Read Isaiah 19:1-25.

Introduction⤒🔗

Let me share with you the comments of a Christian pastor and author:

As a nation, we are becoming rapidly demoralized... The true, the great end for which, we believe, this nation was raised up, is being lost sight of. The very foundations are moving...¹

We may well agree, with sorrow and even trepidation, that he has provided a very accurate account of the society in which we find ourselves living in the year 2020.

Except, to be honest with you, he was not writing about our contemporary American society—he was writing about America as it existed in his day. This Christian writer is describing the state of the American social order as it existed in the year 1857.

However, what he writes about the America of his day is all the more true of the America of our day. Let us consider his words again.

He describes the nation as becoming “rapidly demoralized.” Do you know what it means for a nation to become “demoralized?” According to the dictionary, for a nation to become “demoralized” means that its morals are being corrupted and destroyed. Furthermore, it means that the society is becoming unraveled and thrown into disorder.

That Christian writer lamented the fact that “the very foundations were moving.” The nation was moving away from the spiritual and moral foundations upon which it had been originally established.

James Madison, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States Constitution, wrote: “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”²

By 1980, a Supreme Court decision made it unconstitutional to post the Ten Commandments on school walls. According to Stone v. Graham, “If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the school children to read, meditate upon, perhaps venerate and obey the commandments; this is not a permissible objective.”³.

Today, the Judeo-Christian foundation, upon which the nation was built, has been replaced by the religion of secular humanism, with its faith in reason and science and the myth that man can build a Godless utopia on earth.

By way of example: In a contemporary social studies class, a high school teacher poses a question for the students to consider and provide an answer. But before they begin to reply, he warns that he does not want to hear any of that “religious superstition,” he wants answers based on reason!

As our author surveyed the American society of his day, he, and many others, were convinced that the LORD must soon visit the nation. And He did.

What happened in the years immediately following 1857 is strikingly parallel to the LORD’s visitation upon ancient Egypt, as that visitation is described in Isaiah 19.

In Isaiah 19:22 we read, “The LORD will strike Egypt—striking and healing.” Let us soberly consider what that means; and, from Isaiah 19, let us learn how we ought to pray for our nation.

Pray that the LORD Will Visit the Nation, Not Only in Judgment, But Also with Mercy←⤒🔗

In verse one the announcement is made that the LORD is about to visit Egypt, and the effect of His coming is stated as follows: “The idols of Egypt tremble at his presence, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.” Every unholy spirit flees and all human strength is dissolved when men have a direct encounter with the LORD God, the Almighty. In our society at present there is a very low view of God. Men have sought to regulate Him out of public life, confining Him to the life of private devotions and the distant recesses of heaven. They speak His Name only in blasphemy, if at all. But when the LORD makes Himself known, that will all be changed.

In verse 2, LORD declares that He will create a situation of internal strife, even civil war: “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—everyone shall fight against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” Here is a reference to the political and social upheaval that characterized Egypt at that time.⁴ Notice the hand of God in this: “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian.”

The words of Isaiah 5:7b, (spoken with reference to Israel), may explain the meaning of this divine declaration in this present situation: “[the LORD] looked for justice, but, behold, the shedding of blood; [he looked] for righteousness, but, behold, a cry [of the oppressed].” These words were spoken in explanation of why the LORD was about to visit Israel with judgment. As an act of judgment upon injustice and oppression, and upon violations of the commandment to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, the LORD allows all the forces of righteous indignation and pent-up hostility to burst forth, tearing the social order to shreds.

The effect of this internal strife on the national life is now described in verse three: “the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;” the national spirit of unity, self-confidence and optimism will be drained and disappear. The LORD further declares that He will “confound the counsel [of the nation].” The political efforts to bring unity, stability, and re-vitalization to the nation will be thwarted and come to nothing. Then, when mere human endeavor proves to be futile, the nation will turn to its idols and to the occult: “so they will resort to the idols and the spirits of the dead and the mediums and the spiritists.”

The LORD further declares that He will give the nation into the hands of “a cruel master, a fierce king will rule over them” (vs. 4). This is probably a reference to an Assyrian invader;⁵ a foreign power taking advantage of the Egyptian situation to exert its own tyrannical rule upon this chaotic situation.

