Quietly Looking Down

Good morning. Today we are in Isaiah 18, and I was fully prepared for another day of judgment in Isaiah.

I was very pleasantly surprised.

And it took me a good portion of the chapter to realize, "Oh, this is actually not terrible. There's not a lot of judgment here."

And then I was like, "And why are we in Ethiopia?"

We have been wandering through a lot of geography and time in Isaiah the last several chapters.

And I will say, the history about this time is beyond fascinating, with how Assyria was going in and taking, plundering, and, you know, becoming ruler of all, and then how people were reacting against that power.

And then we get to see God's hand again be in charge of where everything's going.

And I just—just absolutely love seeing how all of this works together.

So I definitely would encourage you to spend a little bit of time understanding some of the history about this, just because it is fascinating and it really does help sort of understand what's going on here in Isaiah.

But you don't have to, because God's Word is so good, and Scripture supports Scripture, and you can dig into it and get something from God every day.

So I love all seven verses here in 18.

I think they're all pretty, and it's beautiful.

And I love how verse 2 and 7 marry each other, but there's a very important ending on verse 7 that doesn't start in verse 2.

And it ends with:

"To the place of the name of the Lord of armies, to Mount Zion."

And it talks about how Ethiopia turns to God in the middle of this very tumultuous time in history.

And that is such a stark contrast compared to God's people who are not turning to God.

I mean, we just got done reading about Ephraim and how they had forgotten their God.

And we have King Ahaz, who refused to turn to Him and instead turned to the very power that would ultimately come in and do a whole lot of messing them up.

And so we have Ethiopia turning to God.

And we just see how God is so much bigger than just one people.

Does He love Israel?

Very, very much so.

But that doesn't mean He ever stopped letting the rest of the world learn about Him and who He is.

And that was sort of a big deal for me.

I really also enjoyed verse 4:

"For this is what the Lord has told me: 'I will quietly look from My dwelling place Like dazzling heat in the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.'"

And just like the verse yesterday jumped out at me about quiet, I really like that view—just quietness.

Because I don't know about you, but my life right now is pretty insane.

I've got a lot of things going on.

A lot of things are moving and changing.

And man, do I need a place that I can go, that I can sit in the quiet and be with God.

And then I love how God's like, "I—I will quietly look down."

He's not bothered by the insanity of the humans on Earth.

He is not ruffled.

He is not up in heaven pacing back and forth.

He just looks down.

And I think I'd be remiss if I didn't jump to the New Testament and bring in Acts 8:27 through 28:

"So he got ready and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading Isaiah the prophet."

I have a suspicion that we're going to be learning more about Ethiopia.

And I have a suspicion that there's going to be some really interesting connections coming up between Ethiopia and God and what God had planned in Isaiah's day, which we already knew.

But I don't know.

For me, knowing that He was already making Himself known to all the nations, including Ethiopia—I love that.

God continues to meet us where we are at.

And yes, I love that He can just quietly look down when I feel like I am in an uproar and my heart is pounding and I have too many things going on.

And to know that my God is not ruffled—that is balm to my soul.

To know that I can run to Him when my world is crazy and find quiet and His peace when I turn to Him.

So what stuck out for you from chapter 18?

What were you expecting chapter 18 to take us?

Did you expect to end over in Ethiopia today?

Because I didn't.

Oh Lord, I thank You for today.

Thank You that while the rest of the world is insane, You are quietly looking down.

You're not pacing.

You understand.

You know the big picture.

And You continue to be in control.

Oh Lord, I am so thankful that You are in control.

Lord, as I pray every day, I ask that You be with us all as we go out and do the things that You've placed in front of us to do.

That we will heed Your nudges.

That we will step up and do the things that You ask us to do.

That we will be patient when the day does not go the way we expected it to go.

That we would love on the people You have placed in front of us.

That we will be a light to the world to point them all to You.

Oh Lord Jesus, it is in the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Thank you for joining me today as we wander through God's Word with wonder.