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Daily Bible thoughts 765: Tuesday 9th December 2014:

 Isaiah 55: 8-13

‘Let it snow…’ (And let it rain too!) God doesn’t think or work as we do. He is God, so His thoughts and ways are inevitably ‘’higher’’ than ours (8, 9): ‘’As the heavens are higher than the earth’’. So the question is, ‘How will these high thoughts and ways come down to affect us at ‘ground-level’? The answer is, ‘By means of God’s ‘’word’’ ‘(10, 11). His ‘’thoughts’’ and ‘’ways’’ are revealed in His Word. That Word is like ‘’the rain and the snow’’ which falls ‘’down from heaven’’ and is productive in this world, causing growth and fruitfulness. It may seem to be wasted, but it isn’t.There is a huge, indeed immeasurable, gulf between God’s infinite Mind, and our puny, finite minds. How can that be bridged? By means of God’s refreshing Word. The Bible doesn’t tell us everything there is to know, but it does reveal everything God wants us to know; all that we need to know in order to be saved by Him.

So, we can be encouraged by these thoughts:

  • God’s prophetic Word is effective: God was going to restore the exiled captives among His people (12, 13). He had said this again and again through Isaiah. What He had said, that He would do. In fact, from our perspective we can say ‘This He has done!’ In these verses we can also catch a glimpse of the ultimate coming of God’s Kingdom, and this He will do. God’s speaking and His working cannot be separated; His Word is as good as His act.
  • God’s written Word is effective: It is like rain and snow falling on our hearts, changing the inner (and outer) landscape, making us fruitful and beautiful. People don’t always like rain and snow, and as God’s Word falls on us it can sometimes feel like being caught in unpleasant weather. But His Word goes to work on us and changes us – even when we are not aware of anything much happening.
  • God’s preached Word is effective: Generations of preachers have drawn strength from these words. They have visited this well; this oasis in the wilderness and found refreshment. How many times have we heard these words quoted in prayer meetings? They are true. We can count on them. We may not see results from our preaching. Or, we may not see all possible results. But results there will be if we are preaching God’s Word and not using a ‘snow machine’. It’s got to be the real thing.

‘’Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, so will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.’’ The Message.

Prayer: How I thank you Lord that your Word is ‘’living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates…it judges…’’ (Hebrews 4:12). Thank you that it works effectively in our lives to change us into the likeness of Christ.

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Daily Bible thoughts 764: Monday 8th December 2014:

 Isaiah 55:1-7

‘’Come…Listen…Seek…’’ Verse 2 poses a relevant question: ‘’Why do you spend your money on junk food, your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?’’ The Message. This has relevance for every day of the year, but it seems especially pertinent as we approach another Christmas. The festive round of over-indulging on drink, food and presents is about to begin. Come 2nd January, people will find that they are no more satisfied than they were last year, or any other. The binge will once more lead to the same disappointing results: feeling flat, fat, and broke (and even in debt.) And all through the year we give our time and efforts to things that cannot fill the inner void. ‘’ Why be content with that which is not real food, which does not truly satisfy? The question is addressed to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, who were becoming complacent; they were getting comfortable in Babylon. And the Lord asks them: Are you really satisfied with the things Babylon has to offer? Is this all you were created for?’’ Tom Hale: The Applied Old Testament Commentary, pages 1058, 1059.In this passage God calls His people to find their deep, true satisfaction in Him alone. The words, originally addressed to the exiles in Babylon as we have seen, have relevance to us today. We are called away from obsession with things that do not fulfil to a profound God-centeredness. The invitation says:

