“ Who Actually Rules the World?”
Isaiah 17:12-18:7
Last week we read the beginning of chapter 17 where Isaiah gave an oracle against Damascus which contained a reminder as the nations battle it out to see who was the mightiest many would forget God, but we were reminded a remnant of the faithful would remain.
Today’s Scripture, beginning in verse 12, Isaiah continues to remind God’s chosen people that in the midst of their time of judgment, God was still a God of mercy. The other nations who were raging against them may seem to be the ones controlling everything, but God still had the upper hand. Isaiah was trying to get the Israelites to look beyond their immediate struggles and see from God’s point of view. God was using the other nations for a time, but in God’s plan, the attacking nations would be also be rebuked. Although it may not have been the comforting news the Israelites wanted to hear.
I suspect the Israelites wanted God to rebuke the raging nations against them,
right then,
immediately.
But God was allowing the rage as a means of discipline. Ouch!
Hebrews 12:10-11 explains the effects of discipline like this:
“but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Chapter 17 ends with Isaiah reminding the Israelites and us, that the nations that raged against them would receive their portion, in God’s timing we read,
“Before the morning, they are gone!”
Isaiah was reminding the Israelites that although they felt like they were at the mercy of their enemies, in reality, they were at the mercy of their God. It was dependent upon how they lived their lives, as to which one was worse.
Chapter 18 describes envoys coming in papyrus boats, from the rivers of Cush. This was a description of the Ethiopian army. Historically, about 740 B.C. Egypt was was taken over by an Ethiopian named Piye, he along with his successor, Shabako in 715-702 B.C. spent time attempting to create and cement alliances with the various surrounding countries, in order to be prepared for the Assyrian threat. Talk about being out of place! You can imagine the comments of the Israelites when tall, regal-looking Ethiopians land upon the Mediterranean coast in papyrus boats. God’s response in verse three was to let the Ethiopians know that God’s banner was a battle flag and His trumpet was sounding His readiness for war,
which meant Israel was prepared and the Ethiopians should not be worried about the Assyrians, but should beware of the true Ruler of the world.
God did not need the assistance of the Ethiopians. In fact, God did not need the marching of armies or ambassadors to plead His case, verse 4 reads,
“I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place.”
What a wonderful thing to remember in a world where leaders still attempt to draw attention to themselves in order to demonstrate their power. The prophet here, reminds us that just because something does not draw attention to itself, does not mean it is powerless. There are two comparisons given to make His point, “like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
Let’s face it, if God wanted to wipe out Assyria, He would have raised a battle banner and sounded the trumpet. And in His time, He just might, verse 5 reads,
“For, 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.
They 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.
It is significant to note, that God did not rebuke the Ethiopians for requesting an alliance. Instead, God wanted people to trust in Him, not other nations.
Isaiah then goes on to describe a day when Ethiopians would come to worship the LORD and they would be the ones to bring gifts to Him, rather than the Judeans giving the Ethiopians a large sum of money for their help. This prophecy may have been fulfilled during Isaiah’s time, but we have read about a time it was fulfilled.
In the New Testament, in Acts 8, when the Ethiopian eunuch heard Philip’s preaching and trusted in Jesus and in the strong Ethiopian church in the first few centuries and even today, the prophecy is being fulfilled and God is being lifted up.
Isaiah was trying to remind the Israelites that regardless of what their eyes were seeing, God was still sitting on His throne, and was still the mighty power over all the earth.
That message is still needed today.
Today we see nations competing for everything from global markets, to who participates in an alliance such as NATO. Each nation trying to prove they are the one with the most power. God often seems to remain quiet, but it doesn’t mean He is powerless. Psalm 2 reads:
Why the big noise, nations?
Why the mean plots, peoples?
Earth-leaders push for position,
Demagogues and delegates meet for summit talks,
The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers:
“Let’s get free of God!
Cast loose from Messiah!”
Heaven-throned God breaks out laughing.
At first he’s amused at their presumption;
Then he gets good and angry.
Furiously, he shuts them up:
“Don’t you know there’s a King in Zion? A coronation banquet
Is spread for him on the holy summit.”
Let me tell you what God said next.
He said, “You’re my son,
And today is your birthday.
What do you want? Name it:
Nations as a present? continents as a prize?
You can command them all to dance for you,
Or throw them out with tomorrow’s trash.”
So, rebel-kings, use your heads;
Upstart-judges, learn your lesson:
Worship God in adoring embrace,
Celebrate in trembling awe. Kiss Messiah!
Your very lives are in danger, you know;
His anger is about to explode,
But if you make a run for God—you won’t regret it!
God is ultimately the one with the most power. Nations will come and go. As we live through it, we naturally become anxious, but both Isaiah and the Psalmist encourage us to remember, regardless of what humans do, God is the one who controls our life and our death. God is the one who gave the universe its existence and will be there when it is gone. Helping others to see this fact and believe, that God has a plan, that He is the author of salvation, from the sin of this world and from our own sin, that’s the message we need to remember and that our neighbors, our family and our friends need to hear. After we listen to the news and seem helpless in a world that seems to be making decisions that could drastically change our lives for the worse, we need to remember what Isaiah spoke centuries before. although God may seem quiet and powerless, He is ultimately in control. That is the message that needs to be shared today.
If we make a run for God – we won’t regret it.
Let’s pray.
