Scripture: Isaiah 19:24 – “On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth…” (NRSV)
Advent is a time when we look at the Old Testament prophets to see how they predict the coming of Jesus in the world. However, while the hopes of the prophets are fulfilled through Jesus, their primary concerns were not events hundreds or thousands of years into the future, but rather what was going on in their own day and age. The prophets reminded the people of the power and love of God, but also excoriated them for their selfish and idolatrous ways. And the prophets were not only concerned with the spiritual life of the people, but also with political matters, as much as we desire a strong separation of religious and secular life.
Many of these politically tinged oracles were against the kings, priests, or wealthy elites, but there are also quite a lot of oracles regarding other countries, what we might consider foreign policy today. Most of these are proclamations of doom against Israel’s enemies, with a few trying to contextual distant events as being part of God’s will. But a few use the geopolitics of the day to express hope for the future.
Quick geography lesson. The roads of the ancient world went along the Euphrates River, northwest from the Persian Gulf to the Turkish border, through what was called Mesopotamia and now Iraq. They then down along the Mediterranean coast through Lebanon and Israel into Egypt. As such, Israel was smack in the middle between the political ambitions of Egypt and the Mesopotamian empires of Assyria and Babylon. The kings of Israel often were embroiled in conflicts between the great powers, usually to their detriment.
This is where Isaiah comes in. Isaiah was a prophet who relatively speaking was optimistic about the future. He saw the northern kingdom of Israel destroyed by Assyria, but was confident that Jerusalem would survive invasion, which it did. Isaiah looked toward a future where God was not the one behind war and judgment among the nations, but rather the one who united them in peace and love.
Isaiah hoped that Egypt and Assyria would come to love the Lord, who would guide them to loving kindness and righteousness. He saw Israel not as a place to be trampled but as a bridge allowing peace and wisdom to flow. He saw Jerusalem as a great city on a hill, sharing the light of its wisdom with the world.
All this ancient politics may seem very far away from us, but the virtues to which Isaiah appeals are just as important today. I think a lot of us feel like we are crushed between two implacable political realities, and that there is nothing we can do. Isaiah reminds us that we are called to be bridgebuilders and peacemakers, hoping that through our humble actions, the mighty might learn humility through the Lord and we might find the unity and joy that we all long to have. Through God, let us hope for and act towards this marvelous future.
Prayer: God, help me to hope for a future of peace, and make me an instrument of that peace. Amen.
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