Isaiah 18 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence
This is one of the more difficult chapters in the book of Isaiah to interpret merely because it is so short and does not provide enough context to understand its details. But it appears to be speaking of the ancient Cushites or Nubians that lived in a region that is now split between Egypt and Sudan. Their home was located near the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile where the two rivers join together in the Upper Nile Region. It was known as a land of whirring wings because of the multitude of flying insects that gathered at the Nile River. The Cushites, along with the Egyptians, were well known for making boats out of papyrus or bulrush as is mentioned in this chapter. They were also described as a nation tall, smooth and fearsome.
In 2 Kings 19:9 we learn that the king of Cush went to fight against the king of Assyria. And in Isaiah 37:9 the leader of the Assyrian army, as he is besieging Jerusalem, learns that Cush has attacked Assyria, and this gives Hezekiah’s leaders some hope of deliverance from Assyria by the Cushites, but it is not to be. The Lord himself will deliver Jerusalem.
What the prophet wants us to see is how the Lord responds to the fighting of these mighty nations. As the surrounding nations are waiting with baited breath to hear the news of the outcome of these battles (v.3), the Lord is pictured as a gardener calmly and quietly looking on taking his rest (v.4). Nevertheless, in a moment of judgment, he rises up to lop off branches and cuts off shoots in order that his flowers might blossom. The Lord will tend to his vine and cut off any invasive species that seeks to threaten his people. In the end, all of God’s enemies shall be left to the birds of prey and the beasts of the earth. This seems to be a reference to 2 Kings 19:35 when the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians so that when the Jews arose the next morning they found a great multitude of dead bodies everywhere.
As a result of this unexpected change of events with the Lord destroying a large portion of the Assyrian army and removing this threat from the Near East, in 2 Chronicles 32:23 we’re told that many of the surrounding nations brought gifts to the Lord in Jerusalem and also brought precious gifts to King Hezekiah as he was exalted in the sight of the nations from that point on. And in v.7 of our text, Isaiah also foresees that Cush will be amongst those nations bringing tribute to Judah. Although they were seen as a mighty and conquering nation themselves, it was not they who gave deliverance to Judah, but rather Judah who delivered them through the almighty power of the Lord of hosts.
Normally, when our world is shaken up, we take comfort that God is still sitting upon his throne overruling the affairs of men, but we don’t often think of God as a vinedresser calmly and quietly pruning his people in the midst of turmoil. Let us give thanks that our God is calm when we are shaken, and that He sets to prune when we are set to panic.