Yahweh Destroys and Redeems Egypt, Part 1 - Isaiah 19

Have you noticed how we tend to look back on Egypt with honor? The pyramids, the Sphinx, the Pharaohs, and even their hieroglyphs are known in popular culture today. We know more about them than most ancient cultures. We marvel at their ingenuity and aesthetic sensibility.

I remember going to a Pharaoh exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle in 2012: Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs. What struck me was how these meticulously crafted sculptures have survived over 3,000 years. Their beauty was undeniable.

But Yahweh wasn’t impressed with those sculptures when they were made, nor is He today. Their creation was motivated by a deep-seated idolatry of the Pharaoh, viewing him as their essential mediator with the gods, in order to maintain Ma’at, the balance and order of creation. In our chapter, He promises to deconstruct their entire way of life so that He can rebuild it again to honor Him, rather than Pharaoh or other gods.

First, God promises to destabilize the nation in verses 1-4. He will cause their hearts to melt (1) and incite them against each other (2). Then He will make successful governance impossible, causing them to turn to dark magical practices (3). Finally, He will deliver them into a brutal earthly ruler (4). 

God’s word came to pass. Isaiah would witness constant political instability in Egypt. During his lifetime, Egypt would transition between its 22nd-25th Dynasties. A quick succession of ruling tribes is a common symptom of national instability. During this period, the Nile Delta itself was fractured between multiple local rulers. This was highly destabilizing. Eventually, it enabled the Assyrian Empire finally to capture the capital of Memphis in 671 BC and drive out Pharaoh Taharqa (referenced in our study of Isaiah 18).

Second, in verses 5-10, Yahweh promises to afflict Egypt economically. God promises to send a drought on Egypt, lowering the precious waters of the Nile (5-6), devastating all the vegetation in the region (6-7), making fish scarce (8), and crippling their prized linen industry (9).

Finally, everyone from the laborers to the rulers will be impoverished, debilitated, and poorly ruled (10-15). Throughout this section, God mocks the “princes of Zoan” as “ignorant fools”. God is saying that the leaders in one of Egypt’s major cities will plan and act like fools, ripe for the Assyrian’s plucking.

That’s not where Yahweh leaves Egypt. He brings stunning renewal in verses 16-25. I encourage you to read that this week and consider when these marvelous promises will be fulfilled.

I want to leave you one rule to guide your consideration: God fulfilled His promise to judge Egypt literally. Since 1–25 is one unit, a consistent interpretation anticipates these later promises to be fulfilled literally as well. As you study the second half, consider when you think the second half of the chapter is fulfilled.

Pastor David