December 1:

Mountains of Peace

Scripture:

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter day that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plow- shares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Isaiah 2:1-5

Devotion:

“Start at the beginning, and when you get to the end– stop” is good advice for the reading and writing of books, as Lewis Carrol knew so well. However, Isaiah is not an author who plays by the rules. Instead of starting at the beginning, he jumps right to the end: “In the last days,” he says in verse 2. The picture he goes on to paint is nothing short of breath- taking, illustrated in both earthly and divine hues.

Isaiah begins with a mountain range, where one peak soars head-and-shoulders above the rest. Over the years, many rivers and streams have carved their way into this particular mountainside, rivers of every imaginable size, shape, color, depth, and volume. But there is also something strange about these rivers, and as we look closer at Isaiah’s painting, we see it: These rivers are flowing upward, toward the peak! Their waters are drawn toward the top by an unseen force.

Isaiah pictures Mount Zion–which is both the physical lo- cation of the Temple Mount and the symbolic representation of God’s rule and reign (i.e., his Kingdom) as a city on a hill to- ward which all people will one day flow. Mount Zion becomes the spiritual confluence point where all tribes and tongues and nations will meet to form one river, “a river whose streams make glad the city of God” (Isa. 46:4).

But perhaps most surprisingly is what’s happening at the peak of Mount Zion. Unlike Israel’s pagan neighbors, whose deities were said to fight bloody battles atop nearby Mount Zaphon, Mount Zion is a place of peace. Here, swords are transformed into plows and spears re-fashioned into pruning hooks. The agricultural imagery takes us back to Genesis 2. On Zion’s peak, we hear echoes of Eden, where believers enjoy peace with God and peace with one another. No more sin. No more curse. No more death. No more sorrow. And all because, through Jesus Christ, we have finally arrived at a true and better Zion (Heb. 12:22-24).

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, fill my heart with hope as I'm joyfully drawn up to Mount Zion even as I await your return.

Amen.

December 2:

Our Flesh and Blood God

Scripture:

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Be- hold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:10-14

Devotion:

The name Immanuel comes from two Hebrew words: Immanu (“with us”) and El (“God”). It means “God with us.” Long before Jesus was born, God promised to be with his people. He told Isaac and Jacob, “I am with you” (Gen. 26:24; 28:15), and assured Moses at the burning bush, “I will be with you” (Exod. 3:12).

But through Isaiah, God foretold a day when he would not be just spiritually present but physically present, too: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (v. 14).

It’s one thing for God to be with us as God; it’s another for him to become human—developing in the womb, learning to walk, go-ing through puberty, and facing crucifixion. That is Jesus: truly God, truly man.

He is your Immanuel. He knows what it's like to weep, to bleed, to be loved and betrayed. No emotion or pain is foreign to him. The image-maker became the image; the Creator became a creature. He is the God who chose to humble himself, entering the imperfect and fallenness of your home, in order to bring you

home to himself.

As Immanuel, he’s the best-behaved (and yet thoroughly sur- prising and uninvited) house guest you could ask for. He dwells with us and yet he also declares our current home is in need of improvement. And so he gets to work doing just that, through his word he remakes us and gives us his righteousness.

All this he has the power to do since he reigns with all author- ity in heaven and on earth—and he exercises that authority for us. He makes himself at home in our mess and he’s more than aware of all of our faults: he’s closer than a brother, a friend who never leaves our side, after all.

Imagine the most powerful person in the world. They have the influence to make things happen, and happen quickly. Everyonearound them yields to their authority. Now imagine that person is couch surfing in your home. If you need something, they are there.If you need a favor, they can act immediately. Even that pales in comparison to what we have in Jesus. He is the Creator. He is King. He is Lord. And he dwells with us.

If you ever wonder how far God would go to make you his own and draw you into the warmth of his hospitality, where he has said you belong forever, look down into the humble home of the stable and up at the cross. That’s your answer.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, Thank you for being Immanuel and coming down to us so that we might be brought home to you.

Amen.

December 3:

Burning Bloody Boots

Scripture:

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they di- vide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

Isaiah 9:1-5

Devotion:

This passage from Isaiah is probably most famous for verse 2a: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” This offers a powerful image as we creep deeper into the long, dark hours of winter. The reality of the light of Christ entering into the darkness of our sinful, hopeless world has inspired countless carol lyrics, including “yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”

But there is a lesser-known verse from this same passage that has failed to affect hymn writers in the same way: “For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire” (v. 5). Fa la la la la, la la la lahh! Tramping warriors, bullet-riddled battlefields, and garments rolled in blood aren’t the kinds of props you can easily work into the church Christmas pageant. Such images rarely come to mind when we think of Advent. But maybe they should.

The theme of battle is dominant throughout these verses. The Israelites are captive to the darkness (v. 2). They rejoice like warriors dividing the plunder (v. 3). God’s salvation will be like the day of Midian (v. 4), when he whittled Gideon’s forces down to 300 troops before sending them (weaponless) to fight 135,000, ultimately working a miraculous victory.

Beneath the battle scars, Isaiah is painting a gospel masterpiece: God wins the victory, and we get the spoils! The Israelites did nothing to win the war. They didn’t even fight. The Lord did. He overpowered their enemies, yet they still got their pick of the plunder.

This is precisely what Jesus does for us. He enters our world. He overpowers the strong man. He wins the battle. And He brings a divine ceasefire. It’s only when every vestige of darkness has been eradicated that we can experience peace. Jesus will allow no enemy to stand in between us and the Promised Land, our promised home. A home where the spoils of battle are handed over freely to us: joy, peace, and hope.

Perhaps this year, instead of roasting chestnuts, we should burn a bloody boot to remind us that Jesus came as a conquering warrior-king to curb-stomp the forces of sin, death, and the devil once and for all–and that he’s coming back soon to finish the job.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for continually defeating the forces of darkness in this life that are too strong for me to manage, and for promising me a home where the spoils of your victory on the cross will be eternally mine. Amen.

December 4:

A Glorious Resting Place

Scripture:

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

Isaiah 11:10

Devotion:

The best nativity sets are the ones that aren’t fancy, but handmade. The ones you couldn’t get $10 for at a yard sale. The ones no one would call glorious, but are made of crude wire and plaster and chipped paint. These are the best because somehow they are an appropriate depiction of the first Advent of the root of Jesse (Jesus). It seems only angels and shepherds cared about the birth of Christ, the night it happened. There was the signal in the form of a star that a few men from the east took interest in, but other than that, the celestial signal was largely ignored by the world. And yet lying in a barn in Bethlehem was God wrapped in flesh. This resting place was not glorious, and the world did not inquire of him.

The second coming of the root of Jesse will be quite different. There will be no missing or ignoring it. Christ riding on the cloud will not be a signal you can dismiss. And the nations of the world will be called home to the place Jesus left to pre- pare for us. Not a home of mangers, but of heavenly mansions. A home without sin, death, or the devil. A home where all our strength and joy come from resting in the finished work of Jesus for us. The resting place of God is indeed glorious, and it is yours in Jesus Christ.

This year, as I look at the humble nativity at my grandmother’s house, I will be reminded that Jesus came just as he said. That he has forgiven my sins and will come again to take me to the rest of his home. And it will be glorious indeed.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help me rest in the work of Christ on my behalf, and increase my hope in His promised return. Amen.