Nothing New

 

Isaiah 29:17-24

 

The Gloom will end

¹⁷ Is it not yet a very little while
    until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
    and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
¹⁸ In that day the deaf shall hear
    the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
    the eyes of the blind shall see.
¹⁹ The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
    and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
²⁰ For the ruthless shall come to nothing
    and the scoffer cease,
    and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,
²¹ who by a word make a man out to be an offender,
    and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
    and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.

²² Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
    no more shall his face grow pale.
²³ For when he sees his children,
    the work of my hands, in his midst,
    they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
²⁴ And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
    and those who murmur will accept instruction.

Isaiah, who lived 700 years before Christ, could be writing to us in our Corona World today. We are certainly in darkness, although trying to find creative ways to deal with it somewhat successfully...Perhaps the gloom is forcing us to see things that were right in front of us, but we were too blinded by our familiar routines to see them. Isaiah assures us that light will come.  It has come in the Person of Jesus,  but we need to be forced, it seems, to recognize him in ways we never thought of before...May we reflect on this passage today and discover that indeed, as the ancients survived, we shall too, and even more so, as the Light of Bethlehem shines even today for those who seek it!

Bro. Rene