A translation and sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Nov. 5, 2006
(17:12) Oh, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
Oh, the roar of communities; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
(13) The communities roar like the roaring of many waters,
but He will rebuke it, and it will flee far away,
chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and whirling dust before the face of a storm-wind.
(14) At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, it is no more!
This is the share of our looters, and the lot of our plunderers!
(18:1) Oh, land of whirring wings
that is over the rivers of Cush,
(2) sending ambassadors by the sea and in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation, tall and smooth,
to a people feared here and beyond,
a nation line-measured and trampling,
whose land the rivers divide.
(3) All inhabitants of the world, and dwellers of the earth,
as the signal is raised on the mountains, look!
As the trumpet is blown, listen!
(4) For thus Jehovah said to me:
"In My establishment, I will be calm and look on
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
(5) For before harvest,
when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
then He will cut off the clusters with trimmers,
and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.
(6) Together they shall be left
to the bird of prey of the mountains
and to the beast of the earth.
And the bird of prey will peck upon them,
and every beast of the earth will strip them.
(7) At that time, a people tall and smooth will bring tribute to Jehovah of Hosts
from a people feared here and beyond,
a nation line-measured and trampling,
whose land the rivers divide,
to Mount Zion, the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts.
When I was a little boy, my brother and I would sometimes go and play at a neighbor’s house. One of these neighbors had a girl who was several years older than us. We went over to her house to play once, all she wanted to play was “school” and she wanted to be the teacher. We boys were not too thrilled with the arrangement, so we goofed off until she got frustrated that we weren’t paying attention to her “teaching.” And when she got mad at us, it got scary. She locked me up in a crawl-space in the basement as punishment. I remember sitting in that dark crawl-space, anxiously wondering, “When am I ever going to get out of here? When is this overbearing big kid going to let me go? I wish that there were an adult to see what is going on and stop her!” Evantually my brother escaped and ran home for help and the neighbor girl released me when she realized my parents might get involved. We have probably all had anxious feelings around a bully and wished that somebody big was watching out for us. The passage before us today tells us that we should not be anxious because there is somebody big watching out for us. It is about the anxiety of the people of Cush when the Assyrian army was threatening them.
1. Introduction to Cush
a. History:
i. After the flood, Ethiopia was settled by Cush, son of Ham, grandson of Noah: (Gen 10:1-12).
ii. The Bible doesn’t say much else about Cush or Ethiopia until time of prophets.
iii. In Isaiah’s time, both upper and lower Egypt (i.e. Egypt and Ethiopia) were governed by the same Ethiopian dynasty and were a political power with which the Israelites were tempted to ally in order to counter the political threats from Assyria and Chaldea.
b. Geography – (pass around map)
i. End of v.1 “beyond the rivers of Cush” - Multiple tributaries from Ethiopian mtns. flow down to this area, so in order for someone from Israel or Egypt to get to Ethiopia they would have to go over a river.
ii. End of v.2 “Land the waters divide” (i.e. Blue & White Nile confluence in ancient Meroe/ modern Khartoum, Sudan)
c. Descriptive words used in Isa 18
i. “Whirring wings” (v.1)
1. The word for “whirring” (Tzel-tzel) is very similar to the name of a biting insect that lives in Africa called the “tse-tse” fly. It’s an onomatopoea word that is supposed to sound like the buzzing of insect wings (it’s also used to imitate the clashing of cymbals in Ps. 150). Flies are abundant in the hot, humid land around the Nile river.
2. Several reputable translators translate this word differently. The KJV translates it “shadow” because the Hebrew word for shadow is Tzel, and this word is spelled Tzel-tzel.
ii. “Vessels of papyrus on the waters” v.2
1. This is a people that dwell around the Nile river and its tributaries, so their primary mode of travel is in boats (Pass out photo of papyrus boatmaking)
2. Some reputable translators make the “whirring wings” of v.1 and the “vessels of papyrus” in v.2 out to be parallel phrases both talking about boats – the wings being sails. (Septuagint, JFB, Driver)
3. These light boats have been used from antiquity on the Nile, fashioned from the papyrus reeds that grow along the river. Moses was placed in one such vessel made of these reeds (Ex. 2:3).
