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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Isaiah XIX].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>I S A I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XIX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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As Assyria was a breaking rod to Judah, with which it was smitten, so
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Egypt was a broken reed, with which it was cheated; and therefore God
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had a quarrel with them both. We have before read the doom of the
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Assyrians; now here we have the burden of Egypt, a prophecy concerning
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that nation,
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I. That it should be greatly weakened and brought low, and should be as
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contemptible among the nations as now it was considerable, rendered so
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by a complication of judgments which God would bring upon them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:1-17">ver. 1-17</A>.
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II. That at length God's holy religion should be brought into Egypt,
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and set up there, in part by the Jews that should flee thither for
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refuge, but more fully by the preachers of the gospel of Christ,
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through whose ministry churches should be planted in Egypt in the says
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of the Messiah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:18-25">ver. 18-25</A>),
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which would abundantly balance all the calamities here threatened.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa19_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa19_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Doom of Egypt.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> rideth upon a swift
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cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be
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moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the
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midst of it.
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2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they
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shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against
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his neighbour; city against city, <I>and</I> kingdom against kingdom.
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3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and
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I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the
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idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar
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spirits, and to the wizards.
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4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel
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lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts.
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5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall
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be wasted and dried up.
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6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; <I>and</I> the brooks of
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defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall
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wither.
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7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks,
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and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away,
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and be no <I>more.</I>
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8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle
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into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the
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waters shall languish.
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9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave
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networks, shall be confounded.
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10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that
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make sluices <I>and</I> ponds for fish.
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11 Surely the princes of Zoan <I>are</I> fools, the counsel of the
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wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto
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Pharaoh, I <I>am</I> the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
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12 Where <I>are</I> they? where <I>are</I> thy wise <I>men?</I> and let them
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tell thee now, and let them know what the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts hath
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purposed upon Egypt.
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13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph
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are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, <I>even they that are</I>
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the stay of the tribes thereof.
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14 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst
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thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof,
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as a drunken <I>man</I> staggereth in his vomit.
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15 Neither shall there be <I>any</I> work for Egypt, which the head
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or tail, branch or rush, may do.
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16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be
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afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of
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hosts, which he shaketh over it.
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17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every
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one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself,
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because of the counsel of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, which he hath
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determined against it.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Though the land of Egypt had of old been a house of bondage to the
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people of God, where they had been ruled with rigour, yet among the
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unbelieving Jews there still remained much of the humour of their
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fathers, who said, <I>Let us make us a captain and return into
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Egypt.</I> Upon all occasions they trusted to Egypt for help
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+30:2"><I>ch.</I> xxx. 2</A>),
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and thither they fled, in disobedience to God's express command, when
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things were brought to the last extremity in their own country,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+43:7">Jer. xliii. 7</A>.
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Rabshakeh upbraided Hezekiah with this,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+36:6"><I>ch.</I> xxxvi. 6</A>.
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While they kept up an alliance with Egypt, and it was a powerful ally,
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they stood not in awe of the judgments of God; for against them they
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depended upon Egypt to protect them. Nor did they depend upon the power
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of God when at anytime they were in distress; but Egypt was their
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confidence. To prevent all this mischief, Egypt must be mortified, and
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many ways God here tells them he will take to mortify them.</P>
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<P>
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I. The gods of Egypt shall appear to them to be what they always really
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were, utterly unable to help them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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"<I>The Lord rides upon a cloud, a swift cloud, and shall come into
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Egypt.</I> As a judge goes in state to the bench to try and condemn the
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malefactors, or as a general takes the field with his troops to crush
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the rebels, so shall God come into Egypt with his judgments; and when
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he comes he will certainly overcome." In all this burden of Egypt here
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is no mention of any foreign enemy invading them; but God himself will
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come against them, and raise up the causes of their destruction from
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among themselves. He comes upon a cloud, above the reach of the
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opposition or resistance. He comes apace upon a swift cloud; for their
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judgment lingers not when the time has come. He <I>rides upon the wings
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of the wind,</I> with a majesty far excelling the greatest pomp and
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splendour of earthly princes. He <I>makes the clouds his chariots,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:9,104:3">Ps. xviii. 9; civ. 3</A>.
