He will judge between the nations
Isaiah 2v4
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
It feels like hope is in short supply right now. There’s the ‘B-word’ (you know the one I mean) and the general state of politics. Then there is the environment… (un)ethical consumption… the housing crisis… relations with almost every other country… Then we add our own personal issues. Maybe you have a really awkward situation at work or family relationships are a little stressed. It all feels… hopeless.
For Christians though, hope is never in short supply. This verse from Isaiah is a prophecy and a reminder of what will happen when Jesus comes again. Yes, He will come to judge but He will also settle all the arguments, squabbles and petty disagreements that make hope feel so distant. Whether it is Brexit or war, splits at work or family rifts, Jesus will bring peace to them.
Not only that but Jesus will end all war. Instead of needing the equivalent of swords to settle arguments, there just won’t be a need for swords. No weapons of any kind!
That is hope. Not the kind of hope that is “I hope it will be sunny tomorrow” or “I hope he asks me out”. This is solid hope that is in black-n-white in the Bible. Knowing Jesus, believing that He will come again, means that we can have certainty about the future.
Certainty in hope in the face of hopelessness.
