We’ve Got Work To Do
I love the power of the Word of God. It snatches your attention, changes your mind, rearranges your soul and puts things back in place as they are supposed to be… IF you let it.
I’ve been studying through the book of Isaiah currently and landed on chapter 61 last week. This is a passage of scripture I know well. I have not only read through Isaiah multiple times during my christian faith walk, but chapter 61, in particular, is one of my favorites.
Isaiah is giving a prophecy here regarding the coming Messiah. I love the beautiful words given to describe the promised Savior and the work He is appointed to complete while on this earth. Let’s take a look at Isaiah 61:1-3. The following will be the amplified translation.
Verse 1: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor and afflicted. He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound.
Verse 2: To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.
Verse 3: To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion-to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burden and failing spirit. That they may be called oaks of righteousness [loafty, strong and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
It should be easy to see why these verses are some of my favorites from Isaiah’s book. At just a glance, we are told this “person” will,
Preach the Gospel
Pay special attention to the poor and afflicted
Heal the broken heart
Declare those who are bound in spiritual prison to be set free
Open blind eyes (I believe both physically and spiritually)
Declare the season of the Lord, God’s appointed time with man
He will comfort those who mourn
Trade ashes for beauty
Give joy in place of mourning
Offer praise instead of a heavy burden
I know before I gave my life to Christ, I could easily find myself in this list. I was bound and chained in a prison of my sins; hopeless, helpless and a broken mess. When you get sick and tired of being sick and tired, you start grasping at anything that will offer relief. Most of the time, including myself, we grab at all the things this world has to offer, which ironically while promising healing, actually amplifies the illness, until you reach a point you feel you will not survive.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
All the things Isaiah said Jesus Christ would do, He most certainly did for me- and He can do the same for you! One of the best ways to Live Beautifully Simple is to surrender everything to the Lord. All of it- hold NOTHING back. You will never be freer, than when you are bound by the love of Jesus.
Now, let’s go back and dig into the Word a little deeper. As stated earlier, this passage is speaking of the Messiah, but when you read verse one, it sounds like Isaiah is speaking about himself and the call of prophet he had on his life that was given by God. Let’s read the verse again and examine closer:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor and afflicted. He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound.”
I have underlined the call to action words directed toward the “me” of this passage and actually all of these would easily apply to Isaiah. A prophet, such as himself, would have the Spirit set upon him, anointed and qualified to preach and proclaim the messages of the Lord, while being sent to the nation of Israel.
So how can I be so confident this verse is speaking about Jesus and not Isaiah? This is where the beauty of the scriptures weaves its wonder and connects the two Testaments together. If you are not studying both the Old and New, you need to start!
“Then Jesus went back full of and under the power of the Holy Spirit into Galilee, and the fame of Him spread through the whole region round about. And He Himself conducted a course of teaching in their synagogues, being recognized and honored and praised by all. So He came to Nazareth where He had been brought up and He entered the synagogue as was custom on the Sabbath day and He stood up to read. And there was handed to Him the book (scroll) of the prophet Isaiah. He opened (unrolled) the book and found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because he has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Then He rolled up the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing [attentively] at Him. And He began to speak to them: Today this scripture has been fulfilled, while you are present and hearing.” (Luke 4:14-21)
This passage in Luke gives us a very clear understanding as to how we are to interpret Isaiah 61. It is not a coincidence that when Jesus was handed the scroll in the temple, that He just randomly opened the book and started reading those words. We know this because of verse 17:
“He opened (unrolled) the book and found the place where it was written”
Understand the Bible as we have it today is not what the people of Jesus’ time would have been studying. The original book of Isaiah was written in letter form and was not broken up into chapters and verses, so Jesus opening the scroll and finding those exact words was a purposeful act ending with a declaration that “He,” is the “Me” Isaiah spoke of long ago.
The Emphasis Shift
Now that we fully understand who Isaiah was speaking about in this passage, let’s turn out attention to the other audience members he declares to be of importance in our text, the “they” people.
The prophet declares that the Messiah will usher in freedom, bring comfort, give newness of life and offer joy so that:
“they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (verse 3)
“They” are those of us who have accepted the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ and have surrendered our lives to Him. He gives us all these amazing gifts, such as beauty for ashes, so we can bring Him glory, but that is not all we are called to do. When I got to verse 4, I saw something that I have never seen prior in my many readings through the book.
Verse 4: And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
The text is very clear- it doesn’t say the Messiah will do these things, the charge is given to the ones who call themselves followers of Christ. We are called to rebuild what has been torn down and make new what has long since been destroyed. I fully believe the power of the Holy Spirit will aid and equip us to complete this task, but we are called to put hand to plow, swing the hammer and raise the rafters to reconstruct everything that has been devastated. Why had my attention never before been drawn to this call to action for us? I love how the Word grabs your face, requiring you to gain new focus when you least expect it.
Right now you may be thinking, “I don’t even know what this means? What cities am I supposed to help rebuild? What devastation is Isaiah speaking about?”
I am no scholar dear friends, but when I read this, I knew it was our responsibility to make every effort to repair all the destruction our sin caused, prior to our new life in Christ. Living a life of lawless rebel against the King of Kings comes with consequences, some more severe than others. Ask yourself:
Who have I wronged and not asked for forgiveness?
What areas of my life need to be completely rearranged and swept clean?
Are there relationships that need reconciliation?
Have my words been cutting and harsh to loved ones, friends or neighbors?
Has anger been allowed to rule my emotions and burn down everything in its path?
Where have I been divisive in my actions or speech?
Do I allow pride to swell my heart with self, leaving no room for others?
We all have painful, past roads traveled that we have doused with lighter fluid, happily tossed a lit match on and walked away praying the old junk would burn to ash- ruined, emotional cities of our lives left to smolder.
However, did you know ashes make wonderful fertilizer? It is true! I have used ashes from my husband’s wood, burning stove to spread on my garden beds many times. So, when the Lord calls us to rebuild the ruins-do not be afraid to pick up the ashes, toss it over the fresh ground Christ Jesus leveled for you at the foot of the cross and begin to plant again. That should give new meaning to verse three when it declares the Lord will give us “beauty instead of ashes.” You can grow tremendously, beautiful things in good, fertilized soil.
Christ Jesus sets the captive free not just for freedom sake, but He sets us free so we can then begin to take action and reach out to those we have wronged, mend what has been broken and help repair the damage our sinful choices create.
Keep in mind your rebuilding efforts not only become a blessing for you, but also your children and your children’s children. Our sin can have a ripple effect for multiple generations, which is why the text states, “the devastations of many generations”; but so can our righteousness in Jesus. Oh, how joyful it is to break off generational chains and lay a foundation of freedom in Christ for our babies. It’s NEVER too late to restore and revitalize the cities of our households.
As I told you prior, I have read Isaiah 61 so many times, but it wasn’t until the other night the weight of our calling hit me right in my chest, deep into my heart. We haven’t been redeemed just to sit around and coast until Heaven, we are to repair, restore and rebuild.
Our lives
Our family’s lives
Our down-cast neighbor
The struggling stranger
All that Jesus has been for us- we are to be the same for others. Dear friends, it’s a dark, crazy world out there for many-