December 20 – Isaiah 54
Jesus, our Savior King, we praise You for You are Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!!!! We thank You for You secure our peace! We fall before You in worship and adoration. Draw near to us, Lord of all.
Oh, what a comforting scripture this is! Again, we have a set of verses that can comfortably sit in more than one week of this study. So, why did I choose the Love Week? Because love came first.
Let’s look at John 6:44 47, “44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.” Jesus references Isaiah 54:11- 13 to show that it is He who calls to us and teaches us. Why? Because He loved us first. First, love, then peace. Hey! Do you notice that in verse 17 it says plural servants, not singular servant? Why is that? Why, leading up to this chapter, had it always been servant singular? Because now, we Gentiles are being included!!! We are His chosen people through the blessing and gift of adoption. So, that “My steadfast love shall not depart from you,” bit… that is for us too! He will not leave us!
How do we know, though? Like, really know? Look at Isaiah 50:1, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;” And now we jump to John 7:37, “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” This must have blown the minds of those hearers of Jesus’ words! To quote Isaiah in reference to who HE is! AND it includes aaaannnyone??!! What!? So many points in this chapter point to the Jesus to come: Noah-baptism (10), Children being taught by Jesus (13), through Jesus, we will be righteous in Him (14), and we have a heritage through Jesus (17).
With the new covenant, we are included in Jesus’ rescue plan. Jesus was declaring to His chosen people that He is that new covenant and that anyone can come to Him. Anyone can have the eternal covenant of peace. His birth ushered in our salvation. His birth was more than just a song or a play we put on every year. It was more than a cute story. It is our heritage, our way to salvation, where it all started. In the most quietest, smallest way God did the most miraculous thing. It could have been booming with fireworks and choirs of angels and loudspeakers and thunder, and northern lights could have filled the sky; it could have toppled city walls with its wonder. But it didn’t. It was done peacefully. And it was shown only to a few, knowing that one day… everyone will know.
Further Reading: John 6:22-59
My Verse: “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10
My Response: God, the God who came for our sake, You love us so much that we cannot possibly fully comprehend. Our tiny brains and hearts couldn’t bear the weight of it. But we comprehend enough to have come before You in conviction, confession, requesting forgiveness, and asking for salvation. And Salvation You gave us. And we will spend our lives thanking You for including us in Your salvation plan! We are so blessed greatly!
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Sharon’s Morning Thoughts: SO many connections between the Isaiah passage and the New Testament that I had not seen. Wow and thanks, Melissa! We do, indeed, have an amazing heritage.
My verse: Isaiah 54:5 “For your Creator will be your husband; the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.”
My response: Father, You tell us and teach us in so many ways that You want us near. You come close. When we feel abandoned and alone, You will be as a husband to us? Amazing. God of all the earth, Savior, Almighty One, thank You for being Father, husband, friend to me.