Isaiah 19

Isaiah is the first book of the four major prophets. I think it's really cool because it provides background and understanding of the old testament as well as the conviction of the gospels. It both emphasizes God's judgement and proclaims His mercy and grace. Both of those elements are necessary for a thorough understanding of who God is. For me, Isaiah is really effective at communicating that. 

Sometimes I find the prophetic books really difficult to read because I'm not entirely sure what they mean, or the wording is confusing, or something. Sometimes, simply by nature of being a prophecy, those books makes me go all Harry Potter, and then I skeeve myself out. What I've learned, though, is that not all of the prophecies are foretelling of the future. The word prophet (Hebrew: 'naiby') means 'inspired man.' The main idea behind each prophet is that God is speaking. Whenever God speaks, it's in our best interest to listen.

Yes, sometimes these prophecies tell about future events, as with Isaiah 19, but sometimes they simply describe the status of something (i.e. the depravity of humanity, the deity of Jesus, etc.) Other times they reveal truth that was previously unbeknownst. I'm no theologian, but that's my basic understanding. 

In Isaiah 19, God is speaking through Isaiah to reveal future events in Egypt. Today, more than 2,500 years after Isaiah was written, this prophecy still holds important truths about the tendencies of sinners, the nature of God, and what we can know to be true about our own futures.

Isaiah Chapter 19: A Summary

The Egyptians are guilty of idolatry. They have constructed idols of their own accord, and worship them as if they are Gods. They make sacrifices to them, consult them for guidance, etc. The Lord, righteously angry about this, stirs up a war among the Egyptians to punish them, ultimately handing them over to Satan's rule for a while. There is a horrible drought, agribusiness is annihilated, and widespread hunger ensues. Ultimately, as is written in verse 15, "There is nothing Egypt can do --"

Their "wisdom" is gone, their needs aren't met, and they are unable to get themselves anywhere by relying on their own strength. In this desolate state, they become aware of God and begin to fear Him. They cry out to the Lord, and He sends the savior to rescue them. They worship Him and make vows to Him. God strikes them with a plague and then heals them, and yet they worship Him still. A day then comes when the Egyptians worship with the Assyrians, and God calls them blessed.

Isaiah Chapter 19: An Application

Even though I'm not an Egyptian, and even though my own millennial generation doesn't carve wooden statues and bow to them, I am part of a body of people that:

1. Are sinners, in desperate need of a savior
• It doesn't matter if we are tall, short, black, white, Egyptian or American. God is God, alpha and omega, and I am but a dirty speck compared to His omnipotent purity. If I have any hope of a purposeful life, it is because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who died a perfect death in exchange for our wretched souls.
2. Have a tendency to rely on our own 'relativistic' sense of understanding/truth
• I am very guilty of trying to rely on myself for strength, turning to the "wisdom" of the internet -- written by my fellow fools -- instead of examining God's word, opening my heart, and coming before the king with my questions, concerns and requests.
3. Sometimes endure disasters and wars as a natural consequence of our insolence toward God
• Scary and provocative though it may be to admit, sometimes the horrible things that happen -- the disasters, diseases and destruction -- are part of the ebb and flow of a river of righteousness. God uses suffering to teach us, and just as we struck down Egypt from their self-made high thrones, God will do what is necessary to soften our hearts toward His own inclinations. We should rejoice in this truth, not mourn it!
4. Will one day sing with members of every other culture and race, equalized before God, in a language of universal worship
• We also live in a day and age where racism is disguised as equality, our Jim Crow laws swept under the rug, overlooked, ignored, and denied. Our prejudices aren't immune to the gradient of race, either: the nerds, the prostitutes, the LGBT community, the punks, hipsters, homeless and hurting -- essentially the "least" of our brothers and sisters are repeatedly assaulted by our own hard hearts and judgement. But just as we let the planks in our eyes build walls among us, one day those walls will be reduced to dust by our communal songs of praise for the King.

Lets work against the trends of our society, maybe? Let's fight against sin, turn away from our foolish minds and look toward God. Lets link arms with each other instead of knocking one-another down. Revelation tells us that these wars and rumors of wars are to be expected - they are a sign that the end of the age is ever on its way. God won't grant prayers that are against His plan, but we must remember that it is always in His plan for us to proclaim His name. So, friends, keep opening your mouths!