The Kingdom of Peace

Background Scripture: Daniel 2:34-35; Isaiah 9:7; 32:15-20; 65:25
Lesson Scripture: Isaiah 2:1-5; 11:6-9; Micah 4:4-8

Introduction

Everyone in the world searches for peace, even though many may not realize what they search for. Nations defend themselves against aggression and term retaliation as self-defense. Driven by man’s lusts and fears, terrible things are done that foster more discord, bitterness, and hate. Our lesson points us to the place where peace is found; the Bible calls it the kingdom of God. Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” (John 18:36). When Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and harmed one of the aggressors, Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt. 26:53). By example, Jesus taught that the way of peace is not in the use of overwhelming force but in returning good for evil.

Key Verse

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever (Isa. 32:17).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

Isaiah and Micah were both active during the reigns of the same kings of Judah except that Isaiah begins one king earlier with Uzziah, and Micah begins with Jotham. There are a few passages that are similar, and according to Adam Clarke, Micah may have borrowed some expressions from Isaiah.

History can be partitioned by major events that help us divide it into eras, which can be an aid in defining the past. The most important event since the creation was the coming of Jesus Christ to the world; He came as a baby, and his earthly life culminated with his ascension back into Heaven. His teaching so revolutionized the world that history is marked by two eras: BC, or before Christ, and AD, which means within the Christian era. The prophecies we are studying today were made long before Christ came, heralding the way of peace that Jesus would give his followers.

Much of history is a story of turbulence and unrest, far from the peaceful scene in the unspoiled garden of Eden. After the first disobedience when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the downfall of man was rapid, with the second generation already resorting to murder. Subsequent generations became so wicked that, while the memory of Adam and Eve was still alive in their children, God destroyed the world with a great flood. All were lost except Noah, his family, and the creatures in the ark with them. One of the reasons for this judgment was that the earth was corrupted through violence (Gen. 6:11).

In the absence of the fear of God and respect for his law, evil and violence become progressive. After the flood, God established an order described in Genesis 9:1-17. One of the decrees was, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed” (v. 6). God established the law of “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” to curtail the wicked actions of man and institute the basis of consequences and judgment for wrong.

Such were the times of Isaiah and Micah as well as all those who lived under the law. However, God promised a future time when a different way to live would be revealed. Both Isaiah and Micah referred to this future time as “the last days” (Isa. 2:2; Mic. 4:1). They depicted the gospel age as a time of believers being born again and regenerated by the work of Jesus. He alone enables people to carry out the virtue found in the way of nonresistance.

We can never be quite sure how these or any of the prophets envisioned the fulfillment of their own prophecies. There is often a mystical and poetic element in the prophecy of Scripture, and we find that as we look forward to the future peace and rest of Heaven, we too are moved to visions of rapture and delight.

Practical Truths for Today

We are living in the last days foretold by Isaiah and Micah. These are the times when the prophecies about Jesus, the gospel, and the establishing of God’s church have been fulfilled. John the Baptist introduced the kingdom of God by preaching a message of repentance. Even before Jesus appeared on the scene, John told the soldiers, men who lived by the sword, to do violence to no man (Luke 3:14). This must have seemed radically impractical to them. When Jesus came, He said that people should love their enemies and do good to them (Matt. 5:44). Since that day many have found these teachings hard to reconcile with daily life. For this reason they have dispensed with these teachings for this time and are waiting to put them into practice in a future era. This is an error; there is not a future era on earth to anticipate. What happens next will be the end of time and the final judgment.

God has established an order for his kingdom on the earth. As Christians we are to be messengers of peace. All of humankind has come under the curse of sin, and the evil nature of humanity displays itself in demanding its rights and fighting for recognition and position. Citizens of the spiritual kingdom of peace live by a different rule: the law of love. Love is the mark of the Christian, as explained in 1 Corinthians 13. Using the power of love as opposed to physical force is based in God’s everlasting love.

The figurative prophecies of Christ’s peaceable kingdom speak meaning into the way of peace and point to an essential change from the Old Testament. The weapons once used for fighting are turned into tools for cultivation. The Christian’s duty is to be a peacemaker; those things that are contrary to the way of peace must be reshaped. It takes God’s grace to accept maltreatment, and his power is needed to not retaliate. Cultivating another’s welfare is putting someone else’s needs above my own. This has been true for all Christians who have lived since Christ was here.

Science and technology have effected many changes in daily living, but the basic human experience is unchanged. The nature of man has not gotten better, and evil abounds more and more, but God has established the mountain of the Lord’s house above the hills of nominal Christianity. Those in the Lord’s house are those who have left the old life of sin and have put on the new man, Christ Jesus. Their faith includes the infallibility of God’s Word, God’s visible church, and the unpopular doctrine of nonresistance. In the Old Testament, God used his people to judge the nations of the world by abolishing them and their ungodly practices. Now God uses his people to bring the good news of his salvation to the unsaved so they can be redeemed (Rom. 10:14-15), and this message is always accompanied with their peace witness.

When Jesus walked the road to Emmaus with two of his disciples, they did not know Him until something supernatural happened, and their eyes were opened. Likewise, the vision and application of how to be peace-loving, humble children of God must be revealed and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, it will just be a set of ideals.

The nations of the world are ruled by the natural, earthly power that God has ordained and set in authority. He commands Christians to obey this secular power. The nonresistant Christian respects and honors the law of the land and quietly prays for the political leaders that God has placed in power. In times of conflict and war, this is not always so simple; nevertheless, God always opens a way for his children to follow his commandments. The defenseless Christians in ages past have given their lives for their belief, refusing to use force to maintain their cause.

Illustration

Two boys attended the same country school. They were good scholars and competitive athletes. After elementary school they grew more distant but still rode the same bus to the same secondary school in a nearby town. One of the boys became a Christian. One day on the bus they got into a fight. Though at the time the young Christian failed to apologize, years later the Holy Spirit reminded him of this incident. He then made a special effort to visit this old school friend and apologize for his actions. This resulted in a good reconciliation.

After this their ways parted, and they never saw or spoke to each other again. Another twenty years later, the Christian man received news from a mutual acquaintance that his old schoolmate of forty years earlier had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. The elderly man was moved to tears by the feeling of having lost a friend, and thankfulness filled his heart that reconciliation had taken place when there was opportunity. “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:18).

Questions

1. Can a Christian justify expressing a preference for one political leader or party over another based on the principles they uphold?
2. Children and youth enjoy games and sports. When Christians play games, what are practical ways for them to maintain a peace witness?
3. How should a Christian express appreciation for a soldier’s sacrifice and courage?
4. Share a personal experience you may have had with military personnel.
5. Unsubscribe

Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).