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by Samuel E. Ward
Isaiah 18-23
Introduction
John Oswalt states that [the main question God is addressing] in this section to the nations surrounding Judah is " Who actually rules the world and whose purposes will in the end be accomplished?'" According to Isaiah 17: 12-14, it is unnecessary to become frightened because of the raging of the nations, for they will soon be gone. Isaiah 18:1-.3 says that instead of envoys coming from the Ethiopian king of Egypt to invite Judah to join a coalition against Assyria, envoys should go to the Ethiopians to tell them what God says.
A direct message from Lord appears in 18:4-7. While the nations [toss] about like the waves of the sea, God quietly waits and will take action at just the right moment, cutting off the oppressing nations and leaving their corpses on the mountains.
--John Oswalt, The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003) p. 235.
G. Predictions Concerning Cush and Egypt, Isa 18-20
1. The identity of Cush
Cush is probably meant to be associated with Egypt, which at the time, seems to be ruled by an Ethiopian dynasty. Their boundaries extended from present-day Egypt and southward to include Sudan and Somalia.
2. The issue with Cush, Isa 18:1-2.
The Cushites were seeking to build an alliance among neighboring nations, something God warned against while encouraging faith in His plan to judge Assyria.
Isaiah 18:1-2 (NIV) Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush, 2which sends envoys by sea in papyrus boats over the water. Go, swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers.
3. The intervention of the Lord, Isa 18:3-6.
God has a day of judgment in store for Assyria, but it will be according to His own timing. All that is left is to wait and trust in His deliverance.
Isaiah 18:3-6 (NIV) 3All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it. 4This is what the LORD says to me: "I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest." 5For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches. 6They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild animals; the birds will feed on them all summer, the wild animals all winter.
4. The incredible future of the Cushites, Isa 18:7.
Isaiah 18:7 (NIV) 7At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers—the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty.
The Cushites, who were nervous over Assyria, will one day be among all the nations that will bring gifts to bring gifts to the Lord at His dwelling-place on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, probably in the millennial kingdom.
5. The inclusion of Egypt in judgment, Isa 19
a. The coming of the Lord against Egypt, 19:1
Isaiah 19:1 (NIV) 1An oracle concerning Egypt: See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
b. The delivery of Egypt to Assyria, Isa 19-2-4 (19:4)
Isaiah 19:4 (NIV) 4I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them," declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
c. The collapse of the Egyptian economy, Isa 19:5-10 (19:10)
Isaiah 19:10 (NIV) 10 The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
d. The powerlessness of the Egyptian advisors, Isa19:11-17 (19:11)
Isaiah 19:11 (NIV) 11The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings"?
e. The unbelievable blessing of God upon Egypt and Assyria along with Israel, Isa 19:18-25 (19:24-25)
Isaiah 19:24-25 (NIV) 24In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance."
6. The indignity to be brought upon Egypt and Cush, Isa 20:1-6 (20:3-4).
Isaiah 20:3-4 (NIV) 3Then the LORD said, "Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush,£ 4so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt's shame.
H. Predictions Concerning Babylon, Isa 21:1-10 (21:6-9)
Those hoping in Babylon's ability to save them from the Assyrian onslaught will be disappointed and thrown into panic when they hear that Assyria has overcome Babylon. Isaiah was told to watch for it.
Isaiah 21:6-9 (NIV) 6This is what the Lord says to me: "Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees. 7When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert." 8And the lookout£ shouted, "Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post. 9Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: 'Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!'"
I. Predictions Concerning Dumah, Isa 21:11-12.
Isaiah 21:11-12 (NIV) 11An oracle concerning Dumah£: Someone calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" 12The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again."
Dumah was an intersection of two trade routes, an east-west route from Babylon to Edom and Egypt and a north-south route from the Red Sea to Palmyra, a city in central Syria. Anything coming through this point would certainly be a threat to Edom. For this reason, they ask what trouble the watchman/prophet might see coming in their direction. As far as the interpretation of this passage is concerned, it may mean that what was seen as a threat in the beginning is not likely to change for a while. This passage continues to be a puzzle to scholars.
J. Predictions Concerning Arabia, Isa 21:13-17 (21:16-17)
Isaiah 21:16-17 (NIV) 16This is what the Lord says to me: "Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the pomp of Kedar will come to an end. 17The survivors of the bowmen, the warriors of Kedar, will be few." The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Within one year, all the pride of those who resided in Arabia would be destroyed, Their warriors would be reduced to a useless force.
K. Predictions Concerning Jerusalem, Isa 22:1-25.
1. A wrong reaction to deliverance, Isa 22:1-14
a. They are early and misguided in their celebration, Isa 22:1-2.
Isaiah 22:1-2 (NIV) 1An oracle concerning the Valley of Vision: What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs, 2O town full of commotion, O city of tumult and revelry? Your slain were not killed by the sword, nor did they die in battle.
b. They suffered great losses outside the city, Isa 22:3.
Isaiah 22:3 (NIV) 3All your leaders have fled together; they have been captured without using the bow. All you who were caught were taken prisoner together, having fled while the enemy was still far away.
2. A weeping prophet in mourning, Isa 22:4.
Isaiah 22:4 (NIV) 4Therefore I said, "Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people."
3. A woeful day yet ahead, Isa 22:5-7 (22:5)
Isaiah 22:5 (NIV) 5The Lord, the LORD Almighty, has a day of tumult and trampling and terror in the Valley of Vision, a day of battering down walls and of crying out to the mountains.
4. A wrong response to God's plan, Isa 22:8-14 (22:12-14)
Isaiah 22:12-14 (NIV) 12The Lord, the LORD Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. 13But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!"
14The LORD Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: "Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for," says the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
5. A wicked steward's fall to the lure of a legacy (Shebna), Isa 22:15-19 (22:16-17)
Isaiah 22:16-17 (NIV) 16What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock? 17 "Beware, the LORD is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, O you mighty man.
6. A wise priest's reward, Isa 22:20-24
Isaiah 22:20-24 (NIV) 20"In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 23I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will be a seat£ of honor for the house of his father. 24All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
7. A wise priest's fall, Isa 22:25
Isaiah 22:25 (NIV) 25"In that day," declares the LORD Almighty, "the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down." The LORD has spoken.
L. Predictions Concerning Tyre, Isa 23:1-3
1. Tyre's fall will be a sad day in the world's economy, Isa 23:1-7 (23:1).
Isaiah 23:1 (NIV) 1An oracle concerning Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them.
2. Tyre's fall is a plan formed by God for their judgment, Isa 23:8-13 (23:8-9).
Isaiah 23:8-9 (NIV) 8Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth? 9The LORD Almighty planned it, to bring low the pride of all glory and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
Those cities and nations listed as those who should mourn the fall of Tyre were as far away as Tarshish (Spain) in Europe to Egypt in Africa.
3. Tyre's days are numbered (70 years), Isa 23:15.
Isaiah 23:15 (NIV) 15At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king's life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
4. Tyre's punishment is temporary, Isa 23:16-18 (23:17-18)
Isaiah 23:17-18 (NIV) 17At the end of seventy years, the LORD will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire as a prostitute and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the LORD; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food and fine clothes.
Relevance
When the world is in great turmoil and God's children are especially threatened, it is sometimes hard to believe that God is in control and working out His plan for the world. What is left for us to do is to . . .
1. Make sure our relationship with God is right, Jer 18:11-12.
Jeremiah 18:11-12 (NIV) 11"Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, 'This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.' 12But they will reply, 'It's no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.'"
2. Make sure our testimony before the world is pure and honorable, Mat 5:16; 1 Pet 2:12
Matthew 5:16 (NIV) 16Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
1 Peter 2:12 (NIV) 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
3. Make sure our we understand that our struggles in the world prepare us for ministry, 2 Cor 1:3-4
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV) 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
4. Make sure our faith is in God so we can endure the hardships that will come, Nahum 1:7; Acts 14:21-22.
Nahum 1:7 (NIV) 7The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.
Acts 14:21-22 (NIV) 21They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.
