Where rebellion leaves ashes, Jehovah plants a world of joy.

Isaiah 65 and 66

“I have let myself be searched for by those who did not ask for me; I have let myself be found by those who did not look for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that was not calling on my name.

I have spread out my hands all day long to a stubborn people, To those walking in the way that is not good, Following their own thoughts; A people who constantly offend me to my face, Sacrificing in gardens and making sacrificial smoke on bricks. They sit among graves, And they pass the night in hidden places, Eating the flesh of pigs, And the broth of foul things is in their vessels.

They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not approach me, For I am holier than you.’ These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire burning all day long.

Look! It is written before me; I will not stand still, But I will repay them, I will repay them in full measure For their errors and for the errors of their forefathers as well,” says Jehovah.

“Because they have made sacrificial smoke on the mountains And have reproached me on the hills, I will first measure out their wages in full.”

This is what Jehovah says:

“Just as when new wine is found in a cluster of grapes And someone says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is some good in it,’ So I will do for the sake of my servants; I will not destroy them all. I will bring out of Jacob an offspring And out of Judah the one to inherit my mountains; My chosen ones will take possession of it, And my servants will reside there. Sharʹon will become a pasture for sheep And the Valley of Aʹchor a resting-place for cattle, For my people who search for me.

But you are among those forsaking Jehovah, Those forgetting my holy mountain, Those setting a table for the god of Good Luck, And those filling up cups of mixed wine for the god of Destiny. So I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to be slaughtered, Because I called, but you did not answer, I spoke, but you did not listen; You kept doing what was bad in my eyes, And you chose what displeased me.”

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says:

“Look! My servants will eat, but you will go hungry. Look! My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty. Look! My servants will rejoice, but you will suffer shame. Look! My servants will shout joyfully because of the good condition of the heart, But you will cry out because of the pain of heart And you will wail because of a broken spirit. You will leave behind a name that my chosen ones will use as a curse, And the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will put each of you to death, But his own servants he will call by another name; So that anyone who seeks a blessing for himself in the earth Will be blessed by the God of truth, And anyone who swears an oath in the earth Will swear by the God of truth. For the former distresses will be forgotten; They will be concealed from my eyes.

For look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be called to mind, Nor will they come up into the heart. So exult and be joyful forever in what I am creating. For look! I am creating Jerusalem a cause for joy And her people a cause for exultation. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people; No more will there be heard in her the sound of weeping or a cry of distress.”

“No more will there be an infant from that place who lives but a few days, Nor an old man who fails to live out his days. For anyone who dies at a hundred will be considered a mere boy, And the sinner will be cursed, even though he is a hundred years of age. They will build houses and live in them, And they will plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build for someone else to inhabit, Nor will they plant for others to eat. For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, And the work of their hands my chosen ones will enjoy to the full. They will not toil for nothing, Nor will they bear children for distress, Because they are the offspring made up of those blessed by Jehovah, And their descendants with them. Even before they call out, I will answer; While they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, The lion will eat straw just like the bull, And the serpent’s food will be dust. They will do no harm nor cause any ruin in all my holy mountain,” says Jehovah.

Isaiah 66

This is what Jehovah says:

“The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where, then, is the house that you could build for me, And where is my resting-place?”

“My own hand has made all these things, And this is how they all came to be,” declares Jehovah. “To this one, then, I will look, To the one humble and broken in spirit who trembles at my word.

The one slaughtering the bull is like one striking down a man. The one sacrificing a sheep is like one breaking the neck of a dog. The one offering a gift—like the blood of a pig! The one presenting a memorial offering of frankincense is like one saying a blessing with magical words. They have chosen their own ways, And they take delight in what is disgusting. So I will choose ways to punish them, And the very things they dread I will bring upon them. Because when I called, no one answered; When I spoke, there were none who listened. They kept doing what was bad in my eyes, And they chose to do what displeased me.”

Hear the word of Jehovah, you who tremble at his word:

“Your brothers who hate you and exclude you because of my name said, ‘May Jehovah be glorified!’ But He will appear and bring you joy, And they are the ones who will be put to shame.”

There is a sound of uproar from the city, a sound from the temple! It is the sound of Jehovah repaying his enemies what they deserve. Before she went into labor, she gave birth. Before birth pangs came to her, she delivered a male child. Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Will a land be brought to birth in one day? Or will a nation be born all at once? Yet, as soon as Zion went into labor, she gave birth to her sons.

“Will I bring it to the point of birth and then not bring it forth?” says Jehovah. “Or would I cause the birth and then shut the womb?” says your God.

Rejoice with Jerusalem and be joyful with her, all you who love her. Exult greatly with her, all you who are in mourning over her, For you will nurse and be fully satisfied from her breast of consolation, And you will drink deeply and find delight in the abundance of her glory.

For this is what Jehovah says:

“Here I am extending to her peace just like a river And the glory of nations like a flooding torrent. You will nurse and be carried on the hip, And you will be bounced on the knees. As a mother comforts her son, So I will keep comforting you; And over Jerusalem you will be comforted. You will see this, and your heart will rejoice, Your bones will flourish just like new grass. And the hand of Jehovah will become known to his servants, But he will denounce his enemies.”

“For Jehovah will come as a fire, And his chariots are like a storm wind, To repay in furious anger, To rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire Jehovah will execute judgment, Yes, with his sword, against all flesh; And the slain of Jehovah will be many.

Those sanctifying themselves and cleansing themselves to enter the gardens following one who is in the center, those eating the flesh of pigs and loathsome things and mice, they will all come to their end together,” declares Jehovah.

“Since I know about their works and their thoughts, I am coming to gather people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.

I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who escape to the nations—to Tarʹshish, Pul, and Lud, those who draw the bow, to Tuʹbal and Jaʹvan, and to the faraway islands—who have not heard a report about me or seen my glory; and they will proclaim my glory among the nations.

They will bring all your brothers out of all the nations as a gift to Jehovah, on horses, in chariots, in covered wagons, on mules, and on swift camels, up to my holy mountain, Jerusalem,” says Jehovah, “just as when the people of Israel bring their gift in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah.”

“I will also take some for the priests and for the Levites,” says Jehovah.

“For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making will remain standing before me,” declares Jehovah, “so your offspring and your name will remain.”

“And from new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, All flesh will come in to bow down before me,” says Jehovah.

“And they will go out and look on the carcasses of the men who rebelled against me; For the worms on them will not die, And their fire will not be extinguished, And they will become something repulsive to all people.”

#bible #reading #isaiah

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“May your seas be wide enough for wonder, your harbor always waiting, and your light never fail when another soul is searching.” – The Lantern Keeper

Even in ashes, Zion is not abandoned; she is clay in the hands of her Redeemer.

Isaiah 62

For the sake of Zion I will not keep silent, And for the sake of Jerusalem I will not keep still Until her righteousness shines like a bright light And her salvation burns like a torch.

“The nations will see your righteousness, O woman, And all kings your glory. And you will be called by a new name, Which Jehovah’s own mouth will designate.

You will become a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, A royal turban in the palm of your God.

No more will you be called an abandoned woman, And your land will no longer be called desolate. But you will be called My Delight Is in Her, And your land will be called the Married One. For Jehovah will take delight in you, And your land will be as one married.

For just as a young man marries a virgin, Your sons will marry you. With the rejoicing of a bridegroom over a bride, Your God will rejoice over you.

Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have commissioned watchmen. Continuously, all day long and all night long, they should not be silent. You who make mention of Jehovah, Do not rest, And do not give him any rest until he firmly establishes Jerusalem, Yes, until he makes her the praise of the earth.”

Jehovah has sworn an oath with his right hand, with his strong arm:

“I will no longer give your grain as food to your enemies, Nor will foreigners drink your new wine, for which you have toiled. But those gathering it will eat it and they will praise Jehovah; And those collecting it will drink it in my holy courtyards.”

