Isaiah 31:6

The Explanation

Dust on the road. Clouds of it, kicked up by men in a hurry.

The people of Jerusalem were scared. Far away in the north, the army of Assyria was coming. Soldiers with sharp swords. Horses that snorted and stamped. Nobody in the whole world had beaten that army yet.

So some men from Jerusalem packed their bags and went south, down to Egypt. Egypt had horses. Egypt had chariots, hundreds of them, with wheels that rattled like thunder. "If we buy Egypt's horses," the men said, "then we are safe."

But God sent a man to stand in the street and say something they did not want to hear. His name was Isaiah.

"Horses?" Isaiah said. "Egyptians are only people. Their horses are only meat and bone. When God stretches out his hand, the helper falls over and the one being helped falls right on top of him."

Can you hear how quiet the street got?

Then Isaiah's voice changed. He told them about a lion standing over his food. Shepherds come running with sticks, shouting and banging, trying to scare him off. And the lion? He does not even lift his head. He is not afraid of noise.

"That is how God will come down to fight for his mountain," said Isaiah.

And then a softer picture. Have you ever seen a bird flying over her nest, wings spread wide, circling and circling because her babies are underneath? "That is how God will protect Jerusalem," Isaiah said. "He will protect and deliver it."

And after the lion and the bird came one short sentence. The most important one of all: "Return to him from whom you have deeply revolted, children of Israel."

Come back. Turn around. You walked away from me. Walk back.

What Does This Mean?

"Deeply revolted" means they had not just wandered off a little bit. They had walked far away on purpose. They had made little statues out of silver and gold with their own hands and bowed down to them. Statues that cannot see, cannot hear, cannot help anybody.

And God, the one they had left, was the one saying, "Come back."

That is the surprising part. God does not say, "Fine, go then." He does not wait with folded arms until they say sorry perfectly. He is like that lion, strong and unafraid, and like that bird with her wings out, and he calls, "Come back to me."

Turning around is not hard to understand. You just stop walking the wrong way and go the other way. But it does take courage. Would you have dared to turn around and walk back?

The Common Thread

Years and years later, another voice said almost the same thing. Jesus stood in the streets and said, "Turn around. God's kingdom is close."

And Jesus said something about a bird too. He looked at Jerusalem and said he had wanted to gather the people the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.

The same God. The same open wings. Only now he came himself, walking on the road, with dust on his own feet. Jesus is God coming down to fight for his people, and to call them home.

For You

You do not need chariots to run to the wrong helper. You run there when you lie to keep out of trouble. Or when you take something that is not yours. Or when you are mean to your little brother because it makes you feel big.

Here is what turning around looks like, small enough for today. Go back to the person you were mean to and say, "I am sorry." Give back the thing you took. Tell the truth even when it costs you something.

And before you do it, say it to God. He is already waiting. He is the one who said, "Come back."

Talk About It

Isaiah says God is like a lion and like a bird protecting her nest. Which picture helps you most, and why?

Is there something you need to turn around from this week? What would the first step be?

Praying Together

Lord God, sometimes I run to the wrong things when I am scared or when I have done wrong. Thank you that you call me back. Help me to turn around today. Spread your wings over me. Amen.