4. Light construction allows travel even in shallow water
iii. Tall
1. I’ve known several Ethiopians, and they do tend to have a tall, slender build (see photo). Isa 45:14 also describes them as “tall of stature”
2. This word has to do with drawing out and making longer. It could possibly be referring to drawing a bow instead of being personally drawn out and tall. Isa 66:19 has a list of people groups, and in the middle of a list of African peoples, it mentions “those who draw the bow” using the same word translated “tall” here in Isa 18. The Nubians of this very part of the world, were renowned archers, later on in history distinguishing themselves as the only African nation to beat the Muslim armies that swept across N. Africa in the 7th cent. AD, because they were such good drawers of the bow.
iv. Smooth – Different interpretations:
1. KJV renders “scattered & peeled” because it follows the Jewish interpretation that this is describing exiled Jews instead of Ethiopians. As exiles they would be scattered and deprived.
2. I believe it is describing Ethiopians, however.
3. Heroditus wrote that Ethiopian priests shaved their entire bodies every three days, which could explain what it means by “smooth”
4. Septuagint renders this “strange” which is not literal, but it is appropriate – this is describing a foreign people group with some sense of awesomeness and mystery to them.
v. Feared – Delitzsch says, “The king… was the Tirhaka of the Old Testament.. a great conqueror, according to Megasthenes, like Sesostris and Nebuchadnezzar, who had carried his conquests as far as the Strait of Gibraltar (Strabo, xv 1, 6)... Ethiopian people had the universal reputation in antiquity of gigantic strength and invincibility.” Tirhaka’s name has been found by archaeologists on inscriptions in ancient Meroe.
vi. Qar-qar/ line-measured/ meting (KJV)/ powerful (NASV)/ mighty (ESV)/ aggressive (NIV) literally line-line. (Like Isa 28:10) Idea is that of an army that is organized or layered - a force to be reckoned with.
vii. trampling/ treading down (ASV)/ trodden (KJV)/ conquering (ESV)/ oppressive (NASV)/ strange speech (NIV cf.28:11?) – The Ethiopians had marched across North Africa to the Strait Gilbratar in Spain, conquering it all, they had trodden Africa underfoot!
d. What an amazing people! What then is God’s message to them?
2. Three interpretations of this message, all of which illustrate God’s sovereignty:
a. Jewish: Cyrus’ edict reaching exiles in Egypt (KJV, Kimchi, Ibn Ezra, Horsley)
i. According to Jeremiah 43, a number of Jews fled to Egypt to escape from the Babylonians, and Jeremiah moved down with them. One of the best-known of these Jewish settlements in Ethiopia is the one at Elephantine Island.
ii. God promised Jeremiah, however, that a remnant of those Jews in Ethiopia and Egypt would return to Jerusalem. (Jer. 44:26-28) “Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt… the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number…
iii. God gives Isaiah the same prophecy in 27:13
iv. In this Jewish view, God is commissioning messengers to go to those beleagured Jewish exiles in Africa, to tell them that Babylon has fallen, and to encourage them to come back to Jerusalem and worship there.
b. Traditional Christian: Tirhaka’s envoys going to and from Jerusalem re: alliance
i. According to E.J. Young, a new Ethiopian dynasty had been established in 714 BC, resulting in some political maneuvering with Ethiopia/Egypt on the part of Philistia, Judah, Moab, and Edom in respect to the world power of Assyria. When Sargon, king of Assyria heard of these nations turning against him and looking to Ethiopia, he led an army down the east coast of Palestine in 711 (3 years later) to put the rebellions down.
ii. Isaiah’s historical section in chapter 37 v.9 picks up the story at this point: “Now the king [of Assyria] heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has set out to fight against you.’ And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, (10) ‘Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’”
iii. In this perspective, Tirhaka, the Ethiopian king has sent messengers up to Hezekiah in Jerusalem to discuss what to do about the Assyrian troops which are coming southward. The king of Assyria hears about this communication and realizes that this may mean a military alliance between Judah and Ethiopia which could theaten him, so he tries to undermine it by sending a message to Hezekiah insinuating that Ethiopia could not prevent him, the king of Assyria, from conquering Jerusalem. In the middle of all this, Isaiah is telling the Ethiopian envoys that God is going to snuff out the Assyrian threat and therefore to return to Ethiopia and tell their king not to worry about Assyria.
