Глава 19

"Vision on Egypt a. Behold, the Lord sits on a light cloud and will come to Egypt.” Under the image of light clouds, the prophet represents the Assyrians, who, under the leadership of Sennacherib, will enter Egypt. “And Egypt, made with hands, will shake at His presence” (Is. 19:1), because idols do not have the strength to help their worshipers, and they cannot stand before the Lord. The same words, perhaps, contain a prophecy about our Lord, for when He became man, He appeared to the world as “carried on a light cloud” on the wings of the Virgin, and entered Egypt. “And the Egyptians will rise up against the Egyptians... and the spirit of the Egyptians will be troubled within them - that is, the Ethiopians will arm themselves against Egypt, will enter into battle with them, and the spirit of Egypt will be indignant with this battle - and the question and so of their gods and their idols, and those who speak from the earth and the magicians" (Is. 19: 2-3), that is, the Egyptians will bring sacrifices and libations to their idols, but the idols do not know what will happen to the Egyptians, they cannot know and proclaim the future. “And the water will dry up in the sea.” The prophet calls the beaten Egyptians themselves sea and river, because of their multitude. “The river... will dry up... and the rivers will fail” (Is. 19:5). So the prophet either depicts the fact that the large Assyrian army seems to drink water in the rivers, or under the image of rivers he represents the Egyptian troops exterminated by the hands of the devastators of the Assyrians. “And the reed, the sow, the papyrus, and all the green grass around the river will wither, and everything that is sown at the river will wither” (Is. 19:6-7). Just as plants dry up when water becomes scarce, so the cities of Egypt, deprived of all protection, will be destroyed and devastated. “And the fishermen will groan” (Is. 19:8), that is, the rulers of Egypt. Here the prophet probably threatens the Egyptians with a double disaster: the invasion of the Assyrians, and the depletion of water in the rivers, and as a result of this, a lack of bread. “And the princes of Tanes will be holy fools,” because the truth is hidden from them. “The princes of Memphithia will exalt themselves and deceive Egypt according to their families” (Is. 19:11, 13). It is indicated here that the Egyptians had both deities common to all, and deities revered privately: by one tribe or family. “For the Lord will dissolve for them the spirit of deception, and the deceiver of Egypt... as a drunken man is deceived and vomits freely” (Is. 19:14). The prophet makes it clear that the idols will mislead the Egyptians with a false hope of victory, that every Egyptian will go mad like a drunk and will be unable to resist the Assyrians. “In that day there will be five cities in Egypt, speaking in the language of the Canaanites and swearing by the name of the Lord of hosts: the city of Ares (Asedek) will be called one city” (Is. 19:18). These words also have the following spiritual meaning: when the Gospel of Christ and the salvation He brings to people shine forth, then our five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch - having been sanctified by the pure deeds of abstinence, will become holy cities, and each of them will offer a sacrifice of abstinence to God: sight - when it does not look evilly; hearing - when he listens to the word of God that saves the soul; lips - when they learn what confirms us in the fear of God, and become accustomed to glorification, spiritual hymns and offering thanks to God; smell - when it craves the sweet stench of Christ, recognized in the performance of good deeds; hands - when reverently they will be raised in prayer and extended to give alms and help the poor. Such deeds turn our feelings into holy cities. But feelings in their deeds are subordinated to the soul and mind, and when they are all collectively directed towards a single act of good, then they make themselves, as it were, one city, which is called Ares, that is, the city of truth. Ares was one of the famous cities of Egypt. “In that day there will be an altar of the Lord in the land of Egypt, and a pillar of the Lord within its borders” (Isaiah 19:19). The five cities mentioned will build an altar, but not to offer sacrifices on it, but only as a sign and as a testimony. “In that day there will be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians, and the Assyrians will enter Egypt... and the Egyptians will work for the Assyrians” (Is. 19:23), because the Assyrians will conquer the Egyptians. “In that day there will be a third Israel,” that is, the first are Assyrians, the second are Egyptians, the third are Israelites. Or does it mean that Israel will be divided into three parts; one part will be in Egypt, another in Assyria, and the third in the land of their inheritance. And he will be “blessed among the Egyptians and the Assyrians” (Is. 19:24). “Blessed are My people who are in Egypt, and the work of My hands who are in Assyria, and My inheritance Israel” (Is. 19:25), that is, I will bless My people among the Egyptians and Assyrians, because both of them, having learned repentance through the apostles, will receive salvation. The kingdom of Assyria will be destroyed, and thus prosperity will be restored to all nations. The words: Bless My people in Egypt can also mean that they will serve Me in Egypt, in the five cities mentioned earlier. “And the work of My hands is in the Assyrians,” that is, the work done on the night when the Assyrian army was destroyed. “My heritage is Israel,” this is similar to what was said: “Jacob is already His inheritance” (Deut. 32:9). You might be interested in: