Monday 26 February 2018

Psalm: Psalm 21:1-7

Background

For the rest of this week’s reflections, we’ll be working our way through the end of the Book of Isaiah, and today we