Second Week of Advent, Day Three

Week 2 Day 3: Isaiah 2:1-5

This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD. (NIV)

Isaiah spoke these words 2700 years ago. This prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. In fact the full realization of what God has revealed through Isaiah sounds much like the new heaven and new earth shown to John in Revelation 21. Obviously, this hasn’t taken place in human history. The sin and evil of the human heart still perpetuate conflict despite human efforts toward peace. So much is yet to come. But, part of the prophecy has come true.

We don’t need to wait for a future fulfillment to allow God to “teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” We have that piece right now. God’s people can freely “walk in the light of the Lord.”
Obviously, it will be easier to connect with God when the sinfulness of this world is behind us. The politics and persecutions, the wars and woes of this world often hinder our walk in His paths. Often, we are tempted to say, “Well, when all of this settles down, I will really be able to focus on my relationship with God.” The problem is that things never seem to settle down.

You and I are part of something far greater than what we see around us, hear on the news, or read on the internet. The Spirit of God who will one day bring peace to this earth lives in us. Maybe we can’t solve all of the world’s problems. That certainly doesn’t make us helpless. Even if we cannot reconcile the conflicts between nations, God’s path will lead us to resolve the conflicts in our own lives and to help those around us.

You and I are on the right side of history here. God is ultimately victorious over the forces of this earth. Let’s take confidence in His power and His promise and focus on God’s paths before us.

Copyright © 2009 by Allen White

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.