Isaiah 19 (HCSB)
An Oracle against Egypt
1 An oracle against Egypt:
Look, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. Egypt’s idols will tremble before Him, and Egypt’s heart will melt within it. 2 I will provoke Egypt against Egypt; each will fight against his brother and each against his friend, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3 Egypt’s spirit will be disturbed within it, and I will frustrate its plans. Then they will seek idols, ghosts, spirits of the dead, and spiritists. 4 I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh masters, and a strong king will rule it.
This is the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts.
5 The waters of the sea will dry up, and the river will be parched and dry. 6 The channels will stink; they will dwindle, and Egypt’s canals will be parched. Reed and rush will die. 7 The reeds by the Nile, by the mouth of the river, and all the cultivated areas of the Nile will wither, blow away, and vanish. 8 Then the fishermen will mourn. All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the water will shrivel up. 9 Those who work with flax will be dismayed; the combers and weavers will turn pale. 10 Egypt’s weavers will be dejected; all her wage earners will be demoralized.
11 The princes of Zoan are complete fools; Pharaoh’s wisest advisers give stupid advice! How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a student of eastern kings”? 12 Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you and reveal what the Lord of Hosts has planned against Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan have been fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray. 14 The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of confusion. The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does, as a drunkard staggers in his vomit. 15 No head or tail, palm or reed, will be able to do anything for Egypt.
Egypt Will Know the Lord
16 On that day Egypt will be like women. She will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Hosts when He raises it against her. 17 The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Hosts has planned against it.
18 On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear loyalty to the Lord of Hosts. One of the cities will be called the City of the Sun.
19 On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord near her border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them. 21 The Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the Lord on that day. They will offer sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will return to the Lord and He will hear their prayers and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Assyria will go to Egypt, Egypt to Assyria, and Egypt will worship with Assyria.
24 On that day Israel will form a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing within the land. 25 The Lord of Hosts will bless them, saying, “Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance are blessed.”
Isaiah 20 (HCSB)
No Help from Cush or Egypt
1 In the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it— 2 during that time the Lord had spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, take off your sackcloth and remove the sandals from your feet,” and he did so, going naked and barefoot— 3 the Lord said, “As My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame. 5 Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed. 6 And the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, ‘Look, this is what has happened to those we relied on and fled to for help to rescue us from the king of Assyria! Now, how will we escape?’”
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 19:2): I often fall into the worldly provocation of anger and irritability towards others, whether they are family, friend, or stranger. Please forgive me of this trap and sin that I far too often make myself a prisoner of, Father.
PROMISE (verse 19:22): Such an amazing God You are. Although You sometimes cast punishment on Your people that turn away from You to become one with the world, flesh, and sin, You are faithful in Your unconditional love and promises. If/When they turn back to You, You are quick to heal and hear their prayers. This has been me quite often through my walk with You, Father, so I thank You so much for this promise and You being faithful to Your promises even when I am not.
ATTITUDE (verse 19:11): Father, I often say words and give advice from my flesh and my will instead of Your word and Your will as my "default" response when I am unsure or not confident in the moment. Please help me to change my attitude of often "needing" to speak in those moments. Help me to keep Your word in me so that Your advice is all that I "default" to, Lord.
COMMAND (verse 19:21): You tell us that when the Lord returns, He will make Himself known. In that moment, we will know it is Him and we must make offerings, but also we will make vows AND keep them. Although You command us to keep our vows to You, I fail at this too often. Help me to follow Your commands, Father, so that I may keep the vows I make and be pleasing and respectful towards You.
EXAMPLE (verses 19:16-24): Father, help me to follow the example that You give here for what Your people SHOULD and WILL do upon Your return. Help me to follow this example now while in the flesh, so that I may glorify You leading up to Your arrival and not just after it.
*DAILY NOTE: I give into my sinful and fleshly defaults and allow the world to manipulate me so often. I thank God for always remaining faithful to me even when I often am not a faithful servant to Him. Thank You so much, Father, for never giving up on me and never losing hope in me. Help me to embrace that faithfulness in my heart, so that I may return it to You from now on, Father.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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