Three-fold Blessing
Scripture Reading — Isaiah 19:18-25
In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth.
Isaiah 19:24
National hatreds can go a long way back. Consider international relations in Isaiah’s day. Egypt was the country that had enslaved Israel centuries earlier. One of its Old Testament names is “Rahab,” which means terror—because the Israelites lived there in the kind of terror that only an enslaved people can know.
Assyria was the superpower of Isaiah’s day. The highway between Assyria and Egypt was a bloody road. On that highway those two great powers had met each other often in battle. Too bad the road ran through Palestine—Israel often found itself caught in the middle!
But Isaiah saw a day of miraculous change. Egypt would worship the Lord! Its people would build an altar to God, raise up border banners, and cry out to God!
In fact, something even more amazing would happen. Israel, Assyria, and Egypt would all come together in their worship of the Lord God! All three peoples would become a blessing—and be blessed. The Lord would bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” Blessings that once described Israel alone were now pronounced on those who were once trapped in paganism. Immanuel is the Savior of all the nations!
Is Immanuel your Savior and Lord? Pray for the day when peoples everywhere will worship Christ together.
Father, you are faithful to all your promises. May the day soon come when peoples everywhere will worship you as Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
About the author — Victor Atallah
Rev. Victor Atallah is the broadcast team leader for The Back to God Hour Arabic ministry and the general director of Middle East Reformed Fellowship. These meditations are based on texts of Arabic broadcasts aired a few years ago and an Arabic commentary on the book of Isaiah prepared for publication. Rev. Atallah and his wife, Lisa, live in Larnaca, Cyprus, where The Back to God Hour Arabic ministry is based. The ministry reaches Arabic-speaking people throughout the Middle East and North Africa, introducing them to Jesus Christ, Savior of the nations.
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