c. Modern Christian: Intertribal communication in Ethiopia mustering for defense against invader (Young, Delitzsch)
i. In this perspective, Isaiah is seeing a vision of boats skittering around the Nile, and from his prophetic standpoint tells them to mobilize an army from among the various Ethiopian tribes and watch for a signal to begin a defensive war when the Assyrian army arrives. The Assyrians did eventually make it to Egypt, but not down to the Ethiopian end of Egypt.
d. I am choosing to exegete this passage from the traditional perspective, but it is important to understand that in all three cases, the main point is that God is in control of the nations.
i. In the first (or Jewish) perspective this control is shown in God bringing back exiles from Ethiopia,
ii. In the third (or Modern) perspective, God’s sovereignty is shown by controlling the activities of distant nations,
iii. and in the traditional perspective I’ve chosen, God’s sovereignty is shown in telling the future to the ambassadors of the king of Ethiopia, and calling them to worship Him.
e. Now that we have the big picture of what’s going on in this story, let’s look at the words of the message that God communicates to Ethiopia.
3. His sovereign power to halt evil before it becomes devastating – applied to Assyria
a. Two “oh’s” show magnitude of Assyria’s downfall
i. 17:12-14 starts with “Oh” -tells of Assyrian downfall from the Judean perspective
ii. 18:1-7 starts with “Oh” - tells of Assyrian downfall from Ethiopian perspective
b. Parallel phrases throughout Isaiah show God’s power to halt evil & spread kingdom
i. Read v.3 – “All inhabitants of the world, and dwellers of the earth, as the signal is raised on the mountains, look! As the trumpet is blown, listen!”
ii. Throughout the book of Isaiah, the flag raised on the mountain and the trumpet blast are used to signal a halt to evil and the establishment of God’s kingdom:
1. 5:26 – calling a halt to Assyria “He will raise a signal for nations afar off, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!”
2. 13:2 – calling a halt to Babylon “On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.”
3. 27:13 –recalling the exiles - “And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.”
4. 66:18-23 – halting godlessness throughout the world and establishing the kingdom of Christ "…the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow (same word as “tall” in Isa 18), to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to Jehovah, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says Jehovah, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of Jehovah. And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says Jehovah.”
iii. God sovereignly gives signals throughout history that halt evil and establish His kingdom. Therefore, we should “Listen, and Look” (v.3) for these signals.
1. Don’t be like the hardened Jews who would "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'” (6:9-10)
2. Rather, be one who pays attention (Isa 52:15) “so shall He sprinkle [cleanse by the blood of the atonement cf. Heb 10:22] many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.”
3. Are we looking and listening for God’s signals, or are we looking somewhere else for our signals for how to live our life? God is showing us that he is about the work of halting evil and establishing His kingdom.
c. "God is at rest (v.4) because He is sovereign; nothing worries Him
i. Read v. 4. “For thus Jehovah said to me: ‘In My establishment, I will be calm and look on like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.’”
ii. In the midst of growing evil, we may wonder; why isn’t God doing anything to stop it? In fact, it may look like He is prospering the wicked in a totally unjust way. God’s message is “Don’t worry; just keep listening and watching for Him.” He is not wringing His hands over the situation, but rather calmly waiting for the right time to halt evil and spread His kingdom.
iii. He is not ignoring the situation. Hezekiah, King of Judah at the time of this prophecy found himself wondering if God was paying attention to the problems developing around him. He prays in Isa 63:15 “Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.” But God is not distracted and distant from what is going on; rather, v. 4 tells us that He is “looking” watching the situation waiting for the right time to halt evil and spread His kingdom.
iv. This plays out through the whole book of Isaiah
1. God commands not to be anxious - Isa 7:4 “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria….”
2. Isa 30:15 For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."
3. Effect of righteousness is rest during the reign of Jesus after the Spirit is poured out - Isa 32:17 “And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”
4. Isa 25: (9) It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
5. Wicked will have no rest - Isa 57:20-21 But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. (21) There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."