In verses 5-10 Isaiah goes on to describe the natural and economic calamities that, at the command of God, befell the nation of Egypt:

⁵The waters of the River will dry up, and the riverbed will become parched and dry. ⁶The canals will stink. The streams of Egypt will dwindle away and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither.vs. 5-6

Here is the description of a severe drought; as the Nile River recedes, its tributaries dry up, becoming foul-smelling swamps.

Verse seven describes the effects of the drought on the countryside:

⁷The bulrushes along the Nile, by the edge of the Nile, and all the sown fields beside the Nile, will become parched, [the topsoil] will be blown away and vanish.

The meadows and all the cultivated fields become dry and barren.

Verses 8-9 describe the effects of the drought upon the economy at large:

⁸The fishermen will lament, and all those who cast their hooks into the Nile will mourn—those who spread their fishing nets upon the waters will pine away. ⁹Furthermore, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax and the weavers of white cloth will despair.

The fishermen lament the fact that they have no catch of fish, while the textile workers are thrown out of work owing to the lack of flax from which to make textile products.

Verse ten describes the final effects of the drought:

¹⁰The [economic] pillars [of Egypt] will be broken in pieces; all the wage earners will be grieved in their souls.

The pillars of Egypt being broken is a reference to the total collapse of the economy; while the reference to the grief-stricken laborers points to the massive amount of unemployment. What is described here is a great depression.

In this time of intense strife and economic crisis, the wisdom of Egypt totally fails, as is revealed in verses 11-15. The leaders are dumbfounded in their efforts to find solutions: “The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the counsel given by Pharaoh’s wisest counselors has become brutish” (vs. 11a). Furthermore, it is their own mismanagement that is responsible for much of the suffering, as verse thirteen indicates: “The officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deluded—those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.”

In verse fourteen the Egyptian nation is described as a drunken man staggering about aimlessly; and it is the LORD who has mixed the strong, intoxicating drink that the nation has imbibed through the counsel of its befuddled leaders. As a form of judgment, God gave them up to the foolishness of their own sinful hearts and caused them to reap the fruit of their own ungodly devices.

Verse fifteen describes the outcome of this pitiable state of affairs: “There will be no help for Egypt, no help that head or tail, palm branch or reed can provide.” No one can accomplish anything; no one can offer the solution to the dilemma of the nation. As the famous Egyptian historian, James Breasted, wrote: “The hopeless state of the country was clearly understood by...Isaiah.” Referring to Isaiah chapter 19, Breasted states, “No truer picture could possibly be portrayed.”⁶

But, as verse twenty-two points out, in His mercy and by His sovereign grace, the LORD chose to visit Egypt not only with “striking,” but also with “healing.” In other words, He determined to visit Egypt, not only in judgment, but also with mercy. As a consequence, “They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.”

As we pray for a nation that is encountering God’s righteous judgment, let us pray that the LORD would see fit to visit the nation not only with “striking,” but also with “healing.” Let us pray that the LORD will visit the nation, not only in judgment, but also with mercy.

Pray that the LORD Will Bring Many Souls to Christ the Savior←⤒🔗

Verses 16-17 inform us that a holy fear of the LORD seizes the nation: “On that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear because of the LORD of host’s shaking fist that he shakes over them. ¹⁷The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be afraid, because of what the LORD of hosts has planned against them.”

The Egyptians shall tremble because of the LORD of hosts shaking His fist in righteous anger over them. How do they discern that it is the hand of the LORD? They are able to do so by the witness of their Jewish neighbors. There was a continual interaction with the nation of Judah, and there were Jewish colonies in Egypt dating back to the 6th century B.C.

Consider this same work of God as it occurred in mid-nineteenth century America:

Persons of the most vicious and abandoned character, supposed to be beneath and beyond the reach of all religious influence...were brought to humble themselves like little children at the foot of the cross.⁷

In the hidden depths of the heart, thousands then carried the convictions of guilt, such as they had never experienced before, and some who had even despised religion felt strongly attracted to [it].⁸ Note: The writer is referring to the Christian faith, when he speaks here of “religion.”

Let us pray earnestly, and confidently, for another such visitation of God in His mercy and grace and redeeming power.

According to verse eighteen, “On that day five of Egypt’s cities will speak the language of Canaan [i.e. they will identify themselves with God’s people, Israel] and swear their vows by the LORD of hosts­ one of them will be called ‘The City of Destruction.’”

