whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance."
Egypt and Assyria were Israel's historic enemies — the empires that had invaded, oppressed, and terrorized them for generations. So it's genuinely jarring to hear God call Egypt "my people" and Assyria "the work of my hands," placing them in the same sentence as Israel, described as his inheritance. This isn't an oracle about Israel's rivals getting punished. It's the opposite.
It would have been easier, and more expected, for this passage to end in triumph over enemies. Instead it ends in shared blessing, extended to nations that had every reason to be excluded from it. That's a much bigger vision of belonging than most religious language allows for — one where old grudges and old borders aren't the final word on who gets welcomed in.
If you've assumed that whatever this God offers is reserved for people who already look like insiders, this verse is direct evidence against that assumption. Blessing shows up here in the most unlikely company imaginable.
If you've assumed you're too far outside for this kind of blessing to include you, this verse is worth reading as a direct counterexample.
A short video on this is coming soon — for now, read on.