Wednesday 9 September 2020

Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—their kings led in triumphal procession. – Isaiah 60:11

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 9, 2020): Isaiah 60

Early twentieth-century Baptist pastor, Joseph Fort Newton, argued that "Men build too many walls and not enough bridges." There continue to be too many things that separate us. Walls have historically been an important security feature of a society. Walls and fences keep things out, and as well as corralling stuff so that it cannot escape. And that becomes part of the problem. What helps protect us can quickly be transformed into a prison that separates us from the rest of the world.

Isaiah speaks of a day of prosperity for Israel. And it is interesting to note that one feature of this day of economic triumph was that the gates set into the walls of the city would always remain open. According to Isaiah, prosperity results when we stop building walls and start building bridges, or in this case, leaving the gates of the city always open. It is something that some economic experts have been trying to tell us for years. Everyone benefits when we stop putting up barriers to trade and begin to do business with those who have traditionally existed outside of our walls.

It has also been an argument that we have been hearing from Africa for years. African businesses have been asking for a generation, not for handouts from the wealthy First World countries, but for a level playing field where they can compete with the world's businesses. The idea is that if they are given a chance, they can bring prosperity to the continent without needing humanitarian assistance from the West. (And, yes, the problem of corrupt African governments and war would also have to be solved for this to be a possibility.)

But the reality is that we still live in a world that has walls as its main feature. Not all of the walls are physical, many of the barriers take the form of tariffs, trade barriers, and other forms of protectionism, but they are still walls. And regardless of whether you think these walls are a necessary feature of our international relations, the reality, according to Isaiah, is that when we can finally pull these barriers down, when we can, at last, put our efforts toward building bridges or leaving the gates to our cities open, then we will know that the day of prosperity has arrived. And that prosperity will not just be for Israel, but the world as well.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61

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