Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Tuesday after Rogate

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
Leave a comment

Scripture: Isaiah 4:2-6 (NKJV)

2 In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped.

3 And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. 6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

Devotion

The three words, “in that day,” from verse 2, are most often associated with the terror of judgment. For example, we find in Deuteronomy, “Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?'” (31:17).

That day will break upon us suddenly, like a thief in the night. As Jesus said, fire and sulfur will rain from Heaven, and “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back” (Luke 17:31). That day when Christ returns will be the dark and dreadful day of the outpouring of God’s wrath against sin.

Unrepentant sinners, here represented by the lascivious daughters of Zion, will pay forevermore for their unbelief. But for those who trust in Jesus, the Branch of the LORD, that day will be different. They will be declared holy, as they are covered not with the filthy robes of their own righteousness but, through faith, with the robe of Christ’s righteousness. They will not beg mountains and rocks for protection against God’s holy anger as, instead, they will be covered by Christ.

We pray: Lord, grant that I may dwell in the secret place of the Most High and, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty, may declare evermore, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him will I trust.” Amen.

Leave a Comment