In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come. – Isaiah 32:10

Today's Scripture Reading (April 10, 2023): Isaiah 32

The truth is that most of us who live in North America feel reasonably secure in our lives. There is little danger of invasion by a foreign country. However, the countries of North America continue to be invaded by the homeless migrants that inhabit Central America to our south. We don't go to bed at night wondering if the United States might invade Canada during the night or if Canada or Mexico might invade the United States. And so, we often get complacent. As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, or as China continues to eye a possible invasion of Taiwan, one of the most crucial conversations that are taking place around me is, "Why should I care?"

Interestingly, the same conversation occurred in the United States during World War II's early days. The European War was taking place a long way away, and many people couldn't figure out why they should care, let alone why they should send their sons and daughters to Europe to fight in this European conflict. But then Japan bombed Pear Harbor, Hawaii. At the time, Hawaii was a territory, not a state. And it was still 3,200 km (2000 miles) from the mainland of the United States. But it was an escalation, and even the distance couldn't mask the reality that the war had come home. The next day, the United States joined their neighbor, Canada, in fighting in the European conflict. Japan had intended the bombing of Pearl Harbor to be a punch in the nose to the United States, reinforcing the need for the United States to stay on the sideline. But the attack had the opposite effect.

This prophecy of Isaiah is generally dated to somewhere around 705 B.C.E. The northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen to Assyria a decade and a half earlier, and other nations of the Levant had also folded under the threat of the Assyrians. But Judah had been spared. Isaiah looks at the people of Jerusalem, especially the women, and senses a feeling of complacency and belief that the threat of Assyria would never reach them; they were secure.

Isaiah prophecies that the time was coming when that complacency would be tested. Isaiah says that the threat would become real in a little more than a year. The women of Judah would tremble; the grape harvest would fail, and other agricultural produce would not come to harvest. It was hard for the people in Judah to imagine, but Isaiah was sure.

A little over a year after Isaiah spoke these words, Assyria turned its attention toward Judah. The Assyrians invaded the rural areas, defeating the cities and towns and destroying any chance for a Judean harvest. And finally, in 701 B.C.E., Assyria turned its attention to Jerusalem, laying the city under siege. It was a time when the women of Jerusalem would tremble as their complacency fled. Trouble had come home, and no one could pretend it wasn't happening. Finally, no one could pretend that the threat of the Assyrian Empire had nothing to do with them.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 33