Egypt - Isaiah 19

Isaiah 19:1 "The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it."

We are still trying to put together an accurate history of Egypt. They dwelt in a most rich and fertile land to which the surrounding peoples came in times of drought and famine. The black soil produced by the Nile gave forth plenty to use and share. The magnificence of the rulers is still announced by the many monuments there.

v4 "And the Egyptians wilt I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall ride over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts."

So, what of the well watered soil:

v5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up."

It would take a lot to bring down such a kingdom as Egypt. They were protected on all sides by either deserts or sea. The one thing that made them great, the water, was the one thing that defeated them.

v8 "The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish."

The order of Egypt is disrupted and there is confusion so that even the advisers are of no use.

"v12 "Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt."

We can read in Daniel more of Egypt in this time but the very wise Daniel is far away from Egypt.

v17 "And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it."

We can remember how Israel left Egypt. Egypt called it an expulsion but Israel called it redemption. I agree with redemption. During the time of the kings of Israel, there were times when Egypt was still involved in the affairs of Israel. Such as, have wives in Israel. But in the verse above things are reversed.

It seems to me that about the time Israel was dispersed into captivity, that the whole world was turned on its ear. Nations that were great were no longer great and from out of 'no where' came mighty people to overthrow them.

In the midst of this, I find one encouraging verse: v21 "And the LORD shall be known to Egypt and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. v22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt; he shall smite and heal it; and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them."

Finally we are given three peoples: Assyria, Egypt and Israel.

v25 "Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance."

These are difficult passages for me especially since I am not schooled in a broad understanding of the history of all these nations. Perhaps it will become more clear as we go through. A note though is that Ethiopia was part of Egypt, at least ancient Ethiopia.