“This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision: What is happening? Why is everyone running to the rooftops? The whole city is in a terrible uproar. What do I see in this revelling city? Bodies are lying everywhere, killed not in battle but by famine and disease. All your leaders have fled. They surrendered without resistance. The people tried to slip away, but they were captured, too. That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep; do not try to comfort me. Let me cry for my people as I watch them being destroyed.” Oh, what a day of crushing defeat! What a day of confusion and terror brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, upon the Valley of Vision! The walls of Jerusalem have been broken, and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.
Judah’s defences have been stripped away. You run to the armoury for your weapons. You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago.”
Isaiah 22:1-5, 8-11 NLT
Isaiah provides a prophecy, an oracle, in chapter 22 addressed to Jerusalem. One possible event here is the siege of Jerusalem by King Sennacherib and the Assyrians in 701 BC, since Isaiah experienced it firsthand. Another option is the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC, during which Isaiah could have prophesied about events yet to occur. Some scholars suggest that Isaiah’s oracle is intended to speak to both events. But this chapter commences with the city in uproar; in fact, it was a “terrible uproar”. There was much revelling going on, as the people within Jerusalem’s walls were partying, eating, drinking and making merry. Some event had occurred to warrant such a celebration, but Isaiah could see something else coming – “Bodies are lying everywhere, killed not in battle but by famine and disease”. So Isaiah’s message was that they should not be “revelling”, but instead they should be sober-minded because of what was to come.
History informs us that the nation of Judah had been overrun and destroyed by Assyrian sieges of the towns. Everyone of any importance had fled to Jerusalem and had been trapped inside the walls by the siege. Isaiah tells the people not to look at him while he is weeping for those who have died. He recalls how loud the noise became from outside the walls as the siege was being established. There was a great racket and loud shouting. Mass confusion fills the air, perhaps inside the city as well as outside. The valleys around Jerusalem were filled with war chariots. The enemy horsemen were right outside the city gates. Judah was uncovered and helpless. What did the leaders do when they knew the siege was coming? They inventoried and distributed the weapons from the armoury. They found breaches in the walls and repaired them. They diverted springs from outside the walls into the city for a water supply. They even tore down houses between the inner and outer walls and flooded that area as a reservoir. They did all they could except for one thing: call out to their Lord God. Isaiah wrote, “But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago”.
All the preparations carried out by the Judeans were not wrong. In fact, it was wise to do what they did. But their sin was that they trusted in their preparations rather than in the God who had given them wisdom and who ultimately ruled over their future. There is a message for us pilgrims in this as well. There is a difference between preparation and dependence, because God expects us to act wisely, but never independently of Him. The danger is that we can organise our lives so efficiently that prayer becomes an afterthought. There is a proverb that is well worth writing on a Post-it note to stick on our fridges, and that’s “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6). There is another verse that applies both to the Judeans and to ourselves, and that is Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good”. And here’s a bit of wisdom from James, “Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16). Of course, James’ advice was too late for Jerusalem in 700 BC, but it is there for our benefit, as we navigate the highways and byways of life in our 21st-century societies.
Isaiah’s picture of a city that is living in the moment, rejoicing one minute because of battlefield successes, but mourning the next when adversity strikes, is just as applicable today as it was then. We pilgrims are heading for a new world, where the rules and outcomes are different. It would seem to make sense to start living God’s way, but then I’m sure we are already. But nevertheless, when we are tempted to live the way the world around us does, we should pause and find a quiet spot to take stock and pray. As we read a Psalm such as Psalm 23, it sets the scene for the life we should lead, under the direction of the Good Shepherd. His closeness will strengthen us as we rest in His presence. He will lead and guide us and one day will welcome us into “the house of the Lord forever”. And with the Psalmist, we declare, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue [us] all the days of [our] life…”. It surely will.
Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your care and compassion for us pilgrims. Without You life in this world is impossible. We pray for Your guidance as we journey on, day by day.Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 