Key Texts: 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 the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted 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 temple 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, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
In Isaiah’s vision of the “day of the Lord” we are given a glimpse of a world that is as different from our current one as can hardly be imagined.
- The Lord’s heavenly temple firmly established
- People streaming to it in praise and wonder
- Nations coming together, calling each other to go to the “mountaintop”
- God’s law firmly established
- Divine justice settling all disputes
- A world where violence has been done away with, as people have beaten their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks
- No more planning, or training for, or dreading war
- All walking – no longer in darkness – but in God’s eternal light
What a vision!
When will it come? No one knows for sure, though many like to speculate.
But it is a vision for us to ponder, and prayerfully anticipate.
In the meantime, there is something else for the people of God to do as well.
Why not try walking, at least a step or two, guided by God’s light – even now?
Just imagine where it might lead.
IGW3 - In God's Word, In God's Will, In God's Work 