A relatively small proportion of the population is genuinely converted, (“five cities”), but in the midst of this great pagan land of Egypt it is a real and substantial work of grace.

One of those cities is called “The city of Destruction.” This is probably a poetic and symbolic way of speaking about the power and depths of God’s work of grace in Egypt at this time, since there is in Hebrew a play on words here. The Hebrew word for destruction, הָרסַ , pronounced, “haras,” is closely related to the Hebrew word for the sun, חֶרסֶ , pronounced, “cheres;” the sun was one of the chief deities of Egypt. Thus, there is here a testimony to the depths of God’s work of grace in Egypt by depicting the revival as overthrowing the very center of the chief deity of Egypt.

Again, consider this same great work of God as it occurred in mid-nineteenth century America:

About this time religious interest in New York and vicinity had become very deep...few could be found who were not more or less anxious with reference to the salvation of the soul.⁹

Prayer meetings almost simultaneously were established in all parts of the land, both in city and country—Boston, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans, Vicksburg, Memphis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and other cities, shared in this glorious work. The whole land received the “spiritual rain.” ...the newspapers, both secular and religious, in all parts of the country, speak of an “unwonted [i.e., unusual or extraordinary] revival of religion” in all quarters, far and near...The northern, middle, western and southern States were moved as by one common mighty influence. The spirit of revival spread everywhere, and seemed to permeate every nook and corner of the great republic. The subjects of the revival included all classes—the high and the low—the rich and the poor—the learned and the ignorant. The most hopeless and forbidding were brought under its almighty power. From the highest to the lowest and most degraded in society, the trophies of God’s power and grace were made.¹⁰

Verses 19-20a describe the evidence and effects of this work of grace among the people of the land:

“On that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt.” In the very heart of this pagan land there will be those who are converted to the LORD, and who openly profess His great name and the religion of His people Israel.

“On that day there will be...a monument to the LORD at its border. ²⁰It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt.” Here is an acknowledgement of their allegiance to the LORD and their oneness with His people Israel.

A further result of this work of grace throughout the land is the preservation of the Egyptian nation: "[the LORD]...will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them” (vs. 20c). This is a reference to an Egyptian leader named Psamtik (663-610 B.C.), who delivered his people from the oppression of the Assyrians. As verse 20b indicates, the LORD sent this national savior “because they [the Egyptian converts] will cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors.” Thus, this national deliverance was granted by the LORD in answer to the prayers of the newly converted on behalf of their country.

Verses 21-22 pause to summarize this mighty work of God and its results:

So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and on that day the Egyptians will acknowledge the LORD; indeed, they will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings, they will make vows to the LORD and they will keep them. ²²The LORD will strike Egypt—striking and healing. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

The LORD will reveal Himself to this great pagan nation of Egypt, revealing that He alone is God, He is the true and living God, and there is none other. The Egyptians, in turn, “will acknowledge the LORD;” that is to say, they will confess, “The LORD, He is God!” Not only will they acknowledge that the LORD is God, they will receive Him and worship Him as their God; they will be converted to the LORD. The evidence of this is the fact that they will make vows to the LORD. And the evidence that their conversion is genuine is seen in the fact that they will keep their vows.

Isaiah 19:23-25 looks into the future and proceeds to describe yet another result of this divine visitation upon the nation of Egypt, namely, an international revival:

On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria, and the Egyptians and the Assyrians will worship together. ²⁴On that day Israel will be the third [nation], along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; ²⁵because the LORD of hosts has blessed them, saying, 'Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.'

Archaeology reveals that in ancient times traffic flowed back and forth over “the bridge,” which was the land of Israel, with the Assyrians passing south to Egypt and the Egyptians north toward Assyria. But in those days practically all of this traffic was for the purpose of waging war. Now Isaiah is made to see a future day when such traffic will be conducted for the purpose of worshiping the LORD.¹¹

Thus, looking to a day still in the future, the LORD foretells the time when He will make converts not only from “Egypt” but also from “Assyria” as well! Here, being foretold in Old Testament terms, is the work of grace being carried out in New Testament times when the Gentile nations of the world respond to the preaching of the gospel and become joined with the Old Testament covenant people by placing their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

As we pray for a nation that is presently experiencing God’s righteous judgment, let us pray that the LORD, in His mercy, would be pleased to do among us a great work of grace that will bring many to Christ the Savior—not only in our own nation, but worldwide.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

Some passages of Scripture call us to look inwardly to examine our personal lives; others, like this one presently before us, call us to look outwardly to see how God deals with nations.

