Friday
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
(Isaiah 65:17-25, NIV)
Isaiah’s message of comfort, which follows his pronouncement of the “fire” of God’s judgment, has been our focus for the last several days. The prophet has left God’s people with a rich treasury of writings about the future deliverance that God has promised. Today’s verses record another facet of that promised deliverance.
God announces that he will create “new heavens and a new earth” and then proceeds to describe his creative act. Many of the dimensions of shalom are pictured in this prophecy: no more sickness, so that infants and elderly will live full lives; no more exploitation, in which evil people take away the houses or harvests of the weak. Instead, people will enjoy the “work of their hands” and God’s presence will be immediate. He will answer the call of his people before they even address him. Like the prophet Micah’s vision in Monday’s devotional, Isaiah foresees a peaceable kingdom.
The vision of Isaiah is very similar to what the Apostle John recorded in Revelation 21. John also foresaw a “new heavens and a new earth,” a place where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (21:4).
Prayer
God of the Past, Present and Future, we praise you as the God of peace, who will create a future kingdom where there will be no tears of sorrow. Thank you for the hope you offer us now. Amen.