A Burden For all People – Isa 19-20
“…they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, And he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, And the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, And shall do sacrifice and oblation;
Isaiah 19:20-21Yea , they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it.”
God loves all people and has a burden for all people. In Isaiah 19-20, God’s prophet Isaiah shares His burden for Egypt. It is a message that tells of great destruction that will come on them as a nation (at the hands of the Assyrians) (v.1-4). This destruction will decimate their economy (v.5-10) and confound all their wisdom (v.11-16).
It will humble them so much that eventually they will look to the Lord, when He is ruling and reigning in Judah (during the millennial reign) (v.17-25). They will then set an altar and a pillar in Egypt to the worship of the Lord. They will cry to the Lord. They will know the Lord. And, under the Lord’s rule, they will be at peace with Assyria and Israel!
What an amazing turn of events! From seeking idols and wizards to worshipping the Lord. From oppressed by Assyrian to peace with Assyria. From being the place that some in Judah though they should look to for help (Isa 20) to looking to Judah for help.
This is the work that God is doing. He will smite the sinners of this world so as to heal them (19:22). He humbles them to save them. He shows them how bad they are so they will know that only He can make them good. He is the Saviour, the great One, the Deliverer (19:22) and He has burden for the whole world.
Do we care about the whole world? Do we have a burden from those who are far from God? Do we care that they are abiding under God’s wrath and need the gospel? Wouldn’t it be great if they would hear about our God and come and worship Him?
May we do all we can to proclaim the great name of our God so all can hear and be saved!