Today’s author is Prince of Peace member, Barry Brahier.
As I sit down to write this devotion it isn’t surprising what weighs heavy on my mind: the conflict in Israel and Gaza and its heart-rending impacts. I wonder, does Isaiah offer insight? Comfort? Anything?
Isaiah 5 describes God’s making a fine vineyard and turning it into a wasteland after only wild grapes appear, and making it clear it’s an analogy where we are those wild grapes. Isaiah 11 is a foretelling of the birth of Jesus. Considering what’s weighing on me and thinking about how these verses are together this week makes me wonder why I signed up for this devotion! It was a struggle until I let go and let the scripture speak, instead of trying so hard to make it fit into my life.
In Isaiah 5, verse 7, it is made plain. Isaiah states the vineyard is simply an analogy for our world and we’re the grapes. And when God finds wild grapes instead of good grapes from the vines that were planted it’s not acceptable. A new beginning is required. What God is looking for in us – and finding instead is also clear:
He looked for justice,
but saw only bloodshed;
he searched for righteousness,
but heard only an outcry!
The current conflict is right there. God desires people to live in peace and justice, but now there is horror and bloodshed. God sees the bloodshed and hears the outcry! It’s easy to look at Isaiah 5 and only see God’s judgement and wrath. But here we find that God sees and hears us even when we behave our very, very worst.
What’s next? A new beginning is what. A new shoot with a branch that will bear fruit. Immanuel, God with us. But now comes the hard part. The part I always struggle with and too often try my darndest to step over: the waiting. It means not looking away from suffering but instead bearing witness to it. It means not rushing to judgment but instead striving to learn the whole story. It means trusting that this current conflict will result in something better – but probably not the something we may have in mind and certainly not in the timeline we want. Kind of like waiting for the Advent of Christ.
Gracious God, thank you for being with us in this time of conflict. Guide us and empower us to be with those who suffer, discern the whole story and wait as the Spirit moves us closer to your will. AMEN.