Isaiah 19: 23-25

²³ In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, 
and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, 
and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
²⁴ In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, 
a blessing in the midst of the earth,  
²⁵ whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, 
“Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, 
and Israel My inheritance.”

Hello! Happy New Year!

I think I have finally come to the full understanding that scheduling this blog to run through the Advent season is CRAZY! The opportunities I have for worship, service and fellowship are so numerous in December, because of the uniqueness of the season (and me, being a seasonal musician). It leaves very little time for quality study or writing. If you catch me scheduling blog posts for mid- to late-December in 2014, call me on it. It's not going to happen! Celebrating Jesus' coming (again and again) is always going to take precedence. Thanks for your patience as I get back to it....

It is too bad that I didn't finish off Isaiah Chapter 19 before Christmas, though. It would have made starting Chapter 20 in the New Year more appropriate. Alas to that, yet this is a wonderfully hope-filled passage with which to ring in 2014.

Take a look back on the posts from Chapter 19. Recall that we are talking about Egypt. God has outlined a period of great difficulty in His discipline of the nation. As we reach these last verses, we see the tremendously encouraging news that there is a new hope promised for Egypt--"in that day." (vs. 1) When Christ comes to reign, the world is going to be a very different place--the hope to carry all of us through this year ahead.

Isaiah 11:16 carries a similar promise for Egypt as Isaiah 19:23 carries for Assyria:

"And there will be a highway from Assyria
For the remnant of His people who will be left,
Just as there was for Israel
In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt."

--Isaiah 11:16 

That highway from Assyria is going to provide passage all the way to Egypt, with Israel in the middle as "rest stop" of sorts, to play out the metaphor. Back in the day when Isaiah shared this, I'm sure the response would have been something like "Blasphemy!" Two powerhouse nations--nations, at various points in history, aligned with Israel--will now be joined together with Israel as "the third party." (vs. 24) Surely, that seemed a ludicrous proposition. It's times like this when you get a glimpse at the burden these prophets had to bear--both in the news itself and in being the messenger. "Don't be a hater," Isaiah might have said. (Though Isaiah had too much compassion in his heart to have given that a thought much less an utterance.)

In his commentary for this passage, Matthew Henry mentions one of my oft-quoted verses of Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:13--"A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." Thus will be the case in seeing these three nations standing together as one. The verse before this one is equally significant in looking at the history of these parties: "And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him." (Ecclesiastes 4:12) We have seen the wisdom of Israel's kings (not so much) in the alliances formed between the country and each of these nations. The alliances did not always last. They were alliances of convenience, formed out of a lack of complete trust in God. The wisdom of Solomon makes sense, but the choice of an unbelieving nation for an ally rather than God the Father Almighty suggests that the kings didn't really get what their predecessor was trying to say.

But all of history will truly be bygone in the time of the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy. Israel will finally be the "blessing in the midst of the earth" (vs. 24) that God intended her to be:

"And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

--Genesis 12:3

In verse 25, Isaiah uses some incredible phrases to describe Egypt and Assyria-- "My people" and "the work of My hands." Phrases reserved for His "inheritance"--Israel--are now being applied to the enemies of Israel. Remember, too, that these were Pagan, Gentile nations. But what seems an impossibility is, of course, not such a thing in the face of Jesus. That's why He came! And we cannot look at those who are not yet Christians as those who will never be Christians. Christ was the promised Messiah--for the Jews and the Gentiles. All who believe in Him become part of His inheritance. When He comes to reign, Israel becomes the nation that draws all others to Him--even Egypt. Even Assyria. Even....

"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd."

--John 10: 14-16 (Jesus speaking; emphasis mine)

"For nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:37) As Israel has received opportunities for forgiveness in not following her God, out of that same grace, Egypt will also receive. The status quo is not the status quo forever, as God's plans are not our own.

As we enter a new year, do we wish the status quo to still be the status quo? Even if we do, do we consider that some of the things that we haven't been able to change in the past could be changed? Do we believe that God's impact in and through our lives could be, indeed, life-changing for us or others? If Egypt and Assyria will know these things, how much more might we, today, trust in the Lord to provide His grace in our relationships and in our doings?

