Isaiah 19:1-4
An Oracle
against Egypt
“Behold, the Lord is riding
on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his
presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. And I will stir up Egyptians against
Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his
neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom; and the spirit of the
Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the
necromancers; and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard
master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord God of hosts.”
As one who loves
to explore the truth and instruction found only in the Scriptures, Egypt is a
place with two meanings, or two roles, it was often a place of refuge such as
the famine that came when Joseph’s family came for food, but it is also a place
of oppression, where they became slaves.
During much of the eighth century Egypt was at war with itself. Verse 2 gives clarity to where the conflict
was coming from; “And
I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against
another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against
kingdom; and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I
will confound their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the
sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers; and I will give over the
Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over
them, declares the Lord God of hosts.”
The footnotes on
page 1156 of HCSB states: “Even though conditions through much of the eighth century
are described by this verse, (referring to verse 2) the picture is so
general that it could apply to a different, future time as well.” So as of 2014 where is Egypt as a
nation? This is a report from Fox News
in January 2014, “TERRORISM AND
DISSENT WILL CONTINUE TO TORTURE EGYPT. Despite this latest triumph of the majority’s
will, the same destructive forces that have plagued the nation following
the euphoria at Mubarak's fall will likely keep eating away at Egypt's social,
political and economic fabric for the foreseeable future.”
So whom do the Egyptians turn to for guides, first to idols,
like the banks, the religious leaders, and the military, then to wizards and
magicians and last to necromancers, a
person who predicts, using spirits, such as witchcraft? Let me warn you this oracle could depict the
United States of America, for we as a nation have gone to our Egypt looking for
refuge, it’s called the god of printed money, the false hope of government
supplying our needs, and the seeking of stuff and going away from the God of
our fathers. All false gods lead to
oppression!
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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