ISAIAH

Isaiah 18

quote:

"Alas, oh land of whirring wings Which lies beyond the rivers of Cush, 2 Which sends envoys by the sea, Even in papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide. 3 All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth, As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, you will see it, And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it. 4 For thus the LORD has told me, "I will look from My dwelling place quietly Like dazzling heat in the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest." 5 For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossoms And the flower becomes a ripening grape, Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives And remove and cut away the spreading branches. 6 They will be left together for mountain birds of prey, And for the beasts of the earth; And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them, And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them. 7 At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the LORD of hosts From a people tall and smooth, Even from a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation, Whose land the rivers divide-- To the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, even Mount Zion."

Chapter 18 is a difficult one to understand and is one of the most vague prophecies in the entire book of Isaiah. The rivers are suggestive of the tributaries of the Nile River. The prophecy is directed to Ethiopia, which at that time included a large area that encompassed what is today Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia. In Isaiah's time, Ethiopia was a major world power and a rival of Assyria. Since Judah was positioned between Assyria and Ethiopia, it would seem good to align together against Assyria.

The Lord, however, rejects the idea of an alliance. God wanted Israel to trust in Him. He is fully capable of taking care of His People and had He wanted to raise up an army against Assyria, He only had to sound a trumpet.

Numbers 10:9
"And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies."

God "will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives and remove and cut away the spreading branches." Eliminating Assyria is no problem for the Lord and He will eventually destroy the Assyrian army completely.

In verse 7 God says there will come a day when the Ethiopians will come and worship at Mount Zion! This may have been fulfilled at various times. For example, Acts 8:26-40 tells of a visit of an Ethiopian eunuch of great authority, who came to worship in Jerusalem.

Acts 8:26-27
"And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,"

Especially in the early church era, the Ethiopian church was quite strong. And even today there is a people group from Ethiopia, called the "forgotten people", who have migrated to Israel. Unfortunately, this description and their circumstances have far too much in common. What a blessing it would be to pray for these forgotten people who are in distress. They have come to worship in Israel and through our prayers they need to come to an understanding of who Jesus is and truly fulfill this prophecy!