Isaiah 25:1-9 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 25:1-9 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 25O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. Verse 2For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the palace of aliens is a city no more, it will never be rebuilt. Verse 3Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. Verse 4For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, Verse 5the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place, you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled.
Verse 6On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. Verse 7And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Verse 8Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
Verse 9It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Devotion
As I write this, the first hard freeze of the year is upon us in Minnesota-Dakota, and the first snow of the season is falling. My mind drifts to all those who face the snow and cold without sufficient protection.
As I read Isaiah, I think, too, of those who endure tyrannical governments, abusive family members or cruel and spiteful neighbors or even (perish the thought!) church members.
Who will protect them? Who will stand up for them? Isaiah sings the praises of a God who conquers ruthless enemies and reduces their pride to rubble, who protects the poor, the needy and the oppressed from the harsh winds that blow their way. And because of that, in the end, even the ruthless will glorify God.
To borrow a phrase from a few years ago, the “shock and awe” will all be God’s. May we give God the glory whenever his work is done!
Prayer
Awesome God, be a shelter for those who suffer the cruel winds of abuse and oppression, and for those, as well, who suffer the real cold of winter coming all too soon. In this, help us follow your lead as we lift up praises in your son’s name. Amen.