The Promise Of Advent Series

In the 1970’s, pet rocks were popular. Well, that kooky fad is making a comeback in South Korea according to the Wall Street Journal. They quote Lee So-hee, a 30-year-old office worker, who used to live alone in Seoul. That changed a couple of years ago, just before Christmas, when a friend gave her a rock. She said, “If you really think of your rock as a pet, I do think it makes things a bit less lonely and more fun.”

South Koreans, who endure one of the industrialized world’s longest workweeks, have a tradition of unwinding in unusual ways. They have lain in coffins for their own mock funerals, checked into prison to meditate, and gathered in a local park each year for a “space-out” contest.

Pet rocks are the latest new thing. Lee, a researcher at a pharmaceutical company, made her pet rock a winter blanket from an old towel. It came into her life during a demanding stretch at work when she was working long hours in the lab, often late into the night.

“I’d occasionally complain to my rock about what a tiresome day I had at work,” she said. “Of course, it’s an inanimate object that can’t understand you. But it’s kind of like talking to your dog, and [I] can feel relaxing in some ways” (Jiyoung Sohn, “Overworked South Koreans Unwind With Pet Rocks — ‘Like Talking to Your Dog,’” The Wall Street Journal, 3-17-24; www.PreachingToday.com).

Well, I can think of a lot better ways to find relief and comfort than talking to a rock, laying in a coffin, or checking into a prison.

Like the Koreans, Americans are also searching for comfort. According to recent survey (2024), only a fifth of Americans have experienced “true comfort” in the past 24 hours. The poll of 2,000 Americans reveals that true comfort—feeling completely relaxed or at ease—can be hard to come by, as just 21% say they’ve been able to reach this state.

According to the survey, the top three ways Americans prefer to find comfort is taking a nap (47%), taking a walk (41%), and having a spa day (36%).

When temperatures drop, respondents say they also find true comfort in taking a hot bath (34%) and creating the perfect temperature at home (25%)—which is 72 degrees Fahrenheit (Patrisha Antonaros, “Only 21% Feel True Comfort Each Day, Survey Reveals,” StudyFinds, 3-23-24; www.PreachingToday.com).

Where do YOU find true comfort these days, especially in the middle of a hectic holiday schedule already upon us? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Isaiah 40, Isaiah 40, where the prophet Isaiah describes a source of comfort better than taking a nap or any pet rock.

Isaiah 40:1-2 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins (ESV).

Isaiah has just described Jerusalem’s upcoming captivity in Babylon (Isaiah 39:5-7). But here, he looks past the hardship of those days to days of peace, hope, and joy.

For God will indeed punish the Jewish people for their sins. Now, the Law required a thief to pay back double what he stole (Exodus 22:4, 7, 9). So when God says He will receive from Jerusalem double for all her sins, He is not punishing her more than she deserves. He is meeting out the exact punishment His law requires.

However, once they have paid for their sins, God will end their hardship and pardon their sin. He will end His war with them and accept them favorably.

That’s where they and you find comfort. Literally, in the Hebrew, you find the ability to breathe again (Keil & Delitzsch). It’s repeated twice in verse 1 for emphasis. In other words, it’s like you’ve been holding your breath for a long time as you endured the suffering, but now you can breathe a big sigh of relief, because God has forgiven you.

Now, while the Jews had to pay for their sins in Babylon, the good news is Jesus paid for your sins on the cross. So breathe again, because God forgives you when you accept Christ’s payment for your sins.

In our day, He already came over 2,000 years ago, but in Isaiah’s day, He was yet to come 700 years later. That’s why Isaiah goes on to say…

Isaiah 40:3-5 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (ESV).