Isaiah’s message in these two verses was for Edom. Seir is another name for Edom. It was likely that with Arabia, Edom had allied herself with Babylon to fight the Assyrians. She would certainly be concerned about the repercussion since she had allied herself with the Babylonians. Their concern would be what would happen when the Assyrians had decided to be more aggressive and come and attack them. This would have caused them sleepless nights. Hence the concern they expressed in verse 11 was how long would their night be? So they asked:
“Watchman, how
far gone is the night?
Watchman, how far gone is the night?”
The
word “night” here refers to their distress, anxiety, and worries. How could they
sleep when they were anticipating Assyria’s attack anytime? Their minds would be
filled with worries and anxieties about the problem that had besieged them. How
could they rest when their minds were ruminating on the conflict they had to
endure? Edom was going through such a spell. So they turned to Isaiah to enquire
about the future, about how long would they have to endure this uncertainty. Isaiah
did not give them a specific time but told them to keep inquiring.
The
fact that they turned to Isaiah shows us how much they trusted him. They could
have turned to their own sages but why didn’t they? Isaiah must have earned for
himself a name to be one who would provide accurate information concerning the future.
Why wouldn’t he since he was the prophet of the true and living God?
We
are all representatives of God’s Kingdom. Remember Jesus said that we are the
salt of the earth. Our behavior and conduct should create a thirst in others to
desire to know what makes us who we are. Like Isaiah, we should rightly reflect
God so that when our friends or associates have an issue, we will be the ones whom
they would turn to. Let us make a mark as Jesus’ disciples!
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