May 14, 2015, marked sixty-seven years since the nation of Israel
declared independence on a tiny sliver of land in Palestine. However as history
and ongoing news media reports can attest, this was not the beginning or the end
of what has been a century’s long struggle to establish ownership and property
rights for the people groups which call the land of Israel/Palestine home. Depending
upon how one perceives the events of Israeli independence, May 14 is either a
day of significant celebration or a day of profound sorrow. Over the past
sixty-seven years, violence and bloodshed perpetrated by all sides in this
protracted conflict have led to further grief, anger and angst, political
posturing, and even raging debates in evangelical churches. Numerous attempts
at mediation have been made, peace accords have been brokered, all failing to
achieve their hoped for conclusions.
Over the past months our current government has made statements that revealed a near unquestioned support of Israel’s policies of subjugating
Palestinians living within their disputed borders. Some have responded
favourably, suggesting that this support shows that we are somehow still a
Christian nation because we support Israel. Alternatively, both Mennonite
Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA have, within the past year, considered
resolutions aimed at boycotting products produced in Israel as a form of
protest. Finally, in other places (most notably Facebook) I have noticed a
pitching “battle” between friends posting comments in support of Palestinian
independence, while others share, like, and/or reference posts which seem to align
more closely with the Zionism of our government in its unwavering support of
Israel.
I have no intensions of adding yet another voice into the barrage of
words from all sides in this conflict. Rather, I hope to explore the
significance of “land” and its relationship to the missiological intention of
God to extend salvation and blessing to all nations and peoples. I believe that
the oracle of redemption in Isaiah 2 reveals the radically inclusive nature of
the welcome of God – a welcome which will reach its ultimate fulfillment in the
New Jerusalem of Revelation 21 – to which God has called and continues to call
Israel and by extension all followers of Jesus Christ. Note that what follows
is an exegesis of Isaiah 2:2-5, exploring a possible relationship to Revelation 21:22-27 and paying attention to the implications of seeing the land as both
gift and missiological task.
Of course we need to acknowledge that to specify or focus on a particular
text is limiting. So why choose Isaiah 2:2-5 to make an argument for the
missiological significance of land for the blessing of the nations? Excellent
arguments have been made for a theological centre of the Old Testament with
far reaching implications for how we read and engage the Old (and even the New)
Testament today.
Isaiah 2:2-5, while perhaps not a candidate for the theological centre of the
biblical narrative, is nevertheless a significant refocussing or re-visioning
of the missiological task of God’s chosen people.
In the Abrahamic covenant of Genesis 12:1-3 in which God promises the
blessings of an enduring relationship with God, abundant blessings of
descendants and a land for Abraham’s offspring to populate, there is also a
noteworthy universal dimension to the blessing. Genesis 12:3b states, “in you all of the families of the earth
shall be blessed” (NRSV). This text implies that while Israel will be a
nation particularly blessed and chosen by God, their calling comes with the
purpose of extending the blessing of God to the ends of the earth. The
blessings of prosperity, relationship and land come with a missiological
task.
Pointing to the concluding sermon of Joshua 24, Walter Brueggemann
builds upon this theme of Israel’s missiological task as a result of receiving
the land as gift. Brueggemann points out that as a Torah people, Israel is
mandated to care for the alien, sojourner, poor and less fortunate in their
midst.[2]
Further in Deuteronomy 26, the giving of the firstfruits and tithes points to
the character of the people in caring for, “the
Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows,” (26:12) so that the
blessing of God continues as a result of the peoples obedience to Torah. Unfortunately,
in Isaiah 1 it is Israel’s failure to
“seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, [and] plead for the
widow,” (1:17) that brings about the judgement of God in the destruction
and dispersion of the nation of Israel. It is following these words of
destruction that Isaiah 2 breaks in with the promise of a future redemption,
while at the same time inviting Israel to a renewed understanding of its
calling in the activity of God.
Isaiah 2:2 begins, “In days to
come…” which looks forward to a time yet to come which lies beyond the
forecasted destruction and dispersion of Israel. How far this vision looks into
the future is a matter of debate. Some argue that there is the strong
indication that this is an event reserved for the eschaton – for the end of
time.[3] In other words, it is only when God will
finally and decisively break into human history that the full extent of the
vision cast in Isaiah 2 will be realized. However, if we look at verses 2-5 as
a unit, coupling this textual unit with the significance of the exile event for
Judaism and its implications for Christianity in the future (especially the
advent of the synagogue system which Paul used to great effect in his
missionary journeys), I would suggest that there is also an element of
invitation in this text. The oracle of Isaiah 2:2-5 is an invitation to
participate in the mission God, calling the nations to Zion and obedience to
Torah.
