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 

* * *

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 5: 18-23

  

¹⁸ Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood,
And sin as if with cart ropes;
¹⁹ Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;
And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near
And come to pass, that we may know it!”
²⁰ Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever in their own sight!
²² Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine
And valiant men in mixing strong drink,
²³ Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!

The last of the six woes come in today's passage of Isaiah 5. They read like proverbs, and, not surprisingly, many of the cross-references for our verses do link back to the Book of Proverbs. They are pretty self-explanatory, as one would expect a proverb to be. Appreciating the punch and poetry of Isaiah!....

• Woe #3 (vs 18): Useless flaunting with brazen mocking

The visual imagery is terrific. While a cord of three strands is not quickly broken apart (Ecclesiastes 4:12), a cord of falsehood (worthlessness; uselessness; vanity, in other translations) is snipped with ease.

"The Lord is righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked."

--Psalm 129:4

Judah is not only characterized as being blatantly sinful, but it has made great effort, as dragging something of weight and heft, to make sure its sinful lifestyle is being maintained--for all to see! As if their pursuit of sin is not enough, the people do so mocking God with every step. Look at verse 19: "...Let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near...." That name for God that Isaiah has used and will use in his prophecy is here used as if by a taunting "I-dare-ya" grade-schooler. "You've got judgment for us? Bring it on!" Guess they forgot about what it says in Deuteronomy 6--what our Lord later quotes in the Gospels--about putting God to the test. Not sure those thoughts aren't still out there.

"Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.'"

--II Peter 3: 3 and 4

 

• Woe #4 (vs 20): Ill-thought substitutions

Sometimes [OK, a lot of times!], when I'm cooking, I will have to make a change in the recipe I'm following. That item I thought was in the pantry, fridge or spice rack just isn't there when I reach for it. Time for a last-minute substitution [or deletion!] There are times when you can whip up missing ingredients from other sources or else choose to alter your dish's flavor profile with something different. And, then, there are times when you make an ingredient substitution and you just get it wrong! It's not just distasteful--literally. It's more likely trash-bound. This is God's point.

When you "call evil good and good evil," you get it wrong! It's not just confusing, it's what Proverbs 17:15 calls "an abomination to the Lord." To how many things can we look at in our society today and apply this thought? Something that was once an "evil" that, over time, with insistent persuasion and re-framing (as if "dragging iniquity with cords of falsehood," perhaps?) has become something perfectly acceptable?

"'The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear [healthy, sincere], your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!'"

--Matthew 6: 22 and 23

Judah's spiritual blindness had led the nation into a dark period of its history, indeed!

• Woe #5 (vs 21): "Wise in their own eyes"

If my Mom is reading today, she is nodding her head up and down, with maybe even a little "uh-huh" thrown in. I do, now, understand about this, being a parent myself. We spend our lives learning--actively or passively, well or not so much. But it is over the entire course of our lives. Yet true wisdom is not something we can inherit or pursue on our own.

"Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, 'He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness'; and again, 'The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.'"

--I Corinthians 18: 18-20

Bottom line: We fall short! Surprise--not. Our best reasoning is not good enough to be considered wisdom. We just don't have it all. But, God's people thought they were wise enough to think and to stand for themselves. We all get caught up in the deception that we can be wise on our own, yet, enough living in the world will show you how "useless" this thinking is. Just not smart! Love how Matthew Henry put it in his commentary: "...They think themselves able to disprove and baffle the reproofs and convictions of God’s word, and to evade and elude both the searches and the reaches of his judgments; they think they can outwit Infinite Wisdom and countermine Providence itself." Back to the hits of 1979....

"What a fool believes he sees  
No wise man has the power to reason away  
What seems to be is always better than nothing  
There's nothing at all but what a fool believes he sees...."

--Doobie Brothers

• Woe #6 (vs 22): "Drunkin' bribin' judgin'"

Don't drink and bribe! As if bribing a judge in and of itself was not enough of an issue, mix in impaired judgment to your bringing your bribe to a judge. It was working in Judah, and God had had His fill. 

In all seriousness, there is quite a list of cases in which the rights of the righteous ones have been denied. How long, yes? How long.... There are hearts pained with grief, horror and bitterness over seeing righteousness "lose." Is this woe still "on the books"? Does God let righteousness lose? Though James repeats that the unrighteous "...have condemned and put to death the righteous man...." (James 5:6), he also teaches us what to do--looking to prophets, like Isaiah, as role models.
 

"You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."

--James 5: 8-11 (italics mine)

"Therefore...." There's that word again! God explains what's coming down in the face of judgment.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca

* * *

Next week: Isaiah 5: 24 and 25

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).