Our church is blessed to include a fellowship of believers from the Mabaan tribe of South Sudan, Africa. Having fled persecution in their homeland, these dear brothers and sisters in Christ have enriched our congregation by their joyful worship and warm hospitality. And as we read Isaiah 18 today, we can give thanks to the Lord that these Mabaan Christians are the kind of people the prophet had in mind when he wrote this chapter around 2,800 years ago! As Isaiah turns his attention from Syria in the north, he takes us southwest and almost to the equator. We are now in the heat of a Sudanese summer, as large flies buzz beside the river Nile with their “whirring wings.” This is the land of ancient Cush, which was made up of modern Ethiopia and Sudan. By the eighth century BC, Cush had merged with Egypt to become a regional superpower. They are a country far away from Jerusalem, but they too are accountable to the God of Israel, who has a message just for them (v 1). Cush is in trouble and they are looking for help. Hoping to counter the mighty Assyrian threat, they have sent a flurry of ambassadors up the Mediterranean coastline, hoping to woo Judah into their camp. It must have made quite a stir in Jerusalem when these “tall and smooth” Africans arrived in their strange “papyrus” watercraft (v 2). (They were called “smooth,” not because of any smooth-talking diplomatic skills, but because they were smooth-skinned, following the Egyptian practice of shaving their entire bodies every third day.) But Isaiah sees no wisdom in forming a political alliance with Cush. This kind of power play would only be another expression of futile human hope. So he calls for messengers to travel the opposite direction, visiting Cush to tell them that they should beware of the true Ruler of the world. It is His battle flag and His war trumpet for which they should be alert (v 3). Compared to the marching of armies and the journeys of international ambassadors, God’s activity often seems unnoticeable. But just as the sun and dew are always present without fanfare, God is quietly inescapable (v 4). He will surely cut down enemy nations in His harvest (v 5-6). And “at that time,” through Jesus and His gospel, the LORD will bring in Gentile nations to worship Him forever in heavenly Zion, the true city of God (v 7). Today and throughout eternity, God’s family consists of people from every tribe and tongue. This includes many from the land of ancient Cush, such as the Ethiopian eunuch of Acts 8... and our beautiful friends from South Sudan. For further meditation: