again utilizing the 24-hour grace period...

hey girls :)

today i read isaiah 54-55 in conjunction, and i really encourage you to read through these two chapters on your own, they are really beautiful.

1 "Sing, O barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,"
says the LORD.

isaiah 54 starts out with this promise, and in romans paul explains that this verse is talking about how sarah (abraham's wife), the "barren woman", bore more children than hagar, the slave woman, because all of us who believe in Jesus by faith and who have been saved are also sarah's children.

the rest of the chapter goes on to talk about how God is going to call israel back to home the way a husband would call back "deserted and distressed in spirit", a widow. it seems as though God has abandoned Israel, but he will come back.

8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.

9 "To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.

10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

i don't know if this is necessarily the right way for me to read this chapter, but i read it as a dual promise, both for the Jews after they come back from exile, and for those Gentiles who will be brought into the family through their faith in Christ. and i just read through matthew henry (really famous Christian who wrote a really famous commentary on the Bible hahah)'s commentary on Isaiah, and he agrees with me so i guess that is how this chapter should be read hahah.

11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise, [a]
your foundations with sapphires. [b]

12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.

i feel like this part is almost talking about heaven, because that's how the New Jerusalem is described in Revelation, with 12 foundations laid by 12 different types of precious stones, and 12 pearl gates (that's where the Pearly Gates of Heaven come from i guess hahaha), and streets of gold.

most of all, i absolutely love the last part of ch. 54

14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.

15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;

17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me,"
declares the LORD.

i think this promise is absolutely beautiful. God is saying, you know what, i created satan. i created the materials used to make weapons against you. therefore, i am more powerful, and so you don't need to be afraid. nothing forged against you will ever prevail. that is such a beautiful promise, hahaha.

since this post is getting really long i won't comment too much on ch. 55, except to say that it is basically an invitation to anyone who is thirsty or hungry to come to God and have their hunger be satisfied.

10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.

Lord, i want to pray for carol, lizz, shelby, martha, savanna, amanda, elizabeth. i pray that as we seek you through your word this summer, your word will accomplish its purpose in our lives, and allow us to understand you better and to love you more. may we have an insatiable hunger to want to understand and know you better, and may you encourage, rebuke, build up, exhort, teach, or do whatever you please as we spend time with you daily. :)