Pass through, pass through the gates. Clear the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway. Rid it of stones. Raise up a signal for the peoples.

Look! Jehovah has proclaimed to the ends of the earth:

“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Look! Your salvation is coming. Look! His reward is with him, And the wage he pays is before him.’”

They will be called the holy people, those repurchased by Jehovah, And you will be called Sought After, a City Not Abandoned.

Isaiah 63

Who is this coming from Edom, From Bozrah with bright-colored garments, This one with splendid clothing, Marching in his great power?

“It is I, the One speaking in righteousness, The One with great power to save.”

Why is your clothing red, And why are your garments like those of one treading the winepress?

“I have trodden the wine trough alone. No one from the peoples was with me. I kept treading them in my anger, And I kept trampling them in my wrath. My garments were spattered with their blood, And I have stained all my clothing.

For the day of vengeance is in my heart, And the year of my repurchased ones has come.

I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one offered support. So my arm brought me salvation, And my own wrath supported me.

I trampled peoples in my anger, I made them drunk with my wrath And poured out their blood on the ground.”

I will mention Jehovah’s acts of loyal love, The praiseworthy acts of Jehovah, Because of all that Jehovah has done for us, The many good things he has done for the house of Israel, According to his mercy and his great loyal love.

For he said: “Surely they are my people, sons who will not be disloyal.” So he became their Savior.

During all their distress it was distressing to him. And his own personal messenger saved them. In his love and compassion he repurchased them, And he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

But they rebelled and grieved his holy spirit. He then turned into their enemy, And he fought against them.

And they remembered the days of old, The days of Moses his servant:

“Where is the One who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is the One who put within him His holy spirit, The One who made His glorious arm go with the right hand of Moses, The One who split the waters before them To make an everlasting name for himself, The One who made them walk through the surging waters, So that they walked without stumbling, Like a horse in the open country?

Just like livestock when they go down into the valley plain, The spirit of Jehovah made them rest.”

This is how you led your people, To make a majestic name for yourself.

Look down from heaven and see From your lofty abode of holiness and glory. Where are your zeal and your mightiness, The stirring of your compassions and your mercy? They are withheld from me.

For you are our Father; Although Abraham may not know us And Israel may not recognize us, You, O Jehovah, are our Father. Our Repurchaser of long ago is your name.

Why do you, O Jehovah, let us wander from your ways? Why do you let our hearts become hard, so that we do not fear you? Return, for the sake of your servants, The tribes of your inheritance.

Your holy people possessed it for a short time. Our adversaries have trampled on your sanctuary.

For too long we have become like those you never ruled over, Like those never called by your name.

Isaiah 64

If only you had ripped the heavens apart and come down, So that the mountains would quake because of you, As when a fire ignites the brushwood, And the fire makes the water boil, Then your name would be known to your adversaries, And the nations would tremble before you!

When you did awe-inspiring things that we dared not hope for, You came down, and the mountains quaked before you.

From of old no one has heard or given ear, Nor has any eye seen a God except you, Who acts in behalf of those who keep in expectation of him.

You have met up with those who joyfully do what is right, Those who remember you and follow your ways. Look! You became indignant, while we kept sinning, We did so for a long time. Should we now be saved?

And we have all become like someone unclean, And all our acts of righteousness are like a menstrual cloth. We will all wither like a leaf, And our errors will carry us off like the wind.

There is no one calling on your name, No one who stirs himself to take hold of you, For you have hidden your face from us, And you cause us to waste away because of our error.

But now, O Jehovah, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are our Potter; We are all the work of your hand.

Do not become too indignant, O Jehovah, And do not remember our error forever. Look at us, please, for we are all your people.

Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a wasteland.

Our house of holiness and glory, Where our forefathers praised you, Has been burned with fire, And all the things we cherished lie in ruins.

In view of this, will you still restrain yourself, O Jehovah? Will you remain silent and let us be afflicted so severely?

#bible #reading #isaiah

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“May your seas be wide enough for wonder, your harbor always waiting, and your light never fail when another soul is searching.” – The Lantern Keeper