Exposition by Max A Forsythe
In the last month, we discovered that our friendly meat processor could no longer be trusted to give honest weights. Thus, we were not surprised to learn that he has since gone out of business. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way why those stickers are on every retail scale and pump to guarantee that at least once a year the county government checks the honesty of weights and measures. At one time I was selling eggs regularly, and because of certain state regulations I could not sell my fresh brown eggs by size and weight, even though I had three accurate scales. I began checking the prepackaged state approved eggs at the grocery. I discovered that even with the package, the corporate eggs would not weigh in at the proper weight for the advertised size. In fact, the eggs the customers got in the late seventies were consistently one size under what the package stated. Besides that, the store eggs on one occasion hadn't even seen a chicken for over nine months!
Again, right after the war my Dad bought a newer used car, once rationing ended and factories were allowed to produce new vehicles. This particular car had a bright shiny coat of new paint and it ran! A week later, there was a torrential downpour, and suddenly the painted over tape that had been stretched over rust holes shriveled up and died. Dad now had an instant rust bucket! And instant disappointment as well. Have you ever had such an experience?
Doesn't it hurt whenever your trust has been violated? Years ago I heard Jimmy Carter's disappointment when he found out that the Russians had lied to him about not having troops in Cuba! He was also surprised to learn that Americans no longer loved nor trusted their government. These two political examples move us closer to the problem addressed in our chapters from Isaiah today. The precise problem is that the Judeans would count on the military power of Egypt to counter that of Assyria. Isaiah by prophetic example in chapter twenty and by spirited argument in chapter nineteen would encourage his people to trust in God instead. Perhaps Isaiah was listened to in this matter, because history records that when Sargon of Assyria marched against the frontiers of Egypt and the petty coastal states allied with Egypt, he left Israel alone.
Indeed, through this whole period, as country after country was defeated, looted and captured, Judah was enabled by the power of God to stand alone in his strength. In time, when the Assyrians turned their attention towards Mount Zion, it was the Assyrian strength which was utterly destroyed. This fact was well noticed in those kingdoms of the ancient world, and new respect was widely given to the God of Judah.
The promise of converts from Egypt and Assyria is not impossible to document, the altar and monument predicted in verse nineteen are well known from history. Also, the dispersed Judeans of Assyria long maintained some contact with Jerusalem after the temple was rebuilt. Thus, the image of the highway in verse twenty-three is not without fulfillment by the time of Christ. In fact the spread of Christianity to these areas was made easier because of the widespread net of Jewish influence. But the ascent of Alexandrian Judaism and Christianity is far ahead of Isaiah's time.
Before those conversions can begin, the old religion of Egypt must be destroyed. Now Egypt, for many centuries, had been under the thumb of the Egyptian priests. One monotheistic Pharaoh was finally undermined by the priestly faction, and at the time of the Exodus the various plagues were most definitely our Lord's vengeance upon the assorted gods of Egypt. As we consider the teaching of chapter nineteen we must realize that there is much detail here that indicates a rather complete knowledge of Egyptian political and intellectual processes.
In verse one Isaiah announces that the Lord will come to Egypt and the Egyptians will tremble and melt. Do they remember the first coming at the time of Exodus? Is this a reminder of that great day when the pillar of cloud of something led all Israel out and through the desert? Would Egypt, her priests and gods not tremble at another coming? More probably, this second coming is more spiritual in nature. Revolution and Civil war seem to be indicated in verse two. Of these, there were three such instances near the time of Isaiah. Even more than internal discord, the plans of state will come to naught. While they continue to consult their dead idols and spirits through the mediums and spiritists, they will find absolutely no wisdom or comfort. God promises that the Egyptians will be handed over to the power of a cruel master. We may observe that just like the decline of Israel, Judah and all the rest of the petty princes, Egypt too will become a province within a larger Empire. And so Egypt has remained until this very century. I can just barely remember the independence of Egypt in the mid-fifties.
