Beat Your Sword Into a Plowshare
Micah 4:1-3
“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations 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 the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Isaiah 2:2-4
“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and 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 the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Joel 3:2,9-12
I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel...Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, 'I am a warrior.' Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.”
Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3:1,8, “there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:... a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”
The enemy that we are at war with is Satan and not each other. War broke out in heaven when one-third of the spirits refused to accept the appointment of Jesus Christ as the Savior (Rev 12:7). (1) And as one commentary notes, this warfare still continues in the conflict between right and wrong. (2) In the end, the enemy will lose in defeat, but until then, he tries to bring division, hate, misunderstanding and confusion wherever there is an opening.
“And keep us without offense until the day we see you” sings in the background.
Paul says in Galatians 5:17, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.”
Without the presence of the enemy, there is complete peace and unity between all people and all creatures. Without sin, there is no longer any power to separate and divide.
Hosea 2:18
“And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety.”
Isaiah 11:6-9
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
The evidence that the Spirit is present among His people is that, even in diversity, the people dwell together in unity. “Father make us one as you are one” sings in the background.
In John 13:34 Jesus says, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
“My church, she shall be one” sings in the background.
The way that the world will see the evidence of Jesus is how Christians love. As they lay down their lives and give of themselves for for their Christian and non-Christian brothers, it demonstrates Christ. If we do not love our brothers, how can we say we are Christians? “As I have loved you, love one another” sings in the background.
James says in James 1:22 that if we are hearers of the word and not doers (failing to love our brothers), we deceive ourselves.
Too often, I fail to love my brother well. I fail to live in the fullness of God's love. Rather than moving towards reconciliation, I let an offense (especially if it is someones offense against me and not vice-versa) keep that person at a distance and I try to ignore it. I do not move towards honest reconciliation. Sometimes I hope I don't run into the person again. And when I do see them, I see them through the eyes of my judgment against them for the offense they hold against me.
Mathew 5:23-24 says that if we remember someone has taken offense with us, we are to leave our gift at the altar and make amends with them before we offer our gift. Reconciliation with our brother is more important than any gift that we offer before God.
Before being arrested, Jesus prayed for believers. He said, “I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me” (John 17:9). He prayed for them, “that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and love them even as you loved me.”
“One church, one bride, one love, one God” sings.
The enemy will try to destroy the unity between Christians and within a church by creating division and factions. Corinthians is an example of the enemy creating divisions within the body. Paul, wrote to them appealing, with all his heart, “that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”
“Give us one cry, one voice, one song in the night” sings.
God calls us to unity between all churches and denominations as well. When the Israelites followed God through the desert, they were each part of a particular clan and tribe, but they were also part of the greater body. Each tribe had a place with something to offer to the rest of the body. When there was war between tribes rather than unity, it brought God's wrath because of the sin.
Obadiah prophesied against Edom (descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother), “Because the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune...For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.” (Obadiah 1:10-15)
God has made clear all the way through the Bible the answer to Cain's question, “Am I my brothers keeper?” We are our brothers keeper – even in all the diversity of the body of Christ. When Cain killed Able, it brought a curse on the land. “When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength.”
Jesus takes the command, “Thou shalt not kill” further in Matthew 5:21-26. Whenever we are angry with or insult our fellow Christians, even another denomination or group because of differences, we murder. As Cain, we curse our own land. Often, we don't 'hate' our fellow Christians who think differently from us; instead, we just keep them at arms length. We are politely separate from them, not making attempts to bring reconciliation leading to unity. We see them through the eyes of judgment for their differences rather than love. We do not earnestly look for ways to demonstrate Christ's love to our brother or be available help them in their time of need.
A book called “The Art of Loving” writes that to love as a Christian means "to love your neighbor, that is, to feel responsible for and one with him, while fairness ethics means not to feel responsible, and one, but distant and separate. It means to respect the rights of your neighbor, but not to love him... the practice of love must begin with recognizing the difference between fairness and love." 3
Dallas Willard notes “to love others is to promote their good. We wish them well. Love's contrary is malice, and its simple absence is indifference.” 4
John says in 1 John 3:16, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” He goes on to say, “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in world or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 2:17-18).
I deeply appreciate the church that I attend. I am so incredibly grateful for them. The leadership not only preaches about loving others and regularly challenges us to expand our capacity to love (even our enemies), but they demonstrate it themselves in their actions. They set an example by pouring out their lives in loving people not only in our church but outside our church. They have engaged and encouraged us to participate in praying for, serving and meeting the needs of others in our community, in other countries, and other churches we are in community with.
