Isaiah 35:4-7 (NRSV)
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Verse 4Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you."
Verse 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; Verse 6then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; Verse 7the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
Devotion
In the imagination of exiled Israel, salvation has height and weight, heft and substance. Eyes are opened, ears unstopped. Leaping and singing and all sorts of breaking forth will flow from real healing and true joy. The word Isaiah delivers into hearts made fearful by months and years of terror and uncertainty is richer and bolder and more buttery than abstract assurance of God’s benign benevolence. Unwilling to keep his distance, God acts now. At the deep center of every hope attached to the God of Israel lies the powerful events of Exodus, and God’s creation of a way for a stiff-necked though chosen people through the desert wilderness to a promised homecoming.
Prayer
Gracious God, you find us transfixed by our fear and in thrall to our weakness, a thirsty people on thirsty ground. In your power, save us. Give us new hearts, big enough to bear your blessings and bold enough to share your passion, made known to us in the crucified and risen Jesus. Amen.