God reigns. He is in control. He will deliver his people and the righteous will not be forsaken. May this scripture from Isaiah be of encouragement to you.
Judgment and Hope
66 This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the
earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where
will my resting place be?
2 Has
not my hand made all these things,
and so
they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I
look on with favor:
those
who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who
tremble at my word.
3 But
whoever sacrifices a bull
is like
one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like
one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like
one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
is like
one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and they
delight in their abominations;
4 so
I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will
bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
when I
spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
and
chose what displeases me.”
5 Hear the word of
the Lord,
you who
tremble at his word:
“Your own people who hate you,
and
exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be
glorified,
that we
may see your joy!’
Yet they
will be put to shame.
6 Hear
that uproar from the city,
hear
that noise from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
repaying his
enemies all they deserve.
7 “Before she goes into
labor,
she
gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
she
delivers a son.
8 Who
has ever heard of such things?
Who has
ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day
or a
nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
than she
gives birth to her children.
9 Do
I bring to the moment of birth
and not
give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
when I
bring to delivery?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice with
Jerusalem and be glad for her,
all you
who love her;
rejoice greatly with her,
all you
who mourn over her.
11 For
you will nurse and be satisfied
at her
comforting breasts;
you will drink deeply
and
delight in her overflowing abundance.”
12 For this
is what the Lord says:
“I will extend
peace to her like a river,
and the
wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her arm
and
dandled on her knees.
13 As
a mother comforts her child,
so will
I comfort you;
and you
will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
14 When you see this, your
heart will rejoice
and you
will flourish like grass;
the hand of the Lord will
be made known to his servants,
but his
fury will be shown to his foes.
15 See,
the Lord is coming with fire,
and his
chariots are like a whirlwind;
he will bring down his anger with fury,
and his
rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For
with fire and with his sword
the Lord will execute
judgment on all people,
and many
will be those slain by the Lord.
17 “Those
who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one
who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean
things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow,”
declares the Lord.
18 “And I, because of what
they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the
people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.
19 “I will set a
sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the
nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and
Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the
distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They
will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20 And they will
bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in
Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses,
in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain
offerings, to the temple of the Lord in
ceremonially clean vessels. 21 And I will
select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “As the
new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares
the Lord, “so will your name and
descendants endure. 23 From one New Moon to another and from one
Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,”
says the Lord. 24 “And they will go out and look on the dead
bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them
will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will
be loathsome to all mankind.”
Want to learn more about the meaning of this scripture?
Be Encouraged,
Noelani
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