Category: Scripture

Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven, He will make Jerusalem His home of justice and righteousness. In that day, He will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure. (vv. 5-6, NLT)

The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear. Terror seizes the godless. “Who can live with this devouring fire?” Those who are hones an fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong-these are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress. Food will be supplied to them, and they will have water in abundance. Your eyes will see the King in all His splendor, and you will see a land that stretches into the distance. (vv. 14-17, NLT)

Israel’s Ultimate Deliverance

Look, a righteous king is coming! An honest princes will rule under him. Each will be like a shelter from the wind and refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in the parched land.

Then everyone who has eyes will be able to se the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it. Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer will speak out plainly. (vv. 1-5, NLT)

Justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field. And this righteousness will bring peace. Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in safety, quietly at home. Even if the forest should be destroyed and the city torn down, the Lord will greatly bless His people. Wherever they plant a seed, bountiful crops will spring up. The cattle and donkeys will graze freely. (vv. 16-20, NLT)

Blessings for the Lord’s People

So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show You His love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help.

O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious to you if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will still be with you to teach you. You will see Your teacher with your own eyes. Your own hears will hear Hi. Right behind you a voice wills say, “This is the way you should go, whether to the right or to the left. Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, “Good riddance!” (vv. 18-22, NLT)

A Song of Praise to the Lord

In that day, everyone in the land of Judah will sing this song:

Our city is strong! We are surrounded by the walls of God’s salvation. Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city. He brings it down to dust. The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot, and the needy walk all over it.

But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and You smooth out the path ahead of them. (vv. 1-7, NLT)

In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There He will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against His land of people. The Lord has spoken!

In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in Him and He saved us! This is the Lord, in who we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation He brings!” (vv. 6-10, NLT)

In that day five of Egypt’s cities will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has laid His plans against them.

In that day five of Egypt’s cities will follow the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. One of these cities will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a sign and a witness that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help against those who oppress them, He will send them a savior who will rescue the. The Lord will make Himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the Lord and will give their sacrifices and offerings to Him. They will make a vow to the Lord and will keep it. The Lord will strike Egypt, and then He will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the Lord, and He will listen to their pleas and heal them.

In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God. And Israel will be their ally. The three will be together, and Israel will be a blessing to them. For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will say, “Blessed be Egypt, My people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, My special possession!” (v. 16-25, NLT)

Songs of Praise for Salvation

In that day you will sing; “I will praise you, O Lord! You were angry with me, but not anymore. Now you comfort me. See, God has some to save me. I will trust in Him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; He has give me the victory.”

With joy you will drink deeply form the fountain of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise His name! Tell the nations what He has done. Let them know how mighty He is! Sing to the Lord, for He has done wonderful things Make know His praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem shout His praise of joy. For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot-yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him-the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearnce no make a decision on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited.

The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.

In that day, the wold and the lamb will live together. The calf and the yearling. will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, the little child will put his hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.

Nothing will hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for as the water fill the sea, so the earth will be filed with people who know the Lord. (vv. 1-9, NLT)

Hope in the Messiah

Nevertheless, that tine of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before You as people at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For You will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just ad You did when You destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for fire.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of David for all eternity, The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! (vv. 1-7, NLT)

The Sign of Immanuel

Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz. “Ask the the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it a difficult as you want-as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.”

But the king refused, “No,” he said “I will not test the Lord like that.”

Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will be deserted. ” (vv. 10-16, NLT)