This reading is a continuation of the prophecies regarding those lands that will be destroyed. Next on the list is Ethiopia and Egypt. But it is not all death and destruction this time. 18:7 refers to a powerful nation who will bring tribute to the Lord on Mount Zion after the destruction has ended and nothing remains (18:6). What a powerful picture of a nation on Mount Zion turning to God with destruction below.
The oracle against Egypt refers to the failure of religion in Egypt (19:1) and its collapse as well (19:2-4). I personally find this interesting because Egypt went through several religions before this time, and has gone through several since this time. The same is true of the political entity that is Egypt. We are reminded that even during Isaiah's time, there was nothing new under the sun, and there isn't now, either. Every aspect of Egypt is referred to in these passages, from religion (19:1), to the nation (19:5-10), even the economy (19:10) which was always a focal point for Egyptian society. Egypt will have nothing to turn to (19:11-15) except fear of the Lord (19:16-17).
The reading concludes with a promise of a united, blessed Egypt, Assyria, and Israel, who up to this point have traditionally been enemies. Egypt and Assyria will accept the God of the Israelites and become part of God's people (19:23-24).
Could this united nation, that of the Israelites with the gentiles, be the great nation that climbed out of destruction to Mount Zion to offer tribute to the Lord?
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Part of the Messianic prophecy for this stands out to me even in the beginning of chapter 18; "Go, you swift messengers" (2) to the hosts announcing Christ's birth, the "signal raised on the mountains" might be the star (3). The rest of the chapter would imply that divine providence was behind Herod's command to kill the children, and at the end the prose section might be about the three wise men.
Chapter 19 talks about how Egypt and Assyria will worship the Lord together. Historically, this is a fascinating prophecy, since Alexandria and the rest of Egypt was amazingly overcome by Christianity in the second century after the Resurrection. In fact, it is from there that we found some of the oldest MSS of the Bible that we know exist--I just saw the Codex Sinaiticus (discovered at the library of the monastery of St. Katherine of Alexandria) at the British Library last month.
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