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When he comes <I>the idols of Egypt shall be moved,</I> shall be
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removed at his presence, and perhaps be made to fall as Dagon did
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before the ark. Isis, Osiris, and Apis, those celebrated idols of
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Egypt, being found unable to relieve their worshippers, shall be
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disowned and rejected by them. Idolatry had got deeper rooting in Egypt
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than in any land besides, even the most absurd idolatries; and yet now
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the idols shall be moved and they shall be ashamed of them. When the
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Lord brought Israel out of Egypt he <I>executed judgments upon the gods
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of the Egyptians</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+33:4">Num. xxxiii. 4</A>);
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no marvel then if, when he comes, they begin to tremble. The Egyptians
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<I>shall seek to the idols,</I> when they are at their wits' end, and
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consult <I>the charmers and wizards</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>);
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but all in vain; they see their ruin hastening on them
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notwithstanding.</P>
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<P>
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II. The militia of Egypt, that had been famed for their valour, shall
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be quite dispirited and disheartened. No kingdom in the world was ever
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in a better method of keeping up a standing army than the Egyptians
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were; but now their heroes, that used to be celebrated for courage,
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shall be posted for cowards: <I>The heart of Egypt shall melt in the
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midst of it,</I> like wax before the fire
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>);
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<I>the spirit of Egypt shall fail,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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They shall have no inclination, no resolution, to stand up in defence
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of their country, their liberty, and property; but shall tamely and
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ingloriously yield all to the invader and oppressor. The Egyptians
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<I>shall be like women</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>);
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they shall be frightened and put into confusion by the least alarm;
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even those that dwell in the heart of the country, in the midst of it,
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and therefore furthest from danger, will be as full of frights as those
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that are situate on the frontiers. Let not the bold and brave be proud
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or secure, for God can easily <I>cut off the spirit of princes</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:12">Ps. lxxvi. 12</A>)
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and <I>take away their hearts,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+12:24">Job xii. 24</A>.</P>
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<P>
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III. The Egyptians shall be embroiled in endless dissensions and
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quarrels among themselves. There shall be no occasion to bring a
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foreign force upon them to destroy them; they shall destroy one another
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians.</I> As these
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divisions and animosities are their sin, God is not the author of them,
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they come from men's lusts; but God, as a Judge, permits them for their
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punishment, and by their destroying differences corrects them for their
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sinful agreements. Instead of helping one another, and acting each in
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his place for the common good, <I>they shall fight every one against
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his brother and neighbour,</I> whom he ought to love as
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himself--<I>city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.</I> Egypt
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was then divided into twelve provinces, or dynasties; but Psammetichus,
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the governor of one of them, by setting them at variance with one
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another, at length made himself master of them all. A kingdom thus
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divided against itself would soon be brought to desolation. <I>En quo
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discordiâ cives perduxit miseros!--Oh the wretchedness brought
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upon a people by their disagreements among themselves!</I> It is
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brought to this by <I>a perverse spirit,</I> a spirit of contradiction,
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which the Lord would mingle, as an intoxicating draught made up of
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several ingredients, for the Egyptians,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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One party shall be for a thing for no other reason than because the
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other is against it; that is a perverse spirit, which, if it mingle
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with the public counsels, tends directly to the ruin of the public
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interests.</P>
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<P>
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IV. Their politics shall be all blasted, and turned into foolishness.