In reaching out and meeting the needs of other churches, we have moved towards unity within the greater body of Christ. But I wonder, just as I am often challenged, if we still don't have capacity to expand when it comes to loving others? Corporately, how does it look to love our brother when they are the Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic or Lutheran church down the block? Do we just not cause them any harm (Romans 13:10), keeping them at an arm's length, or are we to lay down our lives in serving them? And what does it look like to promote their good? Do we draw a line? And if so, where?
“Your church abounding in love, this is my request” sings in the background.
My husband, being a non-believer has told me on some occasions that he believes churches are no different from a business. They provide a service, meeting needs in return for monetary compensation. They compete for business with other neighboring churches. They just put a lot of religious talk around their actions. My heart deeply grieves in his deception. However, how hard it would be for him to stay in this lie if neighboring churches were all serving each other and walking in love towards each other.
Christians are to be of one body and are only complete when all are in unity. Paul says in Ephesians 4:3 that each person, church and denomination is to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” He says, “There is one body and one Spirit -just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call -one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
“She will have a voice and it will be a united voice around my Son... My church will be one, they will unite” Sings in the background.
Just as in Genesis, the land under Cain was dry and destitute because of his attitude towards his brother, David sings in Psalm 133 that where there is unity, Gods blessing is poured forth. Seeing this, David cries out, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life evermore.”
“One heart that burns for the Father... I will command my blessing, I will pour out my Spirit, my holy oil” sings in the background.
God, I can't even love my own brother well within my own church let alone the rest of the world. I am so in need of your mercy and help. Jesus, may we with one heart and one mind, glorify You. You are worthy of all. Forgive us where we have not loved our brother. Forgive us where we have stood at arms length rather than being our brothers keeper. Forgive us where we have not demonstrated your love to the world by loving our brother well. Turn our hearts toward each other within our church, our community, and the greater body of Christ. I long to see the earth filled with the love of Christ. As you have loved us, we desire to love our neighbor. Please teach us and lead us. “Father make us one.”
Do you feel the darkness tremble?
When all the saints join in one song.
And all the streams flow in one river
To wash away our brokenness...
And here we see that God you're moving
A time of jubilee is coming
When young and old return to Jesus
Fling wide you heavenly gates!
Prepare the way of the risen Lord!
(Prepare the way)
(Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble)
1.http://scriptures.lds.org/bd/w/2
2.http://scriptures.lds.org/bd/w/2
3.http://www.amazon.com/Art-Loving-Erich-Fromm/dp/0060915943
4.Willard, Dallas and Johnson, Jan. Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice. NavPress. 2006
“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations 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 the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Isaiah 2:2-4
“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and 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 the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Joel 3:2,9-12
I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel...Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, 'I am a warrior.' Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.”
Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3:1,8, “there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:... a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”
The enemy that we are at war with is Satan and not each other. War broke out in heaven when one-third of the spirits refused to accept the appointment of Jesus Christ as the Savior (Rev 12:7). (1) And as one commentary notes, this warfare still continues in the conflict between right and wrong. (2) In the end, the enemy will lose in defeat, but until then, he tries to bring division, hate, misunderstanding and confusion wherever there is an opening.
“And keep us without offense until the day we see you” sings in the background.
Paul says in Galatians 5:17, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.”
Without the presence of the enemy, there is complete peace and unity between all people and all creatures. Without sin, there is no longer any power to separate and divide.
Hosea 2:18
“And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety.”
Isaiah 11:6-9
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
The evidence that the Spirit is present among His people is that, even in diversity, the people dwell together in unity. “Father make us one as you are one” sings in the background.
In John 13:34 Jesus says, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
“My church, she shall be one” sings in the background.
The way that the world will see the evidence of Jesus is how Christians love. As they lay down their lives and give of themselves for for their Christian and non-Christian brothers, it demonstrates Christ. If we do not love our brothers, how can we say we are Christians? “As I have loved you, love one another” sings in the background.
James says in James 1:22 that if we are hearers of the word and not doers (failing to love our brothers), we deceive ourselves.
Too often, I fail to love my brother well. I fail to live in the fullness of God's love. Rather than moving towards reconciliation, I let an offense (especially if it is someones offense against me and not vice-versa) keep that person at a distance and I try to ignore it. I do not move towards honest reconciliation. Sometimes I hope I don't run into the person again. And when I do see them, I see them through the eyes of my judgment against them for the offense they hold against me.
Mathew 5:23-24 says that if we remember someone has taken offense with us, we are to leave our gift at the altar and make amends with them before we offer our gift. Reconciliation with our brother is more important than any gift that we offer before God.
Before being arrested, Jesus prayed for believers. He said, “I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me” (John 17:9). He prayed for them, “that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and love them even as you loved me.”
“One church, one bride, one love, one God” sings.
The enemy will try to destroy the unity between Christians and within a church by creating division and factions. Corinthians is an example of the enemy creating divisions within the body. Paul, wrote to them appealing, with all his heart, “that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”
“Give us one cry, one voice, one song in the night” sings.
