September 19 - Zion / Jerusalem

September 19 - Zion / Jerusalem
Isaiah 66:7-11

It is always fun for me to approach a passage in scripture from a different perspective since it gives me an opportunity to think about what God says with completely fresh eyes.  Since I was looking for references to births this month, I came upon these verses and they seemed brand new!  I don’t know that I’d ever read them before.

While Israel was in exile in Babylon, Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple brought to the ground.  Everything that had been sacred had been made profane by Nebuchadnezzar and his army.  Were it not for words of hope from the prophets, the people of Israel would have expected to live in exile for eternity.  They knew their sin and knew they deserved nothing less.  The prophets had been just as clear with them about that as they were about visions of hope they received from the Lord.

Isaiah promises that they will return to Jerusalem, that the city will be rebuilt and a temple will once again stand to worship the name of the Lord.  He tells them that when it happens, it will happen quickly. Before Zion (The hill on which Jerusalem stands), goes into labor, she gives birth. The nation of Israel didn’t need to be reconstructed from scratch.  Every person who went into exile would return as part of that nation.  The question is posed in verse 8, “Can a country be born in a day”?  Yes, when it is a country comprised of God’s children.  The Jews were tied to Judea.  When they returned, the country, the nation of Israel would be reborn.

In verse 9, the Lord tells the exiles that He has done all of the preparatory work.  He has set things in place, and once the plan begins to move forward, He will be there to ensure it is finished.  Can you imagine the excitement that was felt by the people of Israel who heard these words? Jerusalem would be the center of the worship and national identity one more time. The pride of being called God’s children would be theirs once again.

The time for mourning would be at an end and the time for rejoicing was at hand.  The people of Israel were preparing to return home.  There would be a lot of work ahead of them as they restored the city of the Lord, but His promise to them was that Jerusalem would welcome them and they would find comfort and delight in her abundance.