God Whistles

On that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the sources of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. Isaiah 7: 18 NRSV

You know how to whistle, don't you?

Well, according to Isaiah, God knows how to whistle, too!

In fact, in this passage, God is whistling for two insects: a fly and a bee. The fly is the leaders of Egypt, the bee is the leaders of Assyria. God is going to get them to do the dirty work of destroying Israel and Judah. The sad part is that the king has tried to ally himself with Assyria against Egypt which God has instructed him not to do. So, although the king thinks that Assyria will come to help, they will actually come to defeat.

The imagery here is priceless. All God has to do is put God's lips together and blow. And all it takes for God's will of destruction to be carried out is two small insects. God doesn't need  much to fulfill the warnings given time and again to God's people.  Assyria has the stinger and will do the most damage. Egypt is the annoying fly buzzing around, living off the refuse left lying around: presumably what will be left when Assyria gets through with God's people.

What type of bees have you had to come up against lately? Have you been annoyed by any flies buzzing around your head? Perhaps it would be good to take a look at what God is really wanting you to be doing with your life. Are you following God's instructions?

God, you are doing your best to get us to "stand firm in faith" (Isaiah 7: 9b). However, we haven't done such a good job. Please don't whistle for the insects yet, Lord. Give us time to regroup and return to you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims