Readings for today: Isaiah 18-22
All roads eventually lead to Zion. The mountain of God. The summit where Abraham first came to sacrifice Isaac. The city of David. The place where God made His dwelling among His people. The very spot where the New Jerusalem will descend when Jesus returns. It’s not hard to see why. Yesterday, we made the journey from Jericho to Jerusalem. We ascended four thousand feet from the Dead Sea to the Mount of Olives where we got our first look at the city. It was breathtaking. We drove through a tunnel that’s been drilled through the Mount of Olives and as we emerged on the other side, we could see the Dome of the Rock gleaming in the distance. My heart leapt within me as I’m sure it does for most people when they make the pilgrimage over here.
I thought about that first glimpse when I read these words this morning from Isaiah, “At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 18:7) Now I know Isaiah’s not talking about me but it’s hard not to read myself into the text. I have come to bring tribute. I come from a nation mighty and conquering. A people feared near and far. And I am not the only one. This is a trek many Americans make - especially American Christians - each and every year. We come to Mount Zion, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, to experience His presence and see His glory firsthand. We come to walk where Jesus walked. Weep where Jesus wept. Read His words again in the very places He first spoke them. The Bible comes alive over here. It takes on fresh meaning. It reminds us that what we believe is no mere myth or story but actual history.
One of the questions that often gets asked when people are on pilgrimage over here is “why is Israel so important?” “What makes it such coveted territory?” After all, the land is arid and dry. Water can be scarce. It’s definitely not a lush paradise. Still, this land has been contested for millennia. It holds strategic importance as the land bridge between the great civilizations in Anatolia (modern day Turkey), Mesopotamia, and Egypt. God knew exactly what He was doing when He decided to claim this land as His own. He knew He was literally placing His people at the crossroads of civilization. He knew it was here that the peoples of the earth would come and see the glory of the One True and Living God. He knew it was here that the nations of the earth would stream to catch a glimpse of His glory. I love the vision Isaiah presents in 19:19-25, “In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”
God has a plan, friends. And that plan involves every tribe and tongue and nation standing together before the throne of God. It involves every culture and color on the planet coming to Mt. Zion to kneel before the Lord of hosts. It involves Jew and Samaritan and Gentile all coming together to worship and bring Him praise. And the great news is the church is the forerunner of that reality! The church is called to give the world a taste of what’s to come! This is why the gospel is such good news!
Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 23-26