A man will seize one of his brothers in his father’s house, and say, “You have a cloak, you be our leader; take charge of this heap of ruins!” – Isaiah 3:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 21, 2016): Isaiah 3

Children have often been mistakenly labeled as the hope of tomorrow. They are not. They are the hope of today. It is the struggle of every organization – and every nation; to find a way to attract younger people who will step up to lead. No organization survives without a plan that involves these idealistic youth that we need to drive the vision. Yet every organization struggles with trying to find a way to include the young in their plan. They are the hope of today. It is one of the cautionary notes of the most recent American Election Campaign. Neither candidate did well with younger people, and especially with younger educated people. If Trump actually wants to “Make America Great Again,” the septuagenarian will have to find ways of getting the young on board with his cause. If he cannot do that, then America will not be great again under his rule.

Babylon invaded Judea three times, and each time they carried off the best and the brightest individuals that the nation had to offer – mostly from among the young. We know the story of Daniel and his three friends – Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (maybe better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.) But the four youths were just the tip of the iceberg.  By the time they were done, all that were left in the nation were the destitute and the aged. Jerusalem had been destroyed. Family farms had been devastated. Those with an aptitude to lead had disappeared into Nebuchadnezzar’s court in Babylon. And there they gave of their talents, first to the Babylonian Empire, and then to the Median-Persian Empire. The story of Daniel is the most prominent of these stories, but it is also only one of the many tales, most of which have been lost in the pages of antiquity.

Back in Judea, the truth of Isaiah’s prophecy was being lived out among the remnant that had been left behind. Sometimes I wonder about the terror of being ripped up and taken away from everything that you know. What did it feel like to be forced to march to a strange land and make a new life among a strange people? But the reality is that not being chosen to go to Babylon might have been just as scary. Because in the fulfillment of the day that Isaiah had seen, there was nothing left in Judea for which to stay.

Judea and Israel tried to recover from the Babylonian captivity. They had some successes, but mostly failure. One Empire after another ruled over the land of David, while the people waited for the one like David to come. And when he did, they missed it. They weren’t expecting him in that manger, or to grow up in Nazareth. The salvation that they needed – and that we still need - was found only in him.

We all need to find our escape from the destruction that Isaiah saw. And that escape is only possible in Jesus. Are you ready to celebrate his coming?

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 4