Proclamation Against Egypt

Isaiah 19:1-12 

1 The burden against Egypt.

Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud,
And will come into Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence,
And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

2 "I will set Egyptians against Egyptians;
Everyone will fight against his brother,
And everyone against his neighbor,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom.

3 The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst;
I will destroy their counsel,
And they will consult the idols and the charmers,
The mediums and the sorcerers.

4 And the Egyptians I will give
Into the hand of a cruel master,
And a fierce king will rule over them,"
Says the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

5 The waters will fail from the sea,
And the river will be wasted and dried up.

6 The rivers will turn foul;
The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up;
The reeds and rushes will wither.

7 The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River,
And everything sown by the River,
Will wither, be driven away, and be no more.

8 The fishermen also will mourn;
All those will lament who cast hooks into the River,
And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.

9 Moreover those who work in fine flax
And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed;
10 And its foundations will be broken.
All who make wages will be troubled of soul.

11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools;
Pharaoh's wise counselors give foolish counsel.
How do you say to Pharaoh, "I am the son of the wise,
The son of ancient kings?"

12 Where are they?
Where are your wise men?
Let them tell you now,
And let them know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.

The Lord had a purpose in proclaiming His burden against Egypt for their sins of idolatry and self-proclaimed wisdom apart from His word.  Isaiah told them that the Lord would therefore come in to them and His very presence would shake their false gods and put His fear into their hearts so that they felt dissolved of strength and will.  Then He would cause infighting among them as He had turned others against each other before to have His enemies defeat themselves.  Their spirit would falter and fall as the false and empty counsel of spiritualism failed them along with the lifeless idols of their own making.  He would turn them over to a harsh dictator and take away their prosperity along with their defenses they wrongly relied upon.  Their fishing would catch no more and industry of all kinds would falter to the very foundation because of their refusal to accept and rely on the LORD God alone.  He called their princes and counsels fools because of this.  Their reliance on past glory was the height of their foolishness in supposed wisdom, which is God’s alone.  Therefore Isaiah told them this was what burdened God’s heart, their rejection of Him and reliance on His counsel.  There are warnings here for us individually and nationally as well.  As nations, we cannot rely on past righteousness or good deeds if we go away from submission to and reliance on God alone.  When our wisdom and might are put before right, the end is in sight.  This goes for us as individuals also; if we wander away from trust and reliance on God’s word and His ways, we face peril of being shaken and loss of spiritual and material prosperity in our defiance instead of sole reliance.  May we learn from Egypt’s mistakes.