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When God will destroy the nation he will <I>destroy the counsel
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thereof</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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by taking away wisdom from the statesmen
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+12:20">Job xii. 20</A>),
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or setting them one against another (as Hushai and Ahithophel), or by
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his providence breaking their measures even when they seemed well laid;
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so that the <I>princes of Zoan are fools:</I> they make fools of one
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another, every one betrays his own folly, and divine Providence makes
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fools of them all,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Pharaoh had his wise counsellors. Egypt was famous for such. But their
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<I>counsel has all become brutish;</I> they have lost all their
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forecast; one would think they had become idiots, and were bereaved of
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common sense. Let no man glory then in his own wisdom, nor depend upon
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that, nor upon the wisdom of those about him; for he that gives
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understanding can when he please take it away. And from those it is
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most likely to be taken away that boast of their policy, as Pharaoh's
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counsellors here did, and, to recommend themselves to places of public
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trust, boast of their great understanding ("<I>I am the son of the
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wise,</I> of the God of wisdom, of wisdom itself," says one; "my father
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was an eminent privy-counsellor of note in his day for wisdom"), or of
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the antiquity and dignity of their families: "I am," says another,
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"<I>the son of ancient kings.</I>" The nobles of Egypt boasted much of
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their antiquity, producing fabulous records of their succession for
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above 10,000 years. This humour prevailed much among them about this
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time, as appears by Herodotus, their common boast being that Egypt was
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some thousands of years more ancient than any other nation. "But
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<I>where are thy wise men?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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Let them now show their wisdom by foreseeing what ruin is coming upon
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their nation, and preventing it, if they can. Let them with all their
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skill <I>know what the Lord of hosts has purposed upon Egypt,</I> and
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arm themselves accordingly. Nay, so far are they from doing this that
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they themselves are, in effect, contriving the ruin of Egypt, and
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hastening it on,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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<I>The princes of Noph</I> are not only deceived themselves, but they
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<I>have seduced Egypt,</I> by putting their kings upon arbitrary
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proceedings" (by which both themselves and their people were soon
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undone); "the governors of Egypt, that are the stay and cornerstones of
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the tribes thereof, are themselves undermining it." It is sad with a
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people when those that undertake for their safety are helping forward
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their destruction, and the physicians of the state are her worst
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disease, when the things that belong to the public peace are so far
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hidden from the eyes of those that are entrusted with the public
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counsels that in every thing they blunder and take wrong measures; so
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here
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||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>They have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof.</I> Every step
|
||
|
they took was a false step. They always mistook either the end or the
|
||
|
means, and their counsels were all unsteady and uncertain, like the
|
||
|
staggerings and stammerings of a drunken man in his vomit, who knows
|
||
|
not what he says nor where he goes. See what reason we have to pray for
|
||
|
our privy-counsellors and ministers of state, who are the great
|
||
|
supports and blessings of the state if God give them a spirit of
|
||
|
wisdom, but quite the contrary if he hide their heart from
|
||
|
understanding.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
V. The rod of government shall be turned into the serpent of tyranny
|
||
|
and oppression
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
|
||
|
|
||
|
"<I>The Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord,</I>
|
||
|
not a foreigner, but one of their own, one that shall rule over them by
|
||
|
an hereditary right, but shall be a fierce king and rule them with
|
||
|
rigour," either the twelve tyrants that succeeded Sethon, or rather
|
||
|
Psammetichus that recovered the monarchy again; for he speaks of one
|
||
|
cruel lord. Now the barbarous usage which the Egyptian task masters
|
||
|
gave to God's Israel long ago was remembered against them and they were
|
||
|
paid in their own coin by another Pharaoh. It is sad with a people when
|
||
|
the powers that should be for edification are for destruction, and they
|
||
|
are ruined by those by whom they should be ruled, when such as this is
|
||
|
the manner of the king, as it is described (<I>in terrorem--in order to
|
||
|
impress alarm</I>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+8:11">1 Sam. viii. 11</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
VI. Egypt was famous for its river Nile, which was its wealth, and
|
||
|
strength, and beauty, and was idolized by them. Now it is here
|
||
|
threatened that <I>the waters shall fail from the sea</I> and the river
|
||
|
shall be <I>wasted and dried up,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Nature shall not herein favour them as she has done. Egypt was never
|
||
|
watered with the rain of heaven
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:18">Zech. xiv. 18</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
and therefore the fruitfulness of their country depended wholly upon
|
||
|
the overflowing of their river; if that therefore be dried up, their
|
||
|
fruitful land will soon be turned into barrenness and their harvests
|
||
|
cease: <I>Every thing sown by the brooks will wither</I> of course,
|
||
|
will <I>be driven away, and be no more,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
If the paper-reeds by the brooks, at the very mouth of them, wither,
|
||
|
much more the corn, which lies at a greater distance, but derives its
|
||
|
moisture from them. Yet this is not all; the drying up of their rivers
|
||
|
is the destruction,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. Of their fortifications, for they are <I>brooks of defence</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
making the country difficult of access to an enemy. Deep rivers are the
|
||
|
strongest lines, and most hardly forced. Pharaoh is said to be a
|
||
|
<I>great dragon lying in the midst of his rivers,</I> and guarded by
|
||
|
them, bidding defiance to all about him,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+29:3">Ezek. xxix. 3</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
But these <I>shall be emptied and dried up,</I> not by an enemy, as
|
||
|
Sennacherib with the <I>sole of his foot dried up mighty rivers</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+37:25"><I>ch.</I> xxxvii. 25</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
and as Cyrus, who took Babylon by drawing Euphrates into many streams,
|
||
|
but by the providence of God, which sometimes <I>turns water-springs
|
||
|
into dry ground,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+107:33">Ps. cvii. 33</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. It is the destruction of their fish, which in Egypt was much of
|
||
|
their food, witness that base reflection which the children of Israel
|
||
|
made
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+11:5">Num. xi. 5</A>):
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely.</I> The
|
||
|
drying up of the rivers will <I>kill the fish</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+105:29">Ps. cv. 29</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
and will thereby ruin those who make it their business,
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) To catch fish, whether by angling or nets
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>);
|
||
|
|
||
|
they shall <I>lament</I> and <I>languish,</I> for their trade is at an
|
||
|
end. There is nothing which the children of this world do more heartily
|
||
|
lament than the loss of that which they used to get money by.
