The Hope of Advent: Isaiah 2:1-5 for Today
What’s the most cash you’ve spent in one hour?
I’ve experienced a lump in my throat after handing over thousands of dollars for a used car, hoping I made a wise investment. “What if it’s a lemon and will leave me stranded along the highway?” I will say to myself while driving it home the first time.
What’s the longest you’ve ever trained for something?
I have worked some jobs that required weeks of training because I needed a license to adjust insurance claims or clear freight through U.S. customs. I invested so much time to learning the trades that I valued those jobs more than the others where I just showed up one day and started working rather mindlessly.
When it comes to spending a lot of money on hours upon hours of training, few things beat our nation’s military. Every hour taxpayers spend more than 57 million dollars on the Department of Defense. That adds up to about 1.4 billion dollars every day, and much of that goes to training and preparedness. For example, just one navy pilot will have spent some 800 hours of training on the ground and in the air before even beginning combat training. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.
There’s a reason we invest so much time and money into our military. We are not the only ones. Other nations and groups spend a lot of money on war and defense too. They too have people investing hours upon hours of training to combat. Some are allies. Others are enemies. Spending money on weapons, machinery, and training for the next war are simply part of life in our fallen world.
And this is nothing new. When God called a people his own thousands of years ago in the Middle East he promised them a land that was a good land with plenty of soil for crops, lots of rain in its season, and temperate weather. Land like that is valuable, so Israel was always under the threat of war. Sometimes their leaders invested in and trained mighty armies. Other times they were too small to combat empires to their north and south. Neighboring nations were always warring, sucking Israel into disputes.
The stories we see today from Aleppo, Syria or Mosul, Iraq with civilians being targets of mass killings were often realities for God’s people, especially in the capital city of Jerusalem. They endured many days of darkness and war, often wondering what they could hope. And God was not silent. He continued to speak to them through his prophets, such as Isaiah, who writes:
“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 the 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” – Isaiah 5:2-5.
Around the world Christ’s churches read this hopeful passage during the first week of Advent, the season where we as God’s people eagerly await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, born on Christmas day. This hope is the theme for the first week of Advent. Not just any hope, but hope for those who are in darkness to see a great light.
Our times seem dark too. We take it as the norm to invest so much money and time in war, but God told his people the day will come when nations will no longer invest in training for war. They will take their instruments of war and turn them into instruments of farming. Swords will become shovels. Spears will become garden hoes. Tanks will become combines, whether they are green or red ones. God’s throne will be the center of the world as the nations will pour into Jerusalem to learn God’s ways and walk in his paths.
It almost sounds too good to be true. It’s unlike anything any of us have ever lived. But notice the call to action at the end of Isaiah’s words: “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” That was a message for his own day, not the future. This invitation is extended to us to walk in the Lord’s light. We do not have to wait until the nations, including our own, all get on board by promoting peace, justice, and human flourishing. We as God’s people can walk in his light today.
Christ has come. Light has shined and driven out the darkness. Jesus said let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
When we trust in him for our salvation we will also invest our money, time, and training to be his people of peace. And that starts right here at home. On these dark days come and walk in Christ’s light. When the world seems so hopeless, proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom. And live as if that kingdom is already here.
What hope can you offer your neighbors this week?
What money are you spending to promote peace?
What time are you investing to train in righteousness?
I’ve experienced a lump in my throat after handing over thousands of dollars for a used car, hoping I made a wise investment. “What if it’s a lemon and will leave me stranded along the highway?” I will say to myself while driving it home the first time.
What’s the longest you’ve ever trained for something?
I have worked some jobs that required weeks of training because I needed a license to adjust insurance claims or clear freight through U.S. customs. I invested so much time to learning the trades that I valued those jobs more than the others where I just showed up one day and started working rather mindlessly.
When it comes to spending a lot of money on hours upon hours of training, few things beat our nation’s military. Every hour taxpayers spend more than 57 million dollars on the Department of Defense. That adds up to about 1.4 billion dollars every day, and much of that goes to training and preparedness. For example, just one navy pilot will have spent some 800 hours of training on the ground and in the air before even beginning combat training. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.
There’s a reason we invest so much time and money into our military. We are not the only ones. Other nations and groups spend a lot of money on war and defense too. They too have people investing hours upon hours of training to combat. Some are allies. Others are enemies. Spending money on weapons, machinery, and training for the next war are simply part of life in our fallen world.
And this is nothing new. When God called a people his own thousands of years ago in the Middle East he promised them a land that was a good land with plenty of soil for crops, lots of rain in its season, and temperate weather. Land like that is valuable, so Israel was always under the threat of war. Sometimes their leaders invested in and trained mighty armies. Other times they were too small to combat empires to their north and south. Neighboring nations were always warring, sucking Israel into disputes.
The stories we see today from Aleppo, Syria or Mosul, Iraq with civilians being targets of mass killings were often realities for God’s people, especially in the capital city of Jerusalem. They endured many days of darkness and war, often wondering what they could hope. And God was not silent. He continued to speak to them through his prophets, such as Isaiah, who writes:
“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 the 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” – Isaiah 5:2-5.
Around the world Christ’s churches read this hopeful passage during the first week of Advent, the season where we as God’s people eagerly await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, born on Christmas day. This hope is the theme for the first week of Advent. Not just any hope, but hope for those who are in darkness to see a great light.
Our times seem dark too. We take it as the norm to invest so much money and time in war, but God told his people the day will come when nations will no longer invest in training for war. They will take their instruments of war and turn them into instruments of farming. Swords will become shovels. Spears will become garden hoes. Tanks will become combines, whether they are green or red ones. God’s throne will be the center of the world as the nations will pour into Jerusalem to learn God’s ways and walk in his paths.
It almost sounds too good to be true. It’s unlike anything any of us have ever lived. But notice the call to action at the end of Isaiah’s words: “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” That was a message for his own day, not the future. This invitation is extended to us to walk in the Lord’s light. We do not have to wait until the nations, including our own, all get on board by promoting peace, justice, and human flourishing. We as God’s people can walk in his light today.
Christ has come. Light has shined and driven out the darkness. Jesus said let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
When we trust in him for our salvation we will also invest our money, time, and training to be his people of peace. And that starts right here at home. On these dark days come and walk in Christ’s light. When the world seems so hopeless, proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom. And live as if that kingdom is already here.
What hope can you offer your neighbors this week?
What money are you spending to promote peace?
What time are you investing to train in righteousness?
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