July 8, 2026, Isaiah 61:1-11
July 8, 2026, Isaiah 61:1-11
61 The Spirit of the
Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;[a]
he has sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of
the prison to those who are bound;[b]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance
of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful
headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise
instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.[c]
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the
former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many
generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and
tend your flocks;
foreigners shall be your
plowmen and vinedressers;
6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
they shall speak of you as
the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and in their glory you
shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they
shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have
everlasting joy.
8 For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;[d]
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an
everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in
the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring
the Lord has blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in
the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my
God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the
robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns
herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes
what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will
cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all
the nations.
Isaiah
61:11 is a beautiful promise that God’s justice, salvation, and faithfulness
will grow naturally and inevitably—just as surely as seeds sprout and gardens
bloom.
If
righteousness means setting things right, what is one small, practical
"seed" of justice or kindness you can plant in your community,
school, or workplace this week?
When
you look at the brokenness in the world, it is easy to lose hope. How does the
promise that God will make righteousness sprout change your perspective
on global or local issues?
Robin
Adams
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