Thursday after the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on August 22, 2024 by under
Scripture: Isaiah 35:5-10 (NKJV)
35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there,
10 and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Devotion
In yesterday’s reading, we read of how the prophet Isaiah, through inspiration, described the saving might of the Lord in redeeming His people, as He once redeemed Abraham. Many of the same concepts are present in this passage, as well, but notice there is a different trajectory with Isaiah’s words in today’s reading. This passage discusses the way in which the redeemed are guided, and walk through the Kingdom of God. Once the eyes of the spiritually blind are open to the Gospel, they are guided down the highway and the road of the Kingdom of God. Once the spiritually deaf are able to hear, they are able to hear and sing praises to the God who saved them.
The end of verse eight should especially drive home the point as even “fools” walk this path and do not go astray. Though we are justified by faith in Christ, we are still sinners until we reach glory with Christ. Therefore, the “fools” Isaiah is speaking of here are not fools that have not acknowledged God, but those who, while believing, still struggle with foolishness. Whether it is being unlearned, or simply succumbing to temptation, we who are in Christ walk with Him and, therefore, “shall not go astray.”
Collect: Almighty and Merciful God, of Whose only gift it cometh that Thy faithful people do unto Thee true and laudable service: Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so faithfully serve Thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain Thy heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