6. The only time God does not rest is to save and sanctify! Isa 62:1 “For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.” What wondrous love God has for you that He would disturb His sovereign rest to work in your life!
d. Verses 5&6 describe the sudden downfall of Assyria that God will sovereignly bring about, halting the evil of Assyria: Read verses 5-6 “For before harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, then He will cut off the clusters with trimmers, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away. Together they shall be left to the bird of prey of the mountains and to the beast of the earth. And the bird of prey will peck upon them, and every beast of the earth will strip them.”
i. Picture of cutting the grapes off a vine before they are ripe.
ii. Rev. 14:14-20 depicts a similar picture of Jesus harvesting grapes of the earth, similarly halting evil and establishing His kingdom. “…On the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand sharp sickle… And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.’ And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God.”
iii. Then verse six describes the wild birds and animals pecking at the discarded grapes, picturing of vultures and hyenas pecking and stripping the carcasses of the dead in the battlefield, down to the bare, white bones.
iv. All the major English versions translate the verbs as “to summer” and “to winter” but they do this out of accord with all 40-odd other occurrences of each of these verbs, which normally mean “to vex” or “to reproach.” I tried to bring my translation more into accord with the standard meanings of those verbs by applying them to the actions of animals picking at the dead bodies of the slain. That’s gross, I know, but God made vultures for a good reason, and we find a certain satisfaction in the picture of a bad guy lying dead on the ground, because we know that he isn’t going to hurt anybody anymore!
e. But God doesn’t stop at halting the evil. He goes on to establish a good kingdom.
4. His sovereign power to bring worshippers to Himself – applied to Ethiopia v.7
a. Read v.7 “At that time, a people tall and smooth will bring tribute to Jehovah of Hosts from a people feared here and beyond, a nation line-measured and trampling, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts.” Not only does God stop Assyria, He also calls Ethiopia and all the world to worship Him.
b. Tribute gifts – 2 Chron. 32:22-23 records an historical fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. And many brought gifts to the LORD to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.” Foreigners – perhaps including Ethiopians – came to Jerusalem after God devestated Sennacherib’s army before Jerusalem and and brought gifts with them!
c. Tribute=Ethiopians themselves – However, God is not just interested in gifts like money and things; He wants the people themselves! In the Hebrew text of verse 7, the wording implies that the Ethiopians themselves may be the tribute brought to God. It does not say “tribute from a people tall and smooth”, rather it says literally “a tribute to Jehovah of Hosts – a people tall and smooth…” God is about the business of bringing people to Himself from Ethiopia!
i. The next time in Biblical history that Ethiopia is mentioned is in the First Century AD when the Ethiopian Eunuch, court official of Candace (Acts 8:27) was converted by Phillip, and within a hundred years, Ethiopia became the first Christian country! But God didn’t stop there with Ethiopia:
ii.
4th Century AD, AXUM (Ethiopia) converted by Frumentius:
In the 300’s AD, God sovereignly arranged for two young Christian teachers from
Syria to be shipwrecked on the Ethiopian coast of the Red Sea. Locals found
them and brought them to King Ella Amida of Axum; One became his cupbearer, and
the other, Frumentius by name, became his treasurer and secretary. Then the
King died, Frumentius acted as regent until prince Ezana came of age. When the
prince came into his inheritance, Frumentius went to Alexandria, Egypt to ask for a bishop for the Christians of Aksum. Athanasius responded by consecrating Frumentius
and sending him back to Aksum as its first bishop. During his reign as king of Aksum, Ezana’s monument s and coins provide a fascinating mirror of his gradual adoption
of Christianity. His earliest inscriptions are dedicated to the South Arabian
gods Astar, Baher, and Meder, later the invoke the “Lord of Heaven,” and
finally, the Trinity. Christianity became the official faith of that state!
SOURCES: Latourette, A History of Christianity, p.104, and Isichei, A
History of Christianity in Africa, p.32.
iii.
