Saturday after Cantate
Scripture: Isaiah 49:22-26 (NKJV)
49:22 Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;
23 Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”
24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of the righteous be delivered?
25 But thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children.
26 I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Devotion
Throughout the Scriptures God has taught mankind that flesh and blood are important, powerful images of life and death. After Adam and Eve’s fall in Genesis, God used skins of flesh to cover their sinful nakedness. The flesh and blood sacrifices of animals were vivid components of faithful Old Testament worship according to His commands. And eating the Passover lamb’s body and marking doorways with its blood were profound points for remembering God’s promises to His faithful people.
The idea of evil oppressors being fed their own flesh and blood is a gruesome thought, but it also emphasizes the power of that image. And all of these examples of flesh and blood in God’s work point us toward His ultimate work in our Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob, our Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of being fed the food and drink of our own violence as enemies of God, He gives us the Sacrament of His own Flesh and Blood. In His Holy Supper He gives us food and drink that, even though it testifies to the violence of His crucifixion and death, is not an image of horror. It is a blessing of faith! It strengthens and preserves us in the true faith that we are no longer enemies of God, but made His beloved children in Jesus Christ!
We pray: O God, who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will, grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest and desire what Thou dost promise, that among the manifold changes of this world our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through 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.
