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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Is. 60-61
Isaiah 59 from yesterday’s reading spoke of the human condition and our inability to escape from it apart from God’s intervention. These chapters speak of God’s intervention and what we get when we turn from transgression. He clothes us with the garments of salvation; wraps us in robes of righteousness. Instead of darkness, He gives us eternal light. He exchanges what is worthless for true riches and wealth. In fact, God says, “In place of your shame, you will have a double portion” (Is. 61:7a). The double portion is the birthright that belongs to the firstborn. So we become, as Paul said in Romans 8:17, coheirs with Christ, God’s firstborn. What an awesome promise!
Is. 62
Reading this chapter really gives me a sense of how much God loves His people. He gives Jerusalem a new name, “My Delight Is In Her”. And He rejoices over her as a groom rejoices over His bride. That suggests to me that God sees His people as His greatest treasure. I need to take this to heart because the Jerusalem that the deeper aspect of this prophecy refers to is not the physical city that we know. It is the body of believers that make up the Kingdom of Heaven founded on Jesus. That means it is talking about me. God delights in me, cares for me, and rejoices in me.
Taking that truth to heart should not only change the way I think about myself, but it should also change how I treat others. Because the other implication of this truth is that God also delights in, cares for, and rejoices in every other believer. Who, then, am I to treat God’s treasure with any disrespect?
Is. 63
In yesterday’s reading God said that His own arm brought salvation. There was nobody else who could do it. In this chapter He says, “My arm accomplished victory for Me” (from Is. 63:5). Just as there is nobody else able to save, there is also nobody else worthy to take vengeance. It is God’s righteousness alone that does both.