When Enemies Unite
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
AG:
TS: In chapters 19 and 20, God addresses Egypt. Disunity and internal strife because of idolatry spell the end of Egypt’s greatness. However, all is not lost. The prophesy once again ends with hope.
RS: Real peace, hope, and unity come from God.
1. A Sentence on Egypt
1. A Sentence on Egypt
Egypt receives a message of 4 punishments from God
Dread
Dread
The hearts of the people are filled with fear, especially upon hearing mention of Israel
An oracle concerning 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.
In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them.
And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against them.
God sends terror into their hearts and breaks the will of Egypt.
Notice it says “the idols will tremble”
God is showing His superiority over the false deities.
Any power they have is demonic
Even the demons believe and tremble before God
God alone rules in the spiritual realm
All things in which the trust are worthless.
They are powerless before God
They also fear Judah, due to God’s blessings
Discord
Discord
God sets them fighting each other
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;
Egypt will be divided and war among themselves
Egypt was long known for internal strife.
God will fan those flames as a part of His judgment on them.
God will win the victory by dividing Judah’s enemies.
internal strife brings down families, companies, and nations.
God will raise the Egyptians up against each other.
Dumbness
Dumbness
God silences their sages turning their wisdom into foolishness
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;
They will be plagued by disorientation and depression
They will turn to their mediums which once inspired hope and will find none.
The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?
Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger.
The Lord has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.
What wisdom they might have had will be foolishness in the day of judgment
They won’t know what to do or understand what is happening.
They will be fools, deluded, confused
They will be no help
They will act as best they understand, yet will be staggering around.
Drought
Drought
The Nile River fails to flood causing both fish and crops to die.
And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched,
and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.
There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.
The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.
The workers in combed flax will be in despair, and the weavers of white cotton.
Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for pay will be grieved.
The Nile and her tributaries will dry up and the drought will have devastating impact on Egypt.
the natural cycle of flooding and receding kept the land fertile and productive.
Drought leads to less workable land which leads to famine
Fish populations will decrease and thus more food and economic impact will hit.
AP: God alone deserves our trust
The Egyptians trusted their gods who couldn’t even keep their slaves (Israel) nor could they keep their nation united.
God alone is worthy of our trust!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Looking to Him, not idols and mediums, is the one path of wisdom
Trust him
Acknowledge Him
Follow His direction
Starts with studying and living by His word!
2. The Master Over Egypt
2. The Master Over Egypt
This is a reference to the King of Assyria who captures the land and carries her citizens into captivity
Ashod was one of the 5 largest Philistine cities.
Sargon II captured it in 711 and the Egyptians were so frightened they abandoned their allies, Judah.
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.
In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it—
Egypt was no longer independent and was subject to foreign rule beginning in the middle 7th century BC.
From 671 (676) B.C. to 663 B.C. is the period when Egypt was invaded by Assyria.
Before the invasion by the Assyrians, the first pharaoh of the twenty-fifth dynasty was Shebaka. He had a policy of conciliation and cooperation with Assyria. This policy helped to prevent Assyrians from coming further into Egypt.
However, Shebitku, the second king of the twenty-fifth dynasty did not have the same policy, and he tried to resist. Shebitku participated in the resistance against Sennacherib of Assyria with the king of Ethiopia, who was also against Sennachenb, when Jeruselem was attacked by Assyria. Taharqa, brother of Shebitku directed Egyptian army sent to Palestine and helped Palestine’s resistance against Sennachenb. Then, Taharqa became the third kind of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty in 690 B.C..
In 676 B.C., the Assyrians invaded Egypt. This was the time when they introduced iron to this area.
A few years after the invasion, they sacked Thebes, the city of Egypt. Declining Egypt was invaded by Nubians, and Egypt had a Nubian king, but the Assyrian defeated Nubians, and sent them back to their home. In 671 B.C., Esarhaddon, Sennachenb’s son and the king of Assyria (680 B.C.-669 B.C.) defeated Taharqa’s army, and captured Memphis. According to the record left by Esarhaddon, there was the siege and destruction of Memphis. Memphis was the capital of Egypt, and the royal residence of Taharqa. Esarhaddon set out for a further campaign, but he got sick at Harran and died.
AP: Human alliances have their limits
Although they had diplomatic peace at first, the advance of the Assyrian war machine was unstoppable.
We need friends and families
living life with each other is how we are designed
Remember, in Eden God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone!
He created Eve so they could go through life together
Yet even those who love us most can’t give the help which God does
They are only flesh and blood
They have their limits and failures
God’s help will never fail!
3. The Sign Against Egypt
3. The Sign Against Egypt
The Motion
The Motion
For 3 years Isaiah is walk around naked and barefooted!
at that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
He brought shame to himself to illustrate the shame which was coming.
His disgrace and humiliation was a vivid foreshadow of Egypt’s coming disgrace.
He spends 3 years as an object lesson before he proclaims the following verses
The meaning
The meaning
God will later allow Assyria to strip and humble the land of Egypt
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?’ ”
They were doomed to captivity
God describes Isaiah as His servant
Other notables He identified:
Abraham, Moses, Caleb, David, Job, Nebuchadnezzar, Zerubbabel, and most applicable to us:
If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
We are to be his servant!
We must follow Him
4. The Salvation of Egypt
4. The Salvation of Egypt
Egypts Speech
Egypts Speech
In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.
5 cities begin speaking Hebrew!
Humanly seems unlikely and even impossible
We are talking human terms, we are speaking of the DIVINE
Demonstrates their conversion by going so far as to even adopt the language.
They will follow the Messiah and even adopt His language and culture.
Egypt’s Sacrifices
Egypt’s Sacrifices
In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border.
And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them.
An alter, on which sacrifices will be offered to God, is built in one of the cities
They worship God alone in the Millennial Kingdom!
Egypt’s Supplication
Egypt’s Supplication
It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them.
And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.
God will hear and answer their prayers and send delivery
He will treat Egypt like Israel!
He will deliver and heal and He will judge: strike and deliver
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
Egypt’s Safety
Egypt’s Safety
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.”
A highway will connect Egypt, Israel, and Assyria thus uniting and ensuring safety for all 3.
Real peace will come when Christ reigns on Earth
They are warring in Isaiah’s time, but under Messiah, they will be one!
AP: Peace comes from God
We want peace (internally and around us: Personally as well as nationally)
We strive for it and seek it, but true lasting peace comes only from God!
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Trust Him
He never Fails
Follow Him
:Peace comes from God