14 day plan

The Desire for Peace

Day 7 of 14

NIV

Isaiah 2:2-4

2In 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.

3Many 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.

4He 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.

Reflection:

Isaiah and Micah were prophetic partners ministering in Judah in times not unlike our own. They were all too aware of international threats and political instability, both near and far. Nations to the north were poised with dominating menace. At home, there was moral decay driven by spiritual indifference and idolatry. Isaiah was the well-positioned city prophet ministering in the hub of the big city. Micah was the country villager observing the same problems in a rural setting. Both share an almost verbatim message (see Micah 4:1-4) to speak right into the heart of this tension with a collage of ancient stories and future hope. As they address their conflict-filled situation they prophesy with words that carry echoes of Eden and glimpses of the New Jerusalem. Weapons of warfare will be turned into instruments for tilling the earth. The norm of violent warfare will give way to settled peacefulness.

In the midst of our conflict-filled international landscape, will you hold the balance of persistently engaging with our times and longingly looking forward to the restored peace that awaits us?

Chaplain Paul Quicke is an Army Chaplain serving in Western Australia.

Prayer:

King Jesus, Prince of Peace, thank you for the peace-making work you completed at the cross. You know the conflict of the days in which we live. As we await your glorious return and the restoration of all things, which you will establish once and for all, keep us balanced in the tension of engaging in present ministry and longing for our future hope.

Isaiah 2:1-22

The Mountain of the Lord

1This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2In 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.

3Many 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.

4He 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.

5Come, descendants of Jacob,

let us walk in the light of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord

6You, Lord, have abandoned your people,

the descendants of Jacob.

They are full of superstitions from the East;

they practice divination like the Philistines

and embrace pagan customs.

7Their land is full of silver and gold;

there is no end to their treasures.

Their land is full of horses;

there is no end to their chariots.

8Their land is full of idols;

they bow down to the work of their hands,

to what their fingers have made.

9So people will be brought low

and everyone humbled—

do not forgive them.

10Go into the rocks, hide in the ground

from the fearful presence of the Lord

and the splendor of his majesty!

11The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled

and human pride brought low;

the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

12The Lord Almighty has a day in store

for all the proud and lofty,

for all that is exalted

(and they will be humbled),

13for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,

and all the oaks of Bashan,

14for all the towering mountains

and all the high hills,

15for every lofty tower

and every fortified wall,

16for every trading ship

and every stately vessel.

17The arrogance of man will be brought low

and human pride humbled;

the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,

18and the idols will totally disappear.

19People will flee to caves in the rocks

and to holes in the ground

from the fearful presence of the Lord

and the splendor of his majesty,

when he rises to shake the earth.

20In that day people will throw away

to the moles and bats

their idols of silver and idols of gold,

which they made to worship.

21They will flee to caverns in the rocks

and to the overhanging crags

from the fearful presence of the Lord

and the splendor of his majesty,

when he rises to shake the earth.

22Stop trusting in mere humans,

who have but a breath in their nostrils.

Why hold them in esteem?