Isaiah 19: 11-13

¹¹ The princes of Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid.
How can you men say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?
¹² Well then, where are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them understand what the Lord of hosts
Has purposed against Egypt.
¹³ The princes of Zoan have acted foolishly,
The princes of Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes
Have led Egypt astray.

When we began looking at Egypt in Isaiah 19, we noted the nation's legacy of wisdom. In our verses today, Isaiah picks apart this legacy, as we continue to explore the country's downfall.

There are two place names mentioned--Zoan and Memphis. Both were found in northern Egypt, and, at one time, each of these cities was a capital city. Because I know you're thinking about it (I was!), Memphis, Tennessee is named after this ancient Egyptian capital city. On a river, big textile crop producers, royalty (princes and the "King"!)--the city founders must have seen some resemblances. :-)

Unfortunately, Isaiah is singing the blues to its princes for their contribution to Egypt's failings. Our passage today is not short on tough words: "mere fools," "stupid" (vs 11); "acted foolishly," "deluded," "led Egypt astray." (vs 13) There is unprecedented senselessness in the places where there should be a proven legacy of keenness. So, how smart were they? The Bible acknowledges that few were on the same level as the Egyptians: "Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt." (I Kings 4:30)

So if the Bible's not quibbling with their level of intelligence, what caused this perilous situation in Egypt? Two things: its reputation for wisdom and its foolishness--not in a good way--for the things of God.

The very thing that Egypt was known for had been fed into its systems for years upon years upon years to the point that it was quite full--of itself. Note verse 11: "I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings." Probably the only line on the princely resume in Zoan and Memphis. They ran a country successfully until, suddenly, everything went wrong, and they didn't understand why. THEY didn't understand why?!? They "who are the cornerstones of their tribes" (vs 13) have "led Egypt astray," or, more literally, caused Egypt to stagger. If the ones at the top don't know what they're doing, how can those below them hope to follow their lead?

Beyond the obvious problems of people in charge not knowing what they are doing, these princes find themselves completely embarrassed, no longer able to uphold the reputation of their fathers' and forefathers' wisdom--and being totally confounded as to why and how this is happening. Look at the taunt in verse 12: "Well then, where are your wise men? Please let them tell you...." I have used this before on these blog pages, but my mind hears Billy Crystal's voice, again: "Where are your wise men, nooooowwwwww???" Where has their wisdom gone?

"And let them understand what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt."

--vs 12

A-ha! This is the second and more serious part of the Egyptian leadership's issue: They didn't understand or acknowledge that God was behind it all! Should this have come as a surprise to the Earth's most wise? No! They needed only to have considered what God said to the Pharaoh at the time of Moses--

"But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth."

--Exodus 9:16 (emphasis mine)

"Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"

--I Corinthians 1:20

The princes of Egypt believed that wisdom came from within, inherited as if in their genes. These "sons of ancient kings" were sorely mistaken. By His plan, God gave them their wisdom, and not with the intent that they would become worldly powerful for their own sake, but to show the world His glory.

"Let no man glory then in his own wisdom, nor depend upon that, nor upon the wisdom of those about him; for he that gives understanding can when he please take it away. And from those it is most likely to be taken away that boast of their policy, as Pharaoh’s counsellors here did, and, to recommend themselves to places of public trust, boast of their great understanding...or of the antiquity and dignity of their families...."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

The cornerstones of Egypt's systems of government, commerce, education, etc., caused their country to stagger. To whom would the nation turn? What would their princes come to understand from this?

In time, another "cornerstone" would come who would bring greatness of wisdom that even Solomon would never know. He would not lead His people astray, as did other princes. The Prince of Peace came to establish the Way, that those who chose, and still choose, to follow Him would not stagger but would become fools--in the best sense!

"....You and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.' Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."

--Acts 4: 10-12 (excerpt)

Judah? A terror to Egypt? ...'Til next Wednesday!

Happy Thanksgiving! All praise and thanks to God!

Photo: www.eurotriptips.com 

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Next week:  Isaiah 19: 14-16
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 19: 4-7

 

⁴ “Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master,
And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of hosts.

⁵ The waters from the sea will dry up,
And the river will be parched and dry.
⁶ The canals will emit a stench,
The streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up;

The reeds and rushes will rot away.
⁷ The bulrushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile
And all the sown fields by the Nile
Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.

Moving forward in Chapter 19, Isaiah continues to bring forth the word of judgment upon Egypt. Last week, we looked at how the nation would crumble from the inside out, with poor judgment and internal strife ruling over wisdom. This week, we look at the effect God's judgment will have upon His Creation in this part of the world.

But, first, verse 4 [which, in hindsight, should have been included with last week's bundle of verses]. Not only will conditions be ripe for a takeover at the top realms of government, but God will bring forward a "mighty" and "cruel master" of a king to rule the nation. If we remember back to the days of Moses' calling, we know that Egypt's ruler, Pharaoh, fits the bill for a cruel master. The people of God were slaves to this leader, who treated them unfairly and caused them great suffering. Now, in Isaiah's prophecy, we see a turning of those tables.

"Now the barbarous usage which the Egyptian task masters gave to God’s Israel long ago was remembered against them and they were paid in their own coin by another Pharaoh. It is sad with a people when the powers that should be for edification are for destruction, and they are ruined by those by whom they should be ruled...."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

 
Indeed, Egypt would be ruled by tyrants and by foreign rulers--among them, kings from Assyria and Babylon--with like mightiness and fierceness. Though God does not condone cruelty, He has allowed its use as a punishment.

Creation does not lie still in response to the work of God. It responds to God as part of His work in a given situation. I'm guessing that if you asked people on the street for three facts about Egypt, one of those would contain mention of the Nile River. One of the world's longest rivers, the Nile flows from southern Africa up north, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. The mouth of the the Nile is in Egypt.

Every year, the Nile River has a period of great rising due to changes in climate. Back in the day, it was flooding. When the waters receded, after scaling the river's banks, nutrient-rich soil deposits remained. The farmers took advantage of the prime condition of the land to plant their crops. In fact, Egypt was known as the "bread basket" of the world, as it was a chief exporter of crops. (Reformation Study Bible)

It is with this background that we look at the conditions to come, beginning with verse 5. The "sea," "waters," "river," will "thin out" and "dry up." Making the Nile run dry is the job of only One! God is knocking out the tributaries and connecting waters that the Nile feeds, too. The "canals will emit a stench." (vs. 6) If you have ever walked near a drying river bed that is still a bit damp, there is a smell from the mud and whatever natural or unnatural deposits remain on the soil, not to mention the foul odor of the standing water itself. There would be an even stronger scent over time:

"'...The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.'"

--Exodus 7:18

More on the loss of the fish next week. Verse 6 also says that "the reeds and the rushes will rot away." 

"'...Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?....'"

--Job 8:11

The swamp plants and grasses that make their home along the river will die. In these times, these plants were used judiciously in making baskets, mats and papyrus--as the verse in Job points out--which was used as a paper and building material. Nothing was wasted. These plants usually self-seed and grow continuously with the wealth of water and its resources at the river's edge. God's drying up of the Nile will affect this unmaintained blessing.

Then, verse 7, "all the sown fields of the Nile...," will face the impact of God's hand. If the Nile no longer floods and God refuses to send rain, the result is obvious, and the repercussions of that result enormously difficult on the health and economy of the nation--of which we'll explore more next week.

"Yet this is not all; the drying up of their rivers is the destruction...of their fortifications, for they are brooks of defence (Isa. 19:6), making the country difficult of access to an enemy. Deep rivers are the strongest lines, and most hardly forced. Pharaoh is said to be a great dragon lying in the midst of his rivers, and guarded by them, bidding defiance to all about him, (Ezekiel 29:3)."

--Matthew Henry

Although it might have been easy for an Egyptian of this day to consider God Himself the "cruel master," for the resident of Judah hearing this prophecy, it might well have served as a plea of remembrance for whom to best maintain an alliance. Who saved the Israelites? The "cruel master" or the Lord God of hosts?

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

--Romans 8:31

  

Egyptian industry will suffer in the wake of the loss of the Nile. ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.thedailystar.net

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Next week:  Isaiah 19: 8-10
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).