Isaiah 30:7 (Useless Alliance)
Prophecy
Isaiah warned King Hezekiah against forming an alliance with Egypt, predicting that "Rahab" (Egypt) would sit idle and provide no help against the Assyrians.
"For Egypt's help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her 'Rahab who sits still.'" — Isaiah 30:7 (ESV)
Fulfillment
Historic View
Historical records, including secular accounts from sources like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, confirm that despite Hezekiah's tribute and appeals to Egypt, the Egyptian army was defeated by Sennacherib at the Battle of Eltekeh, and they failed to prevent the siege of Jerusalem. The city was ultimately saved by divine intervention (the death of 185,000 Assyrians), not by the Egyptian alliance, proving Isaiah's political assessment correct.
Conclusion
The prophet Isaiah's warning against an alliance with Egypt was proven true by the historical outcome. The subsequent failure of the Egyptian army to protect Judah from the Assyrian siege served as a stark confirmation of the divine message, underscoring the article's central theme of heeding prophetic counsel over political expediency.