Two Choices

Click here to read Isaiah 34

Isaiah today describes the "un"-Kingdom of God, the place where the hyenas and wildcats hang out, where the hawk and hedgehog rule the day, and where Isaiah says the name of this "utopia" is "No Kingdom There."

On the one level I hear that and I think of Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars using the Jedi mind trick on Storm Troops and saying, "These are not the droids you are looking for."  And the Troopers falling for it.  Or police officers at a scene saying, "Moving along people, nothing to see here."  Which usually means there is a lot to see there!

Isaiah says, no kingdom there.  Just your run-of-the-mill chaos of all the animals you wonder why Noah saved on the ark.  Add in a few bats while you are at it to really make a shutter go down my spine.  Isaiah 34 stands in stark contrast to Isaiah 11, which was the peaceable kingdom.  The place where the lion and lamb frolic together.  And while we may not like the un-Kingdom of God, it feels a bit more familiar than the idyllic, almost absurd, vision of Isaiah 11.  I don't think I would every let my children play around a snake hole, does not sound very peaceable to me!

In some ways, neither place feels like home.  One feels so desolate and dark, like something out of an Edger Allan Poe poem (Isaiah 34), while the other feels so far away like something out of a fairy tale.  Most of my life is navigating in the wide waters between these two visions.  But maybe the point is not to avoid these extremes, but to notice them.  There are moments when the world is really scary and seems chaotic....just turn on the news and we see Isaiah 34 come to life.  There are moment when the world is joyful and peaceful...like when I am playing a board game with my family.  Both are true.

I encourage you to keep these two images in your mind.  Where do you see the truth they point to in your life today and this week?  And may the traces of God's grace be seen whether we find ourselves in Isaiah 34, Isaiah 11, or somewhere in-between during this season of Lent.

Blessings and peace!