"It becomes those who have communion with the same God, through the same Mediator, to keep up an amicable correspondence with one another. The consideration of our meeting at the same throne of grace, and our serving with each other in the same business of religion, should put an end to all heats and animosities, and knit our hearts to each other in holy love."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

 

 

Words for Egypt and Ethiopia, as we open (and close!) the short Chapter 20.  ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: frjamescoles.wordpress.com

* * *

Next week:  Isaiah 20
 
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 13: 13-16

¹³ Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
And the earth will be shaken from its place
At the fury of the Lord of hosts
In the day of His burning anger.
¹⁴ And it will be that like a hunted gazelle,
Or like sheep with none to gather them,
They will each turn to his own people,
And each one flee to his own land.
¹⁵ Anyone who is found will be thrust through,
And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
¹⁶ Their little ones also will be dashed to pieces
Before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives ravished.

We continue forward this week with Isaiah 13 and the prophet's speaking of Babylon's doom at the Day of the Lord. Last week, we looked at creation's response, and Isaiah picks up with that thought in verse 13 as the "heavens tremble" and the "earth will be shaken from its place." Across Scripture, from the prophets to Revelation, the Day of the Lord is associated with some type of earth-quaking. We saw this earlier in Isaiah:

"Men will go into caves of the rocks
And into holes of the ground
Before the terror of the Lord
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble."

--Isaiah 2:19

Verse 13 reminds us that it is the "fury of the Lord of hosts" that will bring about His Day. 'Fury' implies not just unrestrained violence but strong passion as well. As passionate as God is about His love for His people, He is equally passionate in His hatred of those who are enemies of His people.

"'Is it nothing to all you who pass this way?
Look and see if there is any pain like my pain
Which was severely dealt out to me,
Which the Lord inflicted on the day of His fierce anger.'"

--Lamentations 1:12

This cross-referenced verse from Lamentations was written regarding Jerusalem at the time of its exile into Babylon. But, in the Day of the Lord, it will be Babylon who will cry out in its pain as the righteous, yet "burning" anger of God is poured out upon them for their treatment of His people.

Isaiah turns back to metaphors in verse 14 as he begins, describing Babylon as a "hunted gazelle." These shy, deer-like animals would find themselves quickly on the move from a roaring, furious lion of a God. "Or," says Isaiah, next, "like sheep with none to gather them." There are so many references to humans being like sheep in the Bible. Sheep wander. They go astray. We attribute this to our sinfulness, our falling short, our trying to be in control of things apart from God. Sheep in a lost situations like this:

"When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things."

--Mark 6:34

The end times picture for Babylon is not one of compassion. The Shepherd is not coming to gather them in and to "teach them many things." The time for that has come and gone. Babylon will be on the run ("flee to his own land," vs 14) for the rest of its time, overcome by fear.

"The army they shall bring into the field, consisting of troops of diverse nations (as great armies usually do), shall be so dispirited by their own apprehensions and so dispersed by their enemies’ sword that they shall turn every man to his own people; each man shall shift for his own safety; the men of might shall not find their hands (Ps. 76:5), but take to their heels."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

Verse 15 indicates that no one will be spared who is in any way associated with Babylon. I love what Matthew Henry says in regard to this: "It is dangerous being in bad company, and helping those whom God is about to destroy." Seems like a no-brainer, but you need to know who the enemy truly is. In addition to the groaning of creation, one of the other predominant themes of the days approaching the end times is that they will be filled with false prophets and teachers. The Antichrist will have many attractive qualities that will sway, confuse and mislead the masses, including some believers. 

Isaiah is warning: "anyone" who is hooked up with the wrong crowd is headed for destruction. Verse 16 is graphic and direct. It sounds horrible. It sounds unimaginable from a loving God. We have to take this fully in context, though. All of its history and all of its history in the making have led Babylon to this position. They brought it on themselves.

"O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who repays you
With the recompense with which you have repaid us.
How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones
Against the rock."

--Psalm 137: 8 and 9

"Savior, like a Shepherd, lead us. Much we need Thy tender care...."

Isaiah calls the Medes out by name.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo:www.flickr.com

* * *

Next week: Isaiah 13: 17-19

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).