Isaiah 17 - 20

 Click HERE to read the passage.

 As you see in today’s reading, not only is Judah going to be condemned by God due to their sinfulness, but Isaiah provides prophecies (from God) concerning the nations surrounding Israel.  Here’s what God is going to do to each nation…

 To Damascus, God will cause them to “disappear” and become a “heap of ruins” where “the power of Damascus will end.” (17:1-2)

 To Israel, God will cause a severe famine where “poverty will stalk the land.” In fact, it will be so severe that only a few people will be able to withstand the horrible conditions God inputs about them. (17:4)

 What’s the purpose of this destruction?

 God does everything with a purpose in mind. His correction is ultimately for our good – Romans 8:28

 God explains the “why” for all this calamity in 17:7 – “Then at last the people will think of their Creator and have respect for the Holy One of Israel.”  Listen, it’s important to God about what you think and who you think about.  What we think about most is what we care about the most. And, God desires that we put Him first place in our lives. When we do that, we think about Him, His character, how He feels about things, and what He wants us to do.  That’s why Jesus encouraged us to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  What we receive from God is often a reflection of how we feel about God and what we do to honor Him.

 Sadly, in spite of all that Israel will attempt to do to become successful, God will bring it down and allow it to lead to failure!

 Have you ever had one of those days, weeks, months, or even years where you felt like it was like taking 3 steps forward but 4 steps backward?  You had success in the beginning, but in the end things turned out to be worse than how you started out.  That’s what’s going to happen here!

 To Ethiopia, we see that old familiar statement mentioned so often by Isaiah, “Destruction is certain.” (18:1)  Ethiopia, at the time, was like America – a powerful nation! But God will bring them down to nothing. In fact, Ethiopia will send out its army, but to a tragic ending. While the “how” is not shared, somehow God will cause the entire army of Ethiopia to die on their way to battle!  Can you imagine the report back in Ethiopia when they find out they were stripped of their entire army – seemingly by the Hand of God.

 Chapter 18 ends with a verse sharing how one day in the future the people of Ethiopia will bring gifts to the Lord. This is an obvious mention of the day when Jesus sits on the throne of king David and rules from Jerusalem for 1000 years.

 To Egypt, God will cause great confusion (19:2) where there will be HUGE in-fighting among the Egyptians where even neighbors will fight against neighbors.  In fact, God decides to send a “spirit of foolishness” among the palace leaders where every decision they make takes them further down the rabbit trail of destruction!

 Throughout the world we can see this happening – even here in America!  Our leaders are making foolish decisions!  They think they are making wise choices, but in the end it will lead to national problems and ultimately into moral, financial, and social decay. Just as Isaiah prophesies, “The leaders of Egypt have ruined the land with their foolish counsel. The Lord has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong.”

 However, there’s a surprising note to Egypt’s future!  In 19:18-25, Isaiah prophecies of Egypt’s relationship to the Lord – obviously speaking of the future millennial reign of Christ.  Note how things will change for the Egyptians:

-          They will desire to know and speak Hebrew – the language of God’s people Israel.

-          They will build an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel and will strike down their many idols.

-          They will make promises to the Lord, and keep them.

-          Egypt will desire to be an ally of Israel.

-          Egypt will become known as God’s people (19:25)

 Sadly, chapter 20 tells the current fate of the Egyptians. For 3 long years, Isaiah will walk naked among the nations as an analogy of exactly what will happen to the Egyptians.  According to 20:4, God will cause the king of Assyria (who will capture Egypt and their people) to be merciless.  The king will demand that every Egyptian file in line and walk naked to Assyria in order to utterly humiliate the nation. 

What happened to the Jews during the holocaust will one day happen to the Egyptians – utter humiliation.

When will we learn how much our sin affects God?  If you have unconfessed sin going on in your life right now, when do you think would be the right time to confess it, stop doing it, and start living in righteousness before God?

 Keep in mind, all of these true stories are for our benefit.  If we don’t listen to what history teaches us, we’re bound to repeat it!