“God Strikes & Heals”
[Isaiah 19:1-20:6]
January 27, 2019, Second Reformed Church
We will remember that the wicked King Ahaz of Judah hears that the Syrians are planning to attack, and he and all of Jerusalem are filled with fear. Isaiah comes to Ahaz and tells him not to worry, but to do nothing and trust the Lord. Ahaz finds himself unable to do that and he turns and makes an alliance with the Egyptians and the Assyrians, but the Assyrians turn against all of them.
This morning, we hear what happens to the Egyptians.
First, there is a spiritual reason behind everything.
In verses one through four, we read that there is a social collapse of the nation.
The Egyptians begin to fight internally – first with their neighbors, then city against city, and finally, there is civil war in Egypt among the kingdoms.
The Egyptians despair and turn to their idols, they look to sorcerers, to mediums and necromancers, and they try to find answers as to why these things have happened and what to do.
And then a dictator rises up over the Egyptians – a fierce and wicked king forcibly takes over the whole of the nation and brings it to stability under his iron hand.
Then, in verses five through ten, we read that there is an economic collapse of the nation.
The economy of Egypt was built on the Nile River, and we read that the Nile dries up. What little water is left is still and causes the fish and the plants to rot.
Those who make their living on the crops grown by the Nile are left destitute. Those who make their living by catching the fish of the Nile are left destitute. Those who work the flax and the cotton into usable forms are left destitute. The economy of Egypt collapses and all those who work for pay are grieved.
And, in verses eleven through fifteen, we read that there is a political collapse of the nation.
Zoan was the capital of Egypt from 1085 B. C. to 712 B. C.
The princes of Zoan – who were supposed to be the wise men of Egypt – are struck foolish and stupid. Their wisdom is gone. Likewise, the princes of Memphis are struck foolish and stupid. All the wise men of Egypt are gone.
The nation becomes confused and staggers like a drunk and vomiting man – and none of their cures will help this loss of insight.
What have we left out?
God is behind the social collapse of Egypt.
God is behind the economic collapse of Egypt.
God is behind the political collapse of Egypt.
We have said before that humans are free and responsible creatures, but God is more free than we are. God has predestined everything that will come to pass, and as we obey and sin, God’s plan comes to pass without a bump in the road or a blip on the screen.
The Egyptians sin against God, the One God, and at this time in history – as we shall see, God punishes her by setting the total collapse of the nation in process.
Jesus says that believers in Him should not fear those who do evil:
“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:26-33, ESV).
One of the reasons Jesus gives us not to fear those who do evil is that it is impossible for a sparrow to fall to the ground without the will or permission of God the Father. It is impossible for a sparrow to fall to the ground without the will or permission of God the Father.
Taking that with what we have just heard about the collapse of the nation of Egypt, do we not hear the truth that nothing can happen without the will or permission of God the Father? Nothing can happen without the will or permission of God the Father.
So, when spiritual evil rises up in our homes and towns and nations, where should we turn first? To Whom should we go first if our children are sinning against us and each other? Where should we go first if our neighbors are sinning against us? Where should we go first when our government is sinning against us?
Yes, we are to discipline our children and teach them right from wrong. Yes, we are to see that the laws of our neighborhoods are enforced. Yes, we are to vote and call our leaders to repent of their sin. Yet, there are spiritual forces behind everything that happens, but we shall not be afraid, because nothing can happen without the will or permission of God the Father.
We begin by going to God in prayer, knowing and believing that He is Absolutely Sovereign over everything and everyone, and He hears our prayers. Then, we are to obey God and do everything within our power to see that our world is turning away from sin and evil.
There is a spiritual reason behind everything.
Second, God will save a remnant of all peoples.
In verse sixteen through twenty-five, we move to more distant words and find out that there will be a remnant of Egypt, Assyria, and Judah who all believe in the promised Savior – who are saved through the blood of Jesus with all those who will believe!
In verses sixteen and seventeen, we have the reaction to the collapse of Egypt – the Egyptians will tremble before the Assyrians who rule over them for some sixty years, and they also fear Judah, because they know He is the God of Judah and Israel Who causes this to come to pass upon them.
