7-27-18 Today in the Word

Today in the Word
July 2018
The Book of Isaiah: Seeing the Glory of God
FAITHFULNESS TO THE COVENANT
Friday, July 27, 2018 | Isaiah 54–55
After the long, cold, cloud-covered winters in Chicago, residents of the Windy City are glad to see the blue sky peek through in March or April. Sometimes the blue sky will be accompanied by a few rain clouds. But after the spring storms have passed, the sign of the Lord's covenant often breaks through: A huge rainbow or double rainbow appears in the sky. We are reminded of God’s faithful mercy toward us—and that even a Chicago winter will eventually give way to spring and summer!
Our Lord uses the record of His faithfulness to keep His promise to Noah to remind Israel of His promises to her (54:9–10). Although Israel fears that she has been too sinful and has experienced too much oppression for the Lord still to claim her, she need not be racked by anxiety. The Lord will remove her barrenness, and He will remarry her rather than casting her off forever. “With everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” the Redeemer says to His people Israel (54:8).
Our human relationships are filled with disappointments. We have experienced rejection by some people and failure to keep promises by others. It might be tempting to think salvation is not fully secure—that it can be lost through our disobedience. But salvation is a promise of the God who is faithful to keep His word, the One who is faithful to keep His covenant.
The promise of the everlasting “covenant of peace” is the promise of the New Covenant (see Ezek. 34:25; 37:26), which Jesus inaugurated the night before His death (see Luke 22:20). God’s people will experience the benefits of peace and joy when they turn to their Messiah for salvation and trust in Him alone.
APPLY THE WORD
For thousands of years, all around the globe, Christians have obeyed the command of Christ to remember the new covenant in His blood by partaking of the Lord’s Supper (see 1 Cor. 11:25). The next time your church celebrates the Lord’s Supper or Communion, remember this passage from Isaiah and God’s unfailing love for His people.

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