Deep Cleaning
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for your plan of salvation. Thank You that I can be cleansed and made whole.
Read Isaiah 4:2–6
2 In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. 5 Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. 6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Reflect on how it feels to get really clean, perhaps after a few nights’ camping, and coming home to a much-needed shower.Now Isaiah describes the “day of the Lord” that he has been warning about in the preceding chapters (e.g., 2:2,11,17; 3:18). It is not what we might have expected. It is a day of stark contrasts to all that has gone before, but instead of total destruction, we see the beauty of re-creation.
The branch (2)—the Messiah, or in this instance perhaps more generally Judah—will be utterly beautiful, in contrast to the trashy trinkets and adornment of the daughters of Zion. In place of the shame of a squandered vineyard, there is the honor of a fruitful land (2)—affirmation in the fulfillment of God’s promise. Rather than the humiliation that befalls the arrogant daughters of Zion, each survivor, “recorded among the living in Jerusalem,” will be called “holy.” In place of rottenness and filth, there is total cleansing and purification (4).
And in place of a sham of a marriage, the Lord creates, in a miracle of divine creation, a new marriage canopy of his protection and presence (5,6)—the symbols of cloud and fire reminding us of the story of the Exodus and his saving, freeing presence.
Apply
Reflect on the Lord’s presence in your life, his protection and provision, and the fruitfulness of your walk with him.
Closing prayer
Jehovah Jireh, Your grace is sufficient for me, and yet You give me so much more. Thank You, thank You, thank You.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.