Isaiah 29:13-14b, 17-19 - And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish .... Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

This reading from Isaiah is the strangest passage. God starts out talking in a way we've heard all too many times; He says, "These people ... honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me; and their fear of Me is a commandment taught by men." So far, so familiar; God says the same thing on almost every page of the Bible!

But then God goes on to say: "Therefore, behold ...." And we wait for Him to finish His sentence. Surely He will say, "I am going to destroy them completely." Right? But that's not what He says. Okay, maybe He's going to say this: "Therefore, I will send horrible judgments on them, and they will know that I am God." Right? No, He doesn't say that either.

This is what He says: "Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder." Wait a minute! God's going to do something good?! We fall into sin, and God promises to do wonders? That makes no sense.

What wonders is He going to do, then? He says it's something that will confuse the wise men, turn the world upside down, and give joy to the poor and humble. What is this wonder?

God's going to send Jesus.

That's it. That's His answer to human wickedness. He's not going to punish us harder, or give up on us in disgust. No, He's going to come Himself into our world, God born as a human being, coming to set things right through His own suffering. He's going to live, serve, suffer, and die in weakness—carrying the sins of the people He came to save. He's going to rise from the dead, never to die again. And He's going to send us the Holy Spirit, to change our hearts of stone into hearts that love and follow Him with true faith and trust.

And did it work? Oh, yes. Punishment never changed human hearts; but the patient love and suffering of Jesus? The love that says, "Let Me take your pain" and carries it to the cross? A God who says, "I see the truth about you, but I love you, and I want you, and I will lay down My life for you"? How can we resist that?

I can't. Can you?

WE PRAY: Lord, I can't help loving You when You love me that much. Help me now to live for You. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. When have you seen someone show mercy to someone else who didn't deserve it?

2. What effect did that love have on the person who did the original wrong?

3. What effect does Jesus' overflowing love and kindness have on you?

Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 87-88    1 Corinthians 12

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