Isaiah 18:1-3

Message to Ethiopia

¹ 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.

Chapter 18 is a short seven verses, but we'll spend three posts studying Isaiah's imagery. According to my study Bible, the message is for Ethiopia (or Cush, in Hebrew), a territory which included part of southern Egypt and far beyond, into modern-day Ethiopia. But, there seems to be a lot of debate as to which nation "beyond the rivers of Cush" is the prophecy's focus. Commentator Matthew Henry believes this is a prophecy extension about Assyria's demise. If you follow the link from which I found this map of Cush (see photo credit below), you will find information suggesting that the United States is the nation for whom Isaiah wrote the prophecy. I will tell you this with certainty: This gal is not here to interpret prophecy. I'm just trying to make some sense out of what I read.

The first word of verse 1 is alas, so that tells us that the news is not good for someone. "Whirring wings" brings to mind the locusts of Joel, or the Lord "whistling for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria." (Isaiah 7:18) Large, powerful, buzzing armies! This is a land that has made a lot of "noise." Cush, by the way, is also the name of one of Noah's grandsons. Interestingly, Cush and some of the other sons of Ham became enemies of Israel down the line, with Cush being the father of Nimrod, who founded Babel, which became Babylon. (Genesis 10: 6-10) There's a lot of "noise" in that lineage.

The next ideas might also support a nation being from this region, as Isaiah makes several mentions to waterways in verse 2. Vessels made from papyrus or wicker brings to mind baby Moses' basket, hiding in the reeds. The land "the rivers divide" might well be this region, with the Nile and its tributaries breaking up the land. But, there are plenty of rivers in Assyria, too--some that would even lead to the Nile region. We can't forget last week's passage, either: "Alas [note the symmetry], the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rumbling of nations who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!" (Isaiah 17: 12)  Noise and water, from Assyria!

The nation was "powerful and oppressive," "to a people feared far and wide...." (vs. 2) We already know what a threat the Assyrian Empire was. Egypt could fit here, but Isaiah has a separate message for Egypt beginning with Chapter 19. (A prequel, perhaps?) And what about Ethiopia? The description of the Ethiopian from the Asbury Bible Commentary falls in line with Isaiah's description: "The tall, bronzed Ethiopian was legendary: Herodotus, writing in the fifth century B.C., described the Ethiopians as 'the tallest and most beautiful of men.'" Scripture marks them as powerful warriors:

"Now Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and he came to Mareshah."

--II Chronicles 14:9

It is also curious that the Ethiopians play a role--albeit, indirect--in the fulfilling of the prophecy we read about last week, from II Kings 19. We read that God slew the Assyrian army, and even though its king and his cupbearer returned to Assyria, God made the means for their demise to come about there. What helped to put the Assyrian leadership on the run home and made the armies beat louder on the doors of Jerusalem's wall? It was a threat from--that's right--the Ethiopians!

"'Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land....' Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king [Ethiopia] had left Lachish. When he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, 'Behold, he has come out to fight against you....'"

--II Kings 19: 6-9 (excerpts, brackets mine referencing study Bible note)

With verse 3, the emphasis is taken off the nation in question--whichever it may be--and put on everybody else. What will happen in this moment of "alas" is something that all on earth will witness. A "standard is raised" and a "trumpet is blown." The prophets have used these phrases as indicators of the work of God to come. A standard is not just a signal but a badge of office or authority. [Dictionary.com] All will see and all will hear, and it will be clear by Whose authority this work will be done (even if we aren't clear for whom it is being done!)


 
Isaiah becomes figurative, again, as we look at the Pruner at harvest time.  ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.isaiah18.com

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Next week:  Isaiah 18: 4 and 5
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 13: 1-5

Prophecies about Babylon

¹ The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

² Lift up a standard on the bare hill,
Raise your voice to them,

Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.
³ I have commanded My consecrated ones,I have even called My mighty warriors,
My proudly exulting ones,
To execute My anger.
⁴ A sound of tumult on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of the uproar of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle.
⁵ They are coming from a far country,
From the farthest horizons,
The Lord and His instruments of indignation,
To destroy the whole land.

As mentioned at the end of last week's post, with Isaiah, Chapter 13, we begin an 11-chapter exposition of the prophecies concerning foreign nations. God will let loose words of fire upon those nations who are not His people. We begin with Babylon, which, in the time that Isaiah received this word, was not a world-dominating power. It was part of the Assyrian Empire. But, we know that the world's situation changed, as Babylon became an empire all its own, sweeping Judah out of its land.

Beginning with the first verse, we come to the word oracle, which commonly means a response or pronouncement of something by one with authority. (Dictionary.com) "The Hebrew word can mean a literal weight, corresponding to the idea that the prophetic word is a heavy responsibility for the prophet who must deliver it." (Reformation Study Bible). Matthew Henry suggests the burden is that which is coming upon Babylon, meaning a word they are struggling to hear. Not being followers of God, the Babylonians would not have recognized this message as carrying much weight at the time, although the ultimate cost to them was and will be enormous.

Let's look at verse 2 in the Amplified Bible:

"Raise up a signal banner upon the high and bare mountain, summon them [the Medes and Persians] with loud voice and beckoning hand that they may enter the gates of the [Babylonian] nobles."

--Isaiah 13:2 (Amplified Bible)

I wonder if Babylon would have paid more attention to this oracle had they the Amplified Bible version? We looked at 'standard' when Isaiah used the word in 5:26--"He will also lift up a standard to the distant nation, and will whistle for it from the ends of the earth; and behold, it will come with speed swiftly." God's raising a flag, a sail, a sign to call the nations of His choosing into service. Look at all the capital "My's" in verse 3! Look at how God calls them, too: "consecrated," "mighty," "proudly exulting." What we need to understand--as we had to understand about the calling of Assyria to conquer Israel--is that God is calling the nations! He is assembling the best warriors--not followers--to squelch His anger.

