‘Yahweh has mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her, and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every one of her works, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit. Nor will there be for Egypt any work which head or tail, palm branch or rush, may do.'
God has been at work among the leaders resulting in perverse and bewildered behaviour. The wisdom that they claimed in Isaiah 19:11 is revealed to be totally lacking. The result is that all that they do is foolish and unwise. They are like drunken men staggering about to and fro and falling into their own vomit, that is, the mess that they have made of things.
‘Nor will there be for Egypt any work which head or tail, palm branch or rush, may do.' See Isaiah 9:14-15. There these pictures referred to the leadership who were the head and the palm branch, and to the prophets who were the tail and the rushes. Neither civic leadership nor religious savants will be able to do anything sensible or worthwhile.
So Egypt is facing political, economic and social collapse. In view of that it would be folly to place trust in them. But in spite of this there is good news ahead. God has not determined to finally destroy Egypt like He has Babylon. One day, ‘in that day', His blessing will come on them through the intervention of His own people.
In That Day - Yahweh's Universal Triumph (Isaiah 19:16-25).
Here there follow five examples of what will happen ‘in that day'. In Egypt five was the number of completeness. Here we have therefore a full and complete description of the final end of Egypt.
‘In that day' is a vague time reference which describes something that is to happen in the future as a result of what has been mentioned. It means ‘in the day when this prophecy is fulfilled whenever that might be'. Here it is being used to declare what will happen following what has previously been described, without any time limit being given.
It is in complete contrast to what has gone before. Egypt's self-destruction will be followed by Yahweh's deliverance. In a foreshortened vision of the future Isaiah sees God's final purpose for Egypt. We must always keep in mind that the prophets were not trying to foretell specific events, they were proclaiming what God would do ‘in the future.' Thus here Isaiah foresees the turmoil of Egypt going on, and even resulting in their being a subject nation, but as something which will finally result in God's blessing on it. He knew that this must be so, for it is finally God's purpose to bless the nations, and Egypt was not excepted.
The turmoil of Egypt, having begun, continued through the centuries. From then on Egypt, with an occasional resurgence, went ever downwards. When, however, the good news of Jesus Christ flowed out from Jerusalem Egypt was one of the first to respond and outwardly became a largely Christian nation. Thus what is described found its fulfilment then. Whether it is to find an even deeper fulfilment on earth in the future only time will tell, but we do know that its ultimate fulfilment will be in the new heaven and the new earth (Isaiah 66:22; Revelation 21:1).