The closer I
walk with God
the more I long
to understand
His character
and His
thoughts. Of
course, I can
only see through
a glass dimly in
this lifetime.
And as a created
human being, I
could never come
close to fully
understanding
the Creator of
all things. But
the more I study
Scripture and
the more time I
spend with Him,
the better I am
able to know Him
and appreciate
Him. Though I do
spend a great
deal of time
studying the
Bible (basically
looking back),
and I am eagerly
expecting
Christ’s
imminent return
(looking
forward), the
real purpose for
my life is to
have a dynamic
relationship
with God: to
know Him and to
love Him, HERE
and NOW.
Matthew 22:34-37
Hearing that
Jesus had
silenced the
Sadducees, the
Pharisees got
together. One of
them, an expert
in the law,
tested him with
this question:
“Teacher, which
is the greatest
commandment in
the Law?”
Jesus replied:
“‘Love the Lord
your God with
all your heart
and with all
your soul and
with all your
mind. This is
the first and
greatest
commandment.”
I have found
that the older I
get, the more
sentimental I
get about family
and old friends…
Not that it’s
such a bad
thing. So I got
to wondering if
the Lord God
could be
considered
sentimental, so
to speak. Well,
I think I found
an interesting
answer as I
recently focused
on Isaiah 19 and
the Oracle
concerning
Egypt. With
Egypt being in
the news so much
lately (as 2012
closes), this
portion of
Scripture reads
more and more
like the daily
news. The
opening verses
of chapter 19
figuratively
poked me in the
eye. Probably a
lot of us have
been drawn to
the first verses
of this chapter.
In particular:
Isaiah 19:2
“I will stir up
Egyptian against
Egyptian -
brother will
fight against
brother,
neighbor against
neighbor, city
against city,
kingdom against
kingdom.”
But I kept
reading to the
end of the
chapter…
Isaiah 19:23-25
In that day
there will be a
highway from
Egypt to
Assyria. The
Assyrians will
go to Egypt and
the Egyptians to
Assyria. The
Egyptians and
Assyrians will
worship
together. In
that day Israel
will be the
third, along
with Egypt and
Assyria, a
blessing on the
earth. The Lord
Almighty will
bless them,
saying, “Blessed
be Egypt
my people, Assyria my
handiwork,
and Israel
my inheritance.”
Isaiah 19 verses
23 to 25 are a
fascinating
revelation of
God’s
sentimental
nature. It
speaks of 3
people groups,
and their place
in His heart and
their position
in His coming
Kingdom. These
people groups
are the ones He
was most
acquainted with
during the early
history of His
chosen people
Israel, and
during the early
years of His
very own Son’s
walk on this
Earth.
So the Lord
calls 1) Egypt
“My people”, 2)
Assyria “My
handiwork”, and
3) Israel “My
inheritance”.
The latter 2
‘nicknames’ are
fairly straight
forward and I
personally find
they don’t hold
nearly as deep a
meaning for me
as a gentile
believer. We
know from
Biblical history
that the
Israel’s genetic
roots trace back
to Abraham.
Genesis 15:4-7
Then the word of
the Lord came to
him: “This man
will not be your
heir, but a son
who is your own
flesh and blood
will be your
heir.” He took
him outside and
said, “Look up
at the sky and
count the
stars—if indeed
you can count
them.” Then he
said to him, “So
shall your
offspring be.”
Abram believed
the Lord, and he
credited it to
him as
righteousness.
He also said to
him, “I am the
Lord, who
brought you out
of Ur of the
Chaldeans to
give you this
land to take
possession of
it.”
Abraham was
Assyrian, from
Ur of the
Chaldeans. This
is the ancient
city of Sumer in
Mesopotamia
(ancient
Assyria/modern
day Iran). Thus
His original
'handiwork', if
you will.
Again from
Scripture, we
also know that
the land of
Canaan (present
day Israel) is
the land
promised to
Abraham and his
descendants as
an inheritance -
forever. So the
'inheritance'
reference is
also straight
forward. Though
we could also
delve into the
topic of just
where the
boundaries are
really supposed
to spread out
to…
Numbers 34:1-2
And the Lord
spake unto
Moses, saying,
“Command the
children of
Israel, and say
unto them, When
ye come into the
land of Canaan;
(this is the
land that shall
fall unto you
for an
inheritance,
even the land of
Canaan with the
coasts thereof.”
Now keep in mind
that Israel are
the ‘chosen
people’ and
Jesus is a Jew
(from the
lineage of
Judah). There
are many other
reference in our
English Bibles
that call Israel
"My people".
“Let My people
go” from Exodus
5, for example.
But this Isaiah
reference has
another flavor
to it.
Out of the three
nations named in
Isaiah 19:25,
the reference to
Egypt speaks the
most loudly to
me personally.
It tells of a
relationship
through
fellowship
rather than by
inheritance and
bloodline, and
thus the
sentimental
nature of the
"My people"
reference. You
can’t be
sentimental
unless you have
spent time with
someone or been
at some place
for a good
while. It is
similar to the
way I feel about
those I grew up
with and most
fondly remember
from my
childhood. I can
pick up a
conversation
with many of
them still some
40 years later
and recall
shared memories.
I can also be
sentimental when
I look back at
my old
neighborhood
with all of its
memories, good
and bad.
Over centuries,
we can see that
Egypt has
attained some
sort of
sentimental
place in God’s
heart. There is
a lot of Hebrew
history there.
Jesus lived
there in his
early childhood.
That alone might
be enough to
explain Isaiah
19 and the odd
mention of Egypt
as being “My
people.” I’m
sure Jesus has
many great
childhood
memories from
there. Did He
see the
pyramids? Did He
enjoy camel
rides?
