When Isaiah says that the Lord will stir up the Medes “who shall not regard good nor silver” I assume that they had a reputation in his time. While this prophecy was specifically about a time when the Medes would be a tool in the hand of the Lord I think it is also a reminder generically of the Lord being able to make use of people who have motivations that don’t make sense to those they are coming against—fanatics, zealots, and those who simply have a vastly different cultural background. In foreign policy we are best served if we understand the motivations of the various people we encounter. It is most difficult to succeed when we can’t wrap our minds around how they think and what is important to them.
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