Isaiah 2:1-5 (NIV)

This is what son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In 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.

Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of . 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, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Pastor Larry Patton has led a few trips to Jerusalem. Pastor Larry reports these sites among the favorites in Jerusalem: Via Dolorosa or the Stations of the Cross, The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and The West Wall or the remnants of ’s Temple. My daughter Georgia and I visited Jerusalem on Christmas Eve in 2018. We saw buses full of tourists. We enjoyed exploring along the top of the city wall. We entered at the Zion Gate and exited at the Damascus Gate. I was struck by the serenity of the quarters as seen on a guided tour of the city quarters provided by Sandeman’s Jerusalem. We devoured a tasty dish called shakshuka. Mark Twain tells of his visit to Jerusalem in his book Innocents Abroad published in 1869. Twain reported that a fast walker could walk around the city wall in an hour.

We Christians are sentimental about our faith and we also long for future experiences which link us to our faith. Like the Israelites from centuries before the Christian era, we sense something extraordinary coming from the house of Jacob. We do not just celebrate the birth of Christ; we celebrate the coming of Christ.

So, let us go back to the beginning of this celebration. In Isaiah’s day, surrounded by encroaching and aggressive nations, the Israelites were vulnerable. The Israelites were the underdogs of the region. However, a change was coming. Like the scent of rain born on a cold front blowing into a parched land, the sense of a better day in a better place is formed. A reflective notion becomes thought. An idea is teased out of the troubled mind of a seer. The seer gives the idea voice then proclaims his vision to the public. Isaiah the seer, oracle, social critic, or 's words are recorded on parchment.

Isaiah’s vision is a transformation of the remaining descendants of the Hebrews. Forcibly removed from Jerusalem to Babylon, they returned generations later. Restored from weakness to prominence, Jerusalem, Isaiah proclaims, will become the most important place in the world.

Isaiah continues. He proclaims Mt. Zion will become the home of God to whom all others are subordinate. Zion will no longer be a place of war but a place where peace and harmony mingle with diversity. Nations and peoples will flow to Zion. Pilgrims will travel to Mt. Zion seeking God and his teachings. An allusion to a magnificent event seeds a sense of expectation. The Israelites sense something extraordinary is expected from the house of Jacob.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Bless this church. Watch over our families and friends scattered about the world. Keep us all safe, happy, healthy, and productive. Guide enemies to understanding. As Isaiah proclaimed, gather all your nations and peoples in peace as we enter Advent. We await the fulfillment of Isaiah’s vision. Amen.

Gary Cottrell