This present passage of Scripture informs us that the LORD, as the God of all the earth, sometimes chooses to visit a nation not only with “striking” in righteous judgment, but also with “healing,” dispensing His grace and converting many unto His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray earnestly and confidently that as the LORD visits our nation, He would visit not only in judgment, but also with mercy.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. What is being described in Isaiah 19:2? Who has brought about this state of civil war? Does He have just cause for doing so? See Isa. 19:1; note, also, Psl. 24:1-2. As a Christian, do you appreciate the fact that the LORD has a right to inflict temporal judgments upon the nations of the world? Of what final event are such judgments a precursor?

I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—everyone shall fight against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. Isa. 19:2

The oracle concerning Egypt. Look! The LORD rides upon a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble at his presence, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them. Isa. 19:1

The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and those who dwell therein. ²For he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters. Psl. 24:1-2

2. What will the LORD do to the counsel of the nation’s wise men and advisers? When He does this, to what will the Egyptians then resort? See Isa. 19:3. Temporal judgments reveal a nation’s heart, its estrangement for God, and its alliance with the demonic—what have trials revealed about your own heart?

The spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them. I will confound the counsel [of the nation], so they will resort to the idols and the spirits of the dead and the mediums and the spiritists.Isa. 19:3

3. What is described in Isaiah 19:8-10? What is the cause of this economic depression? See Isa. 19:5-7. Do you soberly appreciate the fact that the whole realm of nature is under God’s command? How do men react to natural catastrophes? As a Christian, how do you react to such events? Do you view them as “acts of nature,” or acts of God?

The fishermen will lament, and all those who cast their hooks into the Nile will mourn—those who spread their fishing nets upon the waters will pine away. ⁹Furthermore, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax and the weavers of white cloth will despair. ¹⁰The [economic] pillars [of Egypt] will be broken in pieces; all the wage earners will be grieved in their souls. Isa. 19:8-10

...the waters of the River will dry up, and the riverbed will become parched and dry. ⁶The canals will stink. The streams of Egypt will dwindle away and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither. ⁷The bulrushes along the Nile, by the edge of the Nile, and all the sown fields beside the Nile, will become parched, [the topsoil] will be blown away and vanish.Isa. 19:5-7

4. Compare what was said in Isaiah 19:3b with what is now said in Isaiah 19:16-17. What accounts for this turning from idols to acknowledging the LORD with fear and trembling? Note Isa. 19:21a, 22a .A Holy Spirit-induced fear of God is what leads a man, or a nation, to the conviction of sin and repentance. Note Acts 2:37. Have you experienced this gracious work of the Holy Spirit in your heart? As a Christian, will you pray that the LORD will be merciful to produce this necessary work in the life of an apostate, secularized nation?

...they will resort to the idols and the spirits of the dead and the mediums and the spiritists. (Isa. 19:3b)/ On that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear because of the LORD of host’s shaking fist that he shakes over them. ¹⁷The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be afraid, because of what the LORD of hosts has planned against them.Isa. 19:16-17

So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and on that day the Egyptians will acknowledge the LORD—indeed, they will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings, they will make vows to the LORD and they will keep them. ²²The LORD will strike Egypt—striking and healing. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them. Isa. 19:21-22

In response to the Apostle Peter’s Holy Spirit-filled preaching, the hearers,

were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'Acts 2:37

5. What will be the result of this Holy Spirit-induced fear of the LORD in the lives of the Egyptians? See Isa. 19:18-20a. When you experience the conviction of sin and the resulting fear of God, how do you respond? Like Adam and Eve, do you futilely seek to hide from the LORD? Note Gen. 3:8 Or, like these Egyptians, do you call upon the LORD for mercy and salvation? Note Acts 16:29-31,

On that day five of Egypt’s cities will speak the language of Canaan and swear [their vows] by the LORD of hosts... ¹⁹On that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. ²⁰It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt...Isa. 19:18-20a

Then they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves among the trees of the garden from the presence of the LORD God. Gen. 3:8

Upon witnessing the earthquake that broke open the prison doors in the middle of the night, the Philippian jailor

fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰And he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' ³¹So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved...' Acts 16:29-31