Passage: 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.
Passage: In chapter 1, Isaiah speaks of the crisis in the church, a rebellion of God's chosen nation. Now, in chapter 2, he addresses things that are to come for the church, the impending judgment on the rebellious. Yet, He begins by foretelling a glorious future for Judah, finding hope in the midst of judgment, and his description is very similar to the message delivered by his contemporary Micah (Micah 4:1-3).
What is this message? That the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the one true God and all other gods, no matter how magnificent in the eyes of man, are illusory and temporal. Mount Zion, the "mountain of the Lord's temple," paled in comparison to more lofty mountains of the region such as Mount Hermon or Mount Sinai. These other mountains appeared more significant, both physically and spiritually, from an earthly perspective. So, while it appears that God's people have been forever thrown into the shadow of the mighty mountains of men (in this instance, Assyria for Israel and the coming onslaught of Babylon for Judah), the God of heaven will rise above it all as the faithful refuge for His children, at the time that most elevates His own glory.
How is His glory elevated? As Jesus noted to the Samaritan woman (John 4:21-24), it is not the mountain of worship that is important but, rather, the heart of the one in worship (a heart worshiping in "spirit and truth"). God is elevated, the glory of God is elevated, when the child of God puts down all those things on which the grasp is rather tight, and grabs that one thing, the word of God, on which the grasp is forever delight. "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."
Heard 'Round the House:
This comes under the category of bringing comfort to others within your own comfort zone . . .
Speaking of clinging to things of filth, Luke (age 11) has a Texas Ranger baseball cap that he has worn every day for three years or so. He even takes it in the car to church so he can put it on as we drive home. It is ragged and filthy. Yet, if you know Luke, you associate him with this frayed hat.
Yesterday, he decided to put it under the water of the sink so he could scrub off some of the "white stuff." This would be sweat remains. As he scrubs it, his sister Song (age 9) begins commenting on how disgusting the cap is to her. Anna (age 7) joins in, saying that she wouldn't even want to touch it.
It was at this very time that Ella (age 3) begins crying around the corner (she has apparently fallen down). Luke, always the caring big brother, runs around the corner to check on her. I can't see them, but this is what I hear.
Luke: "Ella, are you ok? Did you fall down? It will be ok. Do you want to wear my hat?"
