Isaiah 20:4
4 So shall the king [melek] of Assyria ['Ashshuwr] lead
away [nahag] the Egyptians [Mitsrayim] prisoners [shabiy], and the
Ethiopians [Kuwsh] captives [galuwth], young [na`ar] and old [zaqen], naked [`arowm] and
barefoot [yacheph], even with their buttocks [shethah] uncovered [chasaph], to the
shame [`ervah] of Egypt [Mitsrayim]. KJV-Interlinear
4 so the king of Assyria will
lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked
and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. NASB
Cush, the son of Ham,
the son of Noah. The descendants of Cush
settled in the region of Africa, and that region is commonly called Cush. Likewise, Ethiopia is the region beyond Egypt
and is also referred to as the balance of Africa, being beyond Egypt. So these are synonymous terms, identifying
the same general region.
Egypt and Ethiopia were
the more populated and developed regions and had national entities with armies
and commerce and such.
Assyria in the north,
had been flexing its muscles, causing Syria, Samaria, and the Philistines to
enter into common defense pacts with Egypt and Ethiopia, but primarily Egypt,
against Assyria.
Assyria soon crushed
Syria, Samaria, and the Philistines along the Mediterranean coast, which we
call, Gaza, in our present day. And now
had its sights on Egypt and beyond.
Judah was in the middle
of it all.
Isaiah warned Judah to
not get involved, to not turn to Egypt, but to turn to God for their defense.
But what did Judah
do? Exactly the opposite that Isaiah
warned against.
And here is a stronger
warning.
Egypt and Ethiopia,
which Ethiopia is even further away and across huge desert regions, are both
going to fall.
And their citizens,
both young and old, both common and royal, both male and female are going to be
humiliated to the maximum. They are to
lose not only their possessions, but their dignity. That is, those who manage to stay alive. An alliance with them means disaster.
So again, since the Bible
is written to each person throughout history, for the benefit of each person
throughout history, then what is in this lesson for us?
Ignore your spiritual
responsibilities, remain indifferent toward even learning what your spiritual
responsibilities are, namely resisting to read your daily study, not confessing
regularly and appropriately, and therefore not growing up, and you have nothing
to face but your own ruin.
God gives you your
entire lifespan to get it right, but sooner or later God pulls the plug on you
in this world and after that you have no do-overs.
Don’t be a fool and
think that some temporary success in this life is proof of your doing it all
right.
God evaluates you on
the spiritual content of your soul, not on your possessions in this world.
