For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.
The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled; - Isaiah 62:1-8
"No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate..." The name that people gave the nation of Israel were just temporary labels and not the end of the story. These names applied to Israel were labels that were short sighted, because they stopped with the way things looked right now. It is so easy for people to dismiss others because of a setback--the way they look now is the way they will always look because the defeat they have experienced is taken as a permanent description of who they are. That is: "failure is who they are", not "failure is what happened to them." It is true that many people are complicit in their own downfall--they contribute to their failure by action or inaction. They make choices that lead them into the worst case scenarios. But, past failures are not a necessary indicator of future performance.
Why not? I mean, when I look at stocks, I look for good performing companies and that's where I put my money. And bad performing company stocks are usually an indicator of something systemically wrong with that company. The same goes for people and nations. Bad money after bad money just deepens the loss.
But here in Isaiah, betting like that, whether on people or nations, must not forget one key factor: God. It is the genius of God to divert train wrecks into something beautiful. Not because the train wreck was inherently beautiful or salvageable, but because God is that good. As Paul says in Titus 3:5, "...he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy." Getting used to being a redeemed train wreck is part of the humility of my life in the kingdom of God.
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