Bible Reader

Isaiah 18

¹Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:

²That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

³All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.

⁴For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.

⁵For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.

⁶They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.

⁷In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.

on Isaiah 18

The Burdened Prophet

Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!” The premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, made that statement to a group of Western diplomats on November 18, 1956. But Khrushchev is dead, and the Soviet Union no longer exists. Khrushchev’s boastful prophecy was not fulfilled.

Is there a pattern to history? Is anyone in charge? The British historian Edward Gibbon called history “little more than the register of crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.” But the American missionary leader Arthur T. Pierson said that “history is His story.” Which one is right?

The prophet Isaiah would stand with Pierson, for these eleven chapters are certainly evidence that God is at work in the nations of the world. In these chapters, the prophet revealed God’s plan not only for Judah, but also for ten Gentile nations. President James Garfield called history “the unrolled scroll of prophecy,” and Isaiah unrolled the scroll for us to read.

World leaders need to learn the lesson that Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way, that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Dan. 4: nkjv). Paul made the same declaration to the Greek philosophers in Athens: “[God] determined the times set for [the nations] and the exact places where they should live” (Acts 17: niv). Indeed, “history is His story.”

Isaiah called these prophetic declarations “burdens” (Isa. 13:1; 14:28; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1, 11, 13; 22:1; 23:1). The Hebrew word means “to lift up.” The prophet was carrying a heavy weight because of the solemn nature of his message (Jer. 23:33). He was announcing judgments that involved the destruction of cities and the slaughter of thousands of people. No wonder he felt burdened!

JUDAH

A. During the time of Josiah’s rule—2–13 1. The sins of the nation—2—6 2. The temple messages—7—10 3. The broken covenant—11—13

B. The coming Babylonian invasion—14—16 C. The Sabbath message—17 D. The potter’s house sermons—18—19

E. Messages to the leaders—20—24 F. Judah’s captivity—25—29 G. National restoration—30—33

A. Ministry during the siege—34—38 1. To King Zedekiah—34, 37—38 2. To King Jehoiakim—35—36

B. Jerusalem falls—39 A. To Egypt—46 B. To Philistia—47 C. To Moab—48 D. To Ammon, Moab, Edom, Syria, Kedar, and Elam—49

E. To Babylon—50—51 J e r e m i a h J o n a h E s t h e r M i c a h J o b L a m e n t a t i o n s N a h u m P s a l m s E z e k i e l H a b a k k u k P r o v e r b s D a n i e l Z e p h a n i a h E c c l e s i a s t e s H o s e a H a g g a i S o n g o f J o e l Z e c h a r i a h S o l o m o n A m o s M a l a c h i I s a i a h O b a d i a h

Ethiopia

The original text has “Cush,” a land that covers the area now occupied by Ethiopia, the Sudan, and Somalia. Isaiah called it “a land of whirring wings” (v. 1 niv), not only because of the insects that infested the land, but also because of the frantic diplomatic activity going on as the nation sought alliances to protect them from Assyria. He pictures the ambassadors in their light, swift boats, going to the African nations for help. But God tells them to go back home (v. 2) because He would deal with Assyria Himself, apart from the help of any army.

In contrast to the frantic human activity on earth is the calm patience of God in heaven (v. 4) as He awaits the right time to reap the harvest of judgment. Assyria is pictured as a ripening vine that will never survive, for God will cut it down (v. 5). In verse 6, Isaiah describes the feast that God spreads for the birds and beasts, the corpses of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (37:36). (See Revelation 14:14–20; 19:17–21, where these same two images are used for end-time judgments.)

Instead of rushing here and there with diplomatic plans, the Cushites will go to Jerusalem with gifts for the Lord and for the king of Judah (Isa. 17; 2 Chron. 32:20–23). When the messianic kingdom is established, the Gentile nations will go to Mount Zion to worship the Lord and bring Him gifts (Isa. 60:1–7).