Promise of Peace

Promise of Peace

Shall not Lebanon in a very little while

   become a fruitful field,

   and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest?

On that day the deaf shall hear

   the words of a scroll,

and out of their gloom and darkness

   the eyes of the blind shall see.

The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,

   and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

For the tyrant shall be no more,

   and the scoffer shall cease to be;

   all those alert to do evil shall be cut off—

those who cause a person to lose a lawsuit,

   who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate,

   and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right.

Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,

   no longer shall his face grow pale.

For when he sees his children,

   the work of my hands, in his midst,

   they will sanctify my name;

they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,

   and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

And those who err in spirit will come to understanding,

   and those who grumble will accept instruction.

Isaiah 29:17-24

I meet today’s passage in tears. 

When I repeat Isaiah’s ancient words, I taste salt on my tongue. Bitterness mixes with grief for the modern state of Israel and her neighbours. 

Almost 3,000 years ago these verses prophesied that Lebanon would flourish, with such abundance that her cultivated fields would be mistaken as lush forests.

Yet here we are, at the end of 2024, and Lebanon is burning.

This year the cries of the grieving and oppressed, the evicted and starving, the injured and alone, the orphaned and limbless, have flooded our screens. 

I can’t help but carry them with me as I meet with Isaiah’s ancient prophecy. 

It’s difficult to sit with the genocidal stories of the Old Testament, even moreso when I’ve heard Biblical prophecies peddled as a justification for a modern day genocide in Gaza. 

But Isaiah 29 paints a different picture. Here is a glimpse, one of many, where we see the Father as Jesus would reveal Him to be. 

Isaiah 29 is a glimpse into God’s heart for all creation and all people. Here is a promise of the coming Prince of Peace who heralds the expansion of God’s covenant to include everyone. Here is a vision of a flourishing world that is not limited just to God’s chosen people, Israel.  The prophetic vision includes Israel’s neighbours too.

There is an enduring truth in this picture: the flourishing of Israel goes hand in hand with the flourishing of her neighbours. For all creation is one, every creature in community with every other. If there is to be peace and flourishing, then it is for all. 

We are all in this together. 

In this picture I see the foreshadowing of one of Jesus’ two greatest commands, an echo from the ancient instructions of Leviticus 19 “love your neighbour as yourself” (v.18). There we also find it written: “treat the foreigner residing among you as your native-born” (v.34). There is no room for apartheid here. 

When you look with this lens, you see abundant evidence that God’s plan has always been for the flourishing of everyone. 

What will it take to grow the food forests of Lebanon? 

According to these verses, it requires justice. 

For the tyrant to be no more and for those deep in the pockets of evil to be cut off. Anyone who is denying justice a path to grow has to get out of the way. 

And here is where I hit the bitter edge of my grief. 

For we are not in agreement about who the tyrant is. 

In the midst of armed conflict there is a second, sinister conflict—over who the real victims are and it seems we can’t agree about who is in the right. 

I wonder what it says of us, that we don’t all see meekness in the same light? 

I think it says we are too tribalised. 

Jesus said “the meek will inherit the earth”. 

He did not say “Israel”, he did not say “Palestine” or “Lebanon”, but the meek. 

And verse 19 is a hinge we should keep swinging back to. 

Because here tribal names and national identities are stripped away and we hear that a fresh joy is coming for the meek, the neediest people. 

Justice is for those who need it, regardless of what side they’re on. 

For the meek are found on both sides of every human conflict. After all, human empires tend to create needy people in every quarter. 

And while we wait as justice grows, there is comfort in the final verse. There is no foreboding promise of punishment when we err in our judgement on these matters. 

Instead, we can come with our bitterness, our grumbles, our disagreements and our gripes, to receive the spirit of understanding and accept instruction for how we can partner in the unveiling and unfolding promise of shalom, peace and flourishing for all. 

Naomi Fraser is the Supporter Engagement Coordinator at Common Grace. With a PhD in English and experience in teaching and nonprofit work, she is passionate about learning and connecting with others. Naomi’s vision is a world where everyone experiences freedom, beauty, and joy. In her spare time, she enjoys mountain biking on beautiful Awabakal Country, where she lives with her family and chickens.

This devotional is part of a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2024 reflecting on the life-giving, thirst quenching justice of Jesus we long to see flow across these lands. A justice overflowing with love and compassion, bringing forth hope, healing, nourishment and flourishing for all.

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