Holy mountain
Day 316, Monday, June 23
Isaiah 10:20 – Chapter 12
Today’s reading contains some of the great prophecies about the day of the Lord—prophecies that we are familiar with and dream of, but that have not yet come to pass.
Again, we hear them often during the Advent and Christmas seasons.
In Chapter 11 we read:
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding.”
(Jesse was King David’s father, so this refers to a king of David’s line.)
….
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child shall lead them.”
….
“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
We often speak of the expectation that the messiah would be a warrior king, but this is another part of the prophecy that can serve as a barrier to accepting Jesus as the messiah: this idyllic vision of peace has not yet come.
Christians have dealt with this through the belief in the return of Jesus—the belief that there will be a second coming in which that that was fulfilled in part will be made complete, and that all wars and suffering will cease.

Monday meditation

Proverbs 31:10-12
A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

Prayer focus
Lord, we long for your return, when all suffering will cease and all of your creatures will live together in peace and harmony.

-Rev. Mark Fleming