Day 2 • The Week of Hope

Scripture Readings:
Psalm 79
Micah 4:1-5
Revelation 15:1-8

“He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken.”
Micah 4:3-4

Our reading from Micah begins with “in the last days.” Now, that’s a phrase that will put you right in the holiday spirit. Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like “in the last days,” right? Even though it isn’t the most festive of passages, I think it is really important to reflect on scriptures like these this time of year. Because so often, we don’t allow the “peace on earth” and “goodwill towards all people” from Christmas to inform our view of “the last days,” and I really think they should. For that is the desire of the God we see revealed through Jesus Christ. The same God Micah is describing to his audience.

Micah is prophesying around the same time as Isaiah when Israel was divided between the northern and southern kingdoms. Micah lived in the southern kingdom. As you read through Micah’s prophecy, you will notice how God is deeply angered by the disobedience of entire towns there, primarily for their inhospitable mistreatment of the poor and most vulnerable. He gives strong critiques and judgments against them for these transgressions.

Yet, at the end of each judgment is a beautiful description of hope. Hope in God’s desire to redeem, restore, and renew. Micah paints such a beautiful picture of God’s desire, not to conquer and destroy but to heal and bring peace. Micah conveys such an important and needed reminder that God doesn’t judge with the intention to condemn but the intention to save. His entire prophecy ends with this theme stated explicitly in 7:19, “God will again have compassion on us; God will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Notice it is a sin and iniquity that God destroys, not people. People are the object of God’s compassion and salvation. God desires to save.

In Micah chapter 5, he talks about a leader who will be born in Bethlehem and how God will use him to bring unity among the nations and peace on earth. How does Micah describe that vision? With the repurposing of weapons into garden tools, the abolition of war, and everyone having all that they need. When you combine this reading from Micah with the other two readings, you will hear the desire for this kind of world echoed in Psalm 79 and then the culmination of this world in Revelation 15:1-8.

This not only gives us such a beautiful picture of the “last days,” but reminds us that this was the intended reason for Christ coming into the world, as was announced at his birth by the angels, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy!” A message of peace and goodwill.

Unfortunately, so much of our “end times” theology has given us such unhelpful, and let’s be honest, violent visions of what the “last days” will be like. So much so that thoughts of Jesus’ second coming can fill many with fear, rather than hope. If it’s about Jesus returning, shouldn’t it be hopeful? What if thoughts of his second coming was “a message that will fill everyone with joy” as was said about his first coming?

In a world like ours that experiences so much violence and warfare, isn’t this such a needed and powerful part of the Christmas story, let alone the gospel of Jesus? That He has come to bring an end to violence, warfare, and suffering, to bring peace, flourishing, and redemption? I think this is part of the Christmas story the world needs us Christians to get better at telling.

The great gift of this message of hope is that it doesn’t just apply to kingdoms and nations, it applies to our own hearts and lives as well. We all have wars raging in our minds, conflicts in our relationships, and weapons we take up against others, even if they are just our words. What would it look like to allow the “last days” to occur in us? To allow Jesus to arrive in those areas of our internal conflict and bring peace to our own souls? We can’t pray for Jesus to disarm the world around us when we don’t even let him disarm the wars within us.

Reflection Steps:

As you reflect on this theme today, pay close attention to the things that cause the most conflict in your heart and mind. It could be a person that really rubs you the wrong way. It could be stress about a particular issue or uncertainty. Whatever it is, be intentional about what you hope the desired outcome is for those situations. Then, think about the steps you are taking towards that outcome. When you do, pay close attention to the ways you might be trying to force an outcome rather than make peace as you anticipate the outcome to arrive.