Sunday, March 21
Read Isaiah 65:17-25. What kind of restoration does the Lord promise here?
God promises a new creation, beginning with the words: “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:And the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17). In this remarkable prophecy, the Lord promises to “create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy” (Isaiah 65:18). In the city there will be no more weeping (Isaiah 65:19). People normally will live considerably longer than a century before they die (Isaiah 65:20). Their work and children will remain for them to enjoy (Isaiah 65:21-23). God will answer them even before they call (Isaiah 65:24).
Nice as it is, why is this not a picture of our final restoration, our final hope?
Thus far we have a picture of tranquil long lives in the Promised Land. But even though people live longer, they still die. Where is the radical transformation of nature we expect with the creation of “new heavens” and a “new earth”? The next verse tells us: “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, And the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: And dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 65:25).
For carnivores such as lions to become vegetarian requires far more than a vegetarian cooking class. It requires a re-creation to restore the world to its ideal state, as it was before sin in Eden introduced death.
Here in Isaiah 65, God presents the creation of “new heavens” and a “new earth” as a process, a series of steps, that begins with the re-creation of Jerusalem. Compare Isaiah 11, where the Messiah would bring justice (Isaiah 11:1-5). Then, eventually, there will be peace on God’s worldwide “holy mountain”; the imagery used in Isaiah 11 is similar to what’s found in Isaiah 65: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb … And the lion shall eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:6, 7). Although the Lord’s “holy mountain” would begin with Mount Zion at Jerusalem, it was only a precursor, a symbol, of what God promises to do, ultimately, in a new world with His redeemed people.
Suppose instead of living 60, 70, 90, or even 100 years, most people lived a million years or more. Why, still, would the fundamental problem of humanity not be solved? Why is eternal life the only answer to our deepest human needs?
