People walking with God. Isaiah 2:2-4
Isaiah 2:2-4
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
The
Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Is 2:2–4). Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan.
The Temple Mount in modern Jerusalem.
Commentary:
Vs.
2
When
are the last days? There are two typical responses to a passage such as this:
1. To over accentuate the eschatological significance and assume that it only
applies to the times which appear apocalyptic in tone. 2. To underestimate the
eschatological importance of passages like this one.
In
the first case, people like Hal
Lindsey or Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
have encouraged a popularization of eschatology which
has not always been a majority view in the church. This type of pre-millennial eschatology is not
alone in encouraging an aggrandizement of the last age, but it is certainly
influential in the United States.
The major problem with this view of the last
age is that it leaves out the importance of the church in the kingdom work at
this current time. It is no accident that one of Jesus’s favorite
self-designations is “Son of Man” (e.g. – Mark 10:35-45).* It is inseparable
from passages such as Daniel 7 and the imminent expectation of the Messiah in the
people of Israel.
As Jesus announces the kingdom, I believe he is ushering in
the beginning of the last days. To separate eschatology, whether in the case of
Isaiah, Revelation, or any other biblical book is to cause harm to the purpose
and witness of the church.
Secondly,
it is not wonder underestimating the eschatological importance of a
passage abates the strength in a parallel way to over-extending its eschatology.
To put it differently, Christians must see themselves properly in the tension
of the initiated kingdom. We care that it is the last days, but not in a
fanatic, hyperbolic manner. The simplicity of the kingdom’s reality must permeate
our actions as we also yearn for the return of the Messiah. Our regular actions
must meet the irregularity of who we are called to be as the bride of Christ.
The
mountain here mentioned is the temple mount of Jerusalem. Although Zion is not
the highest point around, with even the Mount of Olives being physically
taller, it is the central place of worship. In the sense of being the place of
worship for the one true God, there is no taller mountain in the world; it is a
spiritual height which is important here. Although Mount Olympus
is the tallest peak in Greece, there are plenty of taller mountains in Israel.
It is the special relationship offered that makes the Temple Mount central. The
spiritual significance of those things which are considered weak by the world
but considered of great importance by God should not be lost on us today.
Although other nations may have scoffed at this over-sized hill, God had a
special purpose in mind for it. Similarly, there was a special purpose for
the small nation of Israel.
Vs.
3
An
endless stream of people groups approaches the mountain of the Lord. Here,
there are no longer divisions of politics, language, or ethnicity. These realities may still exist, but the
unification proves to be important. The special relationship of Jacob, who came
to be known as Israel, is a chief way God will be known. This contrasts with the false gods who cannot
have the same immanence as the creator of the universe.
The
Lord will directly teach people about His goodness. This is not mere pedagogy, and
even extends beyond andragogy. This will be God bringing people into true
knowledge, a restoration of the expulsion from the garden where knowledge became
divorced from relationship. God restores
the earth through teaching, but this is not stale classroom experience. Peripatetic instruction will invite all people back
into holistic communion.
We can imagine the right
ways of God radiating out over the whole earth as people come to know who God
is. Reading this passage, it is easy to see how John saw Jesus as the Word made
flesh. As people were joined to Jesus through walking with him, they came to
know the Word. Belief must primarily be relational before it is even primarily cognitive.
Vs.
4
Again,
the purpose for the dispersal of the Law is to bring people into right
relationship. Disputes are resolved so that people may be restored. When we
sin, we create divisions between God and other people. Sin has direct and
indirect consequences which are not always apparent. However, when all things
are restored through Christ we see a resolution of even the hidden things.
The
making of weapons into plowshares has been of interest to Christians throughout the centuries.
However, this is neither a call to Utopian visions never realized, nor is it
something which will only happen at some opaque end times. Jesus is the Prince
of Peace. Christians must be known for their love for one another.
Jesus’s work
on the cross gives us reason to forgive those who will harm us and those we
would otherwise not wish to harm. If we are as avaricious or lustful in the
same way as those who are not believers, we have not submitted to Jesus as Prince
of this Kingdom of Peace. We must first submit to Christ before we can hope to
see peace extend to those around us. Instead, we often find the church filled with
people who are just as concerned with individual right to power as those outside
the church.
If we
really look forward to the coming of our Messiah, we will seek to be different within
ourselves first. We must put down those things which cause fighting and the
marking of borders between others.
It’s easy to look for fault, but how often
do we look for reasons to unite in knowledge of Jesus? As persecution in the West starts to
grow and mirror what has already happened in much of the world already, we must
be ready to look different in what we claim as our own.
Final
Thoughts
1. Do
I pray regularly for people to come to know Jesus?
2. Do
I spend time knowing Jesus by walking with Him?
3. How
do I show the uniqueness of God in my daily life?
4. How
am I different in my passions and pursuits than the outside world?
5. Do
I seek to worship and gather with other Christians in a kingdom centered way?
6. Have
I prayed for the persecuted church today?
*See Craig A. Evans’s work related to Jesus as
the Son of Man for some fascinating and helpful discussions.
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