Well, don’t those words from Isaiah (2:1-5) represent the height of arrogance?  “In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.”

First of all, the mountain of the Lord, or Zion, or Jerusalem, as its known – the mountain of the Lord isn’t much of a mountain. It’s more like a modest rise in elevation. But this lowly little hill is supposed to established as the highest of the mountains, raised above the hills – it’s supposed to rival Everest and K2 and perhaps even our own Mount Logan. Come on, Isaiah. Sounds a little over the top.

And not only is Zion supposed to become the highest of mountains but, here’s where the arrogance really kicks in – Isaiah says that “all the nations shall stream to it.” That’s right – one day all nations will stream to Zion.” Within the Hebrew tradition, of course, Zion represents the dwelling place of God with his people. Zion represents the dwelling of God with the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A little arrogant, isn’t it, to think that the nations of the world are going to stream to Zion in order to worship and celebrate this particular God. A little arrogant, isn’t it, to think that the God of Zion has something that all the nations of the world might need or want? Continue reading →