My Enemy, My Brother; Is 19

May the mumbling commence!

What an awesome day when enemies can become friends!  What an even greater day when enemies can become brothers and sisters in the Lord!  It makes family reunions quite a bit more complicated than we ever dreamed or imagined.  And the locations of the reunions are far from our designated boundaries – boundaries that we have artificially been set up on the awesome creation that we live in, a creation fully owned by its Great Creator.  Read some from the end of Isaiah 19:

In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty.  One of them will be called the City of Destruction.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border.  It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt.  When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.  So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord.  They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.  The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them.  They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria.  The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria.  The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.  In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth.  The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” (Verses 18-25)

At one point, Israel had pleaded for Egypt to protect them for Assyria.  Many times, Israel must have felt like they were stuck in between the hammer and anvil of Egypt and Assyria – not so innocent bystanders.  But one day the Lord would make himself known not only to Israel but also to Egypt and Assyria.  What the Lord had begun at the exodus from Egypt would have its fruit!  The Lord would be known in Egypt!  The Lord would both strike them and heal them – just as he had done with Israel. 

And a highway would be built by the Lord between Assyria and Egypt – a highway that undoubtedly went through Israel, either literally or figuratively.

If only that could be true about our enemies!  No more Hamas or Al Qaeda!  No more red scares from communism!

May it be so, O Lord!  I pray for peace in our time.  And I know that only you, O Lord, can accomplish this.  May I be an instrument of your peace.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out