With verse 4, Isaiah grants us a visual and auditory picture of how such a gathering might look and sound. "Tumult" and "uproar" as God pulls up these nations from their places, giving them the mindset of heading for an all-out war without the mindset of knowing that it was for heavenly purposes.

"God’s sanctified [consecrated, my add] ones, designed for this service and set apart to it by the purpose and providence of God, disengaged from other projects, that they might wholly apply themselves to this, such as were qualified for that to which they were called, for what work God employs men in he does in some measure fit them for."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

When God can use the gifts and skills of those who do not believe for His service, how can we who believe doubt that He can use us as we are for His purposes? Wouldn't even bring this up if it weren't something I hear from believers pretty often. Think about it....

The end of verse 4 might be more literally translated as "the Lord of armies musters the army." As the Lord of hosts, God is in control of everything in the heavenly realms and the earthly realms. The "God of angel armies" can command the earthly forces of the nations as well--nations that will come from the "farthest horizons." (vs 5) The Medes and Persians? Really? His "instruments of indignation" will not fail Him.

 
Babylon's judgment on the Day of the Lord.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.picstopin.com

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Next week: Isaiah 13: 6-8

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 11: 11-13

 The Restored Remnant

¹¹ Then it will happen on that day that the Lord
Will again recover the second time with His hand
The remnant of His people, who will remain,
From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath,
And from the islands of the sea.
¹² And He will lift up a standard for the nations
And assemble the banished ones of Israel,
And will gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
¹³ Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
And those who harass Judah will be cut off;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah will not harass Ephraim.

After prophesying the time of eternal peace, Isaiah then says that this is the time when the remnant of God's people will be restored. In reading the beginning of verse 11, you see "...the Lord will again recover the second time...." This would imply that there was a first time, which there was with the exodus from Egypt under Moses' guidance. This second restoration will not fully come with Judah's freedom from exile in Babylon. Isaiah is speaking of a time still to come.

We know that God has plans to preserve His people. We have read in Isaiah how He will prepare "the remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped...." (Isaiah 10: 20) Here, in the second part of verse 11, we learn some of the places from where the remnant shall come: "...from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea." Let's look at where these places are. (Facts are drawn from The Encyclopedia of the Bible.)

Assyria--In our short study of Isaiah so far, you probably guessed that God's people would be coming from Assyria. We know that the 10 tribes of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) were brought into exile here. It makes sense that some would make their return from where these families had been planted.

Egypt--It might not make sense that the place of original exile would become a place of new refuge for the Israelites, but.... I don't usually preview verses before we get to study them, but, it helps to look at Isaiah 19: "In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria." (Isaiah 19: 23-24a) The scattering and blending of God's people among the nations would clearly be seen in the relationships between these countries. Egypt may also be translated "Lower Egypt."


Pathros--Because Pathros is considered "Upper Egypt," "roughly the Nile Valley between Cairo and Aswan."

Cush--Also known as Ethiopia, which is located south and east of the Egypts, right along the Red Sea.

Elam--"Elam is the Biblical designation of a people and a country in the southern area of the Iranian plateau in the Zagros mountains east and northeast of the valley of the Tigris. It is approximately equivalent to the present Iranian province of Khuzistan." This would be quite a bit east and then south, into the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.

Shinar--Shinar is another word for Babylonia, so, again, no surprises here. This is the land to which the exiles from Judah would go, as Daniel tells us in his book (Daniel 1:2).

Hamath--This was a city in Syria, north of Damascus. Assyria's Tiglath-Pileser and Sargon II would invade Hamath as part of their conquests. After Israel was destroyed, some exiles were relocated to Hamath. 

Islands of the sea--An alternate translation might be 'coastlands.' The Amplified Bible uses, "from the countries bordering on the [Mediterranean] Sea." The scattering of God's people was quite wide. Verse 12 will label the wideness as "the four corners of the earth."

Continuing now with Isaiah, verse 12, "He will lift up a standard...." We spoke of this last week, that standard or "ensign"--the root of Jesse--being Jesus Christ. God will bring His "banished" and "dispersed" people together in assembly under the reign of His chosen One, the Prince of Peace.

“I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph,
And I will bring them back,
Because I have had compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had not rejected them,
For I am the Lord their God and I will answer them."

--Zechariah 10:6

And in this time of peace, under the Prince's reign, a miracle:  "Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and those who harass Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim." (vs. 13) The long-time divided Northern (Ephraim) and Southern (Judah) Kingdoms would be reunited. It was only two chapters ago, Isaiah 9, that we read of these Kingdoms devouring one another. God did not intervene:

"Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
And together they are against Judah.
In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out."

--Isaiah 9: 21

But, "it will happen on that day" (vs. 11) that God will have compassion on His people and restore them to Himself. He had always planned on having His people return to Him. The Word of God in its entirety is the story of God's love for His people, and His plan to keep His people with Him always. Circumstances and time remain in His hand.

Ending on a personal note today.... I can't help but read this passage and think about the recent schism that divided my former church into two "kingdoms." Both are moving forward, re-forming and re-establishing themselves. It's hard not to look back over the time of struggle and see bits of "jealousy" and "harassment" even as both sides claim Christ as their "standard." I still grieve the loss of the outcome of this split, even as I have been moving forward. God is grieved when His people "divorce," if you will. Yet, there is certainly a history of God scattering His people with intent and purpose.

Prayerful that His Church will know restoration, now and in the days to come.... 
    

How the Lord will move "on that day".... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: brendapace.com

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Next week: Isaiah 11: 14-16

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).