Remember how Isaiah wrote poetry that doesn’t seem to make much sense? Well part of the reason is because he was writing about two or three things at the same time. And it’s hard enough to write about one thing let alone two or three things. So while Isaiah was talking about his own people and his own time and his own children, he was also writing about Jesus who would come severn hundred years later. And while he was writing about Jesus who would come seven hundred years later, he was also writing about Jesus when he would come again thousands of years after that. And while he wrote about Jesus coming again thousands of years in the future, he also threw in some stuff that happened before anyone was ever born. Before the earth was even created. So it’s no wonder it is hard for us to know what Isaiah is talking about.
You might wonder, what good is his poetry if it’s so hard to know what he’s even talking about? Well, while poetry doesn’t always make much sense right away, it can also be beautiful. Because when something doesn’t make normal sense, we can spend more time noticing how it sounds and how it makes us feel, and we have to use something we don’t always use when we read. We have to use our heart. And sometimes, when we’re using our heart, God speaks to us. Not always with words, but he speaks to us. And suddenly we begin to understand what Isaiah is talking about.
We realize that he is not just talking about all those other things, but he is also talking about us and our past and our future. And he is teaching us to have hope because God is coming. And because we know that God is coming we can stop being scared about monsters, or dragons, or kings, or the devil. And we can start helping to make the world a better place. Because when we don’t have to be concerned for ourselves, we have more room to care about others.
And instead of being worried we can sing the poetry that Isaiah wrote:
Heavenly Father, I will always praise you. When you could have been angry, you were kind, and you comforted me. You saved me. So I will trust you forever and I won’t be afraid of what the future holds, because Jesus is strong, and he helps me to be strong too.
And when you come, I will see with new eyes how everything on earth points to you. And then I will sing with all the rest of your children about all the beautiful things you have done for me, and for my family, and for all of us. And our song will echo in the hills and in the mountains and it will make the rocks ring like church bells. And we will see you clearly standing among us, and we will see also that you have always been there, standing with us by our side.