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| image by Michael & Christa Richert |
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples---of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Isaiah 11:6-10
I don't know about you, but when I read the beginning of this passage, it's hard to envision what's being described ever being reality. To be honest, parts of it sound downright terrifying. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra? Seriously? My almost-two-year-old nephew was making me nervous the other night just by coming dangerously close to falling backwards off the couch as he was playing. I can't even fathom the heart failure I'd experience if he was playing over a cobra hole! (May it never be, so long as we are on this earth!)
And yet my heart is also drawn to the idea that a day will come when the natural world's deadliest pairings (for one half of each pair, at any rate) might live in peace and even enjoy one another's company. The fact that it may be hard to imagine doesn't make the concept any less beautiful. And incredibly, we are told that it will indeed someday be a reality!
What cause for hope! For those of us who have chosen to follow Christ, even the most tumultuous of relationships will one day be restored! Liberals and conservatives will enjoy a cup of coffee together. Poets and jocks will find common ground. Proponents of premillenialism, postmillenialism, and amillenialism will laugh together. The most outspoken voice will find its capacity for gentleness. More amazingly, we will break bread with the serial killer who came to know Christ in prison. Holocaust victims will worship alongside former Nazi soldiers whose hearts began to turn toward their Creator as they witnessed radical faith in the concentration camps. The Apostle Paul and Stephen will sit together and recount how their stories intersected tragically before Paul met the Lord on the road to Damscus...their eyes will well up with tears as they describe how they next met in heaven as brothers. None of us will have cause for fear or animosity. Why? Because all the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. We will finally fully understand the goodness of our Creator and King. The trust that is often so difficult to grasp in this broken world will come naturally then. And in trusting Him completely, we will also be able to trust - and love - each other. And it will be glorious.
Take some time to consider the following. Perhaps it would be helpful to record your responses in a journal.
What individuals or groups of people is it most difficult for me to imagine co-existing in peace? How might a deeper understanding of the goodness of God produce peace in our current relationships? Even though we won't experience the kind of peace and harmony described in the text in this life, how can we practice for this future reality in the present?
Here is a prayer in response to today's text. You can pray this as your own or use it as a prompt for a spontaneous prayer.
It almost seems like an impossibility to us that Your creation would ever experience the sort of universal peace that Isaiah describes. Yet we are given these words as a foretelling of a future reality for Your people. In a world where there is currently so much animosity and division, often even amongst Your own children, please instill in us a longing for the sort of radical peace that has been foretold in Scripture. Help us to practice for that future peace even now, Lord.
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