"3 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.
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.5 Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord." -Isaiah 2:3-5
Good morning. In previous posts I've spent time talking about how at times the life of a pacifist can be a lonely existence when living in a world of ever-growing violence. Like weary Jedi being hunted by the galactic Empire, pacifists have moments of uncertainty as to how long they can protect their efforts for peace against the advances of hawkish war enthusiasts.
But if anything motivates pacifists to press on, it is passages like Isaiah 2 that speak to their disposition to create rather than destroy. Now before one can build anything, he or she needs a set of instructions or blueprints. Isaiah 2 invites us to enter the presence of the Lord, and there receive the instructions of the Lord's ways, the blueprints of the Lord's will. With the Lord's instructions in hand, Isaiah 2 assures us that we will understand precisely where to walk, we will know exactly what to build.
When I catches glimpses of wars taking place in other parts of the world or violent demonstrations occurring here at home, I often wonder to myself, "do warring nations or races with even remember the dispute that justified the destruction of the other?" Though many perceive the God of the Old Testament to be a God of wrath, Isaiah 2 depicts the God of Jacob as one whose judgment aims not to intensify the conflict, but rather seeks the resolution of it.
For once conflicts give way to harmony, Isaiah 2 contends that the armaments of conflict become obsolete. Isaiah 2 asserts that instruments once used to tear away at the flesh can be transformed into tools that cut into the ground so that the hunger of all men and women can satisfied. Once disputes yield to consensus, Isaiah 2 maintains that the weapons of disputes become archaic. Isaiah 2 declares that devices once employed to pierce its target can be manipulated into gadgets that cut away at our affluence for the betterment of our compassion and the enrichment of our neighbor.
Finally, Isaiah 2 suggests that the absence of weapons and armament makes the preparing for war an exercise in futility. It is just me or do you ever wonder, will there ever come a day when nations stop investing in weapon programs aimed only at killing more people with greater efficiency? When will world governments choose instead to finance projects designed at enhancing quality of life and improving standards of living?
Do I think the kind of reform Isaiah 2 envisions comes quickly or easily? No. But I am grateful for the blueprints and the endless possibilities for reform they reveal. For there is no limit to what God's people can reform when they decide to build instead of demolish. There is no end to how much God's people can restore when they elect to create rather then destroy. There is no ceiling to what God's people can redeem when they choose construction over destruction.
CJE