Printer Friendly VersionBill and Julie celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary last
week. From the looks of things, theirs is a picture-perfect marriage. They
grew up in church together… became high-school sweethearts… were
engaged as sophomores in college… and married on a gorgeous May afternoon
with the blessing of parents, pastors, and friends. It was a storybook wedding
that gave birth to a happy and wonderful life together as husband and wife.
Those first years were marked by unusual success in their careers.
Bill was a real estate attorney and Julie was a flight attendant. They took
frequent trips to exotic destinations (Europe and Hawaii were their favorites).
They bought a beautiful home in an affluent suburb – with a huge pool
in the backyard. They both drove luxury sports cars and enjoyed some of life’s
finer things, thanks to a healthy, growing bank account.
And they were generous with what they had – “Good stewards of God’s
blessings,” said Bill. They opened their home to their Sunday School
class, the youth group, and the pastoral staff. They gave much more than 10%
of their income to the church and its mission work. They remembered all their
pastors on special occasions and holidays. They were charitable at work and
in the community.
And even though seven years of marriage have flown by with lots
of good fortune and happy memories, Bill and Julie are suffering from broken
hearts. The reason for their pain is an empty bedroom in their house. They
have been trying for three years to have children – to no avail.
The doctors have run every kind of test, they have tried every
kind of fertility drug, and they have been put through every kind of procedure
imaginable in order to conceive. But, in spite of all the latest treatments
and the best technology, their nursery is still bare!
Barrenness! It not only describes Bill and Julie’s physical
condition – it is the sad state of their hearts. For years, they have
waited in hope – but year after year, they still come up empty. How long,
Lord, how long? Why, Lord, why? When, Lord, when? These are the cries of this
couple’s heart!
Barren – a word that evokes desert imagery. A wasteland
that is desolate, parched, and unfruitful. Air that is dry…arid…
scorching the lungs with every breath. The wilderness is a place that is empty
of life and void of hope. Can anything good come out of the wilderness?
Israel knew what it meant to live in the wilderness. For forty
long years this people journeyed through the desert. On their way to the land
of promise, their failure to trust God in critical moments sent them on a
generation-long detour through barrenness.
But the wilderness did not last forever. God not only faithfully provided
for his people during these desert days. God also led them like a shepherd
into a land flowing with milk and honey. God established them in this land
and made them into a thriving nation. They lived in cities they did not build,
they drank from vineyards they did not plant, they enjoyed food for which
they did not labor or toil. The land was a gift of God’s grace!
Yet, for all God’s goodness and blessing, Israel did not listen to God
or obey God’s commandments. And the consequences proved to be absolutely
devastating. Israel’s history became spotted with threats from enemies
– the Philistines, the Assyrians, and now the Babylonians. And the prophets
of God would not let Israel forget: “Our rebellious ways have invited
this retribution from God.” You just cannot keep going against the grain
of God’s law without suffering the splinters of God’s judgment.
So it was that in the year 587 BC, the Babylonian armies finally
prevailed. Jerusalem was sacked and burned, the leaders of Israel along with
many of the people were taken into exile, and the land was left desolate and
destroyed – a barren wasteland, the haunt of jackals and owls.
This was Israel’s new wilderness experience – the
wilderness of exile. Israel felt forsaken by God, helpless and hopeless, held
captive in a foreign land. Barren, empty, frustrated, and desperate –
that was Israel’s experience of exile. How could this happen to God’s
people? Has God abandoned us and forsaken us? Have you ever felt abandoned
or forsaken by God?
This new wilderness experience of Israel became unbearable.
Not 40, 50, or 60 years, but 70 long years were spent in exile! A whole new
generation was born in this foreign land – young people with no memory
of home – only stories from parents and grandparents about a land that
once flowed with milk and honey.
Seventy years is a long time to wait for God to answer prayer
– truly a lifetime! How do we hold on to hope and continue to trust in
God when for so long there is no answer? Is there anything else we can do
to break the bonds of despair?
One option is to take matters into our own hands – to try
to make something happen. But how could Israel force a change in her circumstances?
Israel’s power was no match for the armies of Babylon! In such a situation,
you are absolutely at the mercy of another.
And isn’t that just what we do when the going gets tough
– or when God does not work on our time table? We look for another way
out – trusting in our own efforts, resources, or technologies to make
something happen. But what do we do when our best efforts come up short? What
do we do when we have visited every doctor, tried every drug, endured every
procedure and there is still no baby?
Another option is to give up hope altogether. “We have
prayed, we have hoped, but God has not answered. What’s the use in trying?”
That is the tone of verses 6-7: A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said,
"What shall I cry?" All people are grass, their constancy is like
the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath
of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass.
