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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Isaiah 19:16 - 19:25
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A Promise of Blessing
v. 16. In that day shall Egypt be like unto women, on account of the greater timidity which usually characterizes the weaker sex; and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts which He shaketh over it, His judgments and punishments thus being scattered by means of the invaders of Egypt.
v. 17. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, either because the mere mention of the name struck terror to their hearts at this time, or because Judah was now allied with Assyria against the king of Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof, namely, of Judah, shall be afraid in himself because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He hath determined against it, for they all dreaded the punishment which they felt was now inevitable. But in the very midst of the threatened destruction a ray of hope shone upon those who turned to the Lord in true repentance.
v. 18. In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, that is, accept the true, revealed religion, and swear to the Lord of hosts, pledging themselves to Him with a sacred oath; one shall be called The City of Destruction, literally, "Ir-ha-heres," which may have been the city of the sun, or Heliopolis. The prophecy of Jer_43:13, also means to point to the destruction of this or a similar city.
v. 19. In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof, probably an obelisk, to the Lord. The reference is either to the establishment of the religion of Jehovah in Egypt in the second century before Christ, when Alexandria became the center of Egyptian Jewry, or, better still, to the foothold which the Christian religion gained in Egypt at a very early date in the new era.
v. 20. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt, so that their contemporaries could see the evidence of their worship and their descendants have this proof of their religion; for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and He shall send them a savior, and a great one, a mighty warrior, and he shall deliver them, the reference probably being to Alexander the Great, whose coming was a deliverance to Egypt in various ways.
v. 21. And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, namely, when Jehovah would visit Egypt in mercy and cause the truth to be proclaimed to its people, and shall do sacrifice and oblation, perform the acts of true worship to the only God; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord and perform it, pledging themselves to Jehovah and His service.
v. 22. And the Lord shall smite Egypt, in order to bring its people to repentance; He shall smite and heal it, for His purpose is always one of mercy; and they shall return even to the Lord, His punishment having taken the right effect, and He shall be intreated of them and shall heal them. Cf Lev_26:44; Deu_32:36.
v. 23. In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, permitting free and friendly communication, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians, proselytes and Jews from both countries meeting at Jerusalem and elsewhere for the worship of Jehovah.
v. 24. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, the believers of the three countries being joined by the one faith, even a blessing in the midst of the land, since blessings would go forth from them to the inhabitants of other countries all over the world;
v. 25. whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt, My people, admitted to all the spiritual privileges formerly held by Israel alone, and Assyria, the work of My hands, His workmanship in the spiritual sense, and Israel, Mine inheritance, still designated thus as the actual son of the household of God and head of His family. Altogether, we have here a splendid example of the spread of the true religion under the merciful direction of God, especially in Messianic times.