The Elusive Brass Ring

Do you find yourself running after one thing and then another, always looking for the proverbial carousel’s brass ring, which offers you some sort of prize, temporary peace, temporary contentment? Let’s be honest, we all tend to look for peace and contentment in a variety of places, many of which if they provide any satisfaction at all, it is only fleeting. What do we do when the satisfaction is gone? Likely get back on the carousel ride and hope to grab the brass ring again.

God offers a calming peace to those who trust in Him. It is not a brass ring kind of peace; you know, grab it, rejoice in it for a few moments, then give it back to the ride operator. Instead, He offers a peace that flows like a river. Picture a continually flowing river that brings a perpetual source of nutrients, abundance, and freshness to the land around it. Now let’s read Isaiah 66:12 – “For this is what the LORD says: I will make peace flow to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flood; you will nurse and be carried on her hip and bounced on her lap.”  

NOTE: Isaiah 66 is a chapter about rejoicing in Gods ultimate victory. It is the book’s final chapter and in order to get the context of v.12, I encourage you to take time to read all 24 verses. Click here to read Isaiah 66 in its entirety.  

I believe some background for v.12 is found in Isaiah 8:6-8 and 9:7.

Isaiah 8:6-8 – The prophet pictures Assyria, the cruelest enemy Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom) ever faced, flooding the entire kingdom, the Euphrates River deluging the land. In v.8, the metaphor seemingly changes from an overpowering river (rebellion) to some sort of predator in the sky. However, I don’t think the prophet was implying another predator. Instead, how about the outspread wings belonging to the Lord and despite repeated rebellion, He continues to offer protection.

Isaiah 9:7 – The promise of increasing peace because of the Messiah’s never-ending rule and reign.

So, in 66:12, the picture shifts to the overflowing river of God’s protection providing peace and prosperity.

As a rebuke of stubborn Israel, and a warning to you and me today, we find these words in Isaiah 48:18 – “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.”

I see the takeaway as this – trusting the Lord and obeying His commands offers you and me God’s enduring peace and nurturing! Look at 66:12 again: “For this is what the LORD says: I will make peace flow to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flood; you will nurse and be carried on her hip and bounced on her lap.”  

God’s faithfulness to His children is never-ending, despite our continuing rebellion (our sinful nature). Will you right now, even if you do not feel worthy of it, accept, and embrace the “peace that flows like a river” offered by a God who cares for you? Will you also dedicate your life to following God, worshipping Him and not the endless gods, the brass rings, offered by the world in which we live?

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