Advent, Week One
Isaiah 26:1-6
Today’s text from Isaiah is a song of hope where Jerusalem is imagined as a strong and fortified city, defended by God.
That day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
to guard us he has set
wall and rampart about us.
Open the gates!
Let the upright nation come in,
she, the faithful one
whose mind is steadfast,
who keeps the peace,
because she trusts you.
The people of Judah lived in precarious circumstances with the threat of Assyria looming. Isaiah preaches a message of trust in God alone and warns against alliances with other nations. Walls, ramparts and gates are the physical signs of God’s protection. The would-be invader or attacker needs a strategy to get through these protections. Judah can feel safe with these things in place. Isaiah imagines the triumphal entry of Judah into the safe and protected city. It’s the upright nation and the faithful one who will walk through the gates and be assured of God’s presence. It’s those ‘whose mind is steadfast’ and those who ‘keep the peace’ who now walk through the gates. ‘Upright’ and ‘faithful’ are short-hands for living in relationship with God, for following the Law in word and deed.
Over the past two years we’ve had to learn the hard lessons of what it means to ‘stay safe’. We’ve had to face the hard fact that it means different things to different people. We’ve learnt that my safety and the safety of others are intricately connected. Perhaps you have longed for walls, ramparts and gates? Can you look back and see how you have been ‘upright’ and ‘faithful’. Can you bring to mind the times when your mind was ‘steadfast’ and you were able ‘to keep the peace’?
Are there phrases of Scripture which you can hold on to in this season of Advent?