Adult Class
December 2006-May 2007
Isaiah
Lesson 10: Judgment on Enemies—Cush and Egypt
Israel was positioned between two competing powers: Assyria and Egypt. The Assyrian army was composed of Assyrians, Medes, and other Mesopotamian people. The Egyptian army was composed of people from Egypt and Cush, modern Ethiopia. At this time, Cush was largely in rebellion against the power of Egypt. They still had dealings, but the Ethiopians resisted the influence of the stronger nation to their north. It is possible that in their intrigues, Cush sent envoys to Assyria and to Judah to incite other people to resist Egypt as well. If this were the case, Cush would be seeking to use not only Assyria, but Judah as a tool to gain its freedom. This is not God’s plan for His people, and would not be allowed to stand. Alternatively, the envoys might be seeking to divide Israel as a buffer between Assyria’s empire and Egypt’s empire. Either way, this is not God’s plan.
Concerning Cush: Isaiah 18:1-7
God opens with “woe,” which is a declaration of trouble, distress and pain. The Cushites send envoys, but not northward through Egypt. Instead, they sail out into the sea and skirt the eastern side of Egypt through the Red Sea. They go to meet the Assyrians, a people whose land is divided by the great rivers Tigris and Euphrates.
But there is an army coming, and the entire world will see it. Its flags will be posted on the mountains and everyone will hear the trumpet that summons its troops. And God promises not to intervene in this situation at all. The Cushites will muster against Assyria—perhaps unwillingly as members of Egypt’s army—but it will result only in wholesale destruction. The dead bodies of the soldiers will remain unburied and serve as food for scavengers. This points up two serious ideas. First, the defeat will occur in an uninhabited area, for the bodies would be removed if people had to live there. Second, it was a matter of singular shame to lack burial.
The gifts mentioned here are those spoils of war brought back from a southern campaign and displayed as trophies of victory. The Assyrians will be entirely victorious over the southern army—and they will return to Jerusalem. This may have reference to the events of 2 Kings 19:9 when Sennacherib withdrew from Jerusalem to deal decisively with an invasion from Egypt—and then returned victoriously to renew the unsuccessful siege of Jerusalem.
Concerning Egypt: Isaiah 19:1-25
Isaiah opens with a picture of God swiftly invading Egypt while the idols shiver in front of Him. In the ancient world, war between armies was seen as one part of a conflict, with the other arena being the supernatural world. If one nation defeated another, it was proof that its gods were superior to the others’ gods. It was perfectly normal then to take the idols back to the victorious nation’s temples and display them there as trophies of successful conflict. Isaiah knows full well that idols are worthless. He is only using conventional language of the time to paint as vivid a picture as possible. God is sovereign and His purposes will be worked out.
God declares that He will incite the Egyptians against each other. Whenever there is division and strife, the community is weakened. This only makes defeat more certain. The Egyptians will make fruitless plans and be reduced to occult fakery to try to gain some power over their situation. It is all for nothing, since God is determined to bring them under the power of a cruel king, one who has no thought for their interests.
Further, God will strike at the very heart of the nation of Egypt. He will dry up the Nile River. This takes away all the strength of the nation of Egypt. There are no crops since the irrigation canals are hopelessly empty. A dust-bowl environment comes to pass. There are no fish to catch, no thistle plants to produce flax and linen and no other jobs to relieve the economy. The most basic elements of life, food, water and clothing, are stripped away with a single act of God’s power.
The “wisdom” of Egypt was legendary. Even today we have copies of “wisdom” books that were circulated and studied all over the Mediterranean world. The Egyptians had astute advisors—except in this case, nobody saw this coming. God rightly calls them fools. True wisdom begins with the fear of God, but the Egyptians thought they were wise by their own devices. Since they didn’t know God, they have no way to help their situation or to advise Pharaoh. Zoan was the effective capital of Egypt during this time; Memphis was the traditional capital and a city of tremendous religious significance to the Egyptians. Both were enormously important to the nation, but the elites of the nation were completely worthless to her now. They will come to realize that this is a judgment from God, something like the events leading to the Exodus. That will strike terror into their hearts and the mere mention of “Judah” will upset them.
Now Isaiah turns to the idea of blessing—even in the midst of judgment, God holds out the promise of grace. The understanding of this section is very difficult; the text is hard and the interpretations are varied. The best understanding seems to be one in which this section of Egypt is aligned with the people of God. From this area, sacrifices and offerings will be made to the Living God. There will be unity instead of conflict, the worship of God instead of idols, and blessing instead of judgment.
Concerning Egypt and Cush: Isaiah 20:1-6
This date corresponds to 711 B.C. Isaiah had enacted a sign for three years—no outer clothing and no sandals. The Philistines in Ashdod had rebelled against Assyria, and the other Philistine cities joined the rebellion in 713 B.C. They had invited other area powers, including Judah to join them, and Egypt had promised its help. In fact, Sargon came and his commander destroyed Ashdod. The king of Ashdod fled to Egypt, but he was betrayed and turned over to the Assyrians. There is no record of any invasion of Judah at this time—perhaps since the Jews refused to take part in the short-lived insurrection.
The identification of Sargon remained elusive until 1849 when his palace was discovered. We now know a great deal about Sargon. It was some time after these events that Egypt was completely subjugated by Assyria, but this event exposed its weakness and inability to fulfill its commitments. Those who relied on Egypt would be completely disappointed and disgraced.