  • ‘’Come…’’ (1). Four times in the first verse you read this word. God calls us to come to Him, and our spiritual hunger and thirst will be freely The cost to God was incalculable (Isaiah 53), but the gift to you and me is free. As you read these words in Isaiah, you may also call to mind the words of Jesus (John 4: 10, 13, 14; 7:37-39; Revelation 22:17; John 6:35). What Jesus said must have had a significant Old Testament resonance in the ears of those who heard Him. When God appeared on earth in human form He was still saying ‘’Come’’. It’s been pointed out though that it is hard to give spiritual blessings to those who don’t want them; to give the good news of the gospel to those who are disinterested. There must be ‘thirst’. ‘’Hey there! All who are thirsty, come to the water! Are you penniless? Come anyway-buy and eat! Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk. Buy without money-everything’s free!’’ The Message.
  • ‘’Listen…’’ (2b, 3a). See also ‘’Give ear’’ and ‘’hear’’. If we come to God we must also listen to Him, if we are to benefit from being near Him. We have to ‘apply’ ourselves to His truth (as we saw a couple of days ago). ‘’Pay attention, come close now, listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.’’ The Message.
  • ‘’Seek…’’ (6, 7; see Jeremiah 29:13, 14). A life of going hard after God begins with repentance and continues down that road. It is not enough to deeply desire God’s blessings; we have to also want to progress in His ways. There is wonderful promise here for the truly repentant. But there is also an urgency; a warning that the ‘door of the ark’ will not always be open. There is a day of opportunity that will pass. So, now is the time to seek the Lord.

If we come to God, listen to Him and seek Him, turning from all He shows us to be wrong, He will make our lives ‘missional’ (5). He will attract people to Himself through us (see Titus 2:9, 10). Ultimately, the promise to David is worked out in Jesus (3; see Acts 13:34), who will bring people from all nations to Himself through the witness of His people (Matthew 28:19.)

Prayer: Lord God, I very much want to take you up on your invitation. So I come to you in order to hear your voice and obey. Please help me to do so.

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Daily Bible thoughts 762: Thursday 4th December 2014:

 Psalm 109:21-31

The psalms show that we can be ‘honest to God’.

This is a vulnerable prayer (22): There are times when we need to admit that we’ve been cut and we are bleeding. If you attempt to suppress the hurt it will come out in some other way. The best thing we can do with our wounds is to bring them into the presence of God for His healing. ‘’Do thy friends, despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer? In His arms He’ll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there.’’ I wonder if the writer of that much-loved hymn had this psalm in mind when he wrote those beautiful words. As we saw when we looked at the first part of the psalm, there were people who were being bad to David, when he had only ever done good to them. No wonder he was in pain. This was a gross injustice.

This is an intense prayer (24): I read about the ‘Full gospel church’ in Seoul , Korea. At the time it was internationally known as the largest church in the world. They had a place called ‘Prayer Mountain’ – a prayer centre up in the hills behind the city. I remember reading that when the Christians in that church had a problem, many of them would go to ‘prayer mountain’ for a few days. They would book themselves into a rather spartan room, with not much in the way of furniture (or heating!). And they would pray and fast, and come away with answers. Some Christians today look askance when you mention fasting, but Jesus did say ‘’When you fast…’’ (Matthew 6:16), and it remains a legitimate and important form of prayer. Somebody once said to me, ‘It’s your body praying.’ There come times when you may need to set yourself to ‘pray through to breakthrough’ and fasting may be part of that.

This is a prayer for God’s glory (27): David desired a work of God that would be for the glory of God. He wanted the Lord to intervene and for everyone to see that He had done this. ‘’Then they’ll know that your hand is in this, that you, GOD, have been at work.’’ The Message. ‘’His desire is not simply for a solution but for such a solution as is unmistakably an act of God and a public vindication of spiritual reality (31).’’ J.A. Motyer: ‘New Bible Commentary, p.560

This is a confident prayer (28-31): David had full expectation that God would do what he was asking of Him.

‘’For the believer, in every situation, another set of factors operates. However numerous and vicious foes may be, however trying and disastrous our circumstances, there is always But you, O Sovereign Lord…’’ J.A. Motyer: ‘New Bible Commentary, p.560.

Prayer: Thank you Lord that when the outlook is gloomy the ‘up look’ is always bright.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 761: Wednesday 3rd December 2014:

 Ephesians 1:15-23

It is a remarkable thought that Jesus has been made to be ‘’head over everything for the church.’’ (Underlining mine.) He has been put in that topmost position for our sakes, and this has application to prayer.