|
||
|
<I>Ploratur lachrymis amissa pecunia veris--Those are genuine tears
|
||
|
which are shed over lost money.</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) To keep fish, that it may be ready when it is called for. There
|
||
|
were those that <I>made sluices and ponds for fish</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
but <I>they shall be broken in the purposes thereof;</I> their business
|
||
|
will fail, either for want of water to fill their ponds or for want of
|
||
|
fish to replenish their waters. God can find ways to deprive a country
|
||
|
even of that which is its staple commodity. The Egyptians may
|
||
|
themselves remember <I>the fish they have formerly eaten freely,</I>
|
||
|
but now cannot have for money. And that which aggravates the loss of
|
||
|
these advantages by the river is that it is their own doing
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>They shall turn the rivers far away.</I> Their kings and great men,
|
||
|
to gratify their own fancy, will drain water from the main river to
|
||
|
their own houses and grounds at a distance, preferring their private
|
||
|
convenience before the public good, and so by degrees the force of the
|
||
|
river is sensibly weakened. Thus many do themselves a greater prejudice
|
||
|
at last than they think of,
|
||
|
|
||
|
[1.] Who pretend to be wiser than nature, and to do better for
|
||
|
themselves than nature has done.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[2.] Who consult their own particular interest more than the common
|
||
|
good. Such may gratify themselves, but surely they can never satisfy
|
||
|
themselves, who to serve a turn contribute to a public calamity, which
|
||
|
they themselves, in the long run, cannot avoid sharing in. Herodotus
|
||
|
tells us that Pharaoh-Necho (who reigned not long after this),
|
||
|
projecting to cut a free passage by water from Nilus into the Red Sea,
|
||
|
employed a vast number of men to make a ditch or channel for that
|
||
|
purpose, in which attempt he impaired the river, lost 120,000 of his
|
||
|
people, and yet left the work unaccomplished.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
VII. Egypt was famous for the linen manufacture; but that trade shall
|
||
|
be ruined. Solomon's merchants traded with Egypt for linen-yarn,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+10:28">1 Kings x. 28</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Their country produced the best flax and the best hands to work it; but
|
||
|
<I>those that work in fine flax shall be confounded</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
either for want of flax to work on or for want of a demand for that
|
||
|
which they have worked or opportunity to export it. The decay of trade
|
||
|
weakens and wastes a nation and by degrees brings it to ruin. The trade
|
||
|
of Egypt must needs sink, for
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>)
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>there shall not be any work for Egypt</I> to be employed in; and
|
||
|
where there is nothing to be done there is nothing to be got. There
|
||
|
shall be a universal stop put to business, <I>no work which either head
|
||
|
or tail, branch or rush, may do;</I> nothing for high or low, weak or
|
||
|
strong, to do; <I>no hire,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+8:10">Zech. viii. 10</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note, The flourishing of a kingdom depends much upon the industry of
|
||
|
the people; and <I>then</I> things are likely to do well when all hands
|
||
|
are at work, when the head and top-branch do not disdain to labour, and
|
||
|
the labour of the tail and rush is not disdained. But when the learned
|
||
|
professions are unemployed, the principal merchants have no stocks, and
|
||
|
the handicraft tradesmen nothing to do, poverty comes upon a people
|
||
|
<I>as one that travaileth</I> and <I>as an armed man.</I></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
VIII. A general consternation shall seize the Egyptians; they <I>shall
|
||
|
be afraid and fear</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
which will be both an evidence of a universal decay and a means and
|
||
|
presage of utter ruin. Two things will put them into this fright:--
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. What they hear from <I>the land of Judah;</I> that <I>shall be a
|
||
|
terror to Egypt,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
