Egypt

Bear with me for a bit of history review.

Isaiah the prophet was active for a very long time, spanning the reigns of four kings of Judah (Isaiah 1:1). Toward the end he was witness to the collapse of the northern kingdom of Israel, and its eradication by the Assyrian Empire—events he himself had foretold earlier. The Assyrians invaded the southern kingdom of Judah too, but could not take Jerusalem. They ended up going back home after their army was devastated by a plague sent by the Lord (2 Kings 19:31-36, repeated in Isaiah 37:32-37).

The last monarch of the northern kingdom, Hoshea, initially served as a vassal of the Assyrians. But then he rebelled and made a deal with Egypt, prompting the Assyrians to totally destroy the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17:1-6).

This was when the Assyrians invaded Judah. It was a pretty desperate time, with many cities falling to the Assyrian invaders, who were notoriously brutal. It appears that Hezekiah, the king of Judah, was also in touch with Egypt. An Assyrian official was sent to threaten Hezekiah into capitulation (2 Kings 18:13-35). During his tirade, he says, “Now look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it. This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him.” (verse 21*)

Apparently this assessment of Egypt is correct. A long time later, when Judah is also being conquered and exiled by Babylon, God’s prophet Ezekiel declares, “They [Egyptians] have been a staff made of reed to the house of Israel. When Israel grasped you by the hand, you splintered, tearing all their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you shattered and made all their hips unsteady.” (Ezekiel 29:6-7)

What’s the point of this history review? Isaiah, who was right there in the middle of the Assyrian invasion, was inspired to write this:

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who depend on horses! They trust in the abundance of chariots and in the large number of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel, and they do not seek the Lord. (Isaiah 31:1; see also Isaiah 30:1-7)

When reading the ancient history preserved for us in the Bible, we need to always bear in mind: “For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.” (Romans 15:4)

In other words, Isaiah wasn’t writing only for his contemporaries, he was writing to us too. So what’s the message here?

What “Egypt” might we be going down to? What are we leaning on that might splinter and wound us, spiritually? I think we can easily adapt Isaiah’s warning and fill in our own blanks.

Woe to those who depend on retirement funds and are not rich toward God. (Luke 12:15-21.)

Woe to those who depend on worldly physicians rather than the great Physician. (Luke 8:43-44)

Woe to those who depend on advanced academics but lack true wisdom. (1 Corinthians 1:18-21)

Your turn: Woe to those who depend on …

I’m not suggesting it’s inherently wrong to put money into savings, or go to doctors, or pursue academic degrees. The problem is the dependence. Depending on “Egypt” when we’re faced with an invasion by “Assyria” will make things worse. Will wound us.

Whatever “Egypt” is for us, however powerful it seems to be, we must not put our trust in it instead of “looking to the Holy One of Israel.”

Love, Paul

(* all scripture quotations from CSB)