Isaiah 27:4-6 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 27:4-6 on biblegateway.com
Verse 4I have no wrath. If it gives me thorns and briers, I will march to battle against it. I will burn it up. Verse 5Or else let it cling to me for protection, let it make peace with me, let it make peace with me. Verse 6In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots, and fill the whole world with fruit.
Devotion
Scholars identify verses 2-11 as Isaiah’s fourth apocalyptic poem of deliverance in the face of Israel’s annexation by the Assyrian empire. The words that open verse 4, “I am not angry,” are God’s words to Israel and to us. Have you had the experience of expecting anger and receiving forgiveness and grace instead? This unexpected gift breathes new life into us and reminds us God never stops loving us. Dietrich Bonhoeffer described it this way: “The past and the future of the whole life (of the person of faith) are merged as one in the presence of God. The whole of the past is comprised of the word forgiveness and the whole of the future is in safekeeping in the faithfulness of God.”
Prayer
We praise you, loving God, because we know we can never be separated from your love that makes each day a new beginning in our lives of faith and service. Amen.