When they hear of the desolations made in Judah by the army of
|
||
|
Sennacherib, considering both the near neighbourhood and the strict
|
||
|
alliance that was between them and Judah, they will conclude it must be
|
||
|
their turn next to become a prey to that victorious army. When their
|
||
|
neighbour's house was on fire they could not but see their own in
|
||
|
danger; and therefore every one of the Egyptians that makes mention of
|
||
|
Judah shall be afraid of himself, expecting the bitter cup shortly to
|
||
|
be put into his hands.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. What they see in their own land. They shall <I>fear</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>)
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts,</I> and
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>)
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts,</I> which from the
|
||
|
shaking of his hand they shall conclude <I>he has determined</I>
|
||
|
against Egypt as well as Judah. For, if judgment begin at the house of
|
||
|
God, where will it end? <I>If this be done in the green tree, what
|
||
|
shall be done in the dry?</I> See here,
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) How easily God can make those a terror to themselves that have
|
||
|
been, not only secure, but a terror to all about them. It is but
|
||
|
shaking his hand over them, or laying it upon some of their neighbours,
|
||
|
and the stoutest hearts tremble immediately.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) How well it becomes us to fear before God when he does but shake
|
||
|
his hand over us, and to humble ourselves under his mighty hand when it
|
||
|
does but threaten us, especially when we see his counsel determined
|
||
|
against us; for who can change his counsel?</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Isa19_18"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Isa19_19"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Isa19_20"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Isa19_21"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Isa19_22"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Isa19_23"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Isa19_24"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Isa19_25"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
||
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
||
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Promises to Egypt.</I></FONT></TD>
|
||
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</TD></TR>
|
||
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
||
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the
|
||
|
language of Canaan, and swear to the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts; one shall be
|
||
|
called, The city of destruction.
|
||
|
19 In that day shall there be an altar to the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> in the midst
|
||
|
of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the
|
||
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
||
|
20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
||
|
of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
||
|
because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and
|
||
|
a great one, and he shall deliver them.
|
||
|
21 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians
|
||
|
shall know the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> in that day, and shall do sacrifice and
|
||
|
oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and perform
|
||
|
<I>it.</I>
|
||
|
22 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal
|
||
|
<I>it:</I> and they shall return <I>even</I> to the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and he shall be
|
||
|
intreated of them, and shall heal them.
|
||
|
23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to
|
||
|
Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian
|
||
|
into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
|
||
|
24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with
|
||
|
Assyria, <I>even</I> a blessing in the midst of the land:
|
||
|
25 Whom the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed <I>be</I>
|
||
|
Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel
|
||
|
mine inheritance.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Out of the thick and threatening clouds of the foregoing prophecy the
|
||
|
sun of comfort here breaks forth, and it is the sun of righteousness.
