11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a father [b] the son he delights in.- Proverbs 3:11-12
I'm always struck by the desperation that brings out repentance. It's a difficult thing to accept, but the truth is that we humans will do our best to get by without God. It's our nature, from the beginning until now, to seek to replace God with ourselves. Unfortunately, we don't do very well at being God and that is demonstrated most vividly when our world comes crashing down around us and there is nothing we can do to stop it.
Sometimes God needs to get our attention and for some reason we respond better to negative reinforcement rather than to positive. Perhaps it's too easy to dismiss the good as something deserved or coincidental, but the bad leaves us searching for answers. I'm not sure, but in Isaiah 19 Egypt is faced with a coming calamity and they eventually turn away from idols and towards the God who loves them.
What's more, they join Israel and Assyria as a single unified voice praising God. We see God's heart towards his people in the final verses of the chapter:
24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25 The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance."If only we could see this today. I can only imagine Egypt, Assyria and Israel bound in unity claiming (rightly!) to be beloved of God, His handiwork, His inheritance.
