Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain
of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
(Isaiah 2:3)
Throughout the season of Advent, many of the Old Testaments reading will come from
the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is one of the prophets that has a number of references to the
Promised One to come (which is why it is prominent in Advent—as it is the season of
preparation for the coming of the Christ).
Here in this text, the prophet is talking about what is to come—people coming to say that
they will go to the mountain of the LORD so that He might teach us and we may walk in
His paths.
As we in our culture move towards Thanksgiving, our society is more and more
concentrating on preparing for Christmas. I have already seen people with Christmas
lights lit up on their homes. The stores are already pushing for people to buy. Black
Friday (the most profitable day for most retail stores) is being pushed up and many stores
are advertising Black Friday sales beginning before Thanksgiving. The world is telling
us to get ready.
However, this type of preparation is nowhere near the notion that the prophet is talking
about within this text. The prophet is telling us that in the coming days as people prepare
for the coming one, people will seek out the LORD by going to the mountain (a holy
place) to learn from God.
Notice within the text, it is God himself who will teach us. This is somewhat different, as
typically there is more of a mediator between God and the people (e.g. a prophet, a priest,
Israel). But here, Isaiah is saying that it is God who will teach us. And it is through
this teaching that we may then walk in His paths. Throughout scripture, the word walk
is used many times as a metaphor for how we are to live our lives—the way that we
conduct our lives.
Thus, during this season of Advent, it is a time of preparation as we wait for the Messiah.
This waiting should be comprised of two things—learning God’s words and walking in
his ways. Advent is a time for reflection upon how he are orienting our lives—what are
we centered upon.
The culture pulls our attention to a life of materialism and the trapping of the holidays—
however Advent is more about listening to God’s word and striving to live a holy and
Godly life. Where is your time and energy spent this Advent season?