What other answer is possible for a land on which the silence of decay seems to have settled down? He may, however, give them an answer later on, if they will come back. Date uncertain, perhaps between 704 and 701.
11. 21:13-17 -ORACLE FOR ARABIA. From Edom the prophet passes to their neighbours the Dedanites, travelling merchants. And as he saw night upon Edom, so, by a play upon words, he speaks of evening upon Arabia: “in the forest, in Arabia,” or with the same consonants, “in the evening.” In the time of the insecurity of the Assyrian invasion the travelling merchants have to go aside from their great trading roads “in the evening to lodge in the thickets.” There they entertain fugitives, or (for the sense is not quite clear) are themselves as fugitives entertained. It is a picture of the “grievousness of war,” which was now upon the world, flowing down even those distant, desert roads. But things have not yet reached the worst. The fugitives are but the heralds of armies, that “within a year” shall waste the “children of Kedar,” for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it. So did the prophet of little Jerusalem take possession of even the far deserts in the name of his nations God.
12. Isa 23:1-18 -ORACLE FOR TYRE. Elegy over its fall, probably as Sennacherib came south upon it in 703 or 702. To be further considered by us.
These, then, are Isaiahs oracles for the Nations, who tremble, intrigue, and go down before the might of Assyria.
We have promised to gather the circumstances and meaning of these prophecies round three representative texts. These are-
1. “Ah! the booming of the peoples, the multitudes, like the booming of the seas they boom; and the rushing of the nations, like the rushing of mighty waters they rush; nations, like the rushing of many waters they rush. But He rebuketh it, and it fleeth afar off, and is chased like the chaff on the mountains before the wind and like whirling dust before the whirlwind.” {Isa 17:12-13}
2. “What then shall one answer the messengers of a nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and in her shall find refuge the afflicted of His people.” {Isa 14:32}
3. “In that day shall Israel be a third to Egypt and to Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, for that Jehovah of hosts hath blessed them, saying, Blessed be My people Egypt, and the work of My hands Assyria, and Mine inheritance Israel”. {Isa 19:24-25}
I.
The first of these texts shows all the prophets prospect filled with storm, the second of them the solitary rock and lighthouse in the midst of the storm: Zion, His own watchtower and His peoples refuge; while the third of them, looking far into the future, tells us, as it were, of the firm continent which shall rise out of the waters-Israel no longer a solitary lighthouse, “but in that day shall Israel be a third to Egypt and to Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth.” These three texts give us a summary of the meaning of all Isaiahs obscure prophecies to the foreign nations-a stormy ocean, a solitary rock in the midst of it, and the new continent that shall rise out of the waters about the rock.
The restlessness of Western Asia beneath the Assyrian rule (from 719, when Sargons victory at Rafia extended that rule to the borders of Egypt) found vent, as we saw, in two great Explosions, for both of which the mine was laid by Egyptian intrigue. The first Explosion happened in 711, and was confined to Ashdod. The second took place on Sargons death in 705, and was universal. Till Sennacherib marched south on Palestine in 701, there were all over Western Asia hurryings to and fro, consultations and intrigues, embassies and engineerings from Babylon to Meroe in far Ethiopia, and from the tents of Kedar to the cities of the Philistines. For these Jerusalem, the one inviolate capital from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt, was the natural centre. And the one far-seeing, steady-hearted man in Jerusalem was Isaiah. We have already seen that there was enough within the city to occupy Isaiahs attention, especially from 705 onward; but for Isaiah the walls of Jerusalem, dear as they were and thronged with duty, neither limited his sympathies nor marked the scope of the gospel he had to preach. Jerusalem is simply his watchtower. His field-and this is the peculiar glory of the prophets later life-his field is the world.
How well fitted Jerusalem then was to be the worlds watchtower, the traveller may see to this day. The city lies upon the great central ridge of Palestine, at an elevation of two thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. If you ascend the hill behind the city, you stand upon one of the great view-points of the earth. It is a forepost of Asia. To the east rise the red hills of Moab and the uplands of Gilead and Bashan, on to which wandering tribes of the Arabian deserts beyond still push their foremost camps. Just beyond the horizon lie the immemorial paths from Northern Syria into Arabia. Within a few hours walk along the same central ridge, and still within the territory of Judah, you may see to the north, over a wilderness of blue hills, Hermons snowy crest; you know that Damascus is lying just beyond, and that through it and round the base of Hermon swings one of the longest of the old worlds highways-the main caravan road from the Euphrates to the Nile. Stand at gaze for a little, while down that road there sweep into your mind thoughts of the great empire whose troops and commerce it used to carry. Then, bearing these thoughts with you, follow the line of the road across the hills to the western coastland, and so out upon the great Egyptian desert, where you may wait till it has brought you imagination of the southern empire to which it travels. Then, lifting your eyes a little further, let them sweep back again from south to north, and you have the whole of the west, the new world, open to you, across the fringe of yellow haze that marks the sands of the Mediterranean. It is even now one of the most comprehensive prospects in the world. But in Isaiahs day, when the world was smaller, the high places of Judah either revealed or suggested the whole of it.
