Search This Blog

Original Documents

Click below to see readings for the week:

Read Isaiah 35:1-10


Tuesday

Read Isaiah 35:1-10

35           The desert will rejoice,
and flowers will bloom in the wilderness.
2     The desert will sing and shout for joy;
it will be as beautiful as the Lebanon Mountains
and as fertile as the fields of Carmel and Sharon.
Everyone will see the Lord’s splendour,
see his greatness and power.
3     Give strength to hands that are tired
and to knees that tremble with weakness.
4     Tell everyone who is discouraged,
“Be strong and don’t be afraid!
God is coming to your rescue, coming to punish your enemies.”
5     The blind will be able to see,
and the deaf will hear.
6     The lame will leap and dance,
and those who cannot speak will shout for joy.
Streams of water will flow through the desert;
7           the burning sand will become a lake,
and dry land will be filled with springs.
Where jackals used to live, marsh grass and reeds will grow.
8     There will be a highway there, called “The Road of Holiness”.
No sinner will ever travel that road; no fools will mislead those who follow it.y
9     No lions will be there; no fierce animals will pass that way.
Those whom the Lord has rescued will travel home by that road.
10   They will reach Jerusalem with gladness, singing and shouting for joy.
They will be happy for ever, for ever free from sorrow and grief. [1]

Think

This word from Isaiah is worth meditation.  Imagine the desert transformed.  Imagine an easy road to Jerusalem.  For the people hearing this word it probably sounded too optimistic.  But God did clear the way for the exiles back to return to Jerusalem.  God still makes ways for us.

Pray

Lord, when the way forward seems too difficult for me.  Help me to hear Isaiah’s hopefulness.  Clear a path before me Lord; and help me to complete my journey to you.
Amen.


3 35.3: He 12:12
5 35.5, 6: Mt 11:5; Lk 7:22
6 35.5, 6: Mt 11:5; Lk 7:22
y Probable text no fools ... follow it; Hebrew unclear.
[1] American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good news Translation (2nd ed.). New York: American Bible Society.

No comments:

Post a Comment