God calls us to unity between all churches and denominations as well. When the Israelites followed God through the desert, they were each part of a particular clan and tribe, but they were also part of the greater body. Each tribe had a place with something to offer to the rest of the body. When there was war between tribes rather than unity, it brought God's wrath because of the sin.
Obadiah prophesied against Edom (descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother), “Because the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune...For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.” (Obadiah 1:10-15)
God has made clear all the way through the Bible the answer to Cain's question, “Am I my brothers keeper?” We are our brothers keeper – even in all the diversity of the body of Christ. When Cain killed Able, it brought a curse on the land. “When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength.”
Jesus takes the command, “Thou shalt not kill” further in Matthew 5:21-26. Whenever we are angry with or insult our fellow Christians, even another denomination or group because of differences, we murder. As Cain, we curse our own land. Often, we don't 'hate' our fellow Christians who think differently from us; instead, we just keep them at arms length. We are politely separate from them, not making attempts to bring reconciliation leading to unity. We see them through the eyes of judgment for their differences rather than love. We do not earnestly look for ways to demonstrate Christ's love to our brother or be available help them in their time of need.
A book called “The Art of Loving” writes that to love as a Christian means "to love your neighbor, that is, to feel responsible for and one with him, while fairness ethics means not to feel responsible, and one, but distant and separate. It means to respect the rights of your neighbor, but not to love him... the practice of love must begin with recognizing the difference between fairness and love." 3
Dallas Willard notes “to love others is to promote their good. We wish them well. Love's contrary is malice, and its simple absence is indifference.” 4
John says in 1 John 3:16, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” He goes on to say, “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in world or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 2:17-18).
I deeply appreciate the church that I attend. I am so incredibly grateful for them. The leadership not only preaches about loving others and regularly challenges us to expand our capacity to love (even our enemies), but they demonstrate it themselves in their actions. They set an example by pouring out their lives in loving people not only in our church but outside our church. They have engaged and encouraged us to participate in praying for, serving and meeting the needs of others in our community, in other countries, and other churches we are in community with.
In reaching out and meeting the needs of other churches, we have moved towards unity within the greater body of Christ. But I wonder, just as I am often challenged, if we still don't have capacity to expand when it comes to loving others? Corporately, how does it look to love our brother when they are the Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic or Lutheran church down the block? Do we just not cause them any harm (Romans 13:10), keeping them at an arm's length, or are we to lay down our lives in serving them? And what does it look like to promote their good? Do we draw a line? And if so, where?
“Your church abounding in love, this is my request” sings in the background.
My husband, being a non-believer has told me on some occasions that he believes churches are no different from a business. They provide a service, meeting needs in return for monetary compensation. They compete for business with other neighboring churches. They just put a lot of religious talk around their actions. My heart deeply grieves in his deception. However, how hard it would be for him to stay in this lie if neighboring churches were all serving each other and walking in love towards each other.
Christians are to be of one body and are only complete when all are in unity. Paul says in Ephesians 4:3 that each person, church and denomination is to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” He says, “There is one body and one Spirit -just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call -one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
“She will have a voice and it will be a united voice around my Son... My church will be one, they will unite” Sings in the background.
Just as in Genesis, the land under Cain was dry and destitute because of his attitude towards his brother, David sings in Psalm 133 that where there is unity, Gods blessing is poured forth. Seeing this, David cries out, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life evermore.”
“One heart that burns for the Father... I will command my blessing, I will pour out my Spirit, my holy oil” sings in the background.
God, I can't even love my own brother well within my own church let alone the rest of the world. I am so in need of your mercy and help. Jesus, may we with one heart and one mind, glorify You. You are worthy of all. Forgive us where we have not loved our brother. Forgive us where we have stood at arms length rather than being our brothers keeper. Forgive us where we have not demonstrated your love to the world by loving our brother well. Turn our hearts toward each other within our church, our community, and the greater body of Christ. I long to see the earth filled with the love of Christ. As you have loved us, we desire to love our neighbor. Please teach us and lead us. “Father make us one.”
Do you feel the darkness tremble?
When all the saints join in one song.
And all the streams flow in one river
To wash away our brokenness...
And here we see that God you're moving
A time of jubilee is coming
When young and old return to Jesus
Fling wide you heavenly gates!
Prepare the way of the risen Lord!
(Prepare the way)
(Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble)
1.http://scriptures.lds.org/bd/w/2
2.http://scriptures.lds.org/bd/w/2
3.http://www.amazon.com/Art-Loving-Erich-Fromm/dp/0060915943
4.Willard, Dallas and Johnson, Jan. Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice. NavPress. 2006
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