Isaiah 2:3-4
3 Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple 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.
4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Beating swords into ploughshares, what a brilliant image that is! God’s salvation has many different facets and can be summarised in many different ways. If I were to pick one word to describe it though, it would be the word ‘reconciliation’. That’s what we saw yesterday, the offer of reconciliation from God to those who through their actions had become estranged from him. We see it again here as Isaiah foresees a time when God will reconcile nations, ending disputes and bringing conflict to an end.
Father, we live in a time when nations still remain divided, we pray for your peace. Spirit, help us to be agents of reconciliation today, not between nations perhaps, but in the communities we live and move in, so that a foretaste of your kingdom can be enjoyed today.
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