Burning Garments

And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. Isaiah 9:5 (NASB)

And we end the year on a happy note! Now this is where context in scripture is very important. When I first saw this verse I did not see the context and thought, “Ugh, another yucky passage. Another sad thing to write about. Sigh.” Then I read around it, and the New Living Translation account of this verse.

“Never again will uniforms be bloodstained by war. All such equipment will be burned.” Ahhhh. Peace. The reason I got to this passage at all was the Dec. 31^st reading in Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. It took me to verse 9:6 about Jesus being the Prince of Peace, and the reflection was on God pouring His peace into our needy lives. (I must admit that a lot of times the passages she takes me to end up taking me to the verses or chapters that have cloth in them. I automatically look for garment and cloth passages everywhere in scripture now!)

No more bloodstained garments. No more war. Death will be destroyed, as well as every sign of it. This is not a fire built to keep one warm. Nope. It is the fire of ultimate destruction of evil and of cleansing. Fire was used after wars because everything was so contaminated by blood, dead bodies, and all sorts of destruction. The wild animals would come and eat and threaten anything living. They didn't really dig graves...people were entombed in caves, etc. So mass death would result in a bonfire, of sorts. The contaminated and contaminating would be burned to keep the animals, birds, and germs at bay.

And the time will come when all traces of death and destruction will come.

I never saw that the very next verses were the “For unto us a child is born” passages. The establishment of His government and OF PEACE. There would be justice and righteousness. There would be good and the banishment of all evil. The Christ, the Everlasting Father, the Wonderful Counselor, would be forever the Master of the Universe. There will be great light for those who walked in darkness. There would be rejoicing and gladness like the farmer pulling in an abundant harvest. There will be the hope and joy of the baby born, the future established to bring all of this to pass.

It's GOOD NEWS for a change! And the sign of the burning garment shows that it is all wrapped up and done. No more fights and arguments, wars and death. No more corrupt leaders and money-grubbing politicians. No more wondering if the enemy was going to attack in the night, because there will be no more enemies! Satan will be defeated, the enemies of God consumed, and only peace, love, and right will be left.

It is the Christmas story in the birth of the child, the hope of Israel come to pass. And now, because of that, the hope we have is for the rest of this passage to come to pass. He came to serve on His first Advent, and He will come to reign at His second one! It says He will rule with a rod of iron. I always thought that was a bit harsh, but on second thought, it is rather comforting. He will not allow any evil, any damage, any harm to come to the body or psyche of His beloved. There is no tolerance for the intolerable! And that is a good thing. Kids are free to play when they know that an adult will come in and intervene when another child wants to cause problems. The rod of iron, the zero-tolerance of harming someone else is a GOOD thing, and every child is aware of it. Everyone is at ease, free to frolic and have a good time, to enjoy the toys and environment, when they know that no one their age or older will be allowed to take things away, hit or push them, or threaten them into giving up what they have. He will rule with that rod so everyone can enjoy the fruits of their God. There is no more gloom, it says. Having been bullied myself in my young years, I lived in fear. Now I do not so much. And I refuse to let kids be bullied because of it. I understand now that there is a God in heaven who fights for me against those who would come and take my peace. And in that there is great peace.

So if you have to get rid of stained clothes any time soon, rejoice that someday, sooner than we think, maybe, all signs of death and destruction, spoil and rot, will be done away with. No more suffering. No more pain. Peace. And yet we can have Peace in the here-and-now as well. By living with the Prince of Peace, having Him fill our hearts with the fruit...it is #3, Love, Joy, Peace... Gal 5. Love for God, Joy in Our Salvation, and Peace in our hearts since we are His.

Peace to you this coming year!