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.
I think God has a special place in His heart for Egypt. I know that land has been guilty of persecuting God's people, but Egypt also has been used of God to protect what is dearest to His heart. Twice in history He called His son out of Egypt. I am thinking first of the time that Egypt protected Israel during Joseph's tenure but then when Egypt enslaved Israel, God rescued His collective "son", the Children of Israel, by having Moses bring them through the Red Sea. That was the first time God brought "His son" out of Egypt. The second time was when He safeguarded the baby Jesus in Egypt and then brought His Son out of Egypt after wicked Herod died.
So, God has in the past sheltered His Word in Egypt. Jesus, the "John 1:1" Word, was kept safe (as we just mentioned) in Egypt, but God also kept the paper and ink word safe in Egypt too. One branch of Scripture translation resided in Egypt for a while at the School of Alexandria, and in my opinion, when God brought the Bible out of Egypt in about the 4th century AD, it was to commission scholars to spread the Bible over the face of the earth, a task not yet complete as there are still many tribes without access to the Bible in their own language. But we're working on it. Bible translation societies are working as fast as they can to give the Scriptures to every person in own his home language.
Now, I don't want to digress into an argument over the veracity of the ancient manuscripts. I acknowledge the arguments, and I commend modern scholars for their diligence in arguing their positions in order to maintain the purity of God's Word in our modern age. There is benefit in study. There is benefit in wrestling through the hard issues. But, in the end, I myself don't make a big deal about the various translations on the market today. Ultimately, God is responsible for the safekeeping of His Word.
Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. (Psalm 119:89)
Neither the passage of time nor the moral climate of the world will change the word of God from God's perspective, because the word abides in heaven and is, therefore, immutable. So I use as large a variety of Bible translations as I can get a hold of in my personal study of God's word. But that's me. You do it your way, okay?
Back to today's verse.
Egypt. God loves you!
Today's verse is part of a larger prophecy regarding God's interaction with the land of Egypt. He talks of disciplining the land for the purpose of turning the hearts of Egyptians to the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Partial fulfillments of the physical destruction and the spiritual revival of Egypt have already occurred in history, but the big fulfillment is yet to come. When Jesus returns, saved Egyptians will rejoice at His coming. There will be peace between Egypt, and the modern counterpart of ancient Assyria, and Israel. A three fold peace between ancient enemies.
The peace of God rules saved people. Jesus is our peace. In Jesus, Jew and Gentile are fellow heirs, one in Christ, partakers of His promise by the gospel as it says in Ephesians 3:6. Nobody falls outside the invitation of God's grace. No matter who we are. No matter what we've done. To me, that is the beauty of today's verse. All are invited to come to Jesus Christ to be saved from sin, and to be given the free gift of eternal life. You, me, Egyptians, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Chinese, Scandinavians... EVERYBODY! We are all invited to the table of God's grace.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is written in Isaiah 18 a few lines down from today's verse. Isaiah 18:25 says:
The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance."
- Egypt, God's people!
- The Middle East, God's handiwork!
- Israel, God's inheritance!
Listen, if these three will one day find true peace with God, there is hope for every person alive. Our hope is the Blessed Hope, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13) Pray to God today and ask Him to save you and to make you His child so that when Jesus comes through the clouds to gather us to Himself, you will lift your arms in a ready welcome and not run from Him in terror. I love it that God loves Egypt, because it means He loves me too!
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