Swords to Shovels
Day 3 - The advent of peace
“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.” -Isaiah 2:1-5
(photo by Francesco Califano on Unsplash)
In an early episode of the TV show The Simpsons, young Lisa Simpson makes a wish for ‘world peace’, after which the scene cuts to a humorous fantasy of a future where world leaders settle their differences and where a long line of characters throw their guns and weapons into a burning furnace. It’s a funny scene, but I wonder if there was any conscious connection to our passage today from Isaiah 2. This is a truly profound section of Scripture that shines a light into the future when God will touch and bless all the nations of the world in the most incredible ways imaginable. It actually describes a time of global peace.
What makes this passage so unique is that it connects the first book of the Bible, Genesis to the last book, Revelation. Isaiah give us a prophetic description of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham when He said, “..in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed me” (Gen. 22:18). This promise will be ultimately fulfilled through Jesus Christ and His return and is described in Revelation 5 where people from every language and nation gather to worship Him.
This can all sound so grandiose and beyond our daily lives that we disconnect a bit. So let me try to highlight some important points: We worship a God who is perfect in faithfulness to His promises. God spoke to Abraham thousands of years ago and He has never forgotten that promise or changed His mind. As we begin our Advent journey, we must hold on to the promises of God in our own lives, and allow hope to rise within us again. We look to Jesus and the promise of His return and the promised transformation and healing of all that is wrong in this world.
Take a moment and re-read these verses in Isaiah and embrace the faithfulness of God again. He is faithful and He has not forgotten His promises and He will not fail in His faithfulness towards you.