Isaiah
21reminds me that there are few things that cause panic more than the
sounds of violence in the dark of night. Those that have experienced
being awoken to the sounds of fear perhaps know that feeling. Home
is supposed to be a place of peace, but sounds of anger and pain in
the cover of darkness can make dawn a time of welcome and worry. We
do not always want to see the aftermath. In today’s chapter,
Isaiah portrays prophesies against the nations. He pictures this
same kind of terror in the night that does not bring relief in the
morning. Isaiah begins, “Like
whirlwinds… an invader comes from the desert, from a land of
terror“. There are times when
we like to see bullies get what they deserve, but Isaiah expresses
anguish. “A dire vision
has been shown to me… At this
my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me…
I am staggered by what I hear…
fear makes me tremble… the twilight I longed for has become a
horror to me“. Babylonian
evil was well known, but his vision of the fall of Babylon is a
horrifying thing. He is instructed to post a night watchman, but
even that preparation does not dull the anxiety. “Here
comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the
answer: ‘Babylon has fallen“.
I weep at the thought of unrepentant perpetrators of cruelty
standing before the God of Righteousness. Do you hold onto hatred
for a terror in the night? I only know one solution; overwhelm
it with the one thing more
powerful. “There is no fear in
love. But perfect love drives out fear”
(1 John 4:18).
Isaiah
is speaking to Babylon and Edom, but his words also speak to all
recurring acts of ugliness. “Watchman,
what is left of the night?”
Morning’s light brings safety. But he adds this reply filled with
dread, “Morning is coming, but
also the night“. Some relive
the nightmare every time the lights go out. Days are lost, taken by
the night. If this describes you, please listen to the words of
Christ, “I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have
the light of life” (John
8:12). The watchman suggests to the fearful, “If
you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again“.
I have had to come before the Lord many times to ask for His
assurance that His transforming love covers me. Jesus promised, “For
everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one
who knocks, the door will be opened”
(Matthew 7:8).
The
chapter closes with Isaiah giving instruction to the fugitives.
Those that have had to escape from the night, may have experienced,
“caravans… camp in the
thickets of Arabia“. We can
develop a hard shell in an effort to keep from caring. Isaiah adds a
command to their Arab cousins, “bring
water for the thirsty… bring food for the fugitives… They flee
from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the
heat of battle“. And the
chapter ends with an odd prophesy, “Within
one year… all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end… The
survivors… will
be few… The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken“.
I don’t think many people survive childhood trauma intact by just
fleeing. Healing cannot begin until forgiveness is embraced. The
blood of Christ covers all sin. Ephesians 5:8, offers this hope,
“For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light“.
By God’s Spirit and by His Word you too can be made whole,
“without stain or wrinkle or
any other blemish, but holy and blameless”
(Eph 5:27).