Anarchy and civil war in the great superpower of the world form the prelude to its desolation. As much of the land is destroyed from within, Egypt’s enemies see their chance to invade. When God withdraws his Spirit because of a people’s evildoing, they are left to their own devices. Their alienation causes God to close the heavens. They lose the light they once had, and a man’s adversaries become those of his own community. Desperate, they turn to false channels of information—idols, spiritists, mediums, and witchcraft—only to compound their plight (cf. Isaiah 8:19–20; 44:17; 45:20).

            The covenant curse of withering vegetation—synchronized with a plethora of additional misfortunes—overtakes Egypt as its vibrant society wanes like the vegetation itself. A metaphor for people, Egypt’s flora epitomizes the transitory nature of life for its wicked inhabitants (cf. Isaiah 5:24; 37:27; 40:6–8, 24). Foliage that “shrivels and blows away and is no more” typifies the fate awaiting them. Egypt’s bodies of water that dry up and rivers that turn foul resemble its people (cf. Isaiah 8:7–8; 18:2, 7; 37:25; 42:15), their evaporation and pollution signifying its society’s descent into chaos.

            A supremely industrialized and agricultural land, Egypt, spirals into decline. Whereas there once existed plenty, now there is a dearth; where Egyptians were once gainfully employed, now they are idle. Even the nation’s traditionally staple livelihoods disappear. A spirit of misery, dismay, despair, and distress pervades Egyptian society. A hitherto highly prosperous nation is imploding, leaving its large populace without seeming recourse (cf. v 15). Like all who comprise Greater Babylon, Egypt, the most exalted of nations, is rendered wretched as God’s judgments overtake her (cf. Isaiah 24:4).

            In Egypt’s political capital, Pharaoh and his advisers follow foolish policies in their attempts at economic recovery, further exacerbating Egypt’s problems. Considering themselves as wise as Egypt’s founding fathers, they act presumptuously, only to lead Egypt deeper into ruin. Deviating from well-proven policies, relying instead on their own human wisdom, they and their remedial strategies cause a loss of confidence in the nation, leading to anarchy and civil war. If Pharaoh and his advisers are indeed as wise as they consider themselves, let them predict what God has in store for Egypt.