God’s Word of Joy
Introduction
Isaiah 65:17-25: The prophet predicts that God will create new heavens and a new earth that will be marked by peace, happiness, and abundance. The new Jerusalem will be a place of good health, long life, and prosperity.
Scripture Reading
The New Creation
17 The Lord says, “I am making a new earth and new heavens. The events of the past will be completely forgotten. 18Be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. The new Jerusalem I make will be full of joy, and her people will be happy. 19 I myself will be filled with joy because of Jerusalem and her people. There will be no weeping there, no calling for help. 20Babies will no longer die in infancy, and all people will live out their life span. Those who live to be a hundred will be considered young. To die before that would be a sign that I had punished them. 21-22People will build houses and get to live in them—they will not be used by someone else. They will plant vineyards and enjoy the wine—it will not be drunk by others. Like trees, my people will live long lives. They will fully enjoy the things that they have worked for. 23The work they do will be successful, and their children will not meet with disaster. I will bless them and their descendants for all time to come. 24Even before they finish praying to me, I will answer their prayers. 25 Wolves and lambs will eat together; lions will eat straw, as cattle do, and snakes will no longer be dangerous. On Zion, my sacred hill, there will be nothing harmful or evil.”
Today’s Key Verse: saiah 65:18
Be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. The new Jerusalem I make will be full of joy, and her people will be happy.
Reflect
Heaven and earth are included in the promise of a new future for Jerusalem and its people. Describe the “new earth and new heavens” (verse 17) the LORD was creating. If our world could have a fresh new start today, what would change?
Pray
Loving God, even as I look toward the hope of a new heaven and a new earth, ground me in this time and place, that I may bring a glimpse of your new realm to a world in need. In your holy name, I pray. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
Isaiah 66:1-24: The prophet delivers an oracle about matters of worship.