But Isaiah was more than a spectator of this vast theatre. He was an actor upon it. The court of Judah, of which during Hezekiahs reign he was the most prominent member, stood in more or less close connection with the courts of all the kingdoms of Western Asia; and in those days, when the nations were busy with intrigue against their common enemy, this little highland town and fortress became a gathering place of peoples. From Babylon, from far-off Ethiopia, from Edom, from Philistia, and no doubt from many other places also, embassies came to King Hezekiah, or to inquire of his prophet. The appearance of some of them lives for us still in Isaiahs descriptions: “tall and shiny” figures of Ethiopians {Isa 18:2}, with whom we are able to identify the lithe, silky-skinned, shining-black bodies of the present tribes of the Upper Nile. Now the prophet must have talked much with these strangers, for he displays a knowledge of their several countries and ways of life that is full and accurate. The agricultural conditions of Egypt; her social ranks and her industries (chapter 19); the harbours and markets of Tyre (chapter 23); the caravans of the Arab nomads, as in times of war they shun the open desert and seek the thickets {Isa 21:14} -Isaiah paints these for us with a vivid realism. We see how this statesman of the least of States, this prophet of a religion which was confessed over only a few square miles, was aware of the wide world, and how he loved the life that filled it. They are no mere geographical terms with which Isaiah thickly studs these prophecies. He looks out upon and paints for us, lands and cities surging with men-their trades, their castes, their religions, their besetting tempers and sins, their social structures and national policies, all quick and bending to the breeze and the shadow of the coming storm from the north.
We have said that in nothing is the legal power of our prophets style so manifest as in the vast horizons, which, by the use of a few words, he calls up before us. Some of the finest of these revelations are made in this part of his book, so obscure and unknown to most. Who can ever forget those descriptions-of Ethiopia in the eighteenth chapter?-“Ah! the land of the rustling of wings, which borders on the rivers of Cush, which sendeth heralds on the sea, and in vessels of reed on the face of the waters! Travel, fleet messengers, to a people lithe and shining, to a nation feared from ever it began to be, a people strong, strong and trampling, whose land the rivers divide”; or of Tyre in chapter 23?-“And on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.” What expanses of sea! what fleets of ships! what floating loads of grain! what concourse of merchants moving on stately wharves beneath high warehouses!
Yet these are only segments of horizons, and perhaps the prophet reaches the height of his power of expression in the first of the three texts, which we have given as representative of his prophecies on foreign nations. Here three or four lines of marvellous sound repeat the effect of the rage of the restless world as it rises, storms, and breaks upon the steadfast will of God. The phonetics of the passage are wonderful. The general impression is that of a stormy ocean booming in to the shore and then crashing itself out into one long hiss of spray and foam upon its barriers. The details are noteworthy. In Isa 17:12 we have thirteen heavy M-sounds, besides two heavy Bs, to five Ns, five Hs, and four sibilants. But in Isa 17:13 the sibilants predominate; and before the sharp rebuke of the Lord the great, booming sound of Isa 17:12 scatters out into a long yish-sha oon. The occasional use of a prolonged vowel amid so many hurrying consonants produces exactly the effect now of the lift of a storm swell out at sea and now of the pause of a great wave before it crashes on the shore. “Ah, the booming of the peoples, the multitudes, like the booming of the seas they boom; and the rushing of the nations, like the rushing of the mighty waters they rush: nations, like the rushing of many waters they rush. But He checketh it”-a short, sharp word with a choke and a snort in it-“and it fleeth far away, and is chased like chaff on mountains before wind, and like swirling dust before a whirlwind.”
So did the rage of the world sound to Isaiah as it crashed into pieces upon the steadfast providence of God. To those who can feel the force of such language nothing need be added upon the prophets view of the politics of the outside world these twenty years, whether portions of it threatened Judah in their own strength, or the whole power of storm that was in it rose with the Assyrian, as in all his flood he rushed upon Zion in the year 701.
II.
But amid this storm Zion stands immovable. It is upon Zion that the storm crashes itself into impotence. This becomes explicit in the second of our representative texts: “What then shall one answer the messengers of a nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and in her shall find a refuge the afflicted of His people”. {Isa 14:32} This oracle was drawn from Isaiah by an embassy of the Philistines. Stricken with panic at the Assyrian advance, they had sent messengers to Jerusalem, as other tribes did, with questions and proposals of defences, escapes, and alliances. They got their answer, Alliances are useless. Everything human is going down. Here, here alone, is safety, because the Lord hath decreed it.
With what light and peace do Isaiahs words break out across that unquiet, hungry sea! How they tell the world for the first time, and have been telling it ever since, that, apart from all the struggle and strife of history, there is a refuge and security of men, which God Himself has assured. The troubled surface of life, nations heaving uneasily, kings of Assyria and their armies carrying the world before them-these are not all. The world and her powers are not all. Religion, in the very teeth of life, builds her a refuge for the afflicted.
The world seems wholly divided between force and fear. Isaiah says, It is not true. Faith has her abiding citadel in the midst, a house of God, which neither force can harm nor fear enter.
This then was Isaiahs Interim-Answer to the Nations-Zion at least is secure for the people of Jehovah.
III.
