(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(Isaiah 19:1-25)
1 The pronouncement concerning Egypt:
Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2 “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, each against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom.
3 Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead,
And to mediums and spiritists.
4 Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a cruel master,
And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of armies.
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.
8 And the fishermen will grieve,
And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.
9 Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax
And the weavers of white cloth will be utterly dejected.
10 And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed;
All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.
11 The officials of Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid.
How can you 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 armies
Has planned against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan have turned out to be fools,
The officials of Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes
Have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of distortion;
They have led Egypt astray in all that it does,
As a drunken person staggers in his vomit.
15 There will be no work for Egypt
Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.
16 On that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in great fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of armies, which He is going to wave over them. 17 The land of Judah will become a cause of shame to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in great fear because of the plan of the Lord of armies which He is making against them.
18 On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the Lord of armies; one will be called the City of Destruction.
19 On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the Lord beside its border. 20 And it will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will save them. 21 So the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a road 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 On that day Israel will be the third party to Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of armies has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2 “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, each against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom.
3 Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead,
And to mediums and spiritists.
4 Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a cruel master,
And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of armies.
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.
8 And the fishermen will grieve,
And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.
9 Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax
And the weavers of white cloth will be utterly dejected.
10 And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed;
All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.
11 The officials of Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid.
How can you 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 armies
Has planned against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan have turned out to be fools,
The officials of Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes
Have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of distortion;
They have led Egypt astray in all that it does,
As a drunken person staggers in his vomit.
15 There will be no work for Egypt
Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.
16 On that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in great fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of armies, which He is going to wave over them. 17 The land of Judah will become a cause of shame to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in great fear because of the plan of the Lord of armies which He is making against them.
18 On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the Lord of armies; one will be called the City of Destruction.
19 On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the Lord beside its border. 20 And it will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will save them. 21 So the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a road 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 On that day Israel will be the third party to Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of armies has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
My immediate response after reading this chapter is - anything is possible. Yes, WITH GOD all things are possible. Sinful, wicked people can choose to come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior! It doesn't matter how bad anyone has been, God s greater and more powerful, and is able to forgive anyone of their sins when they come to Him for His forgiveness and salvation.
I know a few people who said they have gone to church and tried the whole Jesus-thing, but it didn't work. Well, one can go through the motions of what a believer should be doing, but if you don't actually believe in Jesus - if you are not WITH GOD - then doing any of it is all completely futile. It will not work. But WITH GOD - it does work. Whatever God tells us to do, in His will, strength and guidance, it will work!!! And with God, we can be the work of His hands, blessed and part of His inheritance.
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