(I attempted to post this last evening so that it would available this morning. Alas, it did not work. Have been trying at various points through out today with no success. Ben had an entry from the other day that never posted as well. The blog apparently is already on holiday vacation.)
Today’s text is Isaiah 9:2-7
Envision a time where Canada has crossed the United States border and overtaken Michigan along with other states north of Indiana. They are crouched at the door, so to speak, and preparing to march in and possess Indiana as well. You have heard of what they have done to those who resided in Michigan. Many were slaughtered with little or no mercy shown. Others were enslaved and deported back to Canada. They most likely will do the same with Indiana. This may be difficult to imagine for us. It certainly was for Judah who was once part of a powerful and united kingdom but now was essentially a doormat. Having been split into a divided nation years earlier, the northern part (known as Israel) was invaded and conquered by the powerful empire from the north, Assyria. Judah (the southern portion of the divided kingdom) feared the same outcome as their northern counterpart.
In the midst of chaos comes hope. Hope is a mystifying attribute and can cause great confliction in one’s soul. This is conflict is painted so well in the film Shawshank Redemption where Red attempts to set Andy straight about hope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDGNsbLayJw
“Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. He has no use for it…” One could venture that this is the reaction most of Judah had to the well educated, royal prophet who declared that a child would bring the peace and renewal that these Jews craved for. The audacity of Isaiah’s claims are that the present reality was completely contrary to the picture he was painting. How quickly Judah forgot the pattern of their ancestors. Time and time again, those who were shown a glimpse of what God would bring about were often not the ones who saw it come to fruition. This is where hope comes into play. We stand in that same line of those who place their hope in God and all that He is going to do even though the present reality does not match the future description. We have seen a great deal more of the picture but still long…hope… for its completion.