“In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorise them, for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has laid out his plans against them. …The Lord will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them. In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth. For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will say, “Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!””
Isaiah 19:16-17, 22-25 NLT
In our verses today, as we bring Isaiah 19 to an end, we read the phrase “In that day” three times. It’s a day that hasn’t yet arrived, so the prophecy has still to be fulfilled. But it’s a day when Egypt will be blessed along with Assyria, and they both will join Israel in being a blessing to those around them. What an amazing picture of Godly stability in a region where, historically and currently, political instability is the norm. We pilgrims look on at current events in the Middle East and yearn for the days when God’s Kingdom will come to earth “as it is in Heaven”.
In verse 22 today, we read that “The Lord will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing”. Judgement will one day fall upon Egypt, but God is there with them, redemptively healing them as they turn to Him. Notice the order of events. God brings punishment to the people in Egypt for their sins, but they turn to Him in response. God then hears their pleas and listens to them, and He heals them. Was this judgment something that only the Egyptians suffered? Not really, because God sometimes has to punish all His children when they stray and behave in ungodly ways. The Bible refers to it as God disciplining His children. Proverbs 3:11-12, “My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights”. These verses were referred to by the writer to the Hebrews, and he wrote, “As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? … For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterwards there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way” (Hebrews 12:7, 10-11). God’s purposes are always redemptive. He does not hand out random punishments for minor mishaps just because He feels like it. Sometimes our greatest blessings come wrapped in painful circumstances.
There is another surprise in our verses today. We note that God has brought together Israel, Egypt and Assyria as fellow worshippers. And the surprise doesn’t end there. God refers to Egypt as being His people, a title normally retained for Israel alone. God’s grace will reach far beyond what we expect, but that is why we pilgrims are here. Gentiles by birth, we could never assume that we were God’s chosen people, but then Jesus came to this earth. Paul wrote, “In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us” (Ephesians 2:12-14). We have yet to see this Scripture fulfilled in the nation of Egypt, but, as Isaiah prophesied, it will come.
Isaiah 19:23 from the Amplified version of the Bible reads, “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship and serve [the Lord] with the Assyrians”. We note that former enemies will be linked by a highway we might call the highway of grace. In the book of Isaiah, the prophet often used highways as symbols of salvation. We remember, of course, that Jesus, through the Cross, built a highway to God the Father, a highway that unites all who believe in Him with fellow believers, pilgrims like us, all over the world. And today we find that the same highway of grace will unite the Egyptians and the Assyrians.
For us pilgrims today, there may be a message that explains the circumstances in our lives that are causing us some bother. There is always the thought that perhaps God is bringing some discipline into our lives. No one enjoys God’s discipline. Yet Scripture consistently teaches that His correction springs from love rather than anger. Isaiah revealed this beautifully through God’s future dealings with Egypt. God first exposes Egypt’s false securities. Their idols will fail them, their economy will collapse, and their wisdom will prove empty. Yet the story will not end there. The same God who strikes also heals. His purpose is restoration, not ruin. Many believers can trace God’s greatest work in their lives to seasons when cherished plans collapsed or trusted supports disappeared. What felt like judgment became the doorway to deeper faith. God never delights in pain for its own sake. He delights in bringing people back to Himself. So, dear fellow pilgrims, is there an area where God has been unsettling your confidence? Rather than asking only, “Why is this happening?” ask, “Lord, what are You drawing me toward?” Sometimes God removes our dependence on lesser things so we may discover that He alone is sufficient. Our response must be, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant listeneth”.
Dear Lord, when You allow painful circumstances into our lives, please help us to trust Your loving purposes. Please remove every false confidence and teach us to rely on You alone. Thank You that You are the God who not only wounds but also heals, disciplines but also restores. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 