Isaiah 14-28
*image courtesy of sraburton at stock.xchng
Isaiah has a great deal to say about the nations. Much of it is negative, in the form of judgment against wicked nations. However, in today’s reading, and especially in chapter 19, Isaiah has a message of hope for the nations as well. He begins the chapter with an oracle against Egypt. Things don’t look so good for Egypt. But if you get to verse 19, the passage takes a sudden turn.
All of a sudden, there is an altar in Egypt, a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and God is answering their prayers and delivering them. Egypt, Assyria, and Israel are all spoken of together, and in positive terms! Most interestingly of all, the Egyptians and Assyrians are worshiping together.
It has always been God’s plan that the nations would worship Him. From the promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:1-3), through the Great Commissions (Matthew 28:19-20), up to the visions in Revelation (Revelation 7:9-12) it has been God’s purpose to have all of humanity represented among the redeemed. God may have chosen Israel as His special possession, but they were to be a nation of priests who proclaimed His glory to the nations. Now that task has fallen to the church. We must take up the challenge.
Let’s be a people who proclaim the glory of the Lord in every nation, tribe, and tongue. Let’s reach out beyond our own people, seeking the lost among every group. Let’s not be bound by our color, language, gender, background, or status. Let’s see the beauty in the diversity God has put into mankind, and proclaim the gospel to all!
*originally at Words of Reason
Words of Reason 