Isaiah 18

Called Cush in Bible times, south of Egypt.

Scholars have to guess which story this poetic prophecy is talking about. Here’s one possibility. Cush took control of Egypt in about 740 BC. Like several other nations, they wanted to unite and push back the Assyrian Empire that had intruded into their lands and taxed the people. They may have sent ambassadors to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem to secure his backing. Instead, Hezekiah alerts the Assyrians who come and crush the armies of Cush and Egypt.

In ancient times and today, Egyptians have made boats by tying together stalks of papyrus reeds that grow along the banks of the Nile River. Most Egyptians lived near the river, so the river was an important means of transportation. Papyrus boats were light and quick in the water on a windy day. Norwegian ethnologist Thor Heyerdahl sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in a papyrus reed raft built according to Egyptian specs. He sailed 4,000 miles (6,400 km) from Morocco to Barbados in 57 days. He wanted to show that people from the Mediterranean could have sailed to North and South America.

The message may be that strong nations fight for dominance, but the true power comes from the LORD, King of All Creation.