Some very strange oracles....not very much quoted or discussed, because, they either don't seemed to have come to pass, or show not reasonable chance of happening. Which begs a question: Whatever happens to prophecies that do not get fulfilled?
Chapter 18: Isaiah speaks of a land of 'whirring wings'....(sound like helicopters??) and the land along the rivers of Cush (...not beyond but along the rivers of Ethiopia) who send envoys to a strange country that is characteristically divided by rivers, speaking a strange (not middle eastern) language, and are tall, smooth-skinned and fearsomely warlike. (Sounds like China except people not very tall and warlike (at least not now...:))
Egypt succumbs to a cruel invader, but as they learn to cry out to YHWH, He saves them, and eventually this leads to a triumvirate of Kingdoms, Egypt, Assyria and Israel (third place!!).
19:25 The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance."
It is a strange prophecy that makes the Egyptians God's people, and Isreal God's inheritance, while Assyria is God's handiwork.
Isaiah, however, has nothing good to say of Arabia.
3 comments:
1. Land of 'whirring wings'.. insects? not helicopter lah!
19:25 - apparently it's a 'universal' vision - blessings to all nations. That's a convenient way of interpreting it, I guess.
Ya, I was going to ask - there are lots of prophesies here, involving many countries. I wonder if anyone had made a list of what had come to pass and what is yet to be? Much like what people did to Nostrademus' predictions - some people call it 'retroactive clairviyance'. Hee, i like that phrase.
hehheh....is a kinda universal 'solution' for interpreting prophecy...if you can't see anything that fits...make it 'universal' so it applies to anything.
It seems rather specific to me. Isaiah was right in the middle of the Egypt-Assyria struggle where Palestine was caught in the middle, and his prophecies for the salvation of Egypt and Assyria seems rather specific for these countries, rather than an obscure universal end time prophecy.
It does however, teach us something about God's plans....i.e. while Israel was chosen by God, it does not mean that she has a monoply on God's solutions. Here the prophecy kinda says, 'Hey, while you were chosen, Egypt, if they made the right decisions, could well become God's people (shades of Akhenaten!!hehheh)....and for Assyria, well, they were God's instruments to be used in disciplining the 10 tribes, and if they made the right decisions, they could well be to God's glory as his handiwork, but if not, then they would go down as a failed kingdom.
Also we got to remember, prophecy is not necessarily a pronouncement of an inevitable outcome, as it would otherwise be meaningless for prophets to use as warning. Prophecy, is for warning of potential consequences, and must mean that there is a potential to change the outcome if there is change in current behaviour.
'Failed' prophecies may mean that the appropriate decisions/actions were not taken. In this case, Egypt and Assyria missed the opportunity. Just as possible is the Jewish failed opportunity when the rejected the Messiah when He came.
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