Isaiah 2:1–5 (NASB95)

1The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. 

3And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 

4And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war. 

5Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

As I am looking out the window of my office at the church this morning, the view I’m contemplating is of the Hoodoo Mountains.  Mountains have always captured my heart and imagination from boyhood.  The beauty and majesty, the mystery of what creatures you would find on them, and the challenge, physically, of navigating the ups and downs.  The Bible speaks much of mountains. Many tales of encounters and history making events are on mountains.  You can read of Abraham taking Isaac up the mountain and Moses meeting God on the mountain.  Elijah defeated the 400 prophets of Baal on a mountain. The ark of Noah came to rest on the mountain.   Jesus delivered the sermon on the mount. And many scholars believe that the garden of Eden was on a mountain because of the rivers flowing down.  There are mountains of opportunity, as well as mountains of resistance.  Years ago, Bill Bright came up with what he identified as the 7 mountains of influence as follows:

1. 1) Education
2. 2) Religion
3. 3) Family
4. 4) Business
5. 5) Government/Military
6. 6) Arts/Entertainment
7. 7) Media

Tyndales Bible Dictionary defines mountains as:

MOUNT, MOUNTAIN Elevated topographical feature. In Israel, as in surrounding countries, mountains were places where people expected to meet God. Many significant events in Israel’s religion took place on Mt Sinai or Horeb (see Ex 3:1–4; 16; 19–23; 1 Kgs 19:8–18

 Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). In Tyndale Bible dictionary (p. 917). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

“where people expected to meet God”

I personally love that phrase!  I’ve met God on many mountains.  I’ve met Him on mountains of invitation and joy, and mountains of difficulty and trial.  I’ve found that while mountains can hold a romantic notion in my thinking, mountains can be dangerous, consuming and keep me from moving forward.  I’ve found that God gives me courage to face the mountain.  And I expect to meet God there.  I trust and pray that we all, when faced with mountains of challenge, uncertainty or difficulty, will recognize the opportunity we have to meet God there. 

I am also encouraged by the passage in Isaiah where it says that the mountain of the Lord will be established and many people will say, “Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob.”  I love being part of what God is establishing.  There is an incredibly great need in the earth of repair and restoration in our day.  I hope to be one who encourages people to come to the source, be part of what God wants to establish in our day and in their life.  

Blessings,  

Jeff Ecklund                                                                                                                                      Lead Pastor                                                                                                                                      House of the Lord