Day 271

Isaiah 54:1-57:13; Ephesians 6:1-24; Psalm 70:1-5; Proverbs 24:8

This Is Good News!

I am so grateful to one of my seminary professors, Dr. Richard Pratt, who instilled in me a way of comprehending the Old Testament prophets and their writings. Often in the Scriptures, we find forms of various “oracles” or declarations spoken through folks like Isaiah. The prophets were there as prosecutors for the covenant between God and His people, reminding people of their covenant obligations, and warning them of the consequences of breaking covenant. Imagine a courtroom scene where the evidence is presented, and the case is made against the accused. That was a focused role of an Old Testament prophet.

In some of the prophetic oracles, we find warning of some impending judgment and calling of God’s people to return to the Lord. There are oracles of lament, repentance, and confession. In this section of Isaiah, we primarily discover oracles of restoration and hope. There is promise, protection, and provision for God’s people. Abundance and joy, justice and mercy flow to those who belong to God. God is restoring, reconciling, and redeeming His people. This was true of Israel as their time in captivity and exile is coming to an end. It is also true for the church, and what is pictured here is in many ways the consummation of God’s Kingdom.

There will be difficult days in this earthly pilgrimage. Because of this fallen world, we will have days full of questions and doubts; some dark and tragic. It will be hard for us to understand. We must press in and discover that “His ways are higher than [mine]” (Isaiah 55:8-9). These passages should serve as a reminder that what we see is not all there is. There are calls on our lives to be sober and focused and we are warned of the peril of ignoring and disobeying God’s Word. What we hear in Isaiah today is an affirmation of the blessing of being a child of God. Life is a pilgrimage. We know there are better things ahead because in one way or another God had told us so; He does so here. The call is to be alert and pay attention not because judgment is coming, but rather if we are not alert we will miss God’s blessings. We have hope.

Paul David Tripp writes… “If you are God’s child, you can have hope in the middle of all the tough things you face because in all those moments God is with you, but also because the cross of Jesus guarantees you; all that is broken will be made new forever. You can live today knowing you have a future beyond the boundaries of your wildest imagination. As God’s child, you have hope because God is hope, a hope that will last forever because he has defeated the one thing standing between you & forever: death.”

This is Good News!

The Rev. Jon Davis