Living on the Gulf Coast, we’ve become well acquainted with mosquitos. They’re big, plentiful, and merciless. And as the climate continues to change and winters become milder, they don’t seem to ever go away. The worst is when one sneaks into your car while you’re driving – waving your hands around frantically trying to kill it while still keeping your eyes on the road.
I wonder what mosquitos were like in the Garden of Eden, before the fall. Did they still feast on Adam and Eve, only more politely? Or was their diet different altogether and one of the curses of sin was their bloodthirstiness?
What do mosquitos have to do with advent? The annoyance and sting of a mosquito bite is a sign of a broken and fallen natural world. When Christ came in the first advent, he brought peace to men. The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel tell us that when He returns, His peace will extend to the entire world.
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit … The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:1, 6–9
Jesus, from the line of David and his father Jesse (see day 10), will come and bring with him God’s covenant of peace. God’s covenant is for people, to be sure, but it’s also for the natural world. When Jesus returns, wolves and lambs will live together, leopards and goats, calves and lions. And more than that, our relationship with nature will be restored so we will no longer fear snakes, spiders, or mosquitos!
Here’s how God’s covenant of peace is described in Ezekiel:
“I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.” Ezekiel 34:25–28
And all of this will come to pass so that God receives the glory He is due and so we know that we are His people.
“And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD. And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 34:30–31
We can be confident that all of this will happen exactly as God promised because we can see His promises fulfilled throughout Scripture. Christmas should give us confidence that Christ will return just as God said, and He will bring peace to the whole earth.
Family Discussion
What animal would you like to spend time with when Jesus comes back?
What’s your favorite outdoor place to go?
