Scripture

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, praise instead of despair.

Observation

The Lord has anointed the servant to bring good news to the poor, to comfort the brokenhearted, to proclaim release for captives, to declare that the time of the Lord’s favour has arrived.

To everyone who mourns, He will give beauty for ashes, blessing for mourning, praise for despair.

The people of Israel will rebuild their cities. They will enjoy a double share of honour and of prosperity. Joy will be theirs forever.

Isaiah says he is overwhelmed with joy in the Lord. He is dressed in the clothing of salvation, a robe of righteousness.

Application

God is all about exchanging human weakness and sin for a new state of holiness and strength. He takes away the old burdens and clothes us with new righteousness.

Here he promises a crown of beauty for the ashes of mourning, joy instead of sadness, and praise instead of despair.

At times when I have felt worn down by grief, I have felt joy bubble up from within me. Despite my current difficulties I am united with the eternal God, and this grief will only last for a short time.

He doesn’t always take the pain away completely, but he does give us strength to continue the journey.

Prayer

Lord, you promise to exchange our mourning and despair for joy in you. Thank you for this wonderful promise. Amen.

Scripture

“This is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Observation

The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save, nor his ear too deaf to hear. Our sins separate us from God. No one cares about justice or righteousness.

We stumble and grope like blind people. Our sins are piled up before God. He is ready to judge, but when people repent and turn back to Him, He will redeem them from their sins.

God promises His Spirit will never leave them and His words will remain on the lips of their children and grandchildren forever.

Application

God makes some strong promises that seem absolute and unconditional. He says,”This is my covenant” and ” I, the Lord have spoken!” That sounds like a strong promise.

Firstly He promises that His Spirit will never leave His people. It is a terrible thing when the Holy Spirit departs from a person. Spiritually, they are like a living corpse. God says that will not happen to us. We can be filled, baptised, and anointed by the Spirit of God, and as long as we stay close to Him, He will equip, enable, and empower us to serve Him.

Secondly, He promises that His word will not leave us, nor our children, nor our grandchildren. They still need to make faith their own, of course, but He will make sure that they will not stray too far from Him.

Parents and grandparents, keep praying for your children and grandchildren that the word of God remains in their hearts and on their lips. God will take care of the rest; He has he has promised it

Prayer

Thank you Lord for your faithfulness. Please help me to be faithful to you. Amen.

Scripture

The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well watered garden like an ever flowing spring.

Observation

The people of Israel are sinners, despite their pious actions. They go to the temple every day. They pray and ask God to intervene on their behalf. they fast, expecting God to be impressed.

The kind of fasting the Lord requires is to free the wrongly imprisoned and let the oppressed go free. They are to look after the homeless and care for relatives in need.

When they do that, salvation will come like the dawn. When they call, the Lord will answer. If they feed the hungry they will shine like light in the darkness. Then the Lord will guide them continually and make them like a well watered garden.

Application

The Lord is not interested in our deeds of piety – prayers, praise, fasting and so on. These things are important, but they do not impress God.

The Lord is impressed when we allow our salvation to flow out to others in good deeds and when we set free the oppressed.

We are saved by faith in Christ. That then transforms our hearts and minds so that we live for Him and for other people. When we do that, the little light that is my relationship with God is magnified and shows forth in my community in actions that bring freedom and life.

Then we start to bloom like a well-watered garden. We help others to flourish, and by doing that, God’s grace multiplies in us.

As a a new Christian and a new member of Parliament, William Wilberforce asked God, “What can I do for you?” He dedicated his career to ending slavery and brought liberty to millions of people around the world. He became a well-watered garden that benefited countless people.

Prayer

Lord show me how to glorify your name today. Amen.

Scripture

Whom do you mock, making faces and sticking out your tongues? You children of sinners and liars! You worship your idols with great passion beneath the oaks and every green tree. You sacrifice your children down in the valleys, among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.

Observation

Good people die, sometimes as a young age, but they are going to a good place. God protects them from the evil to come.

The witches and idolaters mock the righteous people. They worship their idols and sacrifice their children. They commit adultery in the high places where they worship Molech and Baal. They travel far in order to find new gods.

God says to rebuild the road and clear away the rocks. God is restoring His people. He will lift up the humble and comfort those who mourn. Those who repent will know God’s peace, but those who reject God are like the sea which is never still.

Application

Those who consider themselves wise and knowledgeable mock those who follow the Lord. They pull faces at people who follow Jesus as if we are foolish and stupid.

Like the people Isaiah describes, they worship under every green tree. They claim that they love the environment, but they are destroying it. They cut down the rain forests to save the planet with windmills and solar panels.

While they are so in love with creation, supposedly, they murder their own children. We don’t have religious rituals of child sacrifice, but each year millions of babies are killed in the name of “reproductive health care.” This is an abomination to the Lord. As the people sacrificed to Molech in the past, our abortion industry is just as dedicated to this evil deity.

