Anticipation: Day 13, Once Upon a Time in a Land Far, Far Away….

I’ll be honest, when I first read today’s verse, I thought, “I must have written the reference down wrong, because this doesn’t make any sense. I see stuff about camels, but nothing about Jesus here.” And then I remembered: wise men. Duh! Sorry guys, guess I kind of forgot about you.

“A herd of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.”                 Isaiah 60:6

You can see the intended reference to the time when the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon. While I don’t think there were precisely three kings and camels from orient are at Jesus’ bedside, I doubt Mary and Joseph were crowded out by “herds covering the land” either.

Who were these men, anyway? My opinion is that they were men from somewhere in Persia who had a few drops of Jewish blood in them. Not enough to be looking for a Messiah to worship and give their lives to, but just enough to be curious and see some mystical benefit from the visit.

The majority of the book of Isaiah foretells of the coming exile of the northern kingdom of Israel into Assyria, which happened in 722 BC. About 150 years later, Babylon comes along and takes over everything in the area, including the Assyrians. You can imagine that quite of bit of scattering and chaos happens at this point. The Jews living in Judah are carted off to Babylon and are eventually freed seventy years later, but what about the Jews who were already exiled by Assyria? Some of them came back too, but a lot of them were lost and never returned to Israel. Maybe they had abandoned God and no longer identified themselves a Jews (not that they were acting particularly Godly before they were exiled!), who knows. My theory is that some of those Assyrian-captive Jews allowed themselves to become absorbed into the culture, syncretizing their own beliefs with those popular around them. Fast forward a few hundred years, and the result is a few wise men looking for a King of the Jews who come seemingly  out of nowhere. The Gospels never record these men as becoming believers, or even staying in Israel to see how things turn out with this baby-King they’d found. For whatever reason, these men wanted to see the King so badly they left their homes and brought gifts.

I find great comfort in this idea, because it shows me that Jesus draws people to Him, even when they don’t completely understand who He is or what He stands for. As someone who feels called by God to share His truth with those who think they know Him but have been deceived, I am encouraged that once that door of curiosity is opened, the Holy Spirit can work His way to bring the seeker to a point of understanding and surrender.

Anticipation: Day 5, Lifting Up

Today’s verses are one of my favorite passages in Isaiah. Every time I read them, I get goosebumps as I hear Jesus speaking these very words in a synagogue in Nazareth hundreds of years after they were first proclaimed:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”                Isaiah 61:1-3

My God, I will never get tired of hearing these words, for they are truth! You have brought good news to us, those poor in spirit. Jesus, You are the One whom God set apart, anointed, from before the beginning of time. I praise You that are both the bringer of good news and the actual good news itself. Your humility amazes me, and I’m in tears because of your ceaseless tenderness toward me. You have comforted me when I’m brokenhearted; you have released me from my captivity and keep freeing me when I let myself become imprisoned in sin. Your favor is what brings me out of mourning. My hope is in You; your promise of redemption is a crown of beauty rising from the ashes in my life, a joyous blessing, and I will always respond in festive praise. My I grow in righteousness, watered by Your Spirit as we walk together, into a great oak, planted as a monument to Your glory.

Anticipation: Day 4, Prophets and Pruning

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot — yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him– the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.                     Isaiah 11:1-5

I’m reminded of Daniel 4, in which God gives King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonians a dream. A great tree is hacked to pieces, but the stump is protected to allow for regrowth in the proper time. God was warning Nebuchadnezzar of his coming judgement; the king was about to experience some pretty extreme humbling (that’s the hacking to pieces part), but his life would be spared, to give him the chance to repent and transform his life and kingdom.

Throughout the book of Isaiah, God gives His own people the same warning: you’re time of rebellion is coming to an end. Beware, a humbling season is just around the corner. But, with the same compassion he showed Babylon, God leaves an Israelite remnant from which the truest Life would spring forth. A man after God’s own heart, because He is God Himself.  One who obeys with delight, who emulates every aspect of His Spirit’s character, who treats His beloved creation with love and tenderness.

Through these five verses I’m reminded that my amazing God shows me the same mercy He showed Babylon, Israel and countless others before me. He desires repentance, so He prunes me back. But He always leaves a stump.