Isaiah 61:10a (WEB)
I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh!
My soul will be joyful in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…
Isn’t it amazing how two children born into the same family can turn out to be so different? That’s how it was with Adam and Eve’s two sons, Cain and Abel. Abel, the youngest, seems to have been the golden child. We get the impression that he always did what was right. But Cain had a jealous streak. And that jealousy turned into something really bad one day when he chose to kill his brother, Abel. You can read about it in Genesis 4. Adam and Eve’s children had the same gift of free will as their parents, but they didn’t always choose wisely either. Some would chose to follow their Creator God and some would chose to follow the path of sin and evil.
As future generations continued to experience the hardships of living in a world marred by the curse of sin, they also held onto the promise given by their Creator: one day a deliverer would come and conquer death and sin.
As the centuries passed, God spoke through His prophets to remind the people that the Deliverer was coming. None wrote more beautifully than the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah’s hope shines clearly as he describes the Deliverer and what it will look like when He comes to earth.
The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me,
because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble.
He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to those who are bound,
to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
to provide for those who mourn in Zion,
to give to them a garland for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
that they may be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of Yahweh,
that he may be glorified.
-Isaiah 61:1-3 (WEB)
Isaiah’s words are full of hope for a world heavy with the fall-out from sin. The rest of the chapter is full of words such as restore, rebuild, and renew. He concludes the chapter by saying it is the salvation of the Lord that has brought about this restoration and a great rejoicing in his soul.
Many years later, Jesus reads from this very chapter of Isaiah while teaching in a synagogue in Nazareth. (Luke 4:14-21). He reads from verse 1 to the beginning of verse 2, proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor. Then he tells the listeners, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” And through the following chapters of Luke’s gospel we read one account after another of Jesus healing the sick, delivering the oppressed, and restoring the outcasts.
The crowds flocked to Him, for with Jesus was hope, restoration, and healing. But, even more than physical healing, what Jesus came to bring was the kingdom of God into their hearts.
Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation; neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you. (Luke 17:20-21 WEB)
As the Apostle Paul would later say in Romans 14:17(WEB), “…for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
God wants to give us a changed heart that will choose His way and not our own selfish desires that hurt ourselves and others. What’s more, today is still the year of the Lord’s favor. It is still the day of salvation. God wants to bring His restoration into our lives now. The first step is to come to Jesus in repentance for the times we have chosen the way of selfishness and sin. And then ask Him to bring His kingdom of restoration into your heart and soul.
Matthew 4:17(WEB)
From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
“Joy To The World”, by Reawaken Hymns. Modern arrangement of the classic Christmas hymn Joy To The World with lyrics from the album and devotional, “The Soul Felt Its Worth”. Arranged and Recorded by Nathan Drake; Written by Richard S. Willis, 1850
Scripture verses taken from the World English Bible (WEB), Public Domain