However, at another point in time – “in that day” – there will be a number of cities – a small amount of the population – a remnant – of Egypt – who join in the worship of the Sovereign God.
At some point in time – “in that day” – a pillar will be set up to the One True God – a stone of remembrance – an altar place of reconciliation where sacrifices will be offered up to the Lord in Egypt. Egypt will be oppressed by a ruler, and God will send a savior to deliver them from that leader. And as the Lord makes Himself known to the Egyptians, more and more of them will become faithful followers of Jesus.
In the meantime, God will strike the Egyptians down and heal them.
In 2006, when the last census which asked for religion was taken, just over ten percent of Egyptians were Christian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Egypt).
The Kingdom of Assyria covered part of what we now call Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq.
And God says that “in that day” – “there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
“In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.’”
There will come a day when there will be a Christian presence in Turkey and Egypt and Iran and Iraq and Syria, and they will join together with Israel to worship Jesus as God and Savior.
And we may say, “Good luck with that!” But this is the work and the will and the promise of God – that one day, these things will come to pass. Do we believe that God can and will do this as He has said He will?
This will come to pass “in that day” and before the return of Christ.
God will save a remnant of all peoples.
Third, those who trust in humans will be disappointed.
Egypt was stricken more than once by God, and in chapter 20, we have the record of one of those times.
In 714 B.C., the commander in chief who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria conquered Ashdod – a Philistine nation to the west of Judah, who was allied with Egypt. The king of Ashdod had come to King Hezekiah of Judah and asked him to fight with them against the Assyrians, but Isaiah told Hezekiah not to, and he listened.
When Ashdod fell to the Assyrians, God told Isaiah to take off his clothes and shoes, and he remained in that condition for three years.
“Then the LORD said, ‘As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, “Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?”’”
After three years of walking around barefoot and naked – as a sign of what was to come – in 711 B.C., the Assyrians conquered Egypt and her ally, Ethiopia, and humiliated them by stripping them of their cloths, putting them in chains, and making them walk through the nations in that state as they led them away into captivity.
And there was terror among the nations – including Judah – who wondered how they would escape such a fate, since they had fled to Egypt for help in the past.
And the answer is, they should never have gone to Egypt for help in the first place. Again and again, Isaiah told the kings, wait on the Lord, don’t make alliances with pagan nations. Wait on the Lord, don’t make alliances with pagan nations.
Now, we are not ancient Israel, and the United States isn’t ancient Israel, so what does this mean for us?
It means that if we put our trust in humans over God, we will be disappointed – at best.
If God tells us to do something, and the President says not to or the Senators or Congress people tell us not to or the governor or the mayor tells us not to, or our spouse or our best friend, or our children or grandchildren – we must say “no” to the humans – who may seem to have a great plan – and follow God.
The author of Psalm 146 writes:
“Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.
“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.
“The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
“The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!” (ESV).
Whether we are talking about WikiLeaks, or the government shutdown, the riots in Venezuela, or NY making abortion legal until birth – whatever we are talking about – there is a spiritual reason behind everything. There are demons prowling about leading people astray. And people follow after their own sinful inclinations. But don’t forget that God is the Absolute Sovereign over everything. Let us learn what He desires and follow Him.
Let us not give up hope, because God has promised that some from Egypt and Iraq and Iran and Syria and Turkey and Israel will all join together one day to worship Jesus Christ as Savior. Who but our God could bring a remnant like that together?
And let us not trust in any human above God. God will never lie to us or betray us. God always tells the truth and knows the best answer to every situation.. Let us look to what He says, first, and trust what He has said over any plan or plot or idea of any human.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, it is easy for us to look for alliances among humans, because we can’t see You, and Your Word does not give us specific answers to every instance we find ourselves in. Give us wisdom to see the spiritual forces working amongst us and even Your Hand as You bring Your Will to pass. Help us to wisely ally ourselves with others and to say “no” when they go against Your clear teaching. Help us to be faithful and seek after holiness. For this You have called us to as heralds of Your Gospel. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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