|
||
|
Still God has mercy in store for Egypt, and he will show it, not so
|
||
|
much by reviving their trade and replenishing their river again as by
|
||
|
bringing the true religion among them, calling them to, and accepting
|
||
|
them in, the worship of the one only living and true God; and these
|
||
|
blessings of grace were much more valuable than all the blessings of
|
||
|
nature wherewith Egypt was enriched. We know not of any event in which
|
||
|
this prophecy can be thought to have its full accomplishment short of
|
||
|
the conversion of Egypt to the faith of Christ, by the preaching (as is
|
||
|
supposed) of Mark the Evangelist, and the founding of many Christian
|
||
|
churches there, which flourished for many ages. Many prophecies of this
|
||
|
book point to the days of the Messiah; and why not this? It is no
|
||
|
unusual thing to speak of gospel graces and ordinances in the language
|
||
|
of the Old-Testament institutions. And, in these prophecies, those
|
||
|
words, <I>in that day,</I> perhaps have not always a reference to what
|
||
|
goes immediately before, but have a peculiar significancy pointing at
|
||
|
that day which had been so long fixed, and so often spoken of, when the
|
||
|
day-spring from on high should visit this dark world. Yet it is not
|
||
|
improbable (which some conjecture) that this prophecy was in part
|
||
|
fulfilled when those Jews who fled from their own country to take
|
||
|
shelter in Egypt, when Sennacherib invaded their land, brought their
|
||
|
religion along with them, and, being awakened to great seriousness by
|
||
|
the troubles they were in, made an open and zealous profession of it
|
||
|
there, and were instrumental to bring many of the Egyptians to embrace
|
||
|
it, which was an earnest and specimen of the more plentiful harvest of
|
||
|
souls that should be gathered in to God by the preaching of the gospel
|
||
|
of Christ. Josephus indeed tells us that Onias the son of Onias the
|
||
|
high priest, living an outlaw at Alexandria in Egypt, obtained leave of
|
||
|
Ptolemy Philometer, then king, and Cleopatra his queen, to build a
|
||
|
temple to the God of Israel, like that at Jerusalem, at Bubastis in
|
||
|
Egypt, and pretended a warrant for doing it from this prophecy in
|
||
|
Isaiah, that there shall be an <I>altar to the Lord in the land of
|
||
|
Egypt;</I> and the service of God, Josephus affirms, continued in it
|
||
|
about 333 years, when it was shut up by Paulinus soon after the
|
||
|
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; see <I>Antiq.</I> 13.62-79, and
|
||
|
<I>Jewish War</I> 7.426-436. But that temple was all along looked upon
|
||
|
by the pious Jews as so great an irregularity, and an affront to the
|
||
|
temple at Jerusalem, that we cannot suppose this prophecy to be
|
||
|
fulfilled in it.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Observe how the conversion of Egypt is here described.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
I. They shall <I>speak the language of Canaan,</I> the holy language,
|
||
|
the scripture-language; they shall not only understand it, but use it
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>);
|
||
|
|
||
|
they shall introduce that language among them, and converse freely with
|
||
|
the people of God, and not, as they used to do, <I>by an
|
||
|
interpreter,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:23">Gen. xlii. 23</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note, Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language;
|
||
|
<I>for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Five cities
|
||
|
in Egypt</I> shall speak this language; so many Jews shall come to
|
||
|
reside in Egypt, and they shall so multiply there, that they shall soon
|
||
|
replenish five cities, one of which shall be the city of Heres, or of
|
||
|
the sun, Heliopolis, where the sun was worshipped, the most infamous of
|
||
|
all the cities of Egypt for idolatry; even there shall be a wonderful
|
||
|
reformation, they shall speak the language of Canaan. Or it may be
|
||
|
taken thus, as we render it--That for every five cities that shall
|
||
|
embrace religion there shall be one (a sixth part of the cities of
|
||
|
Egypt) that shall reject it, and that shall be called <I>a city of
|
||
|
destruction,</I> because it refuses the methods of salvation.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
II. They shall swear to the Lord of hosts, not only swear by him,
|
||
|
giving him the honour of appealing to him, as all nations did to the
|
||
|
gods they worshipped; but they shall by a solemn oath and vow devote
|
||
|
themselves to his honour and bind themselves to his service. They shall
|
||
|
swear to cleave to him with purpose of heart, and shall worship him,
|
||
|
not occasionally, but constantly. They shall swear allegiance to him as
|
||
|
their King, to Christ, to whom all judgment is committed.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
III. They shall set up the public worship of God in their land
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
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|
|
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|
<I>There shall be an altar to the Lord</I> in the <I>midst of the land
|
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|
of Egypt,</I> an altar on which <I>they shall do sacrifice and
|
||
|
oblation</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>);
|
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|
|
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|
therefore it must be understood spiritually. Christ, the great altar,
|
||
|
who sanctifies every gift, shall be owned there, and the gospel
|
||
|
sacrifices of prayer and praise shall be offered up; for by the law of
|
||
|
Moses there was to be no altar for sacrifice but that at Jerusalem. In
|
||
|
Christ Jesus all distinction of nations is taken away; and a spiritual
|
||
|
altar, a gospel church, in the midst of the land of Egypt, is as
|
||
|
acceptable to God as one in the midst of the land of Israel; and
|
||
|
spiritual sacrifices of faith and love, and a contrite heart, <I>please
|
||
|
the Lord better than an ox or bullock.</I></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
IV. There shall be a face of religion upon the nation, and an open
|
||
|
profession made of it, discernible to all who come among them. Not only
|
||
|
in the heart of the country, but even in <I>the borders</I> of it,
|
||
|
<I>there shall be a pillar,</I> or pillars, inscribed, <I>To
|
||
|
Jehovah,</I> to his honour, as before there had been such pillars set
|
||
|
up in honour of false gods. As soon as a stranger entered upon the
|
||
|
borders of Egypt he might perceive what God they worshipped. Those that
|
||
|
serve God must not be ashamed to own him, but be forward to do any
|
||
|
thing that may be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts.
