Isaiah 18 & 19

Isaiah Chapter 18 Verses 1 – 3

·    There is agreement amongst many Bible commentators that Chapter 18 is the most obscure and difficult of all sixty-six chapters of Isaiah. No specifics are given concerning whatever this land is. All we really have is that its beyond Ethiopia, divided by rivers, filled with tall people having smooth skin (which speaks of affluence), a nation powerful and treading down and when the people of this nation speak, the whole world listens.

·    Oh, and Isaiah will tell us twice that this is a nation of people terrible from their beginning onward. That doesn’t mean terrible as in bad people, horrible people, that word means people to fear, people that are honored, respected and even inspiring.

·    So, with that, some say that this is the solitary Old Testament chapter that speaks prophetically about the United States. And truly that does well align. Beyond Ethiopia, which is modern day Northern Eastern Africa, the first place you come to that arrives by sea that fits the description Isaiah is giving is most certainly the U.S..  

·    So, it fits (perhaps), and the prophecy given is interesting…

Isaiah Chapter 16 Verses 4 – 6

·    Ok super vague and certainly open to all sorts of directions of interpretation but it seems to speak about a possible future alliance that frankly, God is not in… He takes His rest. And although the fruit looks like its good, it’s going to come forth, something doesn’t complete, something takes a turn and the fruit meant for the nourishment of men is left to the beasts.

·    It could be that Israel relies heavily on their alliance and partnership economically and militarily with the United States but as the time of the end draws near, God essentially closes that door and declares that the U.S. isn’t needed against the enemies of Israel. All they need is what God has already purposed and promised. Which truly it is even as today…

Isaiah Chapter 16 Verse 7

·    There’s no rebuke and no judgement declared against this nation. Only a woe. That they aren’t as autonomous as they believe they are and in the end, they too will bring tribute to the One true God. Just like any and all of us… The Bible states clearly in Philippians Chapter 2 Verses 9 – 11, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

·    And so, we move into the next chapter. But first, would you like to see something cool? We just read Philippians 2, do you know where or who Paul is quoting from? Isaiah. Isaiah 45:22-23, “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath.” And so, who is Jesus? Isaiah 45 every knee bowing to God and Philippians 2, at the name of Jesus, every knee bowing… Quite clear that Jesus is both fully God and fully man…. Ok, onto the next chapter…

Isaiah Chapter 19 Verses 1 – 10

·    Egypt was a super power in the ancient world. They had a booming economy, a strong and generationally fortified societal structure, and they had a culture peculiar to themselves that created a sense of belonging and even separatism from other nations and peoples. And yet God says here that they will implode. Brother against brother. Friend against friend. Neighbor against neighbor. Why? Because they weren’t God’s people? Not at all.

·    It says there in verse 3 that they turn to themselves for help. I know it says charmers, mediums and sorcerers…but aren’t they all, isn’t that all just people and their professions? But that’s what happens when we look for wisdom where it’s not. I mean, you don’t go to Home Depot to buy a pair of football cleats… They don’t have them there!

·    And it’s the same when we turn even to our own selves for guidance and counsel in a circumstance or situation. We end up divided and a divided anything cannot stand…it eventually destroys itself! Job 28:20-28 says, “From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air. Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’ God understands its way, and He knows its place. For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heavens, to establish a weight for the wind, and apportion the waters by measure. When He made a law for the rain, and a path for the thunderbolt, then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.’”

·    Your friends, pastor, counselor, father, whatever can have some good advice that makes sense but let me just tell you, sometimes the right path that leads to life doesn’t make a lot of sense in the moment. Even the smartest of the elders of Israel and the commanders of the Roman Military looked up at Jesus on the cross in confusion and astonishment. Wisdom alone resides in the heart of the Father and many homes are ripped apart, many marriages are failing, many people are walking away from good careers and even leaving churches based on their emotions and worldly perspectives. Making their own decisions for themselves rather than letting God decide a matter.

·    I’ll tell you what. I’d love to never make a decision again for myself but to let God make my decisions! Then the results are His to worry about and His to provide! It’s on Him then! But too many times I can’t get past my own manipulations and faithlessness to let real wisdom come forward in my life! What a mess. And anytime it’s the wisdom of man over the wisdom of God, people end up against each other. Exactly the result of sin and the strategy of the enemy! It’s what happens here, declared by God through the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah Chapter 19 Verses 11 – 12

·    Because they don’t know! That’s the implication here. Isaiah says, “Let them know what the Lord has purposed.” All the wisdom in the world, the sum of all intelligence, and if they don’t know what the Lord has purposed, their wisdom is in effective, which means its not wisdom at all!

Isaiah Chapter 19 Verses 13 – 17

·    Interesting. What causes the nation of Egypt to fear the nation of Judah is not military might or ballistic strategy but it is the fact that Judah has the bead on the mind of God.

Isaiah Chapter 19 Verses 18 – 25

·    There is much conversation about the fulfillment of these prophecies and looking throughout history one can make a strong and compelling case that this has all been fulfilled. The idols of Egypt today are nothing but ruins… And yet some see still a future fulfillment during the Millennial Kingdom when the Savior, the Mighty One, Jesus is on the scene just to the north there in Israel and He makes His way south to Egypt….

·    But notice as we close out this chapter the illimitable power and capacity of the grace of God. Three visceral enemies. Egypt, Assyria and Israel. For them to be named as a blessing to the land…, for Assyria a shock to the reader, for Egypt an impossibility. They’ve done so much harm. They’ve killed so many, they’ve lived so many years worshipping themselves and idols… And yet God declares, “They are My people.”

·    I don’t think in the years of studying the Word and walking with God that you or I have had that we’ve even begun to scratch the surface of God’s capacity to love, forgive and extend pure grace. Grace with no strings. His goodness is hardly, barely known…

·    How is it…how is it that I might know His grace more? Interesting thought. It says in verse 22 that the Lord will strike then heal, or perhaps an acceptable way to look at that, the Lord will cause a strike…and from it He will bring healing. A strike could be a hit, a blow from an enemy or a weapon…, or it could be when wages are unfair and labor is too burdening. I believe a word from the Lord for me and for you is that we would call a strike against that which is destroying in our lives…

·    We walk out on that sin. Whatever it is, and we see what God will do once we’re on strike… Knowing the tiny bit I do about God’s grace, His love, His desire to bless you and to care for me…, I’d be willing to expect that God would do some work of healing for every sinful tendency or action that I recognize, turn away from and walk out on…

·    I’m not paid enough anyway by sin, are you? Sin promises some sort of satisfaction but always pay loss… Let’s walk out. Let’s strike!... So that God can heal….