September 25, Isaiah 18
All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell
on the earth, when a signal is raised on the
mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown,
hear! - Isaiah 18:3
It’s interesting that we refer to a focused
attentiveness as “paying attention.” When you
and I “pay” for something, it usually means we
invest some of our resources or capital to
acquire something of value.
We make allowances for little children with short
attention spans when they fail to see or hear
something important. But as mature adults, we
should be able to discern what is important and
be respectful enough to pay attention to
important information.
Isaiah warned all the inhabitants of the world to
pay attention, to be watching and listening with
discerning eyes and ears for the work of God
around them. This warning came when some
Ethiopian ambassadors came to Jerusalem.
They were on a mission to persuade Hezekiah
king of Judah to join an alliance with them to
fight against the Assyrians. The ruthless, cruel
Assyrians were taking over the world, nation by
nation. When the Cushite ambassadors arrived,
Isaiah sent the messengers on their way with a
different message. Scholars disagree about
where Isaiah sent them. Maybe they went back
to their homeland, or maybe they were sent to
the Assyrians themselves. The message was,
“Pay attention to what God is doing. Don’t miss
the signs.” To the Ethiopians and the people of
Judah and other nations, it would be a message
of encouragement and a reminder to trust God
instead of human alliances. To the Assyrians, it
would be a warning that God was going to strike
them down quickly when the time for their
destruction arrived.
Isaiah said God would work quietly, almost
imperceptibly, as a warm morning gradually
becomes a hot afternoon. God’s work would be
like the cool morning dew that mysteriously
appeared to wet the ground even during the
heat of the harvest season. God would be like a
wise vinedresser, who pruned the unwanted
shoots and branches from his vine, and left
them on the ground to decay. By this message
from Isaiah, God was signaling that he would
destroy the Assyrian forces suddenly. The scale
of destruction would be massive, so that the
corpses would lie unburied and become food for the summer birds and winter beasts. The
prophecy came true when 185,000 Assyrians
died in a single night when Sennacherib was
about to invade Jerusalem.
God did not want his people to join human
alliances to defend themselves against their
enemies. He wanted them to know and trust
that he would deliver them by his mighty power
at the right time.
Isaiah’s admonition to the nations to watch for
the signals and listen for the trumpet reminds
me of Jesus telling his people to be alert at all
times, always ready for his promised return.
God sometimes works in highly visible, audible
ways. But sometimes he communicates quietly,
like the small still voice that Elijah heard. And
his greatest work on earth was initiated by the
birth of a baby to a poor young woman in an
obscure little village called Bethlehem.
We understand and do not expect little children
to be attentive. They do not yet know what is
important. But when adults who are supposed
to be mature and intelligent will not pay
attention to important information, their
disrespect betrays their lack of both maturity
and intelligence. Let’s be wise enough to keep
our eyes and ears open to see God at work and
hear God’s words when they are spoken.
Nothing matters more. There’s no better
investment of our resources than to pay
attention to what God does and listen to what
God says.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—September 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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