Duck and Cover | Wayfarer

It has been fascinating for me to watch the post-election panic and fearful protests on the streets of many American cities since the election. Fear leads us to behave in interesting ways, as it has throughout human history. People are people, and the fearful residents of Jerusalem c. 701 B.C. are also displaying their fear in public ways.

Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets;
    the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
The highways are deserted,
    no travelers are on the roads.
The treaty is broken,
    its witnesses are despised,
    no one is respected.
Isaiah 33:7-8 (NIV)

The fear in Jerusalem is well justified. The dreaded army of the regional superpower, Assyria, has swept through the north and is now moving on Jerusalem. It is a large army well-trained, well-equipped, and battle hardened. It is an army unlike anything the people of Jerusalem have ever faced. The Assyrian army’s reputation for destruction, violence, and brutality has preceded them. It is no wonder that order is giving way to fearful chaos on the streets of Jerusalem.

It is always darkest before the day dawns, it has been often said. That is the overarching theme of Isaiah’s message in today’s chapter. In darkness we tend to grasp for light. If the power goes out we seek flashlights and candles, when things get spiritually dark we reach for God. The ancient seer describes the fear of Assyria leading the people to repent and call on God for deliverance, and he then promises that deliverance.

Jerusalem will not fall to Assyria, Isaiah proclaims, though it will not be delivered by human effort:

Your rigging hangs loose:
    The mast is not held secure,
    the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
    and even the lame will carry off plunder.

A wealth of plunder and spoils, but not from anything the people of Judah have traded for. The word picture is of a trade ship that has sailed no where. So where will the all the spoil and plunder come from? God is going to deliver it personally. God will deliver the people of Judah from the Assyrians.

This morning I am thinking about how Isaiah’s message was received by his family, friends and neighbors who were shaking in fear. I have a hard time believing that it was accepted heartily. I doubt that it provided many with comfort and assurance. Rampant fear is not so easily assuaged, as current events bear witness.

Nevertheless, I look back on my life’s journey and recall many times of corporate fear. As a child I learned to duck and cover from a Soviet nuclear strike, and as an adult I watched friends and family stockpile gold, guns and supplies for the apocalypse that was feared with the new millennium and the Y2K virus.

I understand that some threats are real and some fears are justified. Still, if I am truly a follower of Jesus, then my heart tells me that Jesus’ personal teaching should always trump public fear:

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Matthew 6:33 (MSG)

September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City: V... — (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour your doom has come!’
Revelation 18:10 (NIV)

I had arrived at a client’s office first thing on the morning of September 11, 2001. I was scheduled to conduct a number of call coaching sessions that day. As I entered the building I passed by the corporate cafeteria and glanced inside. A large crowd of people were huddled beneath one of the televisions that were mounted on the wall. There was something eerie and surreal about the silent crowd and the empty stares on their faces. It stopped me in my tracks.

I stepped into the cafeteria and stood on the outskirts of the silent, huddled mass. I looked up at the television and viewed for the first time the iconic image of the World Trade Center with a giant plume of smoke billowing out of it. For the first few moments I took in what was being said by the reporters and the hushed whispers around me. “Tragic accident,” was what everyone was saying. It was only a minute or so later that there was a blur on the screen and everything shook. A second plane struck the other tower. In that moment I knew two things: 1) It was not an accident and 2) I would be doing no call coaching that day. I grabbed my briefcase and headed home where I sat and watched the horrific events of that day unfold.

One of the things that I took away from that day is how quickly things can fall apart. When John had his vision, the world was a very different place. Great cities were not destroyed in an hour, they were subject to long sieges that could take months and years. There were, of course, natural disasters like ancient Pompeii which could and still can bring about rapid and massive destruction. Nevertheless, the idea of a great city being brought to its knees in an hour was almost unfathomable.

Until now. I had seen the black and white news reels of the German blitz on London and the reciprocal Allie bombings in Europe. I had seen the documentaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were all, however, scratchy black and white film from a time before I was born. Even growing up in the Cold War era of “duck and cover” drills, the idea of sudden destruction was simply that – an idea. On 9-11, along with everyone else, I witnessed how quickly things can fall apart.

I see today’s chapter differently than I did before that fateful day. I have heard the endless speculation of prophetic junkies who wax ceaselessly their theories about the identity of Babylon and the beast she rides in John’s vision. I don’t find the chatter worthwhile. When I read the chapter I see the big picture that is painted in John’s vision of the prophesied future: Sudden destruction followed by economic chaos. For the past thirteen years I have lived with a greater understanding that the fulfillment of that vision could be a sudden reality almost any day. I do not live in fear and anxiety of that day, but I do enter this day with the realization of how fragile our world really is, and of what is truly important.