A Time for Hope - Advent Devotions 2019
Sunday, December 15 - Pastor Melissa Woeppel
Isaiah 2:1-5 The word that Isaiah, son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
Isaiah speaks of God’s promised day—a day when wars end, swords are beaten into plowshares, and spears become pruning hooks. We are given a vision of life, when weapons of death and destruction are transformed into tools of peace. “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,” the prophet speaks. “Neither shall they learn war anymore.” What a word of hope! These words were first spoken to a people living in constant conflict: with themselves and with other nation states. Perhaps that reality sounds all too familiar to us today.
These words from the prophet continue to serve as both a challenge and a comfort. This text calls into question our propensity for war and might and encourages us to live into God’s promises of life, justice, and peace. What does God’s promised day look like and feel like to you? What weapons do we wield that are in need of being made into something new?
God of Jacob, in you our hope rests. May your reign of peace draw near, granting life and making all things new. Amen.
Isaiah 2:1-5 The word that Isaiah, son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
Isaiah speaks of God’s promised day—a day when wars end, swords are beaten into plowshares, and spears become pruning hooks. We are given a vision of life, when weapons of death and destruction are transformed into tools of peace. “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,” the prophet speaks. “Neither shall they learn war anymore.” What a word of hope! These words were first spoken to a people living in constant conflict: with themselves and with other nation states. Perhaps that reality sounds all too familiar to us today.
These words from the prophet continue to serve as both a challenge and a comfort. This text calls into question our propensity for war and might and encourages us to live into God’s promises of life, justice, and peace. What does God’s promised day look like and feel like to you? What weapons do we wield that are in need of being made into something new?
God of Jacob, in you our hope rests. May your reign of peace draw near, granting life and making all things new. Amen.