God’s Saving Word: Justice and Peace
Introduction
Isaiah 4:2‒6: Today’s reading describes a time when Jerusalem will be restored and be a place of safety.
Scripture Reading
Jerusalem Will Be Restored
2 The time is coming when the Lord will make every plant and tree in the land grow large and beautiful. All the people of Israel who survive will take delight and pride in the crops that the land produces. 3 Everyone who is left in Jerusalem, whom God has chosen for survival, will be called holy. 4 By his power the Lord will judge and purify the nation and wash away the guilt of Jerusalem and the blood that has been shed there. 5 Then over Mount Zion and over all who are gathered there, the Lord will send a cloud in the daytime and smoke and a bright flame at night. God’s glory will cover and protect the whole city. 6 His glory will shade the city from the heat of the day and make it a place of safety, sheltered from the rain and storm.
Today’s Key Verse: Isaiah 4:2a
The time is coming when the LORD will make every plant and tree in the land grow large and beautiful.
Reflect
How is the restoration of Jerusalem described? What is promised? How do you envision what is described in today’s reading?
Pray
God of restoration and hope, by your power you wash away my guilt and sin when I turn to you with a repentant heart. I thank and praise you for your constant love and salvation. Amen.
And now, join us in thanking God that God’s Word is being made known in some remote villages throughout Colombia’s Amazon region in South America. Sovereign God, Colombia’s Amazon region is home to about 47,000 people, representing roughly 26 different indigenous ethnic groups with dozens of different spoken languages. Thank you that last year, through the generosity of Bible Society supporters, Bibles, audio Bibles, and the JESUS Film reached thousands of men, women, and children in these remote river villages, in their heart language. The Bible Society partnered with local pastors to travel deep into the Amazon River jungle—even when it meant venturing through dangerous territories controlled by armed guerilla forces—to deliver the Good News. Many received Bibles for the first time. We pray, Lord God, that with continued support and help, many more Bibles can be sent to these indigenous people in South America and beyond. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
Isaiah 5:1‒7: The song of the vineyard.