Hope

 The beginning of chapter 66 (that you read yesterday) was a stunning warning. Here at the end of the chapter, Isaiah gives a beautiful word of hope. While human effort is untrustworthy (66:1-6), God’s faithfulness is reliable. And the end of the chapter reveals an even more surprising secret – God’s faithfulness isn’t just for Israel, but for anyone who will turn to Him in faith!

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

 Click here to access the reading from Isaiah 66:13-22

 
For more help use this Bible Study method

 

REFLECTION

Hope

By Jeff Morlock

God isn’t fooled by appearances. Some in Judah who publicly offered sacrifices to Yahweh also participated in pagan rituals and blatantly sinful behavior on the side. God promised punishment for these hypocrites and consolation for his faithful. But his judgment had taken a toll on the nation, and those who had kept the faith were weary.

Do you know what it’s like to be bone-tired? Depression, anxiety, marital or family strife, financial instability, ill health, and more can make us feel so mentally, physically and spiritually exhausted that we can’t imagine feeling truly alive again. The Israelites knew this bone-tiredness after suffering through the exile, being cut off from their land and their God. Then, when some were allowed to return in anticipation of the great blessings Yahweh had promised, they found only further hardship, famine, political in-fighting, and economic oppression.

But tucked within this drama of God’s righteous anger and Israel’s eventual vindication is the promise of v. 13, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” Biblically, we know God as Father. But the comfort he offers is like that of a mother. When our daughters were little, my kisses never seemed to cure “owies” like their mother’s did, probably because moms have a special way of knowing exactly what kind of comfort is needed and just how to offer it for maximum impact. Even now when my adult children want fun, frivolity, or food, they call me. But when they want comfort, only Mom will do. Perhaps this is what Isaiah means. The labor pains of Zion’s deliverance and rebirth are unavoidable, yet the God who births her is there to comfort and console all along the way. Those who embrace this promise (and its Giver) will receive the hope Isaiah describes. God is making all things new. New heavens. New earth. New community. New you!

What sin do you need to confess today? What is getting in the way of your relationship with God and new life in Christ? What distraction is making you so weary that you have lost sight of his loving care and the hope to which he has called you? Spend some time silently in God’s presence, asking the Lord to forgive and soothe and renew you.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your love that comes to us as both judgment and hope, for Jesus who fulfills both, and for the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, through whom we experience the care that Isaiah describes. Amen.

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - FRIDAY

FAITH - Pray for faith instead of fear, that many would come to faith in Jesus and that we would all trust God more deeply during this time.