“Invade Canada!” 5. Isaiah was the good kind of two-faced. You probably wouldn’t appreciate being called two-faced. When people call someone two-faced, they usually mean that the person has one face that he or she shows at some times and another face that he or she shows at others. Being called two-faced is an insult to a person’s basic honesty. But would you believe that there’s a good kind of two-faced? The mythical Roman god Janus was two-faced. He had one face that looked back, and one face that looked forward. That’s why the month of January is named after him. The first month of the year, it looks back on the old year, and forward to the new year. The god Janus is a myth, but the prophet Isaiah had the God-given prophetic perspective to look back into the past, and forward into the future. Isaiah was the good kind of two-faced. 4. Zebulun and Naphtali were always being invaded. And what did the prophet see? He writes, “But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time He has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations.” Zebulun and Naphtali were two of the twelve sons of Jacob who fathered the Twelve Tribes of Israel. When Israel entered the Promised Land, the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali got two chunks of land on the northern boundary, bordering the Sea of Galilee. Zebulun and Naphtali were always being invaded. When foreign kings sent their sacking and looting parties, Zebulun and Naphtali were always being hit first. Biblical commentators Keil and Delitzsch put it like this: “The northern tribes on this side, as well as those on the other side (of the Jordan River), suffered the most in the almost incessant war between Israel and the Syrians, and afterwards between Israel and the Assyrians; and the transportation of their inhabitants, which continued under (Kings) Pul, Tiglath-pilerser, and Shalmanassar, amounted at last to utter depopulation.” In other words, these tribes effectively ceased to exist. It’s kind of like the cities bordering Mordor in J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings. So much did they suffer from Orc attacks that they were effectively reduced to ghost towns. 3. The worst invasion was the one they didn’t bother resisting. But the worst invasion of the two tribes was the one they didn’t bother resisting. In fact, they more or less welcomed it with open arms. Keil and Delitzsch write, “Ever since the time of the judges, all these lands had been exposed, on account of the countries that joined them, to corruption from Gentile influence and subjugation by heathen foes.” In these lands, bordering the neighboring nations as closely as they did, there was a wonderful diversity of people. But there was also a diversity of gods. That wasn’t so wonderful. 2. Christ invaded Zebulun and Naphtali in a good way. That’s what Isaiah saw when he looked back. But what did he see when he looked forward. He saw a time when these formerly disgraced lands would be made glorious. In fulfillment of that prophecy, St. Matthew writes, “Now when He heard that John had been arrested, (Jesus) withdrew to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, the way by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.’” How did Jesus fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy? He invaded these lands. A traveling Rabbi making His base of operations in a house in the tiny town of Capernaum, and from there, going out and calling disciples—it didn’t look like much of an invasion, but it was. It was just as much an invasion as light breaking into darkness’s territory. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwell in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” And, beginning in Galilee, the Savior began shining His light on those parts of people’s lives they would rather keep hidden. The Evangelist writes, “From that time Jesus began to preach saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Christ invaded Zebulun and Naphtali in a good way. Those ancient invading armies didn’t stop at the Galilean territory. They sacked and looted their way to Judah and Jerusalem. Jesus likewise didn’t stop in Galilee. He made His way to Jerusalem. There, He died on the cross. And on Easter, Sunday, He rose from the grave. And in His death and resurrection, Christ gave light to those who sit in darkness, life to those who were spiritually dead, and freedom to those held captive by Satan and his demons. 1. Canada needs an invasion. A certain relative of mine, who shall remain nameless, must have watched the movie “Canadian Bacon” a few too many times when he was a teenager. I say that because he was convinced that the US needed to invade Canada. He sort of got his wish when he joined my dad and some other family members on a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota. There, he got to paddle into Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park at least once. He’s right about one thing, though. Canada needs an invasion. I don’t mean that Canada needs to be invaded by the US or another foreign power. The US needs an invasion too. All nations do. All of us are walking in darkness. All of us have, by our sinful nature, welcomed the power of sin, death, and Satan, and now we’re paying the price. All of us need the Master to take the candle to our closets. All of us need the Light of Christ to shine in our dark places. Our Lord tells us, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and the people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.” All of us need to hear again the Master’s call: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And we have an invasion. As surely as our Savior is risen from the dead, the Kingdom of God marches on. Our Lord continues to come to us in His Means of Grace; speaking His Word, declaring us forgiven, washing us in the Baptismal waters, and feeding us with His body and blood. It’s not an invasion like it was before. Instead of death, we have life. Instead of destruction, we have restoration. Instead of shame, we have the glory of God in Christ. It’s an invasion, but it’s a good kind of invasion. + In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. + - Ward I. Yunker, Pastor
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 04:35:44 +0000
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