Striking to heal

"The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and will heal them." Isaiah 19:22


I'm ashamed to point out the obvious...I haven't posted anything on this blog in two months. So much has happened during that time, from my sweet boy learning how to crawl, the internet in our house not working for weeks at a time, and on my part, a bout of just sheer apathy. However, the Lord is faithful, and even though I often leave Him waiting on our time together, He is always there when I return to Him.

The nineteenth chapter of Isaiah describes a prophecy regarding the great nation of Egypt. The prophet describes a time of great turmoil, where the inhabitants will turn against each other (verse 2) and will suffer under the rule of a cruel king (verse 4). Top that off with some plagues against nature (including the rivers drying up as described in verse 6 and the fields becoming desolate in verse 7), and the nation will really hit rock bottom. Because the wisest of men cannot explain what is happening to Egypt and how to overcome it (verse 12), the people are left to literally tremble in the wake of God's hand "which He is going to wave over them" (verse 16).

One might ask what the purpose of all this devastation might be. It seems to be a common theme in most of Isaiah's prophecies thus far, in fact. Shouldn't a loving God use love to call His people to Him? Surely that would have been enough to get Egypt's attention, right?

I'm thinking no. We're talking about Egypt here, one of the greatest empires in history. Because of its affluence and wealth, it would have been all too easy for Egypt's citizens to bask in the glow of their own pride. Sometimes God allows hardship to come upon His people in order to get them to the place where turning to Him is really the only option. C.S. Lewis described pain as God's "megaphone to rouse a deaf world" (The Problem of Pain). At times it is simply the only means to get our attention.

Pain and hardship does have its purpose, though. Check out the rest of Isaiah 19, starting in verse 18. The tone of the prophecy shifts to a more promising end for the nation. It describes five Egyptian cities as "speaking the language of Canaan" and "swearing allegiance to the Lord of hosts." They will build an altar and cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors (verses 19 and 20), and then He will send the greatest Gift of all, His Son Jesus. God will "make Himself known to Egypt" through Jesus, and they will offer praise and sacrifice to Him in return (verse 21). He strikes Egypt in order to heal them. He allows them to have temporary pain and oppression, but then gives them Himself as the ultimate salve for their wounds.

Not only that, He adds Assyria and Israel in a three-fold blessing, saying "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance" (verse 25). Although Egypt was once prideful, worshiping idols and their own intellect, God will raise them up to be a nation of blessing and promise. He allows the nation to suffer for a time, but because of the spiritual longing of five cities, He will bring healing and restoration to their land.

Return to Him. Even if whatever you're going through seems to burn you inside and out, return to your Healer and He will allow beauty to rise out of the ashes.