#isaiah52

As I sit here at the airport waiting to board my plane to Japan, I just can't help but think about how crazy the past 24 hours has been for me. By now I should've already been roaming the streets of Hiroshima awaiting the arrival of the rest of the team. But just about 24 hours ago, as I was checking in, I was told I didn't have a ticket! Thus began the 5 hour ordeal through midnight till morning, making calls and dealing with customer care. Apparently, I was never charged for the ticket, but having missed that flight, the next flight up was in 2 days, for almost twice the price. Quite frankly, as I stood there alone at the airport facing a seemingly immovable wall that was customer care, I was exhausted - physically and emotionally. Half of me (perhaps more) wanted to give up on going for this mission trip altogether. I found myself asking, "how much did I really want to go for this trip?"

That's when the Holy Spirit gently reminded me of a passage I was meditating on just yesterday (albeit through violently shaking events).

(Disclaimer: This is going to seem like a very long post, but actually it's a lot of Bible passages and providing context for those passages so that everything will make sense.)

Isaiah 52:6-10 (ESV)

"⁶Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”

⁷How beautiful upon the mountains

    are the feet of him who brings good news,

who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,

    who publishes salvation,

    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

⁸The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;

    together they sing for joy;

for eye to eye they see

    the return of the Lord to Zion.

⁹Break forth together into singing,

    you waste places of Jerusalem,

for the Lord has comforted his people;

    he has redeemed Jerusalem.

¹⁰The Lord has bared his holy arm

    before the eyes of all the nations,

and all the ends of the earth shall see

    the salvation of our God."

To help us better understand this passage, it would be helpful to look at an example of such an ocurance in their cultural context. We get a glimpse of this in 2 Sam 18.

I would highly recommend you read the preceding chapters (it's actually super exciting and so many things are happening so quickly, it's the OG korean drama... It's the Israel drama in real life), but let me give you a quick summary.

Up until this point, David's son Absolom had taken justice into his own hands and murdered David's other son Amnon. He then went into hiding for 3 years, and came back only to steal the hearts of the people through trickery and deception, in order to stage a revolt against King David. Yes, King David, his father who showed him mercy and loved him dearly to the end. As a result, King David had to run away with His mighty men, and long story short, Absolom assembled the whole of Israel to pursue David, to crush him and every one that followed him. So much did David love Absalom that despite all this, he still instructed his commanders to "deal gently" with Absalom should they meet him in battle.

It was under such circumstances that 2 Sam 18 takes place.

2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14-23 (ESV)

⁹And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. ¹⁰And a certain man saw it and told Joab... And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. ¹⁵And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

¹⁶Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. ¹⁷And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled every one to his own home.

¹⁹Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run and carry news to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.” ²⁰And Joab said to him, “You are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall carry no news, because the king's son is dead.” ²¹Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. ²²Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?” ²³“Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and outran the Cushite."

So who was Ahimaaz? Ahimaaz was the son of Zadok the Priest and Prophet (2 Sam 15:27). Zadok and his sons remained faithful to David and wanted so much to follow him, and to bringing the Ark of Covenant with him. But David instructed him to stay behind because the Ark of Covenant belonged in the promised land. Imagine his frustration having to stay behind with his father to serve a self-centred king that neither cared about God, nor his people, nor his own father. Ahimaaz was on his way to warn David of Absalom's plan to kill him one day when he was spotted by a tattletale. As a result, he too had to go into hiding with David, perhaps to his joy.

Now, imagine being in his shoes, hearing the news that Absalom has been killed! Without bloodshed on either sides (other than Absalom himself of course). There couldn't have been better news! Just like that, the entire conflict was over! David and all his people could return from camping in the wilderness, to their homes, to the throne, and most importantly, to the temple of God. This was GOOD NEWS! News so good Ahimaaz couldn't wait to run back to deliver to David! Joab however knew that David loved Absalom so dearly that he might not receive the news well (v19, 22). And apparently, so did Ahimaaz (v23), but that didn't stop him. He knew it was good news, and he believed it so much, and was so excited by it that he just had to deliver the news as soon as he could, no matter what might happen to him... He'd stop at nothing to be the herald of this good news to people he knew needed to hear it most, to people whom he loved.

What about me?

I was having lunch with a dear friend I haven't met in a while just a day before this. As I was sharing The Good News in the middle of a crowded foodcourt, I found myself bothered by the people around us who were sharing our table. I found myself speaking of this good news as if it were "okay news", as if it were true, and important, but just okay. It was as if I were a secret fanboy of Taylor Swift and was engaged in a conversation about her but too embarrassed to sound too enthusiastic. It was as if I was ashamed. It was as if I didn't really believe it was The Good News, or at least, didn't really believe it would be good news to my friend. Did I?

Do I? As I finally went to bed this morning at 6am after 4 hours on the phone with customer care, I realised that that question was not yet resolved in my heart.

2 Samuel 18:24-28, 31-32 (ESV)

²⁴Now David was sitting between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone. ²⁵The watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he drew nearer and nearer. ²⁶The watchman saw another man running. And the watchman called to the gate and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.” ²⁷The watchman said, “I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man and comes with good news.”

²⁸Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.”... ³¹And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.” ³²The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.”

In the day, a man running alone usually meant good news because if he was fleeing from an enemy, he would likely be in a group. As the Watchman watched from the gate (perhaps of a temporary camp), their main task was to watch for enemies, and in times of war this was a frightening task! There's a saying for situations like these - no news is good news. As a Watchman, the sight of people running would send your heart racing in an instant. It's either comrades fleeing from enemies approaching (or the enemies themselves), or a messenger bringing good news. The suspense would kill you because every second matters in times like these. Imagine that instant when they confirm it to be good news! Will not they break forth in joyful singing? Will not they shout at the top of their lungs "Good news!!" Will not they sing "how beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news!!" For the messenger had ran, and ran, but for one cause — to herald the message of the good news as of first importance.

It was indeed good news then, that their enemy had been defeated, and that Israel could now finally rest. Yet that was but a shadow of The Good News we now proclaim! The Enemy, sin and death, has been defeated! For the true light has come into this world! He has borne our sins and the wrath of God, that whoever believes in Him will have life, true life, life eternal! That we can be called children of God! That we can find true rest!

As I sit here at the airport with tears in my eyes, looking at these people of the land I am running to, to proclaim the good news, my heart breaks for them. Have they heard the good news? Do they know the King? O, it is Good News. And I believe it with all my heart. How great a privilege it is for me to be the herald of this good news! And I will go, no matter what it takes.

Thank you Lord for reminding me of this once more. May I never lose the wonder of the cross.

Romans 10:14-17 (ESV)

Isaiah 52:1-15 (King James Version)

by Jenny Bladow

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!' Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God."

Isaiah 52:7-10 (NIV)

Just imagine. You're at your post, high up in the ramparts- a watchman, a sentinel, a look out for the Lord. You're surrounded by the grumps, grinches, skeptics, the disenchanted, the sad, the lonely, and the lost. You're longing, seeking, waiting. "Oh when will He get here?" you wonder.Then you see Him! The LORD has come and He brings redemption with Him! 

What do you do? Do you sit back and say "Oh, that's cool." NO! You get excited! The most excited you've ever been in your entire life! An incomparable kind of excited!  The kind of excited that makes you burst at the seems with joy! The kind of excited that makes you want to jump up and down and shout! 

Isn't that what Advent is about? The sweet, exciting anticipation of Jesus's approach? Even if you are in ruins. Even if you've fallen in with the grinches, the disenchanted, or the lost. The Lord brings peace.The Lord brings comfort. The Lord brings salvation.