|
||
|
Even in the land of Egypt he had some faithful worshippers, who boasted
|
||
|
of their relation to him and made his name their strong tower, or
|
||
|
bulwark, on their borders, with which their coasts were fortified
|
||
|
against all assailants.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
V. Being in distress, they shall seek to God, and he shall be found of
|
||
|
them; and this <I>shall be a sign and a witness for the Lord of
|
||
|
hosts</I> that he is a <I>God hearing prayer</I> to <I>all flesh</I>
|
||
|
that <I>come to him,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:20">
|
||
|
<I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
See
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+65:2">Ps. lxv. 2</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
When they cry to God by reason of their oppressors, the cruel lords
|
||
|
that shall <I>rule over them</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)
|
||
|
|
||
|
he <I>shall be entreated of them</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>);
|
||
|
|
||
|
whereas he had told his people Israel, who had made it their own choice
|
||
|
to have such a king, that they should <I>cry to him by reason of their
|
||
|
king,</I> and he <I>would not hear them,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+8:18">1 Sam. viii. 18</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
VI. They shall have an interest in the great Redeemer. When they were
|
||
|
under the oppression of cruel lords perhaps God sometimes raised them
|
||
|
up mighty deliverers, as he did for Israel in the days of the judges;
|
||
|
and by them, though he had smitten the land, he healed it again; and,
|
||
|
upon their return to God in a way of duty, he returned to them in a way
|
||
|
of mercy, and repaired the breaches of their tottering state. For
|
||
|
repenting Egyptians shall find the same favour with God that repenting
|
||
|
Ninevites did. But all these deliverances wrought for them, as those
|
||
|
for Israel, were but figures of gospel salvation. Doubtless Jesus
|
||
|
Christ is <I>the Saviour and the great one</I> here spoken of, whom God
|
||
|
will send the glad tidings of to the Egyptians, and by whom he will
|
||
|
<I>deliver them out of the hands of their enemies,</I> that they may
|
||
|
<I>serve him without fear,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:74,75">Luke i. 74, 75</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Jesus Christ delivered the Gentile nations from the service of dumb
|
||
|
idols, and did himself both purchase and preach liberty to the
|
||
|
captives.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
VII. The knowledge of God shall prevail among them,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. They shall have the means of knowledge. For many ages in <I>Judah
|
||
|
only was God known,</I> for there only were the lively oracles found;
|
||
|
but now <I>the Lord,</I> and his name and will, <I>shall be known to
|
||
|
Egypt.</I> Perhaps this may in part refer to the translation of the Old
|
||
|
Testament out of Hebrew into Greek by the LXX., which was done at
|
||
|
Alexandria in Egypt, by the command of Ptolemy king of Egypt; and it
|
||
|
was the first time that the scriptures were translated into any other
|
||
|
language. By the help of this (the Grecian monarchy having introduced
|
||
|
their language into that country) <I>the Lord was known to Egypt,</I>
|
||
|
and a happy omen and means it was of his being further known.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. They shall have grace to improve those means. It is promised not
|
||
|
only that the Lord shall be known to Egypt, but that <I>the Egyptians
|
||
|
shall know the Lord;</I> they shall receive and entertain the light
|
||
|
granted to them, and shall submit themselves to the power of it. The
|
||
|
Lord is known to our nation, and yet I fear there are many of our
|
||
|
nation that do not know the Lord. But the promise of the new covenant
|
||
|
is that <I>all shall know the Lord, from the least even to the
|
||
|
greatest,</I> which promise is sure to all the seed. The effect of this
|
||
|
knowledge of God is that <I>they shall vow a vow to the Lord and
|
||
|
perform it.</I> For those do not know God aright who either are not
|
||
|
willing to come under binding obligations to the Lord or do not make
|
||
|
good those obligations.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
VIII. They shall come into the communion of saints. Being joined to the
|
||
|
Lord, they shall be added to the church, and be incorporated with all
|
||
|
the saints.
