God is Faithful to His Promises
“See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Isaiah 60:2-3
In the end, darkness will cover the earth. And indeed, the darkness has come. A spirit of wickedness is blowing through the world. Here in the West, the name of God has been banished from public life. People wander through the world unconnected to their creator, not knowing where they are going. Some don’t even know who they are anymore. Paul writes at the beginning of his letter to Rome: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him nor gave thanks to Him”. And in this darkness, hatred and enmity flare up against the people of God. It has even come to the point where the United Nations is lifting Jerusalem like a burdensome stone. People prefer the lie, no matter how obvious the lie is, to the truth—and even churches cry out that the Lord’s inheritance must be broken to achieve world peace. It reminds me of Psalm 130: The longing of God’s children for the dawning of the morning in the dead of night. For the morning is coming, that is certain. As true as God lives.
Last week the Jewish people celebrated Rosh Hashanah, which is the beginning of the fall festivals. It is a day when even the light of the moon cannot be seen, it is so dark. But the Lord says: “It is a day for you to sound the trumpets”. Well over a hundred times on this day, the shofar will be blown. As a sign that we humans are creatures of God. But also as an alarm call that Israel is surrounded by enemies and that they must put their trust in God (Joel 2:15-17): “Blow the trumpet in Zion, let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord”’.
The shofar is blown to remind us that God is faithful to His promises and that the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love (Psalm 103:8). And that He is the judge of all the earth (Psalm 75). Therefore, the Lord says that Rosh Hashanah should also be a day of jubilation and joy and full of hope.
‘Darkness is not the end, and so Isaiah speaks of the light breaking through and the glory of the Lord that will be seen over Israel.’
Darkness is not the end, and so Isaiah speaks of the light breaking through and the glory of the Lord that will be seen over Israel. We know that the glory of God will be to be seen in Jerusalem when the Messiah comes, full of glory, full of grace and truth. As He appears, the shofar will sound for the last time.
That is also the message of the coming Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Completion, when His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives and the nations of the world will flock to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, when peace will dawn for Jerusalem and all the world.
