intimates how decidedly the existence of an altar furnishes a
foundation for the supposition that sacrifices are to be offered up
there, a supposition intimated by the very name in Hebrew. If it was
meant to serve some other purpose, it would have been necessary
expressly to state it, or, at least, some other place of sacrifice
ought to have been assigned for the sacrifices mentioned in ver. 21.
But as it stands, there cannot be any doubt that the altar here and the
sacrifices there belong to one another. This passage under
consideration is of no little consequence, inasmuch as it shows that,
in other passages where a going up of the Gentiles to Jerusalem in the
Messianic time is spoken of, as, _e.g._, chap. lxvi. 23, we must
distinguish between the thought and the embodiment. The _pillar_ at the
border bears an inscription by which the land is designated as the
property of the Lord, just as it was the custom of the old eastern
conquerors, and especially of the Egyptians, to erect such pillars in
the conquered territories.

Ver. 20. "_And it is for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts
in the land of Egypt: When they cry unto the Lord because of the
oppressors, He shall send them a Saviour and a Deliverer; and he shall
deliver them._"

Altar and pillar, as a sign and witness of the confession to the Lord,
are, at the same time, a guarantee of the deliverance to be granted by
Him. According to _Gesenius_, the Prophet speaks "without a definite
historical reference, of a saving or protecting angel." But we cannot
think of an angel on account of the plain reference to the common
formula in the Book of Judges, by which it is intimated that, as far as
redemption is concerned, Egypt has been made a partaker of the
privileges of the covenant-people. It is just this reference which has
given rise to the general expression; but it is Christ who is meant;
for the prophets, and especially Isaiah, are not cognizant of any other
Saviour for the Gentile world [Pg 145] than of Him; and it is He who is
suggested by the Messianic character of the whole description.

Ver. 21. "_And the Lord is known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians
know the Lord in that day, and offer sacrifice and oblation, and vow
vows unto the Lord, and perform them._"

Ver. 22. "_And the Lord smiteth the Egyptians so that He healeth them,
and they are converted to the Lord, and He shall be entreated by them,
and shall heal them._"

We have here simp