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Day 329 (Isaiah 33:13 - 35:10) Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge My might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us will dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us will dwell with everlasting burnings?” He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil: he will dwell on high; his place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be given him, his water will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is far off. Your heart will meditate on terror: “Where is the scribe? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?” You will not see fierce people, people of obscure speech, beyond perception, of a stammering tongue you cannot understand. Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, a tabernacle that will not be taken down; not one of its stakes will ever be removed, nor will any of its cords be broken. But there the majestic LORD will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, in which no galley with oars will sail, nor majestic ships pass by (For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us); your tackle is loosed, they could not strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail. Then the prey of great plunder is divided; The lame take the prey. And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity. Come near, you nations, to hear; and heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world and all things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations, and His fury against all their armies; He has destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter. Also, their slain will be thrown out; their stench will rise from their corpses, and the mountains will be melted with their blood. All the host of heaven will be dissolved, and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll; all their host will fall as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. “For My sword will be bathed in heaven; indeed, it will come down on Edom, and on the people of My curse, for judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made overflowing with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. The wild oxen will come down with them, and the young bulls with the mighty bulls; their land will be soaked with blood, and their dust saturated with fatness.” For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion. Its streams will be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone; its land will become burning pitch. It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will ascend forever. From generation to generation, it will lie waste; no one will pass through it forever and ever. But the pelican and the porcupine will possess it, also the owl and the raven will dwell in it. And He will stretch out over it the line of confusion and the stones of emptiness. They will call its nobles to the kingdom, but none will be there, and all its princes will be nothing. And thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles, and brambles in its fortresses; it will be a habitation of jackals, a courtyard for ostriches. The wild beasts of the desert will also meet with the jackals, and the wild goat will bleat to its companion; also, the night creature will rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. There the arrow snake will make her nest and lay eggs and hatch and gather them under her shadow; there also will the hawks be gathered, every one with her mate. “Search from the book of the LORD and read: not one of these will fail; not one will lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them. He has cast the lot for them, and His hand divided it among them with a measuring line. They will possess it forever; from generation to generation, they will dwell in it.” The wilderness and the wasteland will be glad for them, and the desert will rejoice and blossom like the rose; it will blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God. Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground will become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there will be grass with reeds and rushes. A highway will be there, and a road and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not pass over it, but it will be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, will not go astray. No lion will be there, nor will any ravenous beast go up on it; it will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return, and come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They will obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. People need hope. They need something to cling to when everything around them is only chaos and destruction. God gave Israel hope in this prophecy to Isaiah. He told them He would redeem them, and they would return home. Nothing evil would live there. God told them who would live in Jerusalem, His holy temple. They would rejoice with gladness and singing because nothing unclean would live in Jerusalem again. Christians claim this prophecy, yet God gave this prophecy to His people. They are the redeemed of the Lord. They will come with everlasting joy to the eternal city, Jerusalem. When would they come? (Revelation 21:1-8) Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning, and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” God showed Isaiah what would take place in the last days. He gave His chosen people hope. Christians won’t be in the last days because God will take them out before the Tribulation. They don’t need the hope of salvation, but Israel does. Then He will open their eyes and they will see their salvation. He will lead them on the Highway of Holiness to safety. There they will see Jerusalem as a Tabernacle and their joy will be complete. Let’s pray: Father, thank You for Your redeeming power to save Your people and bring them to You to live with You forever. Let me praise You and rejoice for what You will do for Your chosen people. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 7 June 2023 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay