Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 19
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 19
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 19
"The burden of Egypt. Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, [and] kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts. And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and become dry. And the rivers shall become foul; the streams of Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither away. The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more. And the fishers shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. Moreover they that work in combed flax, and they that weave white cloth, shall be confounded. And the pillars [of Egypt] shall be broken in pieces; all they that work for hire [shall be] grieved in soul. The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the corner-stone of her tribes. Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do. In that day shall the Egyptians be like unto women; and they shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, which he shaketh over them. And the land of Judah shall become a terror unto Egypt; every one to whom mention is made thereof shall be afraid, because of the purpose of Jehovah of hosts, which he purposeth against it." — Isaiah 19:1-17 (ASV)
God will come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves.
When ungodly people escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners and will quickly overtake them, unless they repent.
The Egyptians will be given over into the hand of one who will rule them with rigor, as was fulfilled shortly afterward. They were renowned for wisdom and learning; yet the Lord would give them up to their own perverse schemes and to quarreling, until their land, through their conflicts, became an object of contempt and pity.
He makes sinners afraid of those whom they have despised and oppressed. The Lord of hosts will make the workers of iniquity a terror to themselves and to each other; and every object around them a terror to them.
"In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah of hosts; one shall be called The city of destruction. In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Jehovah of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto Jehovah because of oppressors, and he will send them a saviour, and a defender, and he will deliver them. And Jehovah shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day; yea, they shall worship with sacrifice and oblation, and shall vow a vow unto Jehovah, and shall perform it. And Jehovah will smite Egypt, smiting and healing; and they shall return unto Jehovah, and he will be entreated of them, and will heal them. 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 worship with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; for that Jehovah of hosts hath blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance." — Isaiah 19:18-25 (ASV)
The words, In that day, do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time that was to come, the Egyptians will speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
So many Jews will come to Egypt that they will soon fill five cities. Where the sun was worshipped, a place infamous for idolatry, even there will be a wonderful reformation. Christ, the great Altar, who sanctifies every gift, will be acknowledged, and the gospel sacrifices of prayer and praise will be offered up. Let the broken-hearted and afflicted, whom the Lord has wounded, and thus taught to return to, and call upon him, take courage; for He will heal their souls, and turn their sorrowing supplications into joyful praises.
The Gentile nations will not only unite with each other in the gospel fold under Christ, the great Shepherd, but they will all be united with the Jews. They will be acknowledged together by him; they will all share in one and the same blessing. Meeting at the same throne of grace, and serving with each other in the same service of religion, should end all disputes, and unite the hearts of believers to each other in holy love.
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