Many years ago, when I was a pastor at ‘Bridge Street Church’ in Leeds, I arrived early one evening for a men’s meeting. I found the door to the cellar open, and there was a light on. So I made my way down the steps to see who might be there. But before I set eyes on anyone, I heard the voice of the church’s head usher. He was a lovely, practical man, whose heart was in serving the Lord. What came to my ears was the sound of someone pouring out his heart to His Saviour. I beat a hasty retreat. I felt I was trespassing on sacred ground. I probably learned more about him in those moments than at any other time. When you overhear someone praying, you feel their heartbeat. What’s that saying? ‘’What a man is on his knees before God, that he is and nothing more.’’

In today’s reading we stumble across Paul on his knees, and we get to take his pulse. I find it challenging to think how persistent Paul was in both praise and prayer (16, 17: ‘’I have not stopped giving thanks…I keep asking…’’ ) Paul saw positive qualities in the believers he was writing to (or, rather he had ‘’heard’’ about these characteristics) and He thanked the triune God who was shaping their lives and prayed for yet more of His transforming activity. Do you remember what I said yesterday about the Trinitarian format? Well, here it is again. The Son, the Father and the Spirit are mentioned in (16, 17). So what did Paul ask?

  • That they would know God better (17): He knew that this could only happen by virtue of ‘’wisdom and revelation’’ imparted by the Spirit;
  • That they would have insight into the future God has prepared for them (18a): He prays for heart knowledge of this ‘’hope’’;
  • That they would know how rich they are because of God (18b – OR, how rich God is because of them; see Deut.32:9. It is not totally clear whether this ‘’glorious inheritance’’ is ours or His. Of course, both realities are true, regardless of the meaning here.)
  • That they would know the power available to the church (19-23). Remarkably, this ‘’incomparably great power for us who believe’’ is like the power that raised Jesus from the dead and put Him on the throne of the universe. ‘’All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.’’ The Message. Remember that God gave Jesus all this power and control ‘’for the church’’.

‘’Thou art coming to a King; large petitions with thee bring. For His grace and power are such, none can ever ask too much.’’

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the stupendous power available to us.

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Daily Bible thoughts 760: Tuesday 2nd December 2014:

 Ephesians 1:3-14

In the Greek language, this is one long sentence, having no punctuation. It moves at breakneck speed, you might say. It’s been likened to a golden chain made up of many links, and to a snowball rolling downhill, picking up pace and volume as it moves. Paul is spouting praise like a fountain, and you can imagine his scribe struggling to keep up with all the words pouring out of him. The apostle is ‘’lost in wonder, love and praise.’’ He stands amazed at so great a salvation.

There is a Trinitarian structure to this opening sentence – something we regularly find in Paul’s writings. We will encounter the format again. What the Father planned in eternity past; whatever God the Son made possible at the cross; that is what the Holy Spirit makes real in our lives. He has been described as the ‘Executor of the Godhead’.

  • God the Father chose us (4, 5): There is a mystery to the doctrine of ‘election’, but it is taught in the Bible, and God has given us ‘’wisdom and understanding’’ (8), even if we can’t dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’. ‘’He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ…’’ The Message. It gives enormous security to know that we are God’s wanted, dearly-loved children. His great purpose to save us is all for His glory (6, 12, and 14). The plan of salvation flows from God’s mind and heart and results in His honour. It is also a purpose of ‘’grace’’ (6, 7). In fact this can be called ‘’glorious grace’’ (7) and it has been ‘’lavished’’ on us (8). Our salvation does not depend on any merit in us, but upon God’s free gift. God’s purpose embraces Jews (‘’we’’ 11, 12) and Gentiles (‘’you also’’ 13).
  • God the Son bought us (5-7, 3): Not only is this passage Trinitarian in shape; it is also Christ-centred. Paul emphasises by repetition that all the blessings God wants us to enjoy are ‘’in Christ’’. Imagine taking a child into a toy shop and saying, ‘You can have not just one thing but everything!’ Yet that is nothing compared to what God gives in and through His Son (3). Jesus paid an unimaginable price for us to enjoy this ‘everything’ (7). God’s ultimate purpose is a new creation: a fully Christ-centred universe (9, 10). As David Pawson once said, it will be ‘’a universe in which even the stars are Christians.’’
  • God the Spirit sealed us (13, 14): The Holy Spirit is described by Paul as ‘’a deposit’’. A deposit is not the full amount you are going to pay for something, but it is part of it, and a promise that at the right time you will hand over the rest! How do we know we are going to heaven? We have a little bit of heaven inside us already in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Eternal life is the life of the future already invading the present. We carry around inside our mortal bodies a foretaste of an immortal future. We have ‘heaven on the way to heaven’. In terms of the seal: you might go to market in those days and buy something, but perhaps you couldn’t take it home with you there and then. So you would take your ring, dip it in wax and seal the item. In so doing you were identifying what you had bought as being your own. You were saying, ‘This is mine. I’ve paid for it. I can’t take it home with me just now, but I will come back for it eventually.’