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. All enmities shall be slain. Mortal feuds there had been between
|
||
|
Egypt and Assyria; they often made war upon one another; but now
|
||
|
<I>there shall be a highway between Egypt and Assyria</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
a happy correspondence settled between he two nations; they shall trade
|
||
|
with one another, and every thing that passes between them shall be
|
||
|
friendly. <I>The Egyptians shall serve</I> (shall worship the true
|
||
|
God) <I>with the Assyrians;</I> and therefore the Assyrians shall come
|
||
|
into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria. Note, It becomes those who
|
||
|
have communion with the same God, through the same Mediator, to keep up
|
||
|
an amicable correspondence with one another. The consideration of our
|
||
|
meeting at the same throne of grace, and our serving with each other in
|
||
|
the same business of religion, should put an end to all heats and
|
||
|
animosities, and knit our hearts to each other in holy love.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The Gentile nations shall not only unite with each other in the
|
||
|
gospel fold under Christ the great shepherd, but they shall all be
|
||
|
united with the Jews. When Egypt and Assyria become partners in serving
|
||
|
God <I>Israel</I> shall <I>make a third with</I> them
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>);
|
||
|
|
||
|
they shall become a <I>three-fold cord, not easily broken.</I> The
|
||
|
ceremonial law, which had long been the partition-wall between Jews and
|
||
|
Gentiles, shall be taken down, and then they shall become <I>one
|
||
|
sheep-fold under one shepherd.</I> Thus united, they shall be <I>a
|
||
|
blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall
|
||
|
bless,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:24,25"><I>v.</I> 24, 25</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) Israel shall be a blessing to them all, because of <I>them, as
|
||
|
concerning the flesh, Christ came,</I> and they were the natural
|
||
|
branches of the good olive, to whom did originally pertain <I>its root
|
||
|
and fatness,</I> and the Gentiles were but <I>grafted in among
|
||
|
them,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:17">Rom. xi. 17</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Israel lay between Egypt and Assyria, and was a blessing to them both
|
||
|
by bringing them to meet in that word of the Lord which went forth from
|
||
|
Jerusalem, and that church which was first set up in the land of
|
||
|
Israel. <I>Qui conveniunt in aliquo tertio inter se conveniunt--Those
|
||
|
who meet in a third meet in each other.</I> Israel is that third in
|
||
|
whom Egypt and Assyria agree, and is therefore a blessing; for those
|
||
|
are real and great blessings to their generation who are instrumental
|
||
|
to unite those that have been at variance.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) They shall all be a blessing to the world: so the Christian church
|
||
|
is, made up of Jews and Gentiles; it is the beauty, riches, and support
|
||
|
of the world.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(3.) They shall all be blessed of the Lord.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[1.] They shall all be owned by him as his. Though Egypt was formerly a
|
||
|
house of bondage to the people of God, and Assyria an unjust invader of
|
||
|
them, all this shall now be forgiven and forgotten, and they shall be
|
||
|
as welcome to God as Israel. They are all alike his people whom he
|
||
|
takes under his protection. They are formed by him, for they are the
|
||
|
<I>work of his hands;</I> not only as <I>a</I> people, but as
|
||
|
<I>his</I> people. They are formed for him; for they are his
|
||
|
inheritance, precious in his eyes, and dear to him, and from whom he
|
||
|
has his rent of honour out of this lower world.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[2.] They shall be owned together by him as jointly his, his in
|
||
|
concert; they shall all share in one and the same blessing. Note,
|
||
|
Those that are united in the love and blessing of God ought, for that
|
||
|
reason, to be united to each other in charity.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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