Isaiah 18 New King James Version (NKJV)
Proclamation Against Ethiopia
18 Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings,
Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,
2 Which sends ambassadors by sea,
Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying,
“Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin,
To a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide.”
Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,
2 Which sends ambassadors by sea,
Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying,
“Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin,
To a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide.”
3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth:
When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it;
And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.
4 For so the Lord said to me,
“I will take My rest,
And I will look from My dwelling place
Like clear heat in sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect
And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,
He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks
And take away and cut down the branches.
When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it;
And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.
4 For so the Lord said to me,
“I will take My rest,
And I will look from My dwelling place
Like clear heat in sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect
And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,
He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks
And take away and cut down the branches.
6 They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey
And for the beasts of the earth;
The birds of prey will summer on them,
And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
And for the beasts of the earth;
The birds of prey will summer on them,
And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
7 In that time a present will be brought to the Lord of hosts
From[a] a people tall and smooth of skin,
And from a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts,
To Mount Zion.
From[a] a people tall and smooth of skin,
And from a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts,
To Mount Zion.
In this chapter, Isaiah not only talks about Ethiopia but also about people living “beyond the rivers of Ethiopia” (verse 1). During the time of Isaiah’s writing, the Ethiopians were six years into their dynasty and their country included Somalia, the Sudan, areas of Western Africa, and probably also people south of Ethiopia near the Eastern coast of Africa. This nation can be called the “land of decorating wings,” if we follow the Egyptian root meaning of the word in the original.
Isaiah is discussing “the faithful” as opposed to the existing evil in this chapter but that division is not on racial color lines or nationalities. These people on the coast of Africa sent envoys by sea in papyrus vessels to other places (verse 2). They were tall, smooth, powerful, oppressive, and were feared (verse 2c-f). Isaiah now turns in his writing to that which is beyond his time to the last phases of earth’s history, the Second Coming of Christ. “As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains you will see it, and as soon as a trumpet is blown, you will hear it” (verse 3b-c). Yes, the trumpet shall sound and the whole world will hear it and Christ will come.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Please help us to drop any misconceptions we have of people from other parts of the world. Help us to exchange any fears we might have of others and exchange such fears with the realization they will be bringing a gift to the Lamb of salvation on heavenly Mount Zion. Lord, grant that we may be there to witness this event with the saved of all times. Amen.
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