“Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, which is beyond
the rivers of Ethiopia, which sends ambassadors by sea, even in vessels of reed
(bulrushes).” (vv.1-2)
Here in chapter 18 the prophet Isaiah is warning Israel/Judah
not to join in a confederacy with Ethiopia against Assyria. Isaiah is saying
they don’t need to make a covenant with these people because God is going to
take care of it. He will cut them down, “They shall be left together unto the
fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall
summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them” ( v. 6
).
Thus we have the word of the LORD through the prophet Isaiah of Assyria’s destruction by the hand
of God. No need for Israel/Judah to join hands with the Ethiopians in a
mutual defense pact because, “God will take care of
them." And this is the point God was trying to make with His people over and over again, trust Me, wait on Me, don't go it alone.
Oh how often we get ahead of ourselves doing things in our own power and our own strength, only to fail miserably. Better to wait on God for His perfect plan than move ahead against it.
The Truth: “The sword shall come upon Egypt, and a great anguish
shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain fall in Egypt, and they take away her
wealth, and her foundations are broken down.” (Ezekiel 30:4-5)
