December 13, 2021 "An Image of Peace"

I like Ellen's comment "I'm going to accept that the words can apply to both." The New Testament writers knew the Scriptures and related them to their own times, just as we do today. So Isaiah's words can apply to Isaiah's own time as well as to the first century and the 21st century.

The last section of today's scripture focuses on nature being at peace. If we replace the various animals names with the identities of people ... different faiths, different ethnicities, different political views, different genders...that would truly be "an image of peace".

When I read the verses in Isaiah, I thought the description sounded a lot like what the Garden of Eden was supposed to be like. All the creatures lived in harmony with each other and with humans. How idyllic that sounds!

Does that "shoot . . . from the stump of Jesse" refer to Jesus, as I've always heard? The footnote in the Harper Collins Study Bible NRSV says this description probably refers to an era of war in which "the Davidic dynasty appeared a mere stump compared to its enemies." I'm going to accept that the words can apply to both.

I'm concluding that the world was in peaceful harmony until humans messed that up. Since then, God has been working in wondrous ways, including having Christ come to us, to try to restore that peace. I believe humans have a responsibility to follow through on that.

When I read the devotional entry, I noted that the author focuses on love and so many different, powerful things it can do. I was reminded of the excellent book The Peaceable Kingdom, by Jan de Hartog. It is a narrative history of the origins of the Society of Friends (the Quakers). Those people were driven by love to take extraordinary actions that made an impact. What a wonderful legacy! What will my/our legacy be?