Isaiah 63-65
“I revealed myself to those
who didn’t even ask to know me.
Those who did not seek me found me.
I said to a nation that did not call on my name,
‘Here I am! Here I am! I will help you!’
Day after day I have graciously outstretched my hands
to a people who turned their backs to me,
whose way of life is corrupt,
who insist on going their own way.
They are a people who continually insult me to my face.
They openly and defiantly offer sacrifices to their gods
in their sacred groves
and burn incense on pagan altars.
…
Here is what Yahweh says:
“As new wine is found in the cluster,
and someone says,
‘Don’t destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’
that’s what I will do for my servants’ sake.
I will not destroy them all.
I will raise up offspring from Jacob
and from my chosen ones of Judah
to possess my mountains,
and my servants will settle there.
For my people who seek me,
I will make the Plain of Sharon
a pasture for flocks in the east,
and in the west, the Valley of Trouble
will be a resting place for cattle,
for my people who seek me and no other god.
“But you who forsake Yahweh
and ignore my holy mountain,
who celebrate a feast for the goddess called Lady Luck
and fill cups of wine to toast the god Destiny,
know this: your luck has run out.
For I will destine you for the sword!
You will all kneel down to be slaughtered like sheep
because when I called, you did not answer,
and when I spoke, you did not listen!
You did evil before me and chose what I despise.”
Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:
“My servants will eat,
but you will go hungry.
My servants will drink,
but you will go thirsty.
My servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
My servants will sing joyfully with hearts of gladness,
but you will cry out from the pain deep inside,
and wail from a broken heart.
…
“Look! I am creating
entirely new heavens and a new earth!
They will be so wonderful
that no one will even think about the old ones anymore!
As you wait for the reality of what I am creating,
be filled with joy and unending gladness!
Look! I am ready to create Jerusalem
as a source of sheer joy,
and her people, an absolute delight!
I will rejoice in this new Jerusalem
and find great delight in my people.
You will no longer hear
the sound of weeping or cries of distress.
No baby will die in infancy there,
and everyone will live out their full lifespan.
For when centenarians die,
they will be considered youngsters,
and anyone who dies earlier
will be considered of no account.
People will build their own houses to live in,
and they will not be taken over by someone else.
They will plant their own vineyards to enjoy,
and they will not be confiscated by someone else.
They will live long lives, like age-old trees,
and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest
the work of their hands throughout their lives.
They will neither work in vain for someone else,
nor will their children face disaster
for they will be children and grandchildren
who are blessed by Yahweh.
Before they even call out to me,
I will answer them;
before they’ve finished telling me what they need,
I’ll have already heard.
The wolf and the lamb will graze side by side
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and the serpent’s food will be dust.
There will be neither violence nor murder
on my entire holy mountain of Zion,” says Yahweh.
Isaiah 65:1-3, 8-14, & 17-25
Today’s take away was very simple, yet very encouraging in light of the world we live in: one Day, God is going to redeem and restore this earth entirely. He is going to create a new heavens and a new earth so wonderful that the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. The VOICE translation says, “The weary and painful past will be as if it never happened.” Weary and painful could describe a lot of days over the past several months. Since March we’ve lived through a global pandemic, financial crisis, racial division leading to riots and violence, the revelation of deep systems of child sex trafficking and pedophilia rings, political division and hatred toward the “other side”, and storms, floods, and fires that have destroyed peoples homes. You can’t turn on the news without hearing messages of doom and gloom, hatred and division, violence and destruction. The sinfulness of man is on full display some days.
Weary and painful seem like understatements.
Yet God promises us that it will not always be this way. He is creating something new.
In fact this chapter gives us a glimpse as to why things are the way they are now: people have turned their backs on God and have insistently gone their own way. They reject God and insult Him. They ignore His outstretched arms and calls beckoning them to His grace and forgiveness and instead do evil and choose what He despises.
God promises that His people will eat, and drink, and rejoice, and sing joyfully with hearts full of gladness; while those who reject God will hunger, thirst, be filled with shame, and will cry out from the deep pain in their hearts – pain that sadly could have been healed had they just turned to the LORD.
As we wait for God to make good on His promises of restoration and redemption, we are called to do so joyfully. How we wait is just as important as what we are waiting for. Not to mope around like the rest of the world, not to give in to the weariness and pain, but to joyfully and expectantly wait and hope in God’s faithful promises. In doing so, we can be a light to those who are hungry, thirsty, filled with shame, and crying out from the deep pain in their heart that they too might be reconciled to God!
It’s funny, because back in January, I wrote that my “word of the year” was JOY. No one knew back then the world we would be living in today…but God did. And it is just as important for me to choose joy today as it was back in January when I thought the biggest struggle of this year was going to be adjusting to a newborn.
LORD, help me to joyfully and expectantly wait for You to fulfill Your promises! As I do, may others see the hope I have and seek to know You more! As this world becomes strangely dim, may I live in the light of You glory and grace each and every day! AMEN!
Living Stone 