“Let Us Beat Our Swords into Plowshares.” That’s what the statue is called which stands at the UN headquarters in Manhattan. And that’s what the organizers of the United Nations thought they were doing in 1945. World War II was over, and the free nations of the world would unite to make sure that tyranny would never arise again, that peace and prosperity would reign unchecked all over the globe.

But instead of living in the reality of Isaiah 2:4, we seem to be stuck in Isaiah 3:4-5: “And I will make mere lads their princes And capricious children will rule over them, And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will storm against the elder, And the inferior against the honorable.” For on May 31, only about 2 miles away from that inspiring statue at the UN, riots and looting left broken windows, stolen merchandise, and paint-smeared walls in their wake – lawlessness somehow intended to demonstrate the need for reforms in the very police department charged with preventing such brutal vandalism.

So, where did we go wrong? Simply put, we tried to beat the swords into plowshares in our own strength – if you were to look at that statue at the UN, you would note that it is commanding and muscular. That’s because not only the founders of the UN but all human beings have imagined that we could forge lasting peace using our own ingenuity and based on our own ideas of justice. We thus forgot the rest of Isaiah 2:4, which makes it clear that God is the only One Who can render perfect justice: “And 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.”

In other words, it is only those who follow the advice of Isaiah 2:3 that can expect the peace and justice we crave: “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.”

So, I suppose we can go on trying to create a perfect world according to our own ideas. But the only true path to peace and justice leads to the throne of God, the God Who welcomes and pardons even the worst of sinners who will come to Him.

Isaiah 1:16-20 (NASB)

16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
19 “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land;
20 “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.