Isaiah 19:23-25 and the Identity of True Worshippers
Isaiah 19:23-25 describes a future era of international worship and blessing, particularly focusing on Egypt and Assyria alongside Israel. The passage reads:
"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, 'Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance'" (Isaiah 19:23-25 NIV).
This passage concludes a section of Isaiah (chapter 19) that primarily deals with prophecies concerning Egypt. The broader context of Isaiah 19 details God's judgment upon Egypt, including internal strife, economic collapse, and the failure of its wisdom [2]. However, the chapter shifts to a promise of future restoration and conversion, where Egypt will turn to the Lord, and He will heal them (Isaiah 19:22) [2]. The "altar" mentioned in Isaiah 19:19 is seen as a sign and witness of Egypt's religious connection with Israel, indicating a future where Egyptians would publicly worship the Lord [2, 3].
Key terms in this passage include "highway," symbolizing open communication and peaceful interaction between nations previously hostile [8]. The phrase "worship together" (Isaiah 19:23) signifies a shared devotion to the Lord among these nations. The Lord refers to Egypt as "my people" and Assyria as "my handiwork," titles typically reserved for Israel, which is called "my inheritance" [10]. This extension of covenant language to Gentile nations is a significant aspect of the prophecy. Abraham Ibn Ezra suggests that God calls them "my people" because they will erect an altar to the Lord publicly [3]. The Targum Jonathan also interprets this as a time when Egyptians will know the fear of the Lord and worship with sacrifices and offerings [6].
The interpretation of this passage often centers on the nature of this future worship and the identity of these "true worshippers." The concept of "true worshippers" is echoed in the New Testament, where Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that "an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeks such ones that worship Him" (John 4:23 LITV) [1]. This New Testament perspective emphasizes internal affection and sincerity over mere external rituals [5]. John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, stresses that legitimate prayer and worship require repentance and a whole heart, not merely outward signs [4, 5]. Charles Hodge, in his Systematic Theology, similarly argues that the attributes and promises ascribed to the Church in Scripture belong to true believers alone, who are the "body of Christ in which He dwells by his Spirit" [7].
The inclusion of Egypt and Assyria as "a blessing on the earth" alongside Israel suggests a universal scope of God's redemptive plan. This vision contrasts with earlier prophecies of judgment and highlights a future where national distinctions are transcended in shared worship of the Lord. The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary on Isaiah 66:21, though referring to a different passage, notes that Gentiles will become "priests... Levites" for spiritual worship, enjoying direct access to God, which was formerly limited to temple ministers [11]. This aligns with the idea of a broadened community of worshippers in Isaiah 19:23-25.
Historically, this passage has been understood as a prophecy of the inclusion of Gentiles into God's covenant people, often seen as fulfilled in the Christian church. Augustine, in his Homilies on the Gospels, speaks of the God of Israel confounding all other deities, implying a singular, true worship that will ultimately prevail [9]. The prophecy anticipates a time when nations that were once enemies of Israel and each other will unite in worship of the Lord, signifying a profound transformation brought about by divine intervention.
Sources
- John “John 4:23 (LITV) — But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeks such ones that worship Him.”
- Isaiah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Isaiah 19:20: 19:20 The altar (19:19) would be a sign and a witness of the Egyptians’ religious connection with Israel (see 19:24-25). • God answers the prayers of those who cry to the Lord for help. • The Lord is a savior; he would protect the Egyptians even as he protected Jerusalem from the Assyrians.”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 19:25: My people . Because they will erect an altar to the Lord publicly, He calls them my people.”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: truth, and declares that those who seek him with their whole heart will find him: those, therefore, who delight in their own pollution cannot surely aspire to him. One of the requisites of legitimate prayer is repentance. Hence the common declaration of Scripture, that God does not listen to the wicked; that their prayers, as well as their sacrifices, are an abomination to him. For it is right that those who seal up their hearts should find the ears of God closed against them, that those who, by their hardheartedness, provoke his s”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 94: 2:13 ); that is, to remind the people that fasting in itself is not of great value in the sight of God, unless accompanied with internal affection of the heart, true dissatisfaction with sin and with one’s self, true humiliation, and true grief, from the fear of God; nay, that fasting is useful 2465 for no other reason than because it is added to these as an inferior help. There is nothing which God more abominates than when men endeavour to cloak themselves by substituting signs and external appearance for integrity of heart. Acco”
- Targum Jonathan (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Targum Jonathan, Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 19:21: And the power of the Lord shall be revealed to do good to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the fear of the Lord at that time, and they shall worship with holy sacrifices and offerings; yea, they shall vow vows before the Lord, and shall perform them.”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 38: the Spirit, so that the gates of hell should not prevail against them — he means his sincere or his nominal disciples, — believers or unbelievers? These questions admit of but one answer. The attributes ascribed to the Church in Scripture belong to true believers alone. The promises made to the Church are fulfilled only to believers. The relation in which the Church stands to God and 138 Christ is sustained alone by true believers. They only are the children and heirs of God; they only are the body of Christ in which He dwells by his Spir”
- Isaiah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Isaiah 45:19: not . . . secret--not like the heathen oracles which gave their responses from dark caverns, with studied obscurity (Isa 48:16). Christ plainly quotes these words, thereby identifying Himself with Jehovah (Joh 18:20). I said not . . . Seek . . . in vain--When I commanded you to seek Me (Jehovah did so, Isa 45:11, "Ask Me," &c.), it was not in order that ye might be sent empty away (Deu 32:47). Especially in Israel's time of trial, God's interposition, in behalf of Zion hereafter, is expressly stated as about to be the answer to prayer (Isa 62:6-10; ”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 6: Augustine — Homilies on the Gospels — CHAP.XXV.--OF THE FACT THAT THE FALSE GODS DO NOT FORBID OTHERS TO BE WORSHIPPED ALONG WITH THEMSELVES. THAT THE GOD OF ISRAEL IS THE TRUE GOD, IS PROVED BY HIS WORKS, BOTH IN PROPHECY AND IN FULFILME (part 2): any explanation upon these things which in their wisdom they think fit: only, in spite of all that, the God of Israel will confound all their argumentations. For in prohibiting all those 93 deities from being worshipped, while His own worship is hindered by none of them, and in at once commanding, foretelling, and effecting destruction ”
- Targum Jonathan (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Targum Jonathan, Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 19:25: Whom the Lord of hosts hath blessed, saying, Blessed be my people, whom I have brought out of Egypt; and because they sinned before me, I carried them captive into Assyria, but when they repent, they are called my people, and Israel mine inheritance.”
- Isaiah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Isaiah 66:21: of them--the Gentiles. priests . . . Levites--for spiritual worship: enjoying the direct access to God which was formerly enjoyed by the ministers of the temple alone (Pe1 2:9; Rev 1:6).”