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6 On 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. 7 And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the covering that is spread over all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. Then 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. 9 It will be said on that day, “See, 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.”

 

The book of Isaiah is to me a hard book to understand, harder still to find applications to my life today. It is a collection of prophecies that began with those of a prophet of the Southern Kingdom of Judah in the 8th century BCE, mostly warning against participating in the power politics of the day instead of relying on and following God. Amongst all of God’s judgements starting with the attacks by first, the Assyrians (roughly where Syria is today), then conquest by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (roughly Iraq area), and then ironically, by Cyrus, the Persian king ( of roughly Iran) who defeated the Babylonians in 539 BCE and allowed the Jews to return to rebuild Jerusalen and the temple, there are promises of restoration, salvation and God’s Messiah bringing back his kingdom. This is a promise and hope for us today, with all the violence in this part of the world: a rich feast for all peoples, the defeat of mourning and death, and the ending of sadness and disgrace. God has provided a salvation plan for all who believe in the saving blood of Jesus. Let us be glad and rejoice. And tell others about Jesus, because He is the answer, especially in the Mid East.

Dear Lord, thank you for giving your Son, so there might be peace in the world. Protect all the Christians caught in the turmoil of war, and may your Holy Spirit move in the hearts of those who hate. Amen

 

Linda Giesen

linda.giesen37@gmail.com