As with Havilah, the other two lands of Ethiopia
and Assyria comprising
the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:11-14)
also demonstrate how Holy God deals with man’s sin, not only with deserved justice, but with undeserved mercy and grace. When man repents
and prays to God, He restores what was lost.
Ethiopia was the home country of Moses’ wife (Numbers 12:1), causing Moses’
siblings Aaron and Miriam to criticize him. Evidently they thought the Ethiopians were
inferior to the Jews and unworthy of marrying into their family. In addition to
their prejudice, they were guilty of
coveting Moses’ favored position with
God and of pride in thinking they
were as fit as Moses to be God’s spokespersons (v. 2).
God punished their sins
by summoning them to stand
before Him (what a terrifying thought to be called on the carpet by our Creator!),
verbally chastising them, and striking Miriam with leprosy (v. 4-10). But when Aaron confessed his sin, and Moses
and Aaron begged God to save Miriam (v.
11-13), in His mercy He let her
return to the camp, presumably healed, after seven days (v. 14-15).
The Ethiopians, Lubims and Sukkiims followed king Shishak of Egypt in the attack against
Jerusalem, which came as part of God’s judgment for the disobedience of evil
king Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 12:1-5).
To appease His holy and justified wrath, God allowed the attackers to take the fenced cities of Judah, to enslave the Hebrews and to plunder their treasure. Shishak took
spoils of the treasures of the house of
the Lord; the treasures of King
Solomon's house; and the shields of
gold which Solomon had made (v.4-9).
But when the Hebrew king and princes heard God’s judgment delivered by Shemaiah the prophet, they humbled themselves before God and praised Him for His righteousness (v. 5-6). In His mercy, He spared their lives, gave them some deliverance, and vowed not to pour out His anger on
Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak (v. 7).
The Ethiopians continued to war against Judah, but during
the reign of good king Asa, who prayed
to God, obeyed and served Him (2 Chronicles 14:2-7,11), God smote, overthrew, and destroyed the Ethiopians (v.12-13).
Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, joined with Assyria in warring
against the Israelites, causing the Hebrew king Hezekiah to mourn that day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy (2 Kings 19). But in answer to
Hezekiah’s prayer, God kept His promise to save
the faithful remnant of His people, to defend
the city against the king of Assyria, and to kill 145,000 Assyrian soldiers before they even left their camp.
The people of Assyria were enemies of Israel used by God as
an instrument of judgment against the people of God for their disobedience not
only in Hezekiah’s day (2 Kings 18:11-17;
Isaiah 36), but also in the time of king Hoshea, Jeroboam and
Menahem (2 Kings 15, 17). The
Assyrians were a bad influence on God’s people, seducing them to worship false
gods. Scripture metaphorically describes Israel’s disloyalty to God, calling
the Assyrians her lovers, described as desirable,
young, renowned horsemen, who were captains,
rulers, or great lords (Ezekiel 23:5-23).
Yet God in His mercy could even use the Assyrians for the
good of His faithful people. The children
of Israel, the priests, and the Levites showed their obedience to God
by dedicating His newly built temple
of God; making offerings at the
dedication; and setting the priests for
God’s service. The children of the captivity showed their obedience by keeping the passover; separating themselves from the heathen;
and keeping the feast of unleavened
bread (Ezra 6:16-22).
In return, the Lord showered them with His grace. He made
them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria
unto them, to strengthen their hands
in the work of the house of God. (Ezra
6:22).
Assyria’s capital was the wicked city of Nineveh, an exceeding great city of three days' journey (Jonah
3:3). When Jonah disobeyed
God by refusing to preach in that den of iniquity, God’s judgment was to allow
him to be swallowed up by a great fish and remain in its belly three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17). Once Jonah offered repentance, prayer, and thanksgiving
to God, the fish vomited Jonah onto dry land (Jonah 2).
God again commanded Jonah to arise, go to Nineveh, and
preach. God spared the Assyrian
capital when they fasted, cried out to God and repented, showing His great mercy, grace and redemption
even to His worst enemies (Jonah 3).
The one whom the Bible calls “the Assyrian,” suggested by some commentators to be Gog or even the
Antichrist, is the rod of God’s anger,
and the staff of God’s indignation. He will be used by God in judgment against the people
of His anger to take the spoil, and to take
the prey, and to tread them down
like the mire of the streets (Isaiah 10:5-6).
And yet God promises to protect His faithful remnant from
the Assyrian, when God’s indignation
shall cease, and His anger in their
destruction shall cease, and He
shall stir up a scourge for the Assyrian (v. 26). God will remove the
Assyrian’s load from His people’s shoulders, and will remove his yoke of bondage from their neck, and destroy his yoke altogether (v. 27).
At times God deals with the enemies of Israel by having them war against one another, as
when Assyria leads Ethiopia and Egypt into shame, fear and captivity (Isaiah 20:4-5).
Prophecy tells of Ethiopia being allied with Egypt
and Libya against Israel (Ezekiel 38:5; Daniel 11:43).
Ultimately, God redeemed His nation Israel using Ethiopia, Egypt and Seba as ransom
(Isaiah 43:1-4), and gave her
spoil from the labor of Egypt, and
merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans (Isaiah 45:14). But when Israel rebelled against God, He
chastised them by saying they were like children of the Ethiopians (Amos 9:7).
These three lands in the Garden of Eden therefore foretell
man’s sinful rebellion, God’s judgment, and ultimately God’s redemption. Not only did God protect His faithful, but He gave them victory in war, and provides for the redemption
of all people who place their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1
Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6).
God’s mercy, love and grace are so great that they extend even to His enemies whom He has
judged, and to the foes of His chosen people Israel. God has even promised to
bless Assyria, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance (Isaiah 19:24-25),
for He knows that one day they shall all worship Him in the holy city of
Jerusalem (Isaiah 27:13).
The Psalms foretold of even the Ethiopians stretching out their hands to God (Psalm 68:31). That prophecy was
fulfilled when the Ethiopian eunuch Ebedmelech rescued God’s prophet Jeremiah from prison (Jeremiah 38:7-13) and when the Ethiopian eunuch witnessed to
by Philip was saved and baptized (Acts 8:26-39).
The pagan nations, and those that curse Israel, have reason
to fear God’s judgment (Ezekiel 30).
Specific judgments for Ethiopia are great
pain (v.4,9), falling by the sword (v. 5), and messengers in ships causing fear (v. 9). But thanks to Jesus Christ, all those born in Ethiopia, or
in any nation once fighting God, can now be reborn into the church of God and
enter the glorious city of Zion (Psalm
87).
May we learn from Havilah, Ethiopia and Assyria that God’s mercy and grace are greater than all our sins, and may we believe, repent, and pray!
© 2015 Laurie Collett
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