‘’God saves sinners not to solve their problems but to bring glory to Himself (vv.6, 12, 14; 3:21)’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.773.    

 Prayer: Lord, what can I say? I want to join Paul in his breathless worship.

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Daily Bible thoughts 759: Monday 1st December 2014:

Ephesians 1:1, 2

One preacher described Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as a ‘pearl’. He pointed out that a pearl is formed when an irritation, a piece of grit, gets into an oyster. The oyster then secretes a substance that becomes a pearl. This Bible teacher described ‘Ephesians’ as a ‘pearl’ formed through the irritation of imprisonment (for Paul).

I see this letter as the ‘Switzerland’ of the New Testament. There is so much (theological) grandeur, majesty and beauty crammed into a relatively small space! We certainly scale doctrinal heights, and yet, at the same time, we walk in practical depths. What we see from the top of the mountain, we have to live out on the valley floor.

You may be aware that this letter divides into two halves. Chapters 1-3 deal with belief and chapters 4-6 are about behaviour. The structure of the book says, ‘Doctrine then duty; creed then conduct; preaching then practice.’ What God has joined together must not be put asunder by man. Eugene Peterson writes wonderfully about this pattern in his introduction to Ephesians in The Message: ‘’What we know about God and what we do for God have a way of getting broken apart in our lives. The moment the organic unity of belief and behaviour is damaged in any way, we are incapable of living out the full humanity for which we were created. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians joins together what has been torn apart in our sin-wrecked world. He begins with an exuberant exploration of what Christians believe about God, and then, like a surgeon skilfully setting a compound fracture, ‘’sets’’ this belief in God into our behaviour before God so that the bones – belief and behaviour – knit together and heal.’’

In the best manuscripts, the words ‘’in Ephesus’’ do not appear in (1). That part is left blank. A popular theory has emerged that Ephesians was originally a ‘circular letter’, and that it was sent to a number of churches in an area in which Ephesus was the chief city. So, over time, the name of Ephesus became associated with it. But as it was taken from church to church, each individual congregation could fill in the blank with their own name. It certainly is true to say that this letter doesn’t seem to have the particularities of other Pauline letters in which he is dealing with specific issues in local churches. (You think for example of the matters addressed and questions answered in 1 Corinthians).

Saul of Tarsus did not expect to become ‘’an apostle of Christ Jesus’’ (1). Nothing was further from his mind that day as he set off for Damascus (Acts 9). His business was eradicating Christianity. He did not intend to speak for Jesus, but to work against Him. But, looking back, he recognised that he had been caught up in the sovereign purpose of ‘’God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’’ (2); an eternal plan he goes on to write about so eloquently in this first chapter. Everything God had done for him in Christ (and has done for us all), stems from ‘’grace’’ (His undeserved favour) and results in ‘’peace’’. We can take heart that God still takes ‘Saul’s’ and turns them into ‘Pauls’. That person you pray for regularly, but they seem the least likely individual in your world to respond positively to Jesus, do not doubt that God can do for them what He did for Saul. Peterson writes about Ephesians that ‘’the energy of reconciliation is the dynamo at the heart of the universe’’ . That ‘’energy’’ had invaded Paul’s life and totally altered his career path! The ‘’will of God’’ is stronger than man’s will, and it radically altered the trajectory of his life.

Prayer: Lord, I bring ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_________ to you today. Please do in them what you did for Saul.

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Daily Bible thoughts 758: Friday 28th November 2014:

Isaiah 54

Another repeated theme in the later chapters of Isaiah is that of great numerical growth (see Isaiah 49:19, 20). It is a growth so significant, indeed so miraculous (‘’barren woman’’), that it takes more than the return from Babylonian exile to account for it. These verses must look toward the coming of the Messiah and the advancement of His Kingdom. Following His suffering and triumph, which we thought about yesterday, we see the outworking of that victory in the world. The Apostle Paul quoted (1) and applied it to the ‘’Jerusalem that is above’’, i.e. the church (Galatians 4:24-28). Let’s not be content with a small vision, but work for, and pray for, and expect the church’s growth.

‘’In Christian terms, the Calvary of ch.53 is followed by the growing church of ch.54 and the gospel call of ch.55.’’ Derek Kidner: ‘New Bible Commentary’, pp.663, 664

Verses 1-3: The little post-exilic community of Jews did grow and spread out to some degree, but these words are now being fulfilled in the expansion of Christ’s Kingdom on earth. ‘’Spread out! Think big!…You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family. You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities.’’ The Message.

Verses 4-8: Jerusalem will forget the ‘’shame’’ of her ‘’youth’’ (the slavery in Egypt), and the ‘’reproach’’ of her ‘’widowhood’’ (4 – the exile in Babylon). She has a Husband, her ‘’Maker…the LORD Almighty’’ (5). She was like a ‘’wife deserted’’ (6), but was only ‘’abandoned’’ for a ‘’brief moment’’ for her unfaithfulness. However, God was going to turn things around (7, 8) and bring His wife back into the family home. The separation was never going to be final; it was just with a view to bringing the wayward spouse to her senses; a ‘short, sharp shock’ you might say!

Verses 9, 10: This was a ‘line in the sand’ moment, such as when God promised that He would never destroy the world again by a flood (Genesis 9:11). Here He promises that His ‘’covenant of peace’’ will never be removed (10). He will never stop loving His people. They can count on it.This is the covenant in which the Lord promised to be Israel’s God forever (Genesis 17:7). It includes within it a promise of protection and security – that the spiritual enemies of God’s people will never prevail against them (Matthew 16:18).

Verses 11-15: Here we have a figurative description of Jerusalem following the exile. But it is even more a picture of the ‘’new Jerusalem’’ which will come down from heaven at the culmination of history (Revelation 21:2, 10, 11, 18-21). There is no guarantee that God’s people will not come under attack, but in the midst of that they can know ‘’great…peace’’ (13).

Verses 16, 17: ‘’This is the true strength of God’s city, which is promised not immunity from attack but the unanswerable weapon of truth (17; cf. Lk.21:15).’’ Derek Kidner: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.664.

Prayer: I thank you Lord Jesus for the working out of your triumph in the world, and for allowing me to be part of it.

 

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 757: Thursday 27th November 2014:

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

‘’Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought GOD’s saving power would look like this? The Message.

This is truly one of the most remarkable passages in that most amazing of all Books, The Bible. It is the last of the four ‘Servant Songs’ It’s like Isaiah, writing more than 500 years before Jesus was crucified, stood at the foot of the cross and witnessed it all. Here are a number of key points to consider:

  • Glorification following humiliation (52:13; 53:10-12): Elevation following execution. The ultimate victory of the ‘Suffering Servant’ (see Philippians 2:5-11). Acceptance following rejection (53:3). Although Jesus would not have natural children (53:8b), He would have many children (53:10). I am one of them! Are you? Although His death would appear tragic, it would end in triumph.
  • Worldwide impact (52:15);
  • Unimaginable suffering (52:14; 53:3): We may not fully understand our own sufferings or those of other people we know (or hear about), but we can affirm that Jesus has suffered more than anyone. His was also totally innocent suffering (5). He was the only morally flawless Man in history: ‘’We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him – our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.’’ The Message. It was also silent suffering (7); and it was unjust suffering (8a). The corruption surrounding His trial is alluded to here.
  • Christ’s lack of natural physical attractiveness (53:2): ‘’There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.’’ The Message.
  • His substitutionary death (53:4-6, 8b): Jesus took our place, bearing our punishment. It was all part of God’s plan (10a): ‘’We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And GOD has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him.’’ The Message.
  • Other circumstances surrounding His death and burial (53:9) which are borne out in the gospels.

‘’Still, it’s what GOD had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he’d see life come from it – life, life, and more life. And GOD’s plan will deeply prosper through him.’’ The Message.

‘’Consider the pictures of the Saviour: a beaten servant (52:13-14), a root (53:2), an innocent lamb (53:7), an offering for sin (53:10), a woman in travail giving birth to spiritual ‘’seed’’ (53:10-11), and a victorious general (53:12). Hallelujah, what a Saviour!’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.485. Who can plumb the depths of this truly awesome passage? We are on holy ground and must remove our

Prayer: Thank you Jesus that all my sin and its condemnation were piled on you. Because of your loving sacrifice I am free. ‘Mine is the sin, but yours the righteousness; mine is the guilt, but yours the cleansing blood.’

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 756: Wednesday 26th November 2014:

 Isaiah 52:1-12

The proclamation of ‘’good tidings’’ at the core of this passage, is an announcement of freedom for the captives in Babylon. It is important to always remember that Isaiah wrote these words more than a century before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. During Isaiah’s lifetime, Assyria was Judah’s main enemy. But years in advance, the prophet was enabled to see not only Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon, but also the ultimate fall of the Babylonian empire. So we hear the good news that God is reigning, and the captives will be returning (7-10). Again, there is going to be a second exodus (4). God will lead them home (11, 12). God would not have to pay Babylon in order to retrieve His people; they never stopped belonging to Him (45:13).Although these verses primarily apply to the return from Babylon, they must have a greater relevance to the good news of worldwide salvation to come in the Messiah, Jesus (see Romans 10:15). The deliverance from Babylon was nothing in comparison with this. As so often in the prophetic writings, there are layers of meaning. It is fitting that this prophecy of Jerusalem’s redemption should be followed by the one about the suffering Servant. Through Jesus’ sacrificial death, worldwide deliverance was going to be made possible.

God’s punishment of His people, namely their exile in Babylon, provided a reason for the ungodly nations to ‘’mock’’ Him. They were saying, ‘’God can’t save His own people.’’ But God was going to take steps to reverse that opinion and glorify His Name before all peoples (4-6). ‘’…incessantly, my reputation blackened. Now it’s time that my people know who I am, what I’m made of…’’ The Message. In (7-10) Isaiah envisages messengers running across the ‘’mountains’’ towards Jerusalem, to bring the good news of the returning exiles. This return will silence the mockers (5).

In (11, 12) there is a final call to the captives to ‘’depart’’ from Babylon and its ungodliness. They should not defile themselves by touching any ‘’unclean’’ thing or engaging in any unclean act. This exhortation was particularly relevant to the priests and Levites in their company, who were charged with carrying back the sacred temple articles to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:7-11). In the New Testament era, we still need to heed this call to holiness (2 Corinthians 6:17). God has made it possible for us to ‘’Come out’’ from ‘Babylon’ and its pervasive influence. We don’t have to be controlled and dominated by it (Revelation 18:4).

By the way, Ezra, who led back the first group of exiles, must have taken this promise to heart (12; see Ezra 8:22, 23).

‘’In verse 2, Isaiah calls on the Daughter of Zion – Jerusalem and its people – to rise up. God has freed them; therefore, let them act like free people. This is a message for Christians today: we have been freed through Christ, yet too many of us live as if we were still in bondage to weakness, fear and sin. We need to ‘’rise up’’ and claim our freedom to live as free men and women (John 8:31-32, 36; Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1).’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1053

Prayer: Lord God, please give us beautiful feet, to carry your good news everywhere. Thank you for the greater freedom Jesus brings. Help us to fully live in it, and declare it to everyone we can.

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