Ninth Day of Christmas
Posted on January 2, 2019 by under
Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-11 (NKJV)
61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. 5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast. 7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed.”
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Devotion
It is good for us to remember that Isaiah’s words of divine prophecy not only foretell the coming of Jesus Christ in flesh and blood, but they also give us images of His coming again in glory at the end of the age!
When our Lord walked and taught in Jerusalem and the surrounding regions He showed us that He keeps His promises in real, flesh and blood ways. People were healed and comforted. He came to Zion and made Himself known to the Gentiles. But other things are still to come!
He has taught His vengeance and justice, but those who despise His truth and seek their own selfish ways have yet to see the full extent of His anger against their treachery. And while we do have the glorious gifts of His Word and the Sacraments to give us comfort now, we also look forward to when all the pains and troubles of this broken world are wiped away at the Resurrection.
People think about new beginnings and opportunities with the new calendar year. The Word of God reminds us that, even though the world grows more and more corrupt with sin, things will get better in the future when our Lord Christ Jesus comes again in glory to fulfill all His holy promises!
We pray: O Lord God, who hast made Thine Only-Begotten Son the Savior of mankind and didst give Him the name of Jesus, mercifully grant that we who worship His name on Earth may joyfully behold Him in Heaven; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
