Wednesday Bible Study- Drive by Isaiah part 4

 

 

This week we hit up chapters 18-20 in our glancing blow to the book of Isaiah, and it starts out with a prophecy against Damascus:

Isa 17:1  An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.
Isa 17:2  The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.
Isa 17:3  The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts. 

It only takes a quick study of history to know this NEVER happened; while Damascus did lose the kingdom, it was never abandoned.  Did Isaiah blow it?  Not at all.  Look closer at what comes next in Chapter 17.

Isa 17:12  Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
Isa 17:13  The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.

This and other verses indicate this is an end-time prophecy; the destruction of Damascus is to come when Christ returns.  The curious thing to me is the ending here, actually a couple chapters later...

Isa 19:23  In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
Isa 19:24  In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,
Isa 19:25  whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance." 

 I know there are Assyrian Christians out there- some 2 to 5 million in various countries, according to Wiki- but apparently they will return to their homeland.  The Egyptians I know will have a place in the new world from various places- I'm guessing these might be the Coptic Christians.  Now, let me backtrack...

Isa 18:1  Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush,
Isa 18:2  which sends ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation, tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide.

The following chapters might confuse a person who wonders whether Isaiah can tell the difference between Ethiopia (Cush) and Egypt.  Easy answer- at the time, there WAS no difference.  From 747-656 BC, Egypt was under the rule of Nubian- Ethiopian- rulers.  And these rulers were increasingly under pressure from expanding Assyria, thus they had sent out for allies- and according to the above passage, Judah was one of those.  In 669, Ashurbanipal began his conquest of Egypt, and it is prophesied by Isaiah in 19:4-15.  But when did Isaiah make that prophecy?  Well, chapter 20 begins a theme in the major prophets- God saying, "If you won't listen to words, let me demonstrate":

Isa 20:1  In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it--
Isa 20:2  at that time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet," and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
Isa 20:3  Then the LORD said, "As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,
Isa 20:4  so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt.

That year was right around 711 BC.  So Isaiah walked about naked for 3 years, until 708.  Thus, his nakedness exposed an event that happens 40 years in his future. In 667 BC, Ashurbanipal sacked Egypt for the second time.  After that, see how well Isaiah and history match up:

Isa 19:1  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.
Isa 19:2  And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
Isa 19:3  and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;
Isa 19:4  and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

Ashurbanipal turned his attention towards Egypt. Egypt had been conquered by Esarhaddon in 671 BC, one of Ashurbanipal's father's greatest accomplishments. Though Esarhaddon had placed loyal governors in charge of the new Egyptian territories and had captured most of the Egyptian royal court, including the son and wife of the Pharaoh, the Pharaoh Taharqa had escaped to Kush in the south.

In 669 BC, Taharqa had reappeared from the south and had inspired Egypt to attempt to free itself from Esarhaddon's control.Esarhaddon had received word of this rebellion and learnt that even some of his own governors who he had appointed in Egypt had ceased to pay tribute to him and joined the rebels. Esarhaddon had marched to defeat this rebellion but had died before reaching the Egyptian border. To quell the threat, Ashurbanipal invaded Egypt in c. 667 BC, marching the Assyrian army as far south as Thebes, one of Egypt's ancient capitals, and sacking numerous revolting cities.

The rebellion was stopped and Ashurbanipal appointed as his vassal ruler in Egypt Necho I, who had been king of the city Sais, and Necho's son Psamtik I, who had been educated at the Assyrian capital of Nineveh during Esarhaddon's reign.

Ashurbanipal left Egypt after his victory. The country was thus seen as vulnerable and Taharqa's nephew and designated successor Tantamani invaded Egypt in hopes of restoring his family to the throne. He met the forces of Necho at Memphis, the Egyptian capital, and though Tantamani was defeated, Necho also died in the battle. The situation quickly turned in Tantamani's favor as the Egyptians themselves rose up alongside him against Psamtik, who escaped into hiding. Hearing of this, Ashurbanipal again marched his army to Egypt and defeated Tantamani. In 663 BC Thebes, the stronghold of the Kushites in Egypt, was sacked for a third time in less than a decade, and Tantamani abandoned the campaign and escaped back to Kush.

One of the best Biblical dovetails with history you will find.  And if Isaiah hits that so well, you can trust the word God gave him for the end of the age, as well.