Friday, January 24, 2025

God’s Burden On The Wicked - Isaiah 18-22

Isaiah 19:1 (ESV)

An Oracle Concerning Egypt


An oracle concerning Egypt.

Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud

and comes to Egypt;

and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,

and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.


Isaiah was a traditional prophet.  He had the responsibility to carry the doom and gloom prophetic utterances from God to peoples of the world.   In the above passage we read the first lines of his oracle toward Egypt.  The Hebrew word, oracle, means a burden.  Isaiah’s message was a burden to all who heard it.  It would weigh on their hearts and minds and backs like a heaviness of doom and gloom.  As God arrives in Egypt to destroy it, the above text reads that the idols of Egypt will tremble.  This is a reflection back to the days of the Exodus.   That was a time when Moses was the leader and through the power of God, he destroyed all their gods with the miracles performed as he rose the staff God gave him.   As Isaiah prophecies the gods of Egypt trembled because God once again will be destroying them.   The heart of the people will melt as well.   Once you have suffered a defeat by someone you are susceptible to defeat again.   They remembered what God did before.  That would only be a precursor to what God was about to do again.  Isaiah was speaking truth over them and that brought anxiety to them.   That was God’s intent.   Those who reject God and do not fear the Lord in awe, will eventually be defeated by God and will fear the Lord in despair.     

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