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The Threat of an Invasion
18When that time comes, the Lord will whistle, and armies will come from Egypt like flies and from Assyria like bees. 19They will settle everywhere—in the deep valleys and between the rocks, on every thornbush and all over the pastureland.
20The Lord will pay the king of Assyria to bring a razor from across the Euphrates River and shave your head and every hair on your body, including your beard.
21Anyone who is able to save only one young cow and two sheep, 22will have enough milk to make yogurt. In fact, everyone left in the land will eat yogurt and honey.
23Vineyards that had 1,000 vines and were worth 1,000 pieces of silver will turn into thorn patches. 24You will go there to hunt with your bow and arrows, because the whole country will be covered with thornbushes. 25The hills where you once planted crops will be overgrown with thorns and thistles. You will be afraid to go there, and your cattle, sheep, and goats will be turned loose on those hills.
Reflect
“When that time comes, . . .” (v 1). Most translations use the phrase “In that day. . .” We are right to fear That Day: the day God comes. We didn’t see him coming.
Yet in the in-between, he is with us. He walks with us, if we listen carefully, like Adam in the cool of the afternoon. And we need not hide. We have plenty to shame us, but with God with us, we are clothed, not in fig-leaves of our own making, but of his making: his Son.
The bees of Assyria swarm over the Promised Land: not much has changed. The flies of Egypt pick over carcasses. The allies Ahaz looks to . . . become his enemies. His salvation becomes his destruction.
Who or what will save us – money, family, work, country, church, intellect, power, artistry, experience? We may have milk and honey now, but will there be sowing in the spring, reaping in the fall? We may have jam today, but will there be fruit tomorrow?
Isaiah’s answer: a Son is born, who learned about good and evil, without biting the fruit. He was who we were meant to be. God was with him like no other. Only one thing could separate them – a cross. On it he did not call him Father: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far …” (as he quoted someone else, Psalm 22). He bit the bullet meant for me, meant for Ahaz, meant for you.
Is today That Day? Have the bees and the flies caught up with you? Has the milk turned sour, is honey bittersweet? Does nothing mask the taste of what you’ve done, or what’s been done to you?
Who is going to save you? Mary didn’t name him Immanuel, “God with Us.” She called him Jesus, “God Saves” (Luke 1:31). Unless we know we need him, we really don’t want him near.
Respond
Father, may this be That Day, when we stop looking for help that reaps a harvest of thorns. Be with us so you can save us – from ourselves.
Alexander Best
Alexander cultivated a network of Christian leaders, OneMission, to promote collaboration, including service to the 15,000 new students arriving at University of Toronto each fall, under the umbrella, ServeToronto. He helped foster the same at the PanAm Games in Toronto and is the former Canadian Director of the Lausanne Movement Canada. He publishes THisToronto, a social media platform promoting & connecting the activities of over 300 ministries and churches in the city."