Marlin Jeschke, in an excellent chapter titled “Judaism: Deportation and
Dispersion,” identifies how the Hebrew people in exile heeded the call of the
prophets (particularly Jeremiah) in working for the salvation “of the new land
in which they found themselves.”[4]
While this understanding does not reject the eschatological significance of
Isaiah 2:2-5, it pushes the reader beyond a singular, distant realization of
this vision, inviting us to explore the possibility that land can be defined in
broader terms than specific geographic boundaries. Could it be that these last days of which
Isaiah speaks began with the exile? We should not dismiss this possibility
precisely because of the significant effect the exile had upon the spread of
Judaism and later paving the way for the rapid explosion of Christianity.
A vision of restoration begins to take shape in Isaiah 2:2 with the
establishment of Zion as the highest mountain to which all nations will stream.
The insistence upon the mountain of Yahweh being raised above all other hills
speaks to an understanding of the prominence or dominance of Yahweh over all
other deities. In some fashion, not articulated in the text, Jerusalem – as the
city of God – will become the most important city for not only Israel, but all
nations. This is not an indication of some sort of blatant nationalism or a
preference for Israel over or against other nations. Rather, the symbolism of
the text has a greater concern for Torah obedience than it does for national
sovereignty or physical dominance. As Brueggemann indicates this is an
“anticipatory text” which indicates that the nations will come to Zion, not in
a sort of reverse exile to be dominated by a Davidic deity, but rather to learn
the ways of Yahweh.[5]
The nations will come willingly, expecting to be changed as they are brought
into obedience to Torah. In verse three it is the nations who indicate that
Zion is the seat of God’s instruction and it is in Zion that Yahweh will be
most fully present to them. The nouns “teach” and “instruction” in the NRSV
indicate the central significance of Torah in this text.[6] The dominance of God over
all other deities is most certainly asserted in these verses, however it is a
dominance realized in the gathering of the nations for instruction in the ways
of God and prosperity in the gift of God’s blessing.
In verse four, the nations will come to Zion not only to submit
themselves to the instruction and teaching of Yahweh, but they will submit to
the judgement of God as well. The prophet indicates that it is through
instruction in Torah, as the nations submit to the will of God, that they learn
the way of peace. This education in the way of peace will bring an end to
divisive ideologies and the nations will put into practice what they have
learned. Weapons of warfare will be transformed into farming implements and the
armies of the nations will be no more.
Certainly in a world ravaged by seemingly never ending conflict, with
the Middle East being chief among the conflicted regions of the globe, this
vision seems too good to be true and one may lean in the direction of an
eschatological fulfillment. However, there is a significant clue given in verse
five that would suggest the possibility of an ongoing, present day realization
of this vision.
Most scholars agree with the text breakup found in many of the modern
translations of this text which places verse five as the opening appeal of the
text unit which encompasses Isaiah 2:5-22. However, if this verse is read as an
appeal to Israel at the end of the oracle of redemption in verses 2-4, several
significant implications are brought forward. The first of these implications
is that Israel is called to obedience just as the other nations are called to submit
to the Torah of Yahweh. As the judgement prophecy of Isaiah 1 indicates, Israel
had become like all the other nations in their disobedience and hence were
deserving of the wrath of God. To understand verse five as a call for Israel to
return to obedience together with the nations, seems to indicate that the scope
of God’s salvation activity includes, but also moves beyond the chosen people. These
verses then cannot be read as a restoration of the people of Israel in the
sense of sovereign nation-state status, but rather a call to submit to the
sovereign will of God – or in other words, obedience to Torah.
