A Remnant Will Return
Opening Prayer
Bring to mind your favorite Bible verse. Thank God for the strength and help that it gives you.
Read Isaiah 10:20-27
[20] In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. [21] A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. [22] Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous. [23] The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land. [24] Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did. [25] Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.” [26] The LORD Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt. [27] In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What is the very good news presented here?I still remember my Aunt Bess taking me shopping to buy odd lots of material, the last bits of a roll that weren’t any use for anything else. Then, before my eyes, these remnants were transformed into pretty clothes. In Isaiah 7:3 we read that Isaiah’s first son was called “the remnant shall return.” He was given that note of hope to hang on to through all the troubled times. The remnant may be very small (22) but it will consist of people who “return to the Mighty God” (21). These are not necessarily people who have always remained true to God or holy; these are simply people who have recognized their sin and “turned around.” They have recognized where true dependability lies (20), and are no longer terrified by the apparent power of foreign invaders. We all have our “Assyrians” that frighten us, but Isaiah’s words remind us that we have to stop giving them undue weight, and turn back to God who alone can be relied upon. Just as God could build a new community of people from a tiny remnant, in the same way he continues to grow his church today.
Apply
You may feel small, or alone, as a Christian. Bring your “Assyrians” to God, asking for his strength to undergird you.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the source of God’s “good news.” May I always rely on You and Your mighty power.
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