“Even before you begin your attack, while your plans are ripening like grapes, the Lord will cut off your new growth with pruning shears. He will snip off and discard your spreading branches. Your mighty army will be left dead in the fields for the mountain vultures and wild animals. The vultures will tear at the corpses all summer. The wild animals will gnaw at the bones all winter. At that time the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem, where the Lord of Heaven’s Armies dwells.”
Isaiah 18:5-7 NLT
Imagine the scenario. An attacking army is amassing its troops on the border of the nation they intend to invade. The camp has been set up with fields full of tents. There is a lorry park with vehicles constantly coming and going, bringing supplies of food and ammunition for the impending invasion. Tank transporters arrive, unloading their heavy cargoes, ready for the war yet to come. There may be a river in the way, so the engineering squads are putting together temporary bridges ready to roll them into place. A huge amount of activity is putting fear into the weaker nation, one seemingly unable to protect itself. Towns and villages on the borders are being evacuated. The defensive troops are digging trenches, but despairing as they see the size of the army coming against them. And then a miracle happens. Just as the command to invade is about to be given, God intervenes. We read this morning, “Even before you begin your attack, while your plans are ripening like grapes, the Lord will cut off your new growth with pruning shears. He will snip off and discard your spreading branches” (Isaiah 18:5). Just when success seems certain, God does something that turns the situation on its head, and the invasion doesn’t happen. What could have happened to the invaders? Perhaps a change in political leadership. Perhaps a threat from an unexpected quarter, or another nation stronger than them, has made them reconsider their plans. Sometimes, nations believe they are becoming stronger, but God determines when kingdoms rise and fall. Why did God let the situation on the border develop to the extent that it did? Why did He not answer the prayers for protection immediately they were uttered, rather than waiting so long before He reversed the situation? God often waits until exactly the right moment so that all the pieces drop into place and those looking on suddenly realise how wise he has been.
In the Bible, we can read the account of Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. But then Lazarus became ill, and his desperate sisters sent a message to Jesus, telling Him about the seriousness of the situation. We pick up the story in John 11: 5-7, “So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days. Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea””. Our prayers in that situation would have been for Jesus to heal him before the illness gets any worse. Surely that would have been the best course of action, saving Lazarus and his sisters from any more pain and suffering. But Jesus waited, and Lazarus died. What a tragedy, so people would have thought. Some even started to criticise Jesus, with comments such as, “ … This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” (John 11:37). But then came those four words – “Roll the stone aside” – but we know what happened next. Jesus’ timing was perfect. People had seen Him heal the sick before, so there would have been nothing new if Jesus had healed Lazarus on his sickbed. After all, he might have been getting better anyway, or so they thought. But raising someone from the dead – four days graveyard dead – was something that could not be rationalised away. The reason for the delay was for Jesus to give glory to His Father in Heaven. “Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”” (John 11:40).
The verses from Isaiah 18 today paint a picture of a life or situation built without any reference to God Himself. Consider the process required to build a house. A person might have prepared the ground and planned how the project will be implemented. All the required materials have been ordered. The contractors have been appointed. Planning permission has been granted. And then something goes wrong. Perhaps the project failed to plan a ground survey, and subsidence was discovered. There may have been another cause that stopped the housebuilding in its tracks. But stop it did. Empires, careers, reputations and wealth can appear secure, yet they remain fragile if they are built independently of God. Psalm 127 commences, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good”. And it continues, “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones”.
One final thought from Isaiah 18. The last verse reads, “At that time the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem, where the Lord of Heaven’s Armies dwells”. The chapter begins with distant nations, and it ends with those same nations bringing worship to God. In Revelation 7:9-10, we read, “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”” One day all the nations in the world will come together to worship God. There will be no exceptions. No lost tribes far away from civilisation. No languages forgotten. All that has ever been or is to come will be there, worshipping God.
We note that the chapter begins with a foreign nation outside God’s covenant, but it ends with that nation bringing gifts to the Lord. What begins as judgment ends in worship, and this is the pattern of redemption that we find throughout Scripture. We remember the Apostle Paul, who persecuted the church until he had the vision of the risen Jesus on the Damascus Road and subsequently became its greatest missionary. The thief on the cross lived a life of sin but died worshipping Christ. Then, as now, many who once opposed the gospel now proclaim it.
We pilgrims may look at the media reports of global conflicts with deep concern, seeing one international crisis after another. Yet our emphasis must not be on politics but on God’s perspective. We are called to interpret world events through the lens of God’s sovereignty rather than fear. News changes daily, but God’s kingdom never changes. Our peace comes not from understanding every event, but from trusting the One who rules over them all.
Dear Father God. It is only by trusting in You that we can find the peace “that surpasses all understanding”. We look around us through Your eyes of sovereignty and feel our anxious thoughts dissipate. Thank You. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 