A second implication of including verse five in the redemption oracle
indicates that the nations such as Assyria (Isaiah 10:5ff) who will participate
in the prophesied destruction of Israel, will “in the days to come” journey together with God’s chosen people
to the mountain of the Lord. It is here that we have perhaps the most direct
correlation with John’s vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21. In John’s
vision, much as in Isaiah 2, the “nations
will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into
[the city]” (Revelation 21:24). Are these the same nations that had been
condemned because of their relations with the whore and their deception by
Satan (Revelation 18)? If so, some sort of repentance must have taken place, as
the nations now appear to be servants of God.[7] Some would suggest that this would indicate
universal salvation – that the grace of God is such that in the end no one will
need to endure eternal punishment. However, Revelation 21:27 also makes it
clear that nothing unclean will ever enter the city. Could this mean that some
will be refused entry to the city? Perhaps the best explanation of the presence
of the nations streaming to Zion and entering the gates of the New Jerusalem is
as Pierre Gilbert has argued, “Regardless of the extent of one’s depravity...we
do know that while there is life, [a] person retains the ability to turn to
God.”[8]
This understanding brings us to a third implication of the call for
Israel to return to faithful obedience in Isaiah 2:5. The redeeming message of
Isaiah reveals that the salvation activity of God extends beyond Israel to
include the nations. As Israel would come to learn in exile, God is already
active in the nations beyond the physical borders of Israel/Palestine. Understanding
this broad scope of God’s salvation activity, ultimately gives Israel (and now
the church?) a global vision of its mandate to be a blessing to the nations
that it likely did not fully understand prior to the exile.
So what about Zion? What is the significance of the land in Isaiah
2:2-5? Is the prophecy of Isaiah looking towards a literal fulfillment of the
restoration of the people to the land of Israel? Or is this text symbolic in
its representation of the missiological task of God’s chosen people? You could
probably answer yes to both. Throughout the exile experience the prophets all
point to a longing among the people to return to the Promised Land. However, as
Marlin Jeschke has noted there is a significant shift in mindset of Diaspora
Judaism. A new motif emerges in the prophesies of land restoration which has as
its primary focus the salvation of Israel’s neighbours.[9] Israel was growing in the
realization of its task as a people whose life in obedience to Torah would be
so attractive as to draw all peoples and nations to the mountain of God.[10]
From the peaceable kingdom vision of Isaiah 11 to the Apostle Paul’s use of Old
Testament texts to indicate the motif of salvation to the Gentiles, a shift in
missiological intention and focus begins to take shape.[11]
While the dream of a literal return and restoration of the land and
people of Israel is ingrained in Isaiah 2:2-5, the symbolic significance of
Zion plays a greater role. As Elmer Martens writes the land is “more than
acreage and territory.”[12]
Particularly from an exilic or Diaspora purview the “land” began to take on significant
elements of symbolism. In Isaiah 2 the gift of land is bound up in a particular
lifestyle which connotes obedience to the will of God. It is noteworthy that in
Isaiah 2:5, Israel is not called to come and reclaim the land as though it is
rightfully theirs. Rather the “house of
Jacob” is challenged to join with the nations and “walk in the light of the LORD!” There are no claims to land
ownership or property rights in this text.
All of life – including residence in the land – is presented as a gift
which is borne out of obedience.
I have attempted to argue that the salvation oracle of Isaiah 2
indicates a radically inclusive vision of the welcome of God which Israel is
called to begin from its position of blessing and which God will ultimately
bring to fulfillment in the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21. Coming to terms
with the missiological significance of this vision implies noteworthy implications
for the church today – and particularly for the church in the west.
Today we enjoy a land of peace, prosperity and significant excess. We
are a blessed people, living in a blessed land. With this blessing has come an
unfortunate note of entitlement and superiority within our society, such that
our economic forces demand that the world bend to our needs and continue to
feed the insatiable appetite of our “North American dream.” Further, the result
of our affluence and excess has shaped a growing population which has “forsaken
the LORD...despised the Holy One of Israel, [becoming] utterly estranged!”
(Isaiah 1:4).
What might it look like if we, the church in the west, place ourselves
in the position of Israel in the opening chapters of Isaiah? What is the
obedience that is being demanded of us? Will God call us to account for the
gift we have neglected, abused, and hoarded for ourselves at the expense of the
nations? These are difficult and far reaching questions, with equally difficult
implications for our understanding of the role of the church in face of growing
secularism. Isaiah’s vision of the nations streaming to the mountain of the
LORD is still before us. The radical vision of Revelation 21, with the nations
bringing their glory into the New Jerusalem, remains our missiological challenge.
I believe we are called – as individuals, as the local church, and the church
universal (together with Israel) – to live lives of such attraction that we draw
the nations to Zion through our obedience. This is our missiological task/challenge/invitation
in a nation fleeing from God. It implies that we return to a thorough and
ongoing study of the Word and that we define ourselves by its radical call to
obedience. In obedience to the will of God, blessed in the abundance of God’s
mercy and grace, the gift we are invited to share is nothing short of God’s gracious
invitation to salvation extended to the world.
“O [church of
Canada], come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!”