Why waste time with far-fetched dreams that will never come
true? Israel certainly faced that temptation. In Psalm 137, the people in
exile weep as they remember Jerusalem. And when their tormentors ask them
to sing a “song of Zion,” the people cry out, “How can we sing
the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (v. 4)
Yet, forgetting God’s promise and giving up on hope is
not a way out of the wilderness. So the poet declares, “If I forget you,
O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cling to the roof of
my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest
joy.” (137:5-6)
Are these our only options? Human striving – that simply
exposes the depths of our inadequacy… or despair – that gives up
because we see no hope on the horizon. Are God’s people doomed to an
existence of exile, emptiness, and barrenness? Is there no hope for us in
this wilderness?
Suddenly, a voice cries out! It is a voice in the wilderness…
a voice from the wilderness… a voice to people in the wilderness. This
voice cries out, “Comfort, comfort my people.” It is spoken to those
who are in exile – weary of despair, and empty of hope. “Every valley
shall be lifted up,” declares the voice. “Every mountain and hill
shall be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places
a plain.” The future of the whole world is transformed at the sound of
this voice.
What voice can speak with such assurance and authority? Whose
voice has such life-giving power? It is the voice of God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth. It is the voice of the Creator – speaking
into the darkness, the void, the barrenness of exile – speaking a word
of life and hope.
Just as it happened on the first day of creation, when God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light. Now God speaks again,
“Comfort… deliverance… transformation… hope. And what
God speaks happens! The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our
God will stand forever.
Isaiah now introduces gospel vocabulary into Israel’s language
– the voice brings good news, glad tidings that cannot be spoken in a
whisper – it must be shouted from the mountaintops. It is good news to
be shared with those who have lived in the barren wilderness for a whole generation:
“Here is your God… the Lord God comes with might… He will feed
his flock like a shepherd.”
This is good news indeed. God is coming, Israel will be redeemed,
and the years of exile and despair have come to an end. This good news comes
to Israel out of the blue! It is not because of anything Israel could do,
not because of her power, her goodness, or her resources. The good news of
God’s visitation comes out of nowhere – as a complete surprise.
God comes in power, mighty to save!
And the good news of God’s coming summons Israel to get
ready. That is the promise and challenge of Advent. Jesus is coming, yes,
He is coming again! Are we ready for the coming of the Lord?
The prophet speaks two words to us to help us get ready for
the Lord’s coming. In verse 3 he says, “In the wilderness prepare
the way of the Lord, make straight a highway for our God.” These words
were echoed by John the Baptist as he called his generation to get ready for
Jesus’ first advent.
“Get Ready!” That’s what we do when we hear the
news that “Mom and Dad” are coming to visit this Christmas. Windows
get washed, ovens and refrigerators get cleaned, sheets get changed…
we do whatever is needed to prepare our home for their coming.
“Get Ready!” That’s what happens when a man asks a woman, “Will
you marry me?” and she gladly says, “Yes!” Invitations are
ordered, caterers and photographers are hired, and pre-marital counseling
sessions are scheduled. The engaged couple must get ready – for a great
day is coming!
“Get Ready!” These words have a strong ethical dimension.
“Prepare” literally means “turn your face toward,” or,
as we sometimes say, “Face it!” If Israel is to get ready for God’s
visitation, she must face up to the reality of her sin and her utter hopelessness.
There can be no more cover up, no more delusions of false security, no more
sweeping our sins under the rug and hoping they will go unnoticed by God.
It is time for God’s people to face the facts – our sins do separate
us from the joy and power of God. The Advent season calls us to repent of
our sins, for the Lord is coming again!
The prophet also says “Make straight,” a phrase that
also can be translated, “Be honest, be straight, and make things straight
– with God and neighbor. This is the same word used in verse 4, declaring
what God will eventually do, anyway. Since he will make all things straight,
we better straighten up!
So Advent is a time for honest, probing self-evaluation. Are
we ready for the coming of the Lord? Take an inventory right now of your relationships
– with God, with sisters and brothers in Christ, and with neighbors.
Can you face each one openly and honestly? Is everything straight between
you and God, with you and your sisters and brothers in the Lord, with you
and your neighbor?
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of
the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…Here is your
God! See the Lord God comes with might…” Because God is coming,
we are called and empowered to get ready.
Remember Bill and Julie. Three years of no results have left
them empty and broken. No doctor has helped their barrenness, no medication
has worked, no technology has helped them conceive. But one day, a voice cries
out in the doctor’s office, “You are going to have a baby girl!”
At the sound of that voice, celebration erupts. Julie screams in joy; she
and Bill embrace and kiss; tearful phone calls are made to family and friends.
The wilderness days are over. Barrenness gives way to blessing.
And now, this couple who has received this incredible good news,
begins to make ready. The nursery is prepared, baby items are purchased, birthing
classes are attended… all is made ready for the coming of the child.
The news of the baby’s arrival gives new energy to prepare for her coming
All is made ready for the coming of the Child. That is the power
of Advent. The news of God’s soon visitation sets us to singing –
and preparing for the coming of Christ. “Joy to the world, the Lord is
come, let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room!”
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of
the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…Here is your
God! See the Lord God comes with might…”
Christ is coming! Are we ready?
