God catches a cloud and has a first class seat as he heads for Egypt, the idols quake with fear and Egypt is paralyzed with panic. God set everyone in Egypt against each other and it was pandemonium. She consulted her idols and wizards for counsel but found none. God gives them a cruel ruler and turns all her wise men into dupes and dunces. The rivers are dried up and unemployment is out the roof. Egypt regains the grace of God and erects a monument at the border in his honor. A highway is built between Assyria and Egypt and God proclaims Egypt as his people, Assyria as the work of his hands, and Israel as his inheritance. The commentary section is a must read for the inquiring mind.
Uncovering the Divine Drama of Egypt's Panic and Restoration
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.
This is an inspired prediction about Egypt. God is riding in on a cloud and the idols of Egypt will quake and tremble and the hearts of the Egyptians will sink and their courage will melt. Egypt is paralyzed with panic.
Cross References
- Psalm 18:10: And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
- Jeremiah 43:8-13: (Prophecy regarding Nebuchadnezzar smiting Egypt and burning the houses of the gods).
- Read also: Jeremiah 46:1-20; Ezekiel 29:1-21; Joel 3:19.
Isaiah 19:2
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.
God is going to rouse each other against each other. It will be pure chaos and civil war. Anarchy and street fighting and late night killings are common occurances.
Cross References
- Ezekiel 38:21: And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
Isaiah 19:3
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.
Egypt will be so demoralized that her counsel will be confused. She will lose her wits and be confounded. They will seek the idols and mutterers—the departed spirits—fortune tellers—necromancers and sorcerers—ghosts and wizards—she is desperate for answers but finds none.
“This is a prophecy of what took place in Egypt about twenty-two years after the destruction of Sennacherib's army; when, upon the death of Tirhakah (BC 688), not being able to settle about the succession, they continued for two years in a state of anarchy, confusion, and civil wars...” (Treasury of Scripture Knowledge)
Cross References
- Psalm 76:12: He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.
- Jeremiah 46:15: Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them.
- Read also: Isaiah 14:27; 2 Samuel 17:14; Job 5:12-13.
Isaiah 19:4
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.
God says that he is going to turn them over to a merciless master. He is going to give them a cruel tyrant—a vicious king will rule over them.
“Nebuchadnezzar, who first conquered and ravaged Egypt, (BC 573)... and then... Cambyses (who invaded Egypt, (BC 526)... and the whole succession of Persian kings till the time of Alexander, who were in general hard masters, and grievously oppressed the country.” (Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge)
Cross References
- Isaiah 20:4: So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners...
- Jeremiah 46:26: And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon...
- Ezekiel 29:19-20: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon...
Isaiah 19:5-6
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 defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
Rivers will dry up—the river bed will look like a dry road bed—everything will dry up and be parched—baked in the sun—canals are stagnant and stink. Everything that grew along the rivers and brooks is withering and dying. The fishing industry is ruined.
Cross References
- Ezekiel 30:12: And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked...
- Zechariah 10:11: ...and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.
- 2 Kings 19:24-25: I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.
Isaiah 19:7
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.
All the sown fields and bulrushes will die—all the crop land that depended on the Nile for irrigation will wither away. The textile industry has come to a standstill—weavers aren’t weaving.
Cross References
- Jeremiah 14:4: Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
- Joel 1:17-18: The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate...
Isaiah 19:8
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.
The fisherman who depended on the fishing industry to support his family is lamenting—they are out of work and no welfare roles. Gloom and doom—dispirited, depressed—everyone who had a job is now jobless.
Cross References
- Exodus 7:21: And the fish that was in the river died...
- Numbers 11:5: We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely...
Isaiah 19:9-10
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.
Those who combed the flax and wove the white linen cloth are hanging their heads and growing pale. The dam builders are grieved—the contractors and laborers who built canals are on the unemployment roles—everyone is downcast and sick of heart. Some of the sluices had a sliding gate that acted like our locks and dams to aid in navigation and irrigation—the water was dried up and they were out of work.
Cross References
- 1 Kings 10:28-29: And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn...
- Ezekiel 27:7: Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail...
Isaiah 19:11-12
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 wisest counselors of Pharoah were stupid—they were utterly witless and made the silliest plans—some claimed to be wise on the basis that their ancestors were among the wise counselors of Egypt. Not a wise man or woman left in Egypt. The prophet taunts them by asking where their wise men are—if they are wise then why don’t they know what God is going to do to Egypt and do something about it.
