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August 9 - Isaiah 19 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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Hello friends, it is Sean. Here it is, Wednesday.
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It is the 9th of August. And I am so glad that you have
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joined me because today we continue reading through Isaiah,
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and today we hear Isaiah pronounce God's judgment on
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Egypt. And when we think of Egypt, we
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think of a country and the top part of Africa, you know, with
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the Suez Canal. And not a whole lot goes on
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there from our point of view. But at the time of writing,
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Egypt was this colossal empire that sat just to the South of
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where Israel was. And so they are always kind of
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waiting for the moment where Egypt decides we will move N to
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take on the great, you know, Babylonian and Syrian empires
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above and say they sit in this really precarious spot.
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And so Egypt was this great threat, this great power that
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they really wouldn't have been able to hold back except through
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God's defenses. So when we hear God pronounced
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judgment on Egypt, that is quite a mind blowing thing from the
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perspective of the Israelite people.
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And that is exactly what we're going to hear today.
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So friends, let us read together Isaiah, chapter 19.
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This message came to me concerning Egypt.
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Look, the Lord is advancing against Egypt.
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Riding on a swift cloud. The idols of Egypt tremble.
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The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.
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I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian, brother
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against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against
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city, province against province. The Egyptians will lose heart
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and will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols
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for wisdom and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult
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the spirits of the dead. I will hand Egypt over to a
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hard, cruel master. A fierce king will rule them,
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says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven's armies.
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The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields.
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The riverbed will be parched and dry, the canals of the Nile will
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dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds
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and rushes. All the greenery along the
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riverbank and all the crops along the river will dry up and
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blow away. The fishermen will lament for
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lack of work. Those who cast hooks into the
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Nile will groan, and those who use Nets will lose heart.
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There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the
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weavers. They will be in despair, and all
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the workers will be sick at heart.
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What fools are the officials of Zion?
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Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong.
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Will they still boast to Pharaoh of their wisdom?
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Will they dare brag about all their wise ancestors?
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Where are your wise counsellors, Pharaoh?
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Let them tell you what God plans, what the Lord of Heaven's
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armies is going to do to Egypt. The officials of Zoan are fools
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and the officials of Memphis are deluded.
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The leaders of the people have led Egypt astray.
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The Lord has sent a spirit of foolishness on them.
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So all their suggestions are wrong.
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They cause Egypt to stagger like a drunken is vomit.
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There is nothing Egypt can do. All are helpless, the head and
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the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly Reed.
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In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women.
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They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the Lord of
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heaven's armies. Just to speak the name of Israel
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will terrorize them, For the Lord of heaven's armies has laid
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out his plans against them. In that day, five of Egypt's
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cities will follow the Lord of Heaven's armies.
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They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan.
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One of these cities will be Heliopolis, the city of the Sun.
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In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart
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of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the Lord at its
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border. It will be a sign and a witness
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that the Lord of Heaven's armies is worshipped in the land of
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Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord
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for help against those who oppress them, he will send them
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a savior who will rescue them. The Lord will make himself known
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to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the Lord and
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will give their sacrifices and offerings to him.
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They will make a vow to the Lord and will keep it.
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The Lord will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing, For
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the Egyptians will turn to the Lord and he will listen to their
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pleas and heal them. In that day, Egypt and Assyria
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will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will
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move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God.
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In that day. Israel will be the third, along
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with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the
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earth. For the Lord of Heaven's armies
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will say, Blessed be Egypt my people, Blessed be Assyria, the
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land I have made, Blessed be Israel, my special possession.
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Lord, thank you for this reading, that as we read of
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judgment over all these nations, it can be easy for us to think
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that these are not your people, and that you have this amnity
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toward them, but all are yours. The whole world is your special
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creation, and you love every last inhabitant of this globe.
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Thank you that you are not a God who plays favorites and rejects,
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that you are a God who loves with abandon, and you draw
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everyone closer to you. And your desire is that everyone
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would fall under the wings of your love.
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So that is where we place ourselves, right in the way of
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your avalanche of love. And we thank you for all that
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you have done for us and all that we know of who you are in
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Jesus. So we just praise you and adore
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you and thank you for your love for us.
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In Jesus name we pray. Amen.