Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that God may teach us God's ways and that we may walk in their paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. God shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.
In this picture Isaiah paints, the Nations (non-Jews, who are constantly trying to attack and loot Israel) will one day look to Judaism for teaching and wisdom, follow Isaiah’s God, and having done that they will choose peace.
As a gentile, promised access to peace is good news to me. But gentiles were not who Isaiah was speaking to, it was insiders.
And, while it’s easy to imagine that inside Isaiah’s community there was already no war or fighting at all … those insiders were anything but peaceful:
Israel had been split into two kingdoms that were only reconciled on the surface,
the wealthy were exploiting the poor and vulnerable, and government officials were corrupt
The surprising thing for Isaiah’s listeners was this vision of God’s people being so at peace internally their outside enemies would learn how to do it by example.
For the communities you’re a part of that are in serious conflict, could they be tempted to pursue peace if it meant that another community would follow their lead?
Likewise, who is watching when you go about your day? What do they learn about you, your values, and your faith as they observe you in the wild? What do you want them to learn?
--Kate Davoli
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