Regarded as the most obscure prophesy in the book of Isaiah, this chapter discusses Cush / Ethiopia and their attempts to ally with Judah against Assyria (Note: Ethiopia and Assyria were the two superpowers of this day, with Judah geographically and politically caught in the middle).
“…he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away. At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide…” (v5b, 7 abr)
The prophesy tells Judah not to ally with Ethiopia (which would have been a very tempting offer) because God Himself will personally deal with Assyria, and He doesn’t need help doing it. The surprising part is that the prophesy foretells Ethiopia’s future worship of the Lord of Israel, bringing offerings to Judah from afar.
God works in the way God chooses. I know that sounds obvious and straightforward, though it can still be difficult to fully understand. Why does He sometimes use one nation to wipe out another, but other times He’ll “work alone”? Only God knows. The older I get the more I realize it’s not our place to understand how God works, but to simply understand why He works the way He does (eg. Jer 29:11).
God does not require our understanding – all He requests from us is our trust and obedience. This is very good news, since I am a simple man who cannot fathom the inner workings of God’s mind. I encourage us to trust and obey God, no matter how confusing His directions may be, because we are not capable (or requested) to fully understand. Did Israel fully understand marching around Jericho and blowing trumpets? Not likely, but that’s okay, because their trust and obedience did not require understanding. This is the importance of faith – trusting God when we don’t understand.
Father God, our Magnificent and Most High Lord, You bless us with wisdom and direction beyond our understanding. Though we often won’t understand Your reasoning, may we learn to trust and obey Your commands. May our faith be unshaken by our shallow understanding, and may our willingness to obey trump our confusion. May we honor and glorify You with our words and deeds, from this moment on, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training