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Isaiah 19: Egypt Will Know the Lord

The Lord shakes Egypt's idols and wisdom to nothing, yet promises a stunning day when Egypt, Assyria, and Israel worship him together.

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Isaiah 19 (WEB)

1 The burden of Egypt: “Behold, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

2 I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they will fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

3 The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst. I will destroy its counsel. They will seek the idols, the charmers, those who have familiar spirits, and the wizards.

4 I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord. A fierce king will rule over them,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.

5 The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be wasted and become dry.

6 The rivers will become foul. The streams of Egypt will be diminished and dried up. The reeds and flags will wither away.

7 The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.

8 The fishermen will lament, and all those who fish in the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will languish.

9 Moreover those who work in combed flax, and those who weave white cloth, will be confounded.

10 The pillars will be broken in pieces. All those who work for hire will be grieved in soul.

11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?”

12 Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you now; and let them know what Yahweh of Armies has purposed concerning Egypt.

13 The princes of Zoan have become fools. The princes of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, who are the cornerstone of her tribes.

14 Yahweh has mixed a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in all of its works, like a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which head or tail, palm branch or rush, may do.

16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Yahweh of Armies, which he shakes over them.

17 The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt. Everyone to whom mention is made of it will be afraid, because of the plans of Yahweh of Armies, which he determines against it.

18 In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Yahweh of Armies. One will be called “The city of destruction.”

19 In that day, there will be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Yahweh at its border.

20 It will be for a sign and for a witness to Yahweh of Armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, and he will send them a savior and a defender, and he will deliver them.

21 Yahweh will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Yahweh in that day. Yes, they will worship with sacrifice and offering, and will vow a vow to Yahweh, and will perform it.

22 Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking and healing. They will return to Yahweh, and he will be entreated by them, and will heal them.

23 In that day there will be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24 In that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth;

25 because Yahweh of Armies has blessed them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

Summary

The burden of Egypt opens with Yahweh riding on a swift cloud, and at his coming the idols of Egypt tremble and the nation's heart melts. God stirs Egyptians against Egyptians in civil strife, dries up the Nile that was the source of their life and wealth, and confounds their fishermen, weavers, and workers. The famed wisdom of Egypt collapses: the counselors of Pharaoh become stupid, the princes of Zoan and Memphis are deceived, and the nation staggers like a drunken man because the Lord has poured a spirit of confusion into them. Then the oracle turns astonishingly toward grace. In that day Egypt will fear the land of Judah, cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear to Yahweh, and an altar and a pillar to the Lord will stand in the heart of Egypt. When the Egyptians cry out under oppression, God will send them a savior and a defender to deliver them, striking and then healing, so that they turn to him and worship with sacrifice. Most remarkable of all, a highway will join Egypt and Assyria, and Israel will be a third with them, as God blesses “Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

Key Figures

  • Egypt — The mighty nation whose idols tremble, whose Nile dries up, and whose vaunted wisdom fails, yet who is promised healing and a place among God's people.
  • Yahweh of Armies — The Lord who rides on a swift cloud to humble Egypt, sends a savior and defender, and finally claims Egypt as his people and Assyria as his handiwork.
  • Assyria and Israel — The great empire and God's inheritance, joined to Egypt by a highway of worship, sharing in the blessing of God in the midst of the earth.
  • Pharaoh's wise men — The celebrated counselors of Egypt whose wisdom becomes foolishness when the Lord pours a spirit of perverseness into the nation's midst.

Key Verse

Isaiah 19:25 (WEB)

because Yahweh of Armies has blessed them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

Lessons Learned

  • Idols and human wisdom melt away before the presence of the living God.
  • The sources of national pride and security are in the Lord's hand to dry up.
  • God strikes in order to heal, drawing even old enemies to himself.
  • God's saving purpose reaches beyond Israel to gather former enemies as his own people.
  • Idols cannot stand before God. “The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst” (Isaiah 19:1, WEB). No false god survives his coming.
  • Human wisdom fails without God. “The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid” (Isaiah 19:11, WEB). Earthly cleverness is folly apart from the Lord.
  • God wounds in order to heal. “Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking and healing. They will return to Yahweh, and he will… heal them” (Isaiah 19:22, WEB). His judgments can be a path to mercy.
  • God claims the nations as his own. “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance” (Isaiah 19:25, WEB), a breathtaking glimpse of his worldwide family.
  1. What happens to Egypt's idols, economy, and wisdom when the Lord comes against the land?
  2. Why does God allow Egypt's celebrated counselors to be reduced to foolishness?
  3. How does the oracle move from judgment to the promise of a savior and healing?
  4. What is so surprising about the final blessing on Egypt, Assyria, and Israel together?
  5. How does this picture of former enemies worshiping together stretch your understanding of God's grace?
  1. The idols tremble, the Nile dries up, the workers despair, and the wise men are confounded (19:1-15). Everything Egypt trusted—gods, river, economy, wisdom—proves powerless, exposing that real life and security come from God alone.
  2. God pours a spirit of perverseness into Egypt so its sages stagger like drunkards (19:13-14). When a people exalts its own wisdom against God, he can let that wisdom collapse, showing that no human counsel can overturn his purpose.
  3. After striking Egypt, God promises to send “a savior and a defender” and to heal them when they cry out (19:20-22). Judgment is not the last word; it becomes the doorway to deliverance for those who turn to him.
  4. Egypt and Assyria, Israel's historic oppressors, are named God's people and the work of his hands alongside his inheritance (19:25). It anticipates the gospel's reach, in which old enemies become brothers and sisters in worship.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Encourage members to consider whom they assume to be beyond God's grace, and to marvel that the cross gathers former enemies into one family. Point gently to Christ, our peace, who makes the two into one.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.