ISAIAH LESSON 22

 
     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 19:1 "The burden of Egypt.
Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt:
and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart
of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it."

     "Burden" is a prophecy against Egypt. There is a physical Egypt
and there is a symbolic Egypt {the world}. In this sense, I believe
this is speaking of the world. The world away from God would be a more
specific designation. "The LORD riding upon a swift cloud" means the
LORD will come quickly. God will destroy the idols just as He did with
the 10 plagues He brought on Egypt and the Pharaoh in Genesis. We know
that God can melt our hearts when He gets ready.

     Isaiah 19:2 "And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians:
and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one
against his neighbour; city against city, [and] kingdom against
kingdom."

     In the physical, again, this could be speaking of the different
rulers within the country fighting among themselves. This is speaking
of upheaval within the country. In the spiritual sense, the world
{Egypt} is always trying to do others in for their own self gain. They
do not care whether it is a brother, or not. They are thinking of
their own flesh and do not care what happens to others.

     Isaiah 19:3 "And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst
thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek
to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar
spirits, and to the wizards."

     "The spirit of Egypt" is the spirit of evil in the world. It is
worldliness. They were a sinful people seeking power and fame. If we
were to go through all the lists of sins that physical Egypt
committed, we would find the same sins those worldly people {out of
fellowship with God} are committing today. Instead of going to the
true source of help in their lives {God}, they go to fortune-tellers,
and wizards, and all sorts of evil people for help. They are caught up
in worldliness. They take no thought of God. Their failure will come
because of their unfaithfulness to God. DO NOT GO TO A FORTUNE TELLER,
OR WIZARD, OR TRY TO GET INSTRUCTION FROM A HOROSCOPE. They are evil
and directly opposed to God.

     Isaiah 19:4 "And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of
a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord,
the LORD of hosts."

     At the time of Moses, there were hundreds of false gods in Egypt.
The ten plagues were directed at the false gods of Egypt. It seems
even the plagues did not stop Egypt from worshiping false gods. God is
not slack, but longsuffering. He gave them ample time to seek
forgiveness and turn to God. Verse 4 is speaking of the day of
punishment which comes on these idol worshippers. It is the very same
thing, even if they are not living in Egypt. God will not always look
the other way. His punishment may be long in coming, but it is sure
they will be punished. In physical Egypt, they were given over to
cruel kings. In spiritual Egypt, they are given over to the devil
himself.

     Isaiah 19:5 "And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the
river shall be wasted and dried up."

     In Egypt, it is a serious happening when the Nile dries up. Their
livelihood and their own well being is influenced by how much water
comes from the Nile.  Perhaps, that is why they worshipped the Nile.
Whether you are part of physical Egypt or spiritual Egypt, it is a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Lord. God has cut off
their water supply. This could bring about famine in the land.

     Isaiah 19:6 "And they shall turn the rivers far away; [and] the
brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags
shall wither."

     If there is no water, the plants dry up and die. The "brooks of
defence" had been water which surrounded an area making a natural
defense. There was usually just one bridge over the water to give
access to the outside world. The fortress would be easier to protect
from the enemy with the water completely around it.

     Isaiah 19:7 "The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the
brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven
away, and be no [more]."

     The crops had been planted next to the Nile for irrigation. Some
of it had actually been like a rice field which is under water part of
its growth period. This just speaks of total crop failure. This type
of crop failure is brought on by God.

     Isaiah 19:8 "The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast
angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the
waters shall languish."

     There are no fish where the water dries up. The fish will all
die.  It really would not matter whether you were an individual
fishing, or whether you were a commercial fisherman, the results are
the same.

     Isaiah 19:9 "Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that
weave networks, shall be confounded."

     This "fine flax" is speaking of linen. There would be nothing to
make the linen from. The word "confounded", possibly, means
embarrassed. They would have no linen for sale to their usual buyers.

     Isaiah 19:10 "And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof,
all that make sluices [and] ponds for fish."
     Some will try to build their own ponds and wet areas to keep
their crops from dying, but God will see to it that it does not help.
It appears, also, that these ponds were made for fish, as well. Fish
are not good from stagnant water.

     Isaiah 19:11  "Surely the princes of Zoan [are] fools, the
counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say
ye unto Pharaoh, I [am] the son of the wise, the son of ancient
kings?"

     Zoan was one of the oldest cities in Egypt. It was located on the
Nile river. The 30th chapter of Ezekiel speaks of the destruction of
Zoan by fire. It seems princes ruled in this area. God calls them
fools. They were worshipping false gods. The fact that they were
descended from some one, did not give them the wisdom they needed. The
advice they received was bad. True wisdom comes from the One True God.

     Isaiah 19:12 Where [are] they? where [are] thy wise [men]? and
let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath
purposed upon Egypt.

     God is saying through Isaiah here, if they are so wise, let them
advise you now. The wise men of all the ages put together are no
comparison to the wisdom of God. God says, Tell them what the LORD is
about to do and let them advise you how to avoid it. The wisdom of
this world is but foolishness to the LORD of all the earth.




























                          Isaiah 22 Questions


1.  What does "burden", in verse 1, mean?
2.  What does Egypt symbolize?
3.  What does the statement "the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud" mean?
4.  Who will be against the Egyptians?
5.  What is verse 2 speaking of?
6.  What is the "spirit of Egypt"?
7.  When in trouble, the Egyptians turn to _______ ______ and ______.
8.  What is the warning the author gave after verse 3.
9.  How many plagues did God send against the people worshipping false
    gods in Egypt?
10. What day is verse 4 speaking of?
11. Spiritual Egypt, if they do not seek God, are given over to whom?
12. The livelihood of the Egyptians was controlled by what?
13. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the ________.
14. Who cut their water supply off?
15. What happens to the plants when the water dries up?
16. What was the "brook of defence"?
17. Where had the crops been planted so they would have water?
18. What is verse 8 speaking of?
19. What is "fine flax" speaking of?
20. What does "confounded", in verse 9, mean?
21. Where was Zoan?
22. What does Ezekiel have to say about Zoan?
23. What does God call the princes of Egypt?
24. Why did He call them that?
25. God challenges whom in verse 12?