An oracle against Egypt: Look, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. Egypt’s idols will tremble before Him, and Egypt’s heart will melt within it. I will provoke Egypt against Egypt; each will fight against his brother and each against his friend, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.   Isaiah 19:1-2 HCSB

Civil war is nothing new, it happened back at the beginning of time. I guess you could say it all started when Cain murdered his brother Abel (Genesis 4).

In 2 Chronicles one of my favorite battles is the battle of Jehoshaphat. These vast armies came against Jehoshaphat and his people. He leads them to pray and fast. God told them not to worry, they just had to suit up and stand firm and He would take care of them. He did this by throwing these vast armies into confusion. They fought against each other and destroyed each other.

In our Scripture passage today, Isaiah is prophesying God’s judgment against Egypt. Part of this judgment is civil war. Civil war is defined as a war between organized groups within the same state.

If you look around you today, we are seeing a lot of this. We see it from our national government on down. A group or groups of people claiming to be working towards the same goal just can’t agree. They can’t get along and before you know it the fighting begins.

God often used a civil war in the Old Testament to deliver an enemy into Israel’s hands. If Israel was not big enough to defeat an enemy, no problem, God took care of it. Often, He would cause the enemies to fight against each other. He would throw them into confusion.

Isaiah 19:11 says the princes of Zoan are complete fools; Pharaoh’s wisest advisors give stupid advice! We must always remember that God gives us wisdom and can take away wisdom. Verse 14 says, “The LORD has mixed within her (Memphis-the capital city) a spirit of confusion. The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does, as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.”

Today we are seeing civil war erupt in our government at all levels, in our churches, in businesses, and sadly in our families. We are seeing so-called leaders give stupid advice. We are seeing them do things that make no sense.

I’ve never been a history buff, but those who like to study history will tell you that we must understand history as it has a way of repeating itself. Numerous times in the Old Testament we see Israel fall into idolatry, suffer God’s punishment, repent, be delivered, and repeat the process.

We read it, think about how sad it is for them, and do the same things without even knowing it. How can we avoid this? It’s a simple answer, turn to God. Trust in God. Let Him lead you in all you say and do. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and trust in Him to make your crooked paths straight and whatever you do, never consider yourself to be wise, fear the Lord, and turn away from evil (Proverbs 3:5-7)

We will encounter many false prophets and false Christians. We will encounter leaders, church members and family members who don’t believe. They may be thrown into confusion. Just be sure you do not suffer the same fate. Trust in God in all you do.

When you search Civil War, it pulls up the American Civil War fought between 1861 and 1865. This is just one of many that have been fought since the earth’s creation. Think of how many could have been avoided if both parties would have agreed on just one thing-turn to God and put Him first.

My prayer for all of us today is that we can avoid in-fighting by putting God first and leading others to do the same.

Have a great day!