Isaiah 65:1-9 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 65:1-9 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 65I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here I am, here I am," to a nation that did not call on my name. Verse 2I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; Verse 3a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks; Verse 4who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine's flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels; Verse 5who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you." These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long. Verse 6See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their laps Verse 7their iniquities and their ancestors' iniquities together, says the Lord; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions.
Verse 8Thus says the Lord: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, "Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it," so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all. Verse 9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
Devotion
As children growing up, we played many games of "hide and seek." In the twilight of the evening in a small town, the game would expand to cover half a block, and the game would continue until it was too dark to see.
I remember hiding very well in a cotton seed bin. Darkness closed in around me and I waited and waited to be discovered; I heard the peals of laughter and the running and tagging going on nearby. As time went on I wondered, "Have they stopped looking for me? Is the game over? Have they all headed home?" I wanted to shout out, "Here I am; come tag me."
God is patient and loving and caring. We have been invited to come and eat, to come and rest in the loving arms of grace. Too often we hide out or wander away; we question and doubt. And God continues to say, "Come, you shall inherit the promise."
Prayer
O God, help us not to hide, but to be open fully to what it means to have you discover and find us. Amen.