Isaiah 19 & 20 - Prophecy about Egypt

Outline of Isaiah 15–15

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A. Imminent Judgements on Egypt 19:1–15 Click to expand

Here is a message about Egypt:
Look, the LORD rides on a swift-moving cloud
and approaches Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him;
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt.
…
The Egyptians will panic,
and I will confuse their strategy.
They will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
from the charmers, mediums and the socerers.
I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;
a powerful king will rule over them,”
says the sovereign master,
the LORD who commands armies.
The water of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will dry up and be empty.
The canals will stink;
the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;
the bulrushes and reeds will decay,
along with the plants by the mouth of the river.
All the cultivated land near the river
will turn to dust and be blown away.
The fishermen will mourn and lament,
all those who cast a fishhook into the river,
and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve.
Those who make clothes from combed flax will despair;
those who weave will turn pale.
Those who make cloth will be depressed;
all the hired workers will be sick at heart.
The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;
Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.
How dare you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the sages,
a disciple of the ancient kings?”
But where, oh where, are your wise men?
Let them tell you, let them find out
what the LORD who commands armies has planned for Egypt.
The officials of Zoan are fools,
the officials of Memphis are misled;
the rulers of her tribes lead Egypt astray.
…

B. Final Goal: The Healing of Egypt 19:16–25 Click to expand

In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD Almighty. One of them will be called Haheres.
In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border.
It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.
So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them.
The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; striking them and then healing them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth.
The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”

A’ Immediate Judgements on Egypt 20:1–6 Click to expand

In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it-
at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.
Then the LORD said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush,
so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’s shame.
Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be afraid and put to shame.
In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”

Translation by Andrew Fountain

Outline by Dr. Peter J. Gentry
from How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets p.69