Cross References
- Isaiah 29:14: ...for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
- 1 Corinthians 1:20: Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
Isaiah 19:13
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.
These befooled dupes—and many of them are chieftains of tribes have ruined Egypt with their dopey counsel. They had even deceived themselves. They acted like dunces. Their brains were like scrambled eggs. They were as dopey as a dimwitted donkey.
Cross References
- Romans 1:22: Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
- Ezekiel 30:13-17: (Prophecy of destruction upon Noph, Zoan, and No).
Isaiah 19:14
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.
God had infused them with a type of giddiness that caused them to lose sound judgment—it warped their wits—they addled around like a drunkard who loses his footing in his own vomit. The educated pillars of society led Egypt into detours and dead ends. God gave them the mind of a moron.
Cross References
- Isaiah 29:10: For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep...
- 1 Kings 22:20-23: (Account of a lying spirit sent to the prophets of Ahab).
Isaiah 19:15-17
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 shaketh over it. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt...
No work to be had—high or low—top to bottom—head or tail—palm branch or rush. Unemployment lines are staggering and nothing to eat. Egypt is hopeless and past helping. Egypt is like a hysterical woman that is filled with fear and terrified. Just say Judah and the Egyptians will be terrified! They can remember their fate when Israel left Egypt in the days of Moses.
Cross References
- Habakkuk 3:17: Although the fig tree shall not blossom... and the fields shall yield no meat...
- Jeremiah 30:5-7: ...wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail...
Isaiah 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 shall be called, The city of destruction.
Five cities will learn the language of the Jews without the aid of the Rosetta stone. They will be swearing by the name of Jehovah and not their idols. One of their cities will be called Heliopolis—the city of destruction or the city of the sun. The city of Alexandria will be the place where the translation of the Bible was made from Hebrew to Greek. The whole passage, from this verse to the end, contains a general intimation of the propagation of the knowledge of the true God in Egypt and Syria, under the successors of Alexander, and the early reception of the gospel in the same countries.
Cross References
- Isaiah 45:23-25: ...That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
- Jeremiah 12:16-17: And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name...
Isaiah 19:19-20
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...
A Jewish temple was built there and an altar to the Lord where sacrifices would be offered. There was a monument at the border crossing inscribed to the Lord. This sacred pillar at the border was a testimony that Egypt was honoring the Lord. Their outcry will bring a deliverer who will put a stop to all the oppression that they had encountered.
The Friendship that was between Onias and Ptolemy Philometor; and how Onias built a Temple in Egypt like to that at Jerusalem.
"...I desire therefore that you will grant me leave to purge this holy place, which belongs to no master, and is fallen down, and to build there a temple to Almighty God, after the pattern of that in Jerusalem... for the prophet Isaiah foretold that 'there should be an altar in Egypt to the Lord God; and many other such things did he prophesy relating to that place.'" (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 13.3.1)
Cross References
- Isaiah 66:23: And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another... shall all flesh come to worship before me...
- Psalm 50:15: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Isaiah 19:21-22
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.
This was serious business—The Egyptians will honor the Lord and know the Lord and sacrifice to him. They will make vows and keep them. God hit Egypt with a blow and now he is going to heal them. They are going to come back to God and he is going to heal them. They will again have a robust economy.
Cross References
- Deuteronomy 32:39: See now that I, even I, am he... I wound, and I heal...
- Acts 28:26-27: ...and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Isaiah 19:23
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.
Egyptians and Assyrians will trade with each other and a trade route will run between both countries. Christianity will spread like a forest fire across all of Asia. The then known world will be known as the Holy Roman Empire.
Cross References
- Isaiah 11:16: And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people...
- Isaiah 35:8-10: And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness...
Isaiah 19:24-25
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.
This will prove to be a blessing to all three countries—each becoming a trading partner sharing the blessings of the trade route—an economic boom for all three countries. A picture of the progress of Christianity in the civilization of the world. This triple alliance will be a blessing to all the world—these three will now be allies—Blessed be Egypt my people—Blessed be Assyria the work of my hands—Blessed be Israel mine inheritance.
Cross References
- Isaiah 49:6: ...I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
- Isaiah 61:9: And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles... all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.