Isaiah 19:13

Telling us about the judgment that would come upon the land of Egypt, the Bible says in Isaiah 19:13-18, “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. 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. 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.” The emphasis in this passage is on the foolishness that will come upon the leadership, “the princes.” Once the leadership of a country is made up of a bunch of fools, then everyone will suffer. The errors that are committed become so ridiculous that it is as though the people are drunken: “they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man.”

We see in this judgment upon Egypt something that we have seen in the judgments on other countries: deteriorated economic conditions. Notice that it says in Isaiah 19:15, “Neither shall there be any work for Egypt.” This refers to large-scale unemployment, and therefore large-scale poverty. It is interesting what happened in Egypt because we see parallels to what has happened in some countries in our world today: the leaders lack wisdom, they tell the wrong things to the people and they make the wrong decisions, and the result is that business and industry fail. That is a terrible destiny for a country, and it is happening around us today.

Because God is merciful, He has a good reason for His judgments: to awaken people to their need of fellowship with Him. The Bible says in Isaiah 19:19-25, “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. 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, 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 is a wonderful passage of scripture about the future salvation of the land of Egypt. There will come a day when the Egyptians shall turn to the Lord Jesus Christ en masse, and believe in Him. Today Egypt is a country that is mostly made up of Muslims, but the day will come when Jesus Christ will save them, and they will believe. There may not be many converts now to Jesus in the land of Egypt. But those who preach the gospel in Egypt are not preaching in vain. Perhaps Christians are planting seed where one day others will sow; but one day there will be a great harvest of souls. It says in Isaiah 19:20-21, “and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. And the LORD shall be known to Egypt.” Of course, this passage in Isaiah tells us that not only will the Egyptians be saved, but also the Assyrians, and the Israelites. They will all be saved at the same time, and they will serve the Lord together. Those who had once been known as Muslims and Jews, and who had been mortal enemies for centuries will become the closest of companions through their common faith in Jesus. That is exactly what it says in Isaiah 1:23-25, “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, 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.”

How will such a miracle happen? How will all those Muslims and Jews become united by their common faith in Jesus Christ? It will happen because God will use His judgments to bring these people to their knees. God knows how to bring sinful and arrogant people to their knees. That is after all the real purpose for His judgments: so that people will awaken to their need of Him; and so that they will be saved and not be destroyed. That is exactly what the Bible is telling us in Isaiah 19:22 that says, “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.” If you are suffering judgments in your life because of sins, the answer is to turn to Him for salvation, and Jesus will heal you also of your plagues.

The Bible says in Isaiah 20:1-6, “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?” In these verses we are still being told about the judgment from God that would come upon the nations of Egypt and Ethiopia. God would use another nation, Assyria, to punish them. God raises up one and casts down another. That is one reason that we should always honor those who are in authority whether we agree with them or not. They will one day give an answer to God on how they used that authority, but the point is that they received that authority from the Lord.

When God punished Egypt and Ethiopia, the Lord used a very unique way to get the attention of the people. He sent Isaiah to walk “naked and barefoot” throughout the land to demonstrate what would happen to the Egyptians and to the Ethiopians when they were taken captive. They would be led away in nakedness as the Assyrians forced them to march to the place of captivity. It says in Isaiah 20:4-5, “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.” It is a shameful thing to be naked in public. God knows that it is a shameful thing, and the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, and Ethiopians also knew it to be shameful. If it is shameful to be naked, then it is also shameful to look at naked bodies. There is a lot of shame to go around in the day in which we live. Indeed, when people have lost their shame of public nudity, it is evidence that people are not in tune with God, and that people do not have natural affection.

The Bible says in Isaiah 21:1-10, “The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.”

This passage of scripture makes it clear that some very difficult times were coming upon the nation of Israel. Notice the words that are used: “grievous vision,” “the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth,” “pain,” “pangs,” “fearfulness affrighted me,” and “fear.” Something bad was coming on the horizon: war was coming, opposition was coming, an enemy was coming. Of course, there is a spiritual application to this happening, because there is a spiritual warfare that every Christian is subject to. Isaiah spoke of “horsemen,” and a “chariot,” and a “lion.” We also have enemies, spiritual enemies. These enemies are not flesh and blood, but the enemies have to be prepared for and watched for. They are enemies of the soul, but the principle works the same way. Isaiah said, “My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower.” Isaiah needed to be a watchman in a watchtower, and he needed to watch continually. Things might appear to be going well today, but there are enemies out there, and the enemies of your soul might come against you at any moment. The next time that you turn a corner, you might come face to face with an attack or a temptation. Concerning the life of Jesus, the Bible says in Matthew 26:38-41, “Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” One of the reasons that we have so many Christians who are weak in faith and who have not grown in Christ is because they have not learned to be watchmen. Isaiah said, “I stand continually upon the watchtower.” Jesus said, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.”

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