“At that time, tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts, from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the Lord of hosts.”
– Isaiah 18:7
All nations will bow before God. This is where history is heading.
Isaiah 18:7 Reminds Us that God Will Have the Victory
This verse is talking about at that time, when God consummates history with the victory of His kingdom … His rule, his reign on earth … new Heaven, new Earth … At that time, tribute, honor, will be brought to the Lord of hosts. Worship will be brought to the lord of hosts and the picture is it’ll be brought from everywhere. From people tall and smooth, from people feared near and far. A nation mighty and conquering whose land the rivers divide. The whole picture here is where all of history is headed.
Isaiah 18:7 Lifts Up Our Eyes to Jesus
So, lift your eyes today. You and I have all kinds of things going on in our lives today. We’ve got things on our to-do list, we have things on our schedules. And it’s helpful. And it’s the day-to-day, and things that we need to do, we need to get done. It’s helpful just to lift our eyes for a minute, and remember where all history is headed. All history is headed toward the day when the nations … all kinds of nations … will gather together before the Lord of hosts and will give him glory. That’s where all history is headed.
So that’s the picture we see in Revelation. The nations coming to the throne of God to praise and exalt Him, and to enjoy him forever, and ever, and ever. So, let’s pray for the coming of that day, even as Revelation calls us to pray. “Come Lord Jesus. Come quickly. Bring this about.” So let’s pray that many more nations today, and tomorrow, and this week, and coming weeks, would come to know God’s grace. Let’s pray for … I think about the Bania people in India … praying for them, 30 million of them. 30 plus million Bania people in India, and very few of them followers of Christ.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray for India
Relatively few out of 30 million of them. So pray that God would bring more Bania to worship Him. All throughout India, knowing that one that day when all history is complete, the consummation of God’s kingdom, Bania people are going to be gathered around throne. There are people near in and far, and they’re going to bring tribute to the Lord of Hosts. “So, God calls Bania people today to trust in you, to believe in you, to bring honor and glory to you. May it happen among the Bania, may it happen among more, and more, and more people.”
“And God, help us today, to live in view of that day to come. Lord help us to live in anticipation of that day to come. Help us to live with confidence that that day is coming. And in light of that day to come, help us to be faithful today. So God, help us to pray today for the coming of that day. Help us to pray, help us to give, use our resources to help bring the nations to worship and honor you. Help us to do that, not just far from us, but near to us. So God, use us today to bring more people. To bring tribute and honor to you.” “In Jesus’ name we pray these things. Amen.”
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
