“The Return”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, July 3, 2022
Isaiah 66:10-14 (Forward, p. 66) CEV p. 761
So, what are we to make of this eloquent peon of praise featuring the future glory of Zion? This question has two parts, firstly, how are we to interpret it, and secondly, how are we to apply it within our own world and context?
Of course, all of these questions are muddied considerably by the scholarly debate over who wrote this part of Isaiah and when. And, of course, the question of ‘when’ raises the issues of whether it was post exilic or not, and thus written after Judah’s return from captivity. If it was written afterwards, then the force of its prophecy would be considerably blunted, namely because what is being promised here is generally not a matter of future hope but of what should be a presently developing reality. If this were the case, it would still have something of an ‘edge’ to it, but considerably less. It would then be like a cattle-prod to motivate them to exert themselves into action to help bring this to pass. And, what a cattle-prod this would be, for conditions upon their return were enough to disillusion and discourage even the heartiest of souls, the walls and buildings of Jerusalem, including its glorious Temple, in ruins and its infrastructure and industry totally destroyed. It was like a return to much of present-day Ukraine following the destruction and desolation of the Russian invasion. It must have been totally demoralizing and discouraging, especially if it all seemed to be up to them.
However, I happen to believe that God’s people were still in exile when this was written. In order words, that this represents a future hope and a future dream, and not just something that they ‘will pull off’, but that God will orchestrate and bring about. Surely, it is something far beyond the fondest and wildest of their imaginations. No only will they be gathered from the nations, not only will they enjoy peace and security but even the nations of the world will be gathered into its bosom (verses 18-20). What is more, He will ‘flood Jerusalem with the wealth of the nations and make the city prosper’ (verse 12).
So, did this actually happen? Well, it did, but only in part. The exiles were returned to the city and the city walls and Temple were rebuilt. But was its prosperity and glory returned in any of the way that this passage predicts? And did the promised peace and security come to pass? As the televisiondocumentary, ‘Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury’, suggests by its very title, it was, has been and continues to be a place of conflict.
So, perhaps Isaiah is getting at something much more lasting, much more promising. Could not Zion be something far bigger and better than the earthbound geographical place that we know as Jerusalem? Could it not be symbolizing or referring to the meeting place of God with humankind? A meeting place that can be approximated, that can be touched upon and experienced in a halting and temporary way here on earth, but which will come to its ultimate and glorious fulfilment, which will happen, not because we humans ‘pull it off’, but because of God. And so, it can be something that we, you and I, can hope for, work for and pray for, with the utmost confidence that God can indeed do it. Amen.
Forward notes: “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem” (verse 13).
“No one likes being called ‘childish.’ It’s seldom meant positively; it usually means silly, immature, or thoughtless. That’s always seemed insulting to children. We’re not only God’s children; in Isaiah’s metaphors, we’re babies, toddlers. We nurse at the breast; we’re carried in arms and ‘dandled’ on knees. God will make incredible provision for us through blessing our home, and we need it—because the thing we really don’t like about being ‘children’ is our helplessness and dependency.
“My heart has always been drawn to the announcement of the coming of God’s kingdom, the plentiful harvest of believers, the miracles and deeds of power the astonished disciples perform in the name of the Lord. Yet what is truly astonishing is the disciples’ total willingness to be radically dependent—to bring only the clothes on their back, to be completely reliant on whatever hospitality they’re given. Their security doesn’t come from their possessions but flows out of their faith in God and openness to others.”
Moving Ahead: “Do you think of yourself as a child of God?”