Page 43 - Isaiah Student Worktext

Egypt doesn’t stand alone. So many great empires of the past, in fact ALL of them, eventually fell. Just
like all men are appointed once to die Hebrews 9: 27, it is apparently true of empires as well. Assyria,
Babylon, Greece, Rome, Spain, France, England, Germany. All were allowed to dominate the known
world in their times, and all have fallen.

Chapters 19-20 stand as a warning to ALL nations. Notice that the nation of Israel isn’t mentioned. They
never attempted world domination, and of course they have fallen. But God promised them a remnant.

The ultimate message of these chapters is not the destruction of all of Egypt, but the salvation of some
through that destruction.

V. 1-2 God is pictured as riding on a swift cloud and coming to Egypt in judgment, making their false
gods ‘tremble’.

God rarely acts to destroy a nation…He allows them to destroy themselves. Brother against brother,
neighbor against neighbor.

V. 3-4 Even as God’s judgment comes down upon them, and even though they had to have at least a
working knowledge of God, they turned instead to the same idols and the sorcerers.

The result is that God will hand them over to their own sins. This is a good lesson for all of us.

V. 5-10 This is a collection of the things that will happen to Egypt—remember that this is a prophecy—
water will dry up, crops will wither, no fish from the sea…the economy will fail.

V. 11-15 The ones who were considered wise are now seen to be foolish. They will be like a drunken
man staggering in his own vomit. Nothing that man can do will be able to change it at this point.

V. 16-17 This is the picture here…Egypt will be like crying, fearful women. Not that women are any more
fearful or any more helpless than men, the point is that all of Egypt will be in fear. The land of Judah,
long a victim of Egypt’s power, will bring terror to the heart of Egypt.

V. 18-19 Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Egypt will be so completely changed by the power of
God that they will desire to be like His people. They will adopt the language of Canaan. They will adopt
the Hebrew religion.

V. 20-22 This is an incredible passage. God will send a ‘Savior and a Mighty One’ to them and He will
deliver them. This is talking about the Egyptians, a perennial enemy of Israel. God desires that ALL
mankind would be saved, including our greatest enemies, nationally or personally.

So many of the prophecies in Isaiah have the contemporary fulfillment and the ultimate fulfillment.
There is no evidence that this prophecy has any contemporary fulfillment in any leader, ever. It simply
must be speaking about Christ.

V. 23-25 This probably does not refer to a literal highway, but to the joining together, and serving
together. Perhaps the most incredible part of this is ‘Blessed is Egypt, MY people’, and ‘Assyria, the work
of MY hands’. Again, God does desire that ALL people be blessed as the work of His hands.

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