6th Century AD, Meroe & Nubia converted by Julian and
Longinius
In the fourth century, the growing kingdom of Aksum conquered Meroe. In the culture that ensued, Christianity was known, but not adopted. In one grave,
for instance, a cross was found next to charms of gold and lead. Three separate
states developed in Nubia, from North to South: Nobatia, Makouria, and Alwa. In
543, the Byzantine empress Theodora sent the Monophysite monk, Julian, to Nubia. Julian converted Nobatia to Christianity, beginning with the court. So rapid and
complete was the process that it suggests either that the King wielded great
power, or that a considerable degree of prior Christian influence existed. Makouria
was converted by Chalcedonian emissaries in about 569, and Alwa to Monophysite
Christianity in 580 by Longinus, the Bishop of Philae, who made a great detour
through the desert to avoid Makouria. Nubia was one of the few countries in the
ancient world converted to Christianity without a prior experience of Roman
rule… The Nubians used the liturgy of St. Mark, and decorated the walls of
their churches with murals that showed their royals dressed in Byzantine style.
In 1961, Polish archaeologists excavated what appeared to be a mound of sand,
and within it, found Faras Cathedral, its walls decorated with 169 magnificent
paintings of dark-skinned Nubian kings, queens, and bishops, biblical figures,
and saints… There were up to 6 Christian churches in each village, and the dead
during this Christian era were not buried with all the grave goods that the
pre-Christians had. In the early 600’s the Arabs conquered Egypt, but they did not conquer Nubia. They were repelled by Nubia’s brilliant archers and formed a
treaty, recognizing them as an independent, Non-Muslim state. SOURCE: Isichei, A
History of Christianity in Africa, p.30-31
iv. Modern mission work in Africa has brought new growth to the church in East Africa. I even have a couple of friends who have adopted orphans from Ethiopia. According to Operation World statistics:
1. 1/8 of Egypt’s population is Christian,
2. 1/4 of Sudan’s population is Christian,
3. and 2/3 of Ethiopia’s population is Christian!
4. But there’s still 42 and a half MILLION people locked away in 200 unreached people groups who will never have a chance to hear the Gospel in those three countries. (www.JoshuaProject.Net)
v. God isn’t finished with this part of the world. He has prophetic promises:
1. Isa 45:14; Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you… saying: 'Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides Him.'"
2. Ps 68:29 “Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bear gifts to you…. (31) Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God. (32) O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord”
3. Zeph 3:8-10 "Therefore wait for me," declares the LORD, "for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. "For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.”
5. The impact of God’s sovereignty in our lives today:
If a sovereign God is watching to bring a halt to evil and to establish His kingdom, then:
a. Pay attention to Him (v.3) – look and listen – read the Bible, read missionary newsletters, get to understand what God is doing in the world!
b. Stop evil – recognize that God will sovereignly judge evil. If you are tolerating any sin in your life, then fear God, reckon with that sin, and cut it out of your life!
c. Don’t worry: God is watching over you and he will take care of all the things that make you anxious. (Like me locked up in the neighbor girl’s basement.)
d. Trust His timing: Don’t let yourself get bent out of shape when immoral people prosper. Keep trusting that God is in control and will bring justice at the best time.
e. Give tribute: When we give tithes and offerings, we are paying tribute, as it were, to God, who not only deserves our tribute because of his status as King of the Universe, but who has doubly earned it by delivering us from Satan and showing loving-kindness to us!
f. Give yourself. Go beyond supporting His kingdom to giving your whole self to His kingdom. One way to do this is to join with Him in His kingdom purposes. Join with Him in prayer and sending missionaries or even going yourself to countries like Ethiopia and Egypt and Sudan.
Map: The World as known to the Hebrews
http://www.blueletterbible.org/images/maps/Otest/world.jpg
Priests and deacons in a church procession; photo by Aida Muluneh http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/africa_a_dignified_ethiopia/img/4.jpg
Boatbuilders in Egypt building a papyrus boat
http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t045/T045669B.jpg
Go to the Isaiah Sermon series on Nate Wilson’s Website
http://nathan.wilson.home.att.net/isaiahsermons.htm
Go to the Sermon page on the Christ the Redeemer Church Website
http://www.CTRchurch-mhk.org/sermons.html