Isaiah could not remain content, however, with so narrow an interim-answer: Zion at least is secure, whatever happens to the rest of you. The world was there, and had to be dealt with and accounted for-had even to be saved. As we have already seen, this was the problem of Isaiahs generation; and to have shirked it would have meant the failure of his faith to rank as universal.
Isaiah did not shirk it. He said boldly to his people, and to the nations: “The faith we have covers this vaster life. Jehovah is not only God of Israel. He rules the world.” These prophecies to the foreign nations are full of revelations of the sovereignty and providence of God. The Assyrian may seem to be growing in glory; but Jehovah is watching from the heavens, till he be ripe for cutting down. {Isa 18:4} Egypts statesmen may be perverse and wilful; but Jehovah of hosts swingeth His hand against the land: “they shall tremble and shudder”. {Isa 19:16} Egypt shall obey His purposes (chapter 17). Confusion may reign for a time, but a signal and a centre shall be lifted up, and the world gather itself in order round the revealed will of God. The audacity of such a claim for his God becomes more striking when we remember that Isaiahs faith was not the faith of a majestic or a conquering people. When he made his claim, Judah was still tributary to Assyria, a petty highland principality, that could not hope to stand by material means against the forces which had thrown down her more powerful neighbours. It was. no experience of success, no mere instinct of being on the side of fate, which led Isaiah so resolutely to pronounce that not only should his people be secure, but that his God would vindicate His purposes upon empires like Egypt and Assyria. It was simply his sense that Jehovah was exalted in righteousness. Therefore, while inside Judah only the remnant that took the side of righteousness would be saved, outside Judah wherever there was unrighteousness, it would be rebuked, and wherever righteousness, it would be vindicated. This is the supremacy which Isaiah proclaimed for Jehovah over the whole world.
How spiritual this faith of Isaiah was, is seen from the next step the prophet took. Looking out on the troubled world, he did not merely assert that his God ruled it, but he emphatically said, what was a far more difficult thing to say, that it would all be consciously and willingly Gods. God rules this, not to restrain it only, but to make it His own. The knowledge of Him, which is today our privilege, shall be tomorrow the blessing of the whole world.
When we point to the Jewish desire, so often expressed in the Old Testament, of making the whole world subject to Jehovah, we are told that it is simply a proof of religious ambition and jealousy. We are told that this wish to convert the world no more stamps the Jewish religion as being a universal, and therefore presumably a Divine, religion than the Mohammedans zeal to force their tenets on men at the point of the sword is a proof of the truth of Islam.
Now we need not be concerned to defend the Jewish religion in its every particular, even as propounded by an Isaiah. It is an article of the Christian creed that Judaism was a minor and imperfect dispensation, where truth was only half revealed and virtue half developed. But at least let us do the Jewish religion justice; and we shall never do it justice till we pay attention to what its greatest prophets thought of the outside world, how they sympathised with this, and in what way they proposed to make it subject to their own faith.
Firstly then, there is something in the very manner of Isaiahs treatment of foreign nations, which causes the old charges of religious exclusiveness to sink in our throats. Isaiah treats these foreigners at least as men. Take his prophecies on Egypt or on Tyre or on Babylon-nations which were the hereditary enemies of his nation-and you find him speaking of their natural misfortunes, their social decays, their national follies and disasters, with the same pity and with the same purely moral considerations with which he has treated his own land. When news of those far-away sorrows comes to Jerusalem, it moves this large-hearted prophet to mourning and tears. He breathes out to distant lands elegies as beautiful as he has poured upon Jerusalem. He shows as intelligent an interest in their social evolutions as he does in those of the Jewish State. He gives a picture of the industry and politics of Egypt as careful as his pictures of the fashions and statecraft of Judah. In short, as you read his prophecies upon foreign nations, you perceive that before the eyes of this man humanity, broken and scattered in his days as it was, rose up one great whole, every part of which was subject to the same laws of righteousness, and deserved from the prophet of God the same love and pity. To some few tribes he says decisively that they shall certainly be wiped out, but even them he does not address in contempt or in hatred. The large empire of Egypt, the great commercial power of Tyre, he speaks of in language of respect and admiration; but that does not prevent him from putting the plain issue to them which he put to his own countrymen: If you are unrighteous, intemperate, impure-lying diplomats and dishonest rulers-you shall certainly perish before Assyria. If you are righteous, temperate, pure, if you do trust in truth and God, nothing can move you.
But, secondly, he, who thus treated all nations with the same strict measures of justice and the same fulness of pity with which he treated his own, was surely not far from extending to the world the religious privileges which he has so frequently identified with Jerusalem. In his old age, at least, Isaiah looked forward to the time when the particular religious opportunities of the Jew should be the inheritance of humanity. For their old oppressor Egypt, for their new enemy Assyria, he anticipates the same experience and education which have made Israel the firstborn of God. Speaking to Egypt, Isaiah concludes a missionary sermon, fit to take its place beside that which Paul uttered on the Areopagus to the younger Greek civilisation, with the words, “In that day shall Israel be a third to Egypt and to Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, for that Jehovah of hosts hath blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands and Israel Mine inheritance.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary