Isaiah - Hope

 

Question of the day:  What part of the Christmas story is your favorite or has been the most impactful for you personally? 

Deliverance of Israel

27 In that day,

the Lord will punish with his sword—
    his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan the gliding serpent,
    Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster of the sea.

2 In that day—

“Sing about a fruitful vineyard:
3     I, the Lord, watch over it;
    I water it continually.
I guard it day and night
    so that no one may harm it.
4     I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
    I would march against them in battle;
    I would set them all on fire.
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;
    let them make peace with me,
    yes, let them make peace with me.”

6 In days to come Jacob will take root,
    Israel will bud and blossom
    and fill all the world with fruit.

7 Has the Lord struck her
    as he struck down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
    as those were killed who killed her?
8 By warfare[a] and exile you contend with her—
    with his fierce blast he drives her out,
    as on a day the east wind blows.
9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for,
    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:
When he makes all the altar stones
    to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles[b] or incense altars
    will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate,
    an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,
    there they lie down;
    they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off
    and women come and make fires with them.
For this is a people without understanding;
    so their Maker has no compassion on them,
    and their Creator shows them no favor.

12 In that day the Lord will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

Today, we will discuss this in class.  The main point, the big takeaway... God did, is and will make it all right.  He came and is coming again, to rid the world of all that is evil and to extend life for all who love  and believe in Him. 

No matter what you are going through, no matter what you are fighting, REST in knowing that God is mighty and He loves you mightily!  

Happy Sabbath!