Thursday, October 22, 2026

Opening Scriptures

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. Psalm 137:1-6

Opening Prayer

Gracious Father, thank you for this day, another chance to love and serve You. Help me make the most of it and do everything I can to please You. May Your priorities be mine. Remind me that, apart from You, I can do nothing. Help me follow the Spirit today as He guides me in grace, truth, and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Help me not to be foolish, but to understand your good, pleasing, and perfect will. Open my heart and mind to all You want me to know and learn. As I draw near to You, please draw near to me and help me sense Your presence. Help me to stand strong against the evil one, and to think and act as Your child. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Isaiah 51:4-6

“Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.”

Reflection  

By this point in the Book of Isaiah, we understand that “God’s people” are not only the restored Israelites, but the redeemed non-Jews as well. The LORD has commissioned the Servant to be “a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Today’s passage reinforces that truth. God has declared, “Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.” God’s Servant is that Divine Light for all people!

Those who “fear the LORD” and “obey His Servant” are the true citizens of Zion – the City of God – and they will dwell joyfully in His presence forever. That is the promise of Isaiah 51:11, “Those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

As our Opening Scripture illustrates, that future seemed all but impossible to the exiles in Babylon. “How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?” All they could see was their current miserable situation. Much like you and me, the captives in Babylon could not comprehend what Almighty God had in mind for His creation.

The prophet makes this statement in Isaiah 64:4, “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” Paul quotes that passage this way in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him.”

God tries to raise their gaze and help them find hope for the future. The LORD encourages them to trust Him and His plan of redemption. One day, “the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.”

John – the disciple Jesus loved – put it this way: “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

At the beginning of Chapter 51, God declares, “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD; Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:14-16).

Abraham and Sarah’s spiritual descendants will “dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Those who oppose God and His Servant will “wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up” (Isaiah 50:9). The faithful Israelites and the Gentiles “from the nations and distant islands” who trust in the Servant – you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD – will enjoy God’s justice, righteousness, and salvation for eternity.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

Chapter 51 frames the experience of the captives in Babylon – and our own lives – as part of a “pilgrimage to Zion.” That concept was extremely familiar to the Old Testament Jews, as well as those in first-century Israel who, just like Jesus and His disciples, came streaming into Jerusalem for the three great annual festivals: Passover, Feast of Weeks, and Feast of Tabernacles.

Families and friends journeyed together, enjoying one another’s company along the way, and remembering God’s faithfulness throughout the generations. They sang “the Psalms of Ascent” as they traveled “up” to Jerusalem. The “Pilgrim Psalms” (120-134) reminded God’s people of their connection to Him and to each other.

Those regular pilgrimages consistently reinforced the Jews’ identity as God’s chosen ones and renewed their devotion to Him. They were not simply religious obligations, they were expressions of their culture, character, and uniqueness. The pilgrimages were family vacation, national celebration, and corporate worship all rolled into one.

In the same way, our “pilgrimage” together as God’s New Covenant people – the Church – ought to knit our hearts together and establish our identity as God’s chosen ones. We are also on a “pilgrimage to Zion” as we journey together to our eternal home, and we will celebrate enthusiastically when we get there.

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’” (Revelation 7:9-10).

God’s Servant defeated sin and death. He has gone to prepare a place for us, and He has promised to come back some day to take us there. “They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” That is something to celebrate!

This week’s collective prayer: God, deepen my understanding of the Gospel. Amen.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!