Isa 18:4 | KingComments | STEP | Then we read in this verse what the LORD will do during all the activities of the distant people and of His people. He will quietly watch all that hustle and bustle, without interfering. He will keep quiet, it does not have His blessing. These are activities in which He is not involved. That does not mean that everything is outside of Him. Although He Himself has no active part in it, He allows all these actions to happen. He allows it because it fits into His plan. It happens in His providence. However, in the background He is “like dazzling heat in the sunshine” and “like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest” preparing His people for the blessing of the land. Prophetically this points at the first phase of Israel’s restoration. Compare the vision of the valley with the bones ( ). The scattered bones are restored to bodies, but they are still without spirit, not yet alive. Thus Israel is now back in the land, but without spiritual life. The messengers of the distant land (cf. ) may be in a hurry, the LORD is not. That is why Israel should not rush to connect with that land, as if it offered them some strength against the advancing enemy. Seeking support from people will always result in disappointment ( ; ). That is what the unbelieving Israel will experience in the end time. It will suffer badly, despite all the covenants and promised help.

‏ Isaiah 18:4

The LORD Looks Quietly

Then we read in this verse what the LORD will do during all the activities of the distant people and of His people. He will quietly watch all that hustle and bustle, without interfering. He will keep quiet, it does not have His blessing. These are activities in which He is not involved. That does not mean that everything is outside of Him.

Although He Himself has no active part in it, He allows all these actions to happen. He allows it because it fits into His plan. It happens in His providence. However, in the background He is “like dazzling heat in the sunshine” and “like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest” preparing His people for the blessing of the land.

Prophetically this points at the first phase of Israel’s restoration. Compare the vision of the valley with the bones (Eze 37:1-10). The scattered bones are restored to bodies, but they are still without spirit, not yet alive. Thus Israel is now back in the land, but without spiritual life.

The messengers of the distant land (cf. Isa 39:1-8) may be in a hurry, the LORD is not. That is why Israel should not rush to connect with that land, as if it offered them some strength against the advancing enemy. Seeking support from people will always result in disappointment (Isa 20:5-6; Psa 118:8-9). That is what the unbelieving Israel will experience in the end time. It will suffer badly, despite all the covenants and promised help.