Now the image and symbol in verses five through ten may not be absolutely literal. Yet, we know that since World War Two the most prosperous water way in Egypt, the Suez canal, was temporarily abandoned and while a war zone it did dry up in some places. The economic impact of that certainly weakened Egypt, and caused the government there to reconsider its relationship to modern day Israel. A more likely outcome at the time of Isaiah would be the spiritual and intellectual dry rot in the Egyptian bureaucracy, which had long managed the twice annual flood waters as much as possible to get the precious liquid to the widest area possible. Given the nature of human inefficiency, this plague on the economy of Egypt could be very widespread indeed. Half a world away, the Chinese government of the nineteenth century lost its influence and power partly because the Grand Canal which connected the Yellow and Yangtze rivers silted up and stopped the trade in salt.
So may we see the outcome of God's curse on the government of Egypt which had as long ago as the time of Joseph centralized economic power in the hands of the bureaucrats. Look what happens to the land and people when fools reign in Memphis, Zoan and the capitals of the Egyptian provinces. The paper industry, the farmers, the fishermen, the weavers and employees all become sick at heart!
Here is how God would judge the nations; look carefully at verses eleven through fourteen. They remind me of so many bureaucratic experiences with the "wise" educators of our time! Rush Limbaugh has stated that the only thing that keeps our current crop of leaders from imposing a socialist order upon us is their sheer incompetence to accomplish anything. Thank goodness, or rather thank God that from the White House on down, those who would play the king are such uneducateable fools, knaves and liars. The very credit that our leaders would take for the so called rise in economy has happened in spite of their desire to regulate every profit. A deeper crisis exists in the fact that too little of the economic miracle is shared with those who do the hardest labor. Is it only me, or does it really appear that in our economy the less important a job is the more it pays?
Try as we might, we do not seem to be able to gain control of prosperity in our day. Look at verse fifteen for an important lesson: "There is nothing Egypt can do - head or tail, palm branch or reed." Ah, just as Egypt's cause and our own as well seems hopeless, God provides a way out. Would Egypt move from sin to salvation, even as we desire our nation to move in our time?
Then there are five elements in this process as Derek Thomas outlines these last prose verses of Isaiah nineteen. The first element is to gain a fear of the Lord God Almighty. Yes, the Egyptians may well fear Assyria, Babylon, Alexander and Rome, but those are only the judgment of God falling upon them. The Egyptians, whether they like it or not, must learn to fear the God of heaven. Have the natural plagues which are come upon these United States enough to cause people to wonder if God is angry with us? Just this week I read that some new age writers are saying that "Mother Nature" is fed up with our environmental damage and is getting even. Right idea, but unfortunately they are pointing in the wrong direction. The real God of heaven can and does shake the earth, send storms and floods to afflict modern pagans who must learn to fear Him alone.
The second element here listed is to submit to the Lord. Verse eighteen mentions five cities in Egypt who may swear allegiance to the Lord our God. Again, we have the gleanings of the elect from the ancient nations of the mid-east. The third element comes from the first two. After learning fear and submission, the altar of verse nineteen and the sacrifices and offerings of twenty-one imply a state of access to God's presence and the spiritual blessings of that presence. The fourth element is a widespread fellowship of the elect of every nation, even Egypt, Assyria and Israel. Those whom God calls into His spiritual kingdom will indeed come from every tribe and nation.
The fifth and last element outlined here is that God's former enemies are now united as the children of God. Generations later Paul would describe the breaking down of the wall that once separated Jews and Gentiles. One Lord, one faith, one people, His Church He will build out of the breakup of many empires, kingdoms, and republics. Upon Him alone we must learn to rely as Isaiah instructs the leaders of his day in chapter twenty.
Years ago, after the Johnson, Nixon and Carter years, I was profoundly moved to see Ronald Reagan elected. Several older and wiser Christians urged me to not count too much upon a political fix to our nation's problems. In the same way would Isaiah counsel us today; the wisdom of our Constitution and the glory of America past are not sufficient for our times. God alone is worthy of our trust; may we learn that lesson which Isaiah laid before his king and his people. Amen.
Resources Used:
Ellis, Charles..
The Wells of Salvation.
Thomas, Derek..
Welwyn Commentary Series: God Delivers.
Young, Edward J.
The Book of Isaiah.
The Holy Bible.
New International Version (1984 Edition)
NOTE: I am not able to automatically
recommend any future editions.
Christ Covenant Reformed (Presbyterian Church in America) -
Box 13926 - Columbus, OH 43213
(c) 2001
13 February 1994
Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.