Isaiah 18:1-7

Men and nations futilely put their trust in their own strength and the strength of the alliances that they have made instead of trusting in the Lord and looking to Him for their help.  Isaiah turns his attention to the coming judgment on Cush or what we know of as Ethiopia today.  They sent out messengers of help in hopes of finding deliverance from their enemies through their allies.  What they do not realize is that their allies will be facing the same dreadful plight.  God is judging the nations and there is nothing that any of them can do to escape this judgment apart from submitting to Him and turning to Him in repentance.

MEN NATURALLY TRUST IN OTHER MEN: We are all comfortable with the things that we can understand and rationally explain.  We understand the strength of one nation due to the size of its army or the number of weapons they have.  These are things that are easy for us to measure and rationally decide our allegiances based on our observance of the strength of men.   When Cush came under threat of attack it is only natural for her to send out pleas of help to other nations with whom she was aligned.  That is all that she understood and where she gained her confidence in the midst of threatening circumstances.  We must guard ourselves for this natural tendency to trust that which we understand because it automatically takes God out of the picture.

MEN WILL EVENTUALLY TURN TO GOD: God sits securely on His throne watching the futile efforts of men to save themselves from His wrath.  He is not in a hurry nor is he overcome by worry about the actions of men.  God will call on the birds of the air and the beasts of the field to come to the battle ground and devour the flesh of the fallen warriors.  Eventually men will recognize their own foolishness in trying to rebel against the Lord and they will turn to Him in shame and humbly pay homage to Him.  All men everywhere who have ever lived will one day bow before the Lord and worship at His feet.  The question with which we must confront this world is if they have done so before it is too late.  It is far better to turn to Christ prior to God’s judgment than in the face of it.