旧约 - 以赛亚书(Isaiah)第19章

An oracle concerning Egypt: See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
"I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian--brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them," declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry.
The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither,
also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more.
The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away.
Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.
The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings"?
Where are your wise men now? Let them show you and make known what the LORD Almighty has planned against Egypt.
The officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray.
The LORD has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.
There is nothing Egypt can do--head or tail, palm branch or reed.
In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the LORD Almighty raises against them.
And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the LORD Almighty is planning against them.
In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD Almighty. One of them will be called the City of Destruction.
In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border.
It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.
So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them.
The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
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."
以赛亚书第十九章   赛 19:1> 埃及,以色列人挥之不去的梦魇…… 

  19:1 埃及就是神的百姓在那里作了四百年奴隶的国家(参出 1 章),以色列百姓恨意仍存。正当犹大考虑同埃及联盟抗击亚述之时(参王下 18:17 ),以赛亚警告说不要加入该联盟,因为神会在祂所定的时间里毁灭亚述。 

  赛 19:11-15> 虽然以智慧着称,埃及人对神的旨意却一窍不通── 

  19:11-15 埃及以其智慧着名,但这里的智者和官吏都是愚蠢的,真正的智慧来自神。我们必须向神求智慧来引导我们的决定,否则,我们总是不知所措或误入歧途。现在是否仍有问题困惑着你呢?如果是这样,那就要向神求智慧来处理。 

  今天的联盟 

  赛 19:19,23> 埃及也会敬拜真神?这可能吗? 

  19:19,23 埃及在遭受惩罚之后,会离开偶像去敬拜惟一的真神。以赛亚的预言中更令人惊奇的是,以色列的两个主要压迫者──埃及和亚述,将会联合敬拜神。这个预言将在未来基督掌权的那一天实现。 

  赛 19:20> 神要差遣的那位拯救者,我们已经认识了── 

  19:20 当埃及向神求助的时候,神将差派一个救主来拯救他们。我们的救主耶稣基督是为所有求告祂的人预备的。我们也可以用祷告来接受祂的拯救(参约 1:12 )。 

  赛 19:22> 埃及那样顽梗的国家,都能归向神,其他的国家也…… 

  19:22 埃及将是向主跪拜的外邦国家之一。腓立比书 2 章 10 至 11 节说,万膝当跪拜,万口当颂扬,耶稣基督是主。所以我们不该对亚述和埃及成为“万口”中的一分子而感到惊讶。我们每一个人也都是“万膝万口”的一分子。所以我们现在就可以向主跪拜。 

  赛 19:23-25> 与我们的敌人联合?何时?何地?