Matthew 2:12-14
And being warned
of God in a
dream that they
should not
return to Herod,
they departed
into their own
country another
way. And when
they were
departed,
behold, the
angel of the
Lord appeareth
to Joseph in a
dream, saying,
Arise, and take
the young child
and his mother,
and flee into
Egypt, and be
thou there until
I bring thee
word: for Herod
will seek the
young child to
destroy him.
When he arose,
he took the
young child and
his mother by
night, and
departed into
Egypt.
But long before
Jesus walked the
Earth, Egypt's
story starts to
intertwine with
Israel's.
Abraham had his
actual firstborn
son Ishmael
through his
Egyptian
concubine Hagar.
This of course
greatly affected
the whole course
of history;
we’re still
dealing with the
consequences to
this day.
Abraham’s oldest
son Ishmael is
the father of
the Arab
nations. And as
is obvious from
the daily
headlines, the
Arab people (in
general) are
insanely jealous
of the Jewish
descendants of
Abraham. They’re
never at peace
with them (or
with each other
- as was
prophesied). So
with Hagar we
have the
introduction of
Egypt into the
history of God’s
chosen people.
Genesis 16:1-12
Now Sarai,
Abram’s wife,
had borne him no
children. But
she had an
Egyptian slave
named Hagar; so
she said to
Abram, “The Lord
has kept me from
having children.
Go, sleep with
my slave;
perhaps I can
build a family
through
her.”Abram
agreed to what
Sarai said. So
after Abram had
been living in
Canaan ten
years, Sarai his
wife took her
Egyptian slave
Hagar and gave
her to her
husband to be
his wife. He
slept with
Hagar, and she
conceived. When
she knew she was
pregnant, she
began to despise
her mistress.
Then Sarai said
to Abram, “You
are responsible
for the wrong I
am suffering. I
put my slave in
your arms, and
now that she
knows she is
pregnant, she
despises me. May
the Lord judge
between you and
me.”
“Your
slave is in your
hands,” Abram
said. “Do with
her whatever you
think best.”
Then Sarai
mistreated
Hagar; so she
fled from her.
The
angel of the
Lord found Hagar
near a spring in
the desert; it
was the spring
that is beside
the road to
Shur. And he
said, “Hagar,
slave of Sarai,
where have you
come from, and
where are you
going?”
“I’m running
away from my
mistress Sarai,”
she answered.
Then the angel
of the Lord told
her, “Go back to
your mistress
and submit to
her.” The angel
added, “I will
increase your
descendants so
much that they
will be too
numerous to
count.”
The angel of the
Lord also said
to her: “You are
now pregnant and
you will give
birth to a son.
You shall name
him Ishmael, for
the Lord has
heard of your
misery. He will
be a wild donkey
of a man; his
hand will be
against everyone
and everyone’s
hand against
him, and he will
live in
hostility toward
all his
brothers.”
Not very long
after Abraham’s
involvement with
Hagar, we have
the entire
family of his
grandson
Jacob/Israel
moving to Egypt.
This was after
one of Jacob’s
12 sons, Joseph,
was sold there
by his brothers
and ended up
rising to be
Pharaoh's 2nd in
command. The
Hebrews ended up
spending over
400 years
there... That is
about 8
generations that
then fruitfully
multiplied from
the original 12
sons into 12
tribes numbering
perhaps into the
millions. It’s
understandable
that Egypt is
‘in their bones’
so to speak with
so many
Israelites
having grown up
there. And there
are many Hebrew
bones still
there. We mostly
think of the
very bad ending,
when God
delivered Israel
from Egypt
through Moses.
That coupled
with the current
animosity tends
to make us think
there was always
bad blood. But I
am certain that
there was much
good history and
fellowship for
at least a
couple of
generations with
the original
Egyptians. God
was present in
Egypt with the
Israelites all
of that time
too. So Israel
basically had
her childhood
there. Just as
it was for
Jesus, it’s also
their old
neighborhood.
It’s where they
grew up.
Exodus 12:40-41
Now the length
of time the
Israelite people
lived in Egypt
was 430 years.
At the end of
the 430 years,
to the very day,
all the Lord’s
divisions left
Egypt.
So, as a gentile
believer, the
relationship God
has (and will
have) with Egypt
strikes a chord
with me. Isaiah
19:25 resonates
within me. I was
not born into
the Hebrew
bloodline, so
I’m not a
natural-born
recipient of His
affection or
interest. This
is also true for
the majority of
Christians in
fact. In this
Age of Grace, we
only come into
our share of His
inheritance (and
forgiveness)
through
salvation in
Jesus Christ.
But as I have
come to better
understand His
‘Commandment’ to
love Him, I am
more aware of
His desire to
fellowship and
to walk with me.
He wants to do
more than ‘just’
save me. There
is an intimacy
we all need to
aspire to in
this short
lifetime. I
personally want
the Lord God to
be sentimental
about my history
with Him. I want
Him to look back
fondly at my
walk with Him
and the time we
spent together.
The Lord God is
keenly aware and
touched by the
events we are
witnessing in
Egypt in these
last days by the
way. And He
points out in
Isaiah 19 that
He’s looking
forward to the
time when Israel
is reconciled
with her old
acquaintances/family
in Egypt and
Assyria, and the
bitterness and
separation ends.
The intertwined
histories of
Israel (His
family/chosen
people) and
Egypt (what I
would call His
'familiar'
people) are to
me only one of
the many
profound
examples of
God’s love for
all of us and
His accepting,
inclusive, and
very sentimental
nature. He is a
loving Father.
He desires for
each of us to
walk with Him
and make good
memories
together.
Hidden in
Christ,
Walter Diepeveen