Isaiah 19-20 - From Judgement to Restoration

From Judgment to Restoration: God’s Hand on Egypt and the Nations.

Tonight, we are going to walk through two chapters that, at first glance, seem to be only about ancient history, but in reality, they reveal something far bigger. They reveal how God deals with nations, how God deals with misplaced trust, and ultimately, how God brings even His enemies to redemption.

Isa 19-20

1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts.

5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.

7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

9 Moreover, they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.

10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

12 Where are they? Where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.

14 The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it.

17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

18 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.

19 In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.

20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

21 And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it.

22 And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt. The Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.

24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:

25 Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Chapter 20

1 In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

2 At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

3 And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.

6 And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

What do you trust when things become unstable? Do you trust systems? Do you trust governments? Do you trust financial security? Do you trust human wisdom? Because that is exactly where Judah was in Isaiah’s day.

Assyria was rising as a dominant world power. Fear was spreading, and Judah was tempted to look south to Egypt for help.

Egypt looked strong. Egypt looked stable.  Egypt looked like a safe alliance. But God sends Isaiah a message: “What you are trusting… is about to collapse.” And not only that. God shows that He is not just the God of Israel…He is the God of ALL nations.

Look at verse 1: “Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt…”

This is powerful imagery. God is not distant. God is not uninvolved. God is not reacting. God is moving. “Riding upon a swift cloud” speaks of divine authority and swift judgment.

And notice what happens:“…and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence…”Everything Egypt trusted spiritually… begins to shake. When God shows up, false gods fall apart.

verse 2: “And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians…”

Civil war. Internal division. Brother against brother. You know something? One of the ways God judges a nation…is by letting it tear itself apart. No outside enemy needed—just internal collapse.

Verse 3: “The spirit of Egypt shall fail…” Their courage is gone. Their direction is gone. Their confidence is gone. And they turn to: “idols… charmers… familiar spirits…”In other words, they look everywhere…except to the Lord.

verse 4: “And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord…”

Historically, Egypt came under foreign domination, particularly by Assyria. So here is the progression: Internal division, Spiritual confusion, then external domination.

verses 5–10: And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.

7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

9 Moreover, they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.

10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

The Nile River begins to fail. And you must understand something: Egypt was the Nile.  Their economy depended on it. Their agriculture depended on it. Their entire system depended on it. And God touches the Nile, and everything collapses.  The fishers mourn.  The farmers fail.  The industry dries up. This was not the first time God had struck the Nile. It was the very first plague God commanded Moses to bring upon Egypt in the Exodus narrative.

Here is the lesson: Whatever you depend on more than God, God can touch.

verses 11–15: Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

12 Where are they? Where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.

14 The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

Egypt was known for wisdom. But God says: “The princes of Zoan are fools…”Their counsel fails. Their wisdom collapses. Their leaders cannot lead. God dismantles three things: Political stability, Economic strength, and human wisdom. Everything Egypt trusted falls apart.

The issue is not Egypt. The issue is trust. Judah was watching all of this. And God was saying: “Why would you trust something… that I can bring down in a moment?”

Now, if the chapter ended here, it would be a message of judgment only. But beginning in verse 16, something else is happening also.

Egypt’s Future Salvation: verse 16: “In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid…”Fear replaces pride. Egypt, once strong… now trembles. Watch the shift.

Verse 18: “In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan…” Now that is unusual. Egypt begins to align with the people of God.

Verse 19: “In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt…”

Look what happens next: an altar… to the LORD… in Egypt. Not idols. Not false gods. The true God.

Verse 20:“…they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a Savior.”

There is a pattern here that runs throughout scripture. Judgment first, which leads to crying out, and crying out leads to salvation.

Verse 22 says: “And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it…”That is powerful. God wounds… but He also restores. God judges… but He also redeems.

verse 23: “In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria…” Isaiah uses the word highway eight times in his prophecy. Here we see that former enemies are now connected.

Verse 24: “Israel shall be the third with Egypt and with Assyria…”

Now they are united. And then verse 25. This is one of the most shocking verses in the Old Testament: “Blessed be Egypt, my people…”

Egypt… called “My people.”…and Assyria the work of my hands…”Assyria… the former oppressor.“…and Israel mine inheritance. “All three… together. The same Egypt that was judged is now redeemed. The same Assyria that conquered is now included. This is not just history. This is prophecy. There may have been partial fulfillments over time, but the ultimate fulfillment is still in the future. This points to a time when nations will worship the Lord together. When will enemies be reconciled? When will God’s kingdom be established globally? This aligns with the Millennial Kingdom. When Christ reigns, and the nations come to Him. So here is the big truth: God’s plan is not just to judge nations, God’s plan is to redeem nations.

In light of that future promise, why does Isaiah chapter 20 give us such a strange and dramatic sign?

Isaiah 20 The Sign of Nakedness.

Look at Isaiah 20, which is a kind of footnote to what has been going on in the previous chapter.

Verse 1. In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

Assyria captures Ashdod, a key city, creating fear. And once again… Judah is tempted to trust Egypt and Cush. Now watch what God tells Isaiah to do.

Verse 2: “Go and loose the sackcloth… and put off thy shoe…”

In other words, walk barefoot and exposed. And he does this for three years. Three years. This was not a private act. This was public. This was uncomfortable. This was humiliating. This was impossible to ignore.

Why? Because God was making a point. Verse 3: “a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia.”

Verse 4 explains it: “So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners naked and barefoot. “The very nation Judah was trusting…would be led away in shame.

And verse 6: “How shall we escape?” That is the question Judah would be forced to ask. What you trust will determine your outcome. If you trust Egypt, you fall with Egypt. If you trust God, you stand.

The first Historical Application (Then): Judah was tempted to trust Egypt. God showed them that Egypt would fall.

The Second Present Application (Now): We may not trust Egypt, but we can trust a modern type of Egypt.”

We can trust Systems. Governments, Economies, and Human Solutions.

But God is still saying: Don’t build your security on something I can shake.

The Third has a Prophetic Application (Future): One day, God will: Unite nations…Remove hostility…Establish His kingdom…And even former enemies will worship Him. That is the hope of Scripture.

Here are four truths: 1. God rules over nations. Nothing happens outside His control. 2. God judges to restore. Judgment is not the end—redemption is the goal. 3. God’s plan is global. The Gospel is for all people. 4. False security will fail. Only God is a sure refuge.

So here is our final question: Where is our trust today? Is it in something temporary? Something unstable? Or is it in the Lord? Because everything else can fail. But God never does.