By the fall of 1989 Billy Joel captured airwaves with his third Billboard number 1, We Didn’t Start the Fire. As the story goes, the lyrics were compiled soon after a young adult quipped that Joel’s youth was uncomplicated and that the musician simply could not relate with the sociopolitical uncertainty of the 80’s. From the young man’s vantage point the 50’s and 60’s were perceived as the simpler, more stable era.
We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning since the world’s been turning…
Against an incredibly cool backdrop of
flames, Joel challenges the young man’s perception by marching through the more
noteworthy events of his age. With each
passing line Joel highlights an unsettling truth: the world has always been in flux.
From atomic weapons to Ole’ Miss and Civil Rights, from Red China to Stalin and Fidel Castro,
with every spin on its axis the world churns an uneasy measure of madness.
We
didn't start the fire, no we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it.
Considering our current state, are things much different? From government
furloughs to chemical warfare, from apartheid to Ariel Castro, nagging global
and domestic challenges demand honest evaluation – fight it we may, but the
burning simply will not cease. No matter
the era, mankind has a habit of getting in its own way.
Against such an intense backdrop, where
might the nations turn?
Perhaps no other book in the OT answers
this question more clearly than Isaiah. In short, the book extends hope to the nations. Writing within his unique historical setting the prophet Isaiah invites us to look beyond mere sociopolitical circumstances and see the scope of God's plan for mankind. We're invited to peer into God's purposes not as sterile observers but as passionate participants, people of faith who are seeking to live honorably before our Creator and Sustainer.
To a degree we’ve experienced the message of Isaiah, attend any church and the book of Isaiah will speak prominently on both Christmas and Easter. Images of the virgin born Immanuel child and the Suffering Servant rightly inform our Holy Days, but how are we to consider the prophet in his entirety? What exactly is God saying that took 66 chapters to spell out?
Over the next several weeks I hope to share a few thoughts on the matter. As the entries will likely be more devotional in nature, my prayer is that we come face to face with the Hope of all nations. That our hearts find refreshment and our faith emboldened as we address a world ever churning for that peace which surpasses human understanding.
To a degree we’ve experienced the message of Isaiah, attend any church and the book of Isaiah will speak prominently on both Christmas and Easter. Images of the virgin born Immanuel child and the Suffering Servant rightly inform our Holy Days, but how are we to consider the prophet in his entirety? What exactly is God saying that took 66 chapters to spell out?
Over the next several weeks I hope to share a few thoughts on the matter. As the entries will likely be more devotional in nature, my prayer is that we come face to face with the Hope of all nations. That our hearts find refreshment and our faith emboldened as we address a world ever churning for that peace which surpasses human understanding.
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