I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 60-63.

There are three thoughts I want to emphasize in today’s passage.  I am hoping I can write about them in a way which shows how they are connected in my mind.  So, I will begin with the beginning of chapter 61, which Jesus quoted and said that He fulfilled.  Jesus certainly fulfilled that prophecy, but there is a way in which each of us should also be a fulfillment of this prophecy.  The Spirit of the Lord, the Sovereign Lord, should be upon us.  For God has certainly anointed those who choose to imitate Christ to bring good news to the poor.  The captives will be freed if they choose to accept the salvation which God offers.

But there is more to this passage than just good news.  The time of the Lord’s favor for those who worship Him will also be the day of His anger against His enemies.  We get to choose which group we wish to be in.  Chapter 63 verse 3 says the following:

I have been treading the winepress alone;
no one was there to help me.
In my anger I have trampled my enemies
as if they were grapes.
In my fury I have trampled my foes.
Their blood has stained my clothes.

This reminds me of the first verse of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”.  The writer of that song saw the horrors of the American Civil War as a fulfillment of chapter 63, and I would not disagree with them.  There are some who think she was implying that the Union Army was acting as God’s agent in bringing judgement against the Confederacy.  My take on the lyrics, and on this passage, is that both sides in that conflict were suffering God’s judgement in that horrible war.  Let us pray that we do not live to be on the receiving end of God’s judgement in a similar manner.  God rose up to avenge those who had been oppressed.  He will do so again, and when He does the suffering will be immense.

Which brings me to the third point I wanted to discuss.  In between the two passages I have discussed so far, Isaiah writes that he cannot stop praying for Zion, Jerusalem, because he loves her so much.   He writes that he cannot remain silent and will not stop praying.  But what does he pray for?  He prays that Zion’s righteousness will shine like the dawn.  We should do likewise for the land in which we live.  Let us pray that the people we live among will turn to God and accept His salvation. That they will allow His Spirit to come upon them and shine through them.  However, before that can happen we must allow the righteousness which comes from God’s Spirit to shine through us.  Let us choose to pray that God’s Spirit will come upon us and shine through us.  And then let us pray that God’s Spirit will transform us, and those around us, so that He does not need to come down in His wrath upon our neighbors and ourselves.