Isaiah 19:7
7 The paper reeds [`arah] by the brooks [ya`or], by
the mouth [peh] of the brooks [ya`or], and every thing sown [mizra`] by the brooks [ya`or],
shall wither [yabesh], be driven away [nadaph], and be no more. KJV-Interlinear
7 The bulrushes by the Nile, by
the edge of the Nile And all the sown fields by the Nile Will become dry, be
driven away, and be no more. NASB
Things that have never
changed over the centuries, and especially in the minds and memories of that
last generation, will change dramatically.
The Nile has been
around for a very long time. Its banks
and tributaries, and the lands that run along it and extend for miles outward from
the Nile, the grasslands, the wet lands, the cultivated fields and lands with
their crops and grazing animals, all of these, will fail, and will dry up to
dust.
The word for wither, ‘yabesh,’
means to be confused, to be disappointed, to be ashamed, to dry up. And this not only refers to the plants, but
to the attitudes of the people living in those lands. They will be disheartened, not understanding
what and why this is happening.
The word for driven
away, ‘nadaph,’ means to shove asunder, to drive into pieces, to disintegrate,
to be no more, to not exist.
The fertile lands along
the Nile will disappear, never to return to their former productive way. They will be unrecognizable.
And we have to repeat
what we already should know. This
prophecy was revealed by God, to Isaiah, many, many, many centuries ago, and
has been in writing ever since that long ago time.
This will occur in the
end days of history. People in Egypt
will live in a time that is more unusual than at any other time in history. And yet, they will be clueless, and will not
recognize the signs of their time. They
will refuse to see the signs of their time.
Rather than beginning
to question and look for answers, they will be disappointed and focused on
their earthly livelihood.
Instead of looking for
divine explanations, they will be seeking out more earthly remedies.
Instead of looking all
around and seeing the innumerable and overwhelming problems of the world and
recognizing that they are indeed at the end of history, they will be looking
for scapegoats, someone to blame. They will
be looking to government, to that strong but ruthless ruler, to provide relief
for their situation.
And, they will not see
the inability of that ruler for fixing anything.
