This is Day One in “Getting Ready for Christmas.”

“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall 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 his ways and that we may walk in his paths. ‘For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:2-4).

These verses show God’s ideal. In fact, Isaiah 2-4 gives a three-fold vision of Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:2-4 shows the ideal Jerusalem. This is the Jerusalem God intended her to be, the spiritual metropolis for mankind. Unfortunately, the real Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:5-4:1) was a very sinful city, one that needed to be purified through judgment (Isaiah 4:2-6).

What is God’s ideal? When we exalt God and worship Him throughout the year, people will know God and experience His wonderful blessings. This is the ideal of Christmas.

What does this look like? Isaiah 2:2-4 emphasizes the following ideals.

First, God is exalted and lifted high. People–all the nations–shall come to the One who is truly exalted (verse 2a).

Second, the ideal Christmas is for all the nations. God desires that all people shall know Him. Even in this Old Testament passage, God’s desire that all should know Him comes front and center (verse 2b). An ideal Christmas includes a genuine yearning for the people of the world to know God.

Third, the peoples of the world–red and yellow, black and white–shall be attracted to the teaching of the Lord. This is more a law of attraction than a law of gravitation. When Jesus is preached as He is found in the New Testament, people will be drawn to Him (verse 3a).

Fourth, in the ideal Christmas, we will flow to God’s house to learn God’s ways and follow His designs (verse 3b).

Finally, the result of all this is peace on earth, good will toward men (verse 4).

At Christmas, it is easy to miss the ideal. Let us make our Christmas God’s ideal, where He is worshiped and where His name is made great.

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