"Well, I'm not going to match a
pruning hook against a gun.
Because the auction will be a rallying point for New England supporters of "Spears into
Pruning Hooks," as the family's work is known.
Reversing the call of Joel 3:10, the passage in Isaiah notes: 'They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.'
And it will endure through all of us, as is written by Isaiah: 'They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.'
The most hopeful vision of all is in Isaiah 2:1-4 and Micah 4:1-4 that says that they will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into
pruning hooks, and will not hear war any more.
"God shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks: nation shall not lift sword against nation nor shall they teach war anymore." (Isaiah 2:2-5)
This is the vision of our prophets: "They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore" (Isaiah 2: 4).
As Christians, we have a vision of a time when nations "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 anymore" (Isaiah 2:4).
When is the day when "they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into
pruning hooks, and nation shall not rise up against nation, neither shall they study war any more?" This July 4th, we must all ask: when, at long last, is Independence Day?
Particularly beloved is the prophecy found in Isaiah 2:4: "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." Taking its cue from this famous verse, the presentation will also feature a selection of agricultural tools from Isaiah's time, as well as ancient emblems of peace.
"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, a prophet in the eighth century BC, speaking to a nation that was under threat from both internal turmoil and an external military power, said: "They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war any more."
Inspiration for the project came from the biblical reference in Isaiah (2.4) `..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.'
Images of militaries engaging in rescue work may feel contrived, but they still offer a dim vision of what biblical prophets (and nonviolent activists) have long envisioned: The beating of swords into ploughshares, of spears into
pruning hooks (Isaiah 2:4).
A world without war, where the lion and lamb feed together and swords are beaten into
pruning hooks, is part of God's call to peace but I think the peace God calls us all to is not an absence of something but a positive, tangible state that transcends boundaries personal and political.
