Something Worth Waiting For

A few days ago, I thought of a friend.

A bad relationship had caught my friend, and showed no sign of letting go. It was easy to see from the outside, but from inside, it must not have looked all that bad.

Of course, when everything seems fine from the inside, there isn't any reason to expect the possibility of something better. If there is any hope that the person will see something new, they need to be given a vision from outside.

Enter the prophet.

Isaiah, for Israel, was the one who saw the bad relationship. He knew that YHWH was the best fit, and that Israel was content with another lover. So, in fine form, he cast a vision for a different future. It's like he said, "What you see isn't all you can get. You think you've got all you could want, but check this out."

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

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.

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.

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, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.

- Isaiah 2:1-5

These words must have been a comfort to Israel, who had been taken captive and shipped off to Babylon. Everyone will be headed home, and the weapons of war will become tools for sowing and reaping. For a people in the middle of war, this kind of hope can only be seen from outside. But more important than ending war, YHWH is calling his people back.

There is good news. This reality will bring a new, healthy relationship.