But the promise of God is that He will save those who turn to him. Worshipping other gods, abortions, and other sins can all be washed away when we turn to God in true repentance.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for being so gracious to those who turn to you. Amen.

Scripture

I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and I will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.

Observation

The Lord will soon rescue his people. Blessed are those who obey the Lord’s law and who observe the Sabbath days.

Foreigners who obey the Lord are a part of God’s people. Eunuchs will come into the house of the Lord. The Lord will build a monument and give them an everlasting name.

The Lord will bless foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord. They will come to the holy mountain and He will fill them with joy in His house of prayer.

Application

It was unthinkable to some people that the Lord might bless foreigners. By the time of Jesus, good Jews were not supposed to have any fellowship with Gentiles.

But the day would come when the Gentiles would be welcome in the temple, which was to be known as a house of prayer for all nations.

Jesus was the one who broke down the curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. His death broke down every division between people because we are all saved by grace through faith – Jews, Gentiles, mean, women, eunuchs, and others.

Everyone may freely come and worship, having joy in the presence of the Lord.

Prayer

Hallelujah! You are a mighty and gracious Saviour. Thank you, Lord, for bringing me into your house of prayer. Amen.

Scripture

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

Observation

If you are thirsty, come to the Lord. He has the finest drinks all at no cost. Why waste money on things that do not satisfy?

Come to the Lord with your ears wide open. He has the words of life.

His thoughts are nothing like our thoughts, and His ways are far above our ways.

Rain and snow fall from the heavens watering the ground and making the crops grow. God’s word is the same. He sends it out, and it always bears fruit. It will accomplish all that He wants it to do.

The Lord will give us joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song.

Application

It is folly to think that we can work God out. His ways are much higher than our ways. When we think we have God all figured out, He throws us a curve-ball, and our plans fall apart.

This is not to decry theology. We must endeavour to understand God so that we can be faithful to Him. But we must never think that we can predict what He will do.

The Jewish people had the Messiah worked out. He was going to set Israel as a great nation, kicking out the pagan Romans. They saw the Messiah as a freedom fighter.

God’s plan was different. Jesus fought for our freedom by killing sin on the cross. He made Israel great by providing a new Israel called the church. God’s promises were fulfilled, but not in a way that people expected.

God’s ways are infinitely better than our ways.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you that you have things worked out far better than I ever could. Help me to walk in your ways even when I don’t understand them. Amen.

Scripture

“In that day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you.”

Observation

Rejoice, childless woman, for the Lord is giving you children beyond number. Jerusalem will have to enlarge her house because she will be bursting at the seams.

You will not live in disgrace or abandonment, for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be your husband. Even if the mountains move and the hills disappear, His constant love will remain.

The Lord created the blacksmith who makes the weapons of destruction and the armies that destroy. But in that day, no weapon will succeed against you and every accusing voice will be silenced.

Application

Christians often face many enemies and accusers. The Lord promises that their weapons and accusations will fall short. It I not clear in this chapter whether the promises are for Israel and Jerusalem. But then, in the very last verse, the Lord says, “these benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord.”

Lately some members of my church have faced some frustrations and difficulties caused by witchcraft of various forms, all emanating from one individual. We have had to persevere in prayer, but we know that God’s promise is “no weapon turned against you will succeed.”

People make accusations against christians on social media and in other places. but we can rest assured that God will silence every voice raised up to accuse us.

When we face opposition, we should remember that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against forces in the spirit realm. We take it all to the Lord and trust Him to vindicate us and bring victory.

Prayer

Hallelujah! Lord the victory is yours. Please help me to rest in you when the enemies arise. Amen.

Scripture

He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

Observation

The Lord’s servant grew up like a tender green shoot. There was nothing remarkable about Him. He was despised and rejected by the people he came to save.

He bore our weaknesses and our sins. We thought His suffering was punishment from God. But He was pierced for our sins, and his beatings bring us healing.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. His life was an offering for sin, and those whom He has redeemed will be counted as His sons and daughters.

Despite being rejected and despised, He will be honoured in His death.

Application

This is another of the suffering servant songs in which Isaiah looks forward to the life and death of the Messiah, Jesus.

Jesus was crucified,dying a horrible death, for the sake of our sins. He bore the penalty of the whole earth on his body.

Because Jesus died, I can now experience the true freedom of forgiveness. I am a new creation in Christ. Not only does He wipe away the guilt of sin, He removes the bondage of sin, the ability of sin to hold us in captivity.

Christ’s beatings, Isaiah tells us, are the means of physical healing. Salvation is not just about spiritual wholeness. it extends to every part of our being, including the physical. Just as Christ’s death makes us whole in our spirits, He also provides for healing for our bodies.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful salvation in which you are restoring every part of my life. Amen.