An Oracle Concerning Cush
Isa 18:1 Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush,
Isa 18:2 which 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.
Isa 18:3 All 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.
Isa 18:4 This 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.”
Isa 18:5 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.
Isa 18:6 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.
Isa 18:7 At 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.
1 God in care of his people will destroy the Ethiopians. 7 An access thereby shall grow unto the church.
An Oracle Concerning Cush
Isa 18:1 Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush,
“The land of whirring wings.” The Heb. ṣilṣal, “crickets” (not “shadowing”), is translated “locust” in Deut. 28:42 and “cymbals” in 2 Sam. 6:5; Ps. 150:5. Ethiopia (see on Gen. 10:6) is here referred to.
A popular Egyptian emblem was a sun disk with outstretched wings. In this chapter and the next, Ethiopia and Egypt are grouped together. The Twenty-fifth Dynasty governed all Egypt from about 715 to 663 b.c., when Egypt was ruled by a line of “Ethiopian” (actually Nubian) kings.
Taharka, who held the throne from about 690 to 664, was the Tirhakah (2 Kings 19:9) whose intervention in Judea Sennacherib expected to meet. As the “Ethiopians” swept up from what is now the Sudan and extended their rule over all Egypt, and as they threatened the hosts of Assyria, who were then invading Judea, those of the Israelites who were wont to place their trust in men and horses rather than in God, turned to Ethiopia for help.
The Lord wanted His people to realize that their real defence was to be found in Him rather than in the forces of Egypt. After all, the Egyptians were only men, and wicked men at that; now it was their turn to have a woe pronounced upon them. It was better to trust under the wings of the Almighty (Ps. 17:8; 57:1; 91:4) than under the whirring wings of Egypt. Egypt might appear formidable, but her strength would fail when God pronounced His woe upon her (see on Isa. 19:1).
Isa 18:2 which 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.
These envoys embassadors seem to have been sent to invite Judah to join the Egyptians in an alliance against Assyria.
By sea. Here thought to refer to the Nile. Broad rivers such as the Nile and the Euphrates seem to have been referred to thus (see Isa. 19:5; Isa. 21:1; Nahum 3:8), as they are in modern Arabic. On the Nile, ships made of papyrus reeds woven and lashed together were used.
Go, swift messengers. Isaiah seems to be advising Ethiopia, or Egypt, that in sending ambassadors to Judah it sent them to a nation that was scattered and stricken as a result of war. The Assyrian invasions have devastated the country, overwhelming it as with a flood (see ch. 8:7, 8) and leaving it spoiled and trodden down. The Egyptians would gain nothing from the proposed alliance with Judah, nor, for that matter, would Egypt be able to help Judah.
Isa 18:3 All 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.
All peoples are to learn that the Lord is in control of the affairs of earth (see on Dan. 4:17, 37). It is God who ordains the affairs of nations. Figuratively speaking, it is He who lifts up a signal (see Isa. 5:26) on the mountaintops of earth, directing the nations as to what they may and may not do.
Isa 18:4 This 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.”
Verse 4 presents a striking picture of the calm and unhurried way in which the Lord works out His will among the nations (see Ed 173). His eye is over everything, and His hand is in control.
With calm deliberation He sends forth judgment or blessing, treating all peoples in accord with His infinite wisdom and justice. Nothing may happen without His knowledge; no judgment may fall without His permission. When the ripening grain is ready to harvest He sends forth His reapers to accomplish their mission.
Isa 18:5 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.
Isaiah’s description of the work of the divine reapers continues (see Matt. 13:39; Rev. 14:14–20). The earth is a vast harvest field. When, in His infinite wisdom, the Lord sees that a nation is ripe for destruction He sends forth His reapers to cut it down (see Dan. 4:13–15; 5:25–31).
Isa 18:6 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.
When the Lord has done His work and a nation has received its divine chastisement, it is as if the sprigs and branches have been cut off, to be ruthlessly scattered and left to the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the air.
Isa 18:7 At 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.
Upon its destruction a nation is pictured as an offering, or “present,” unto the Lord. War would bring suffering, desolation, and woe. The nation of Judah would be stricken, scattered, trodden under foot, and spoiled by their enemies, but the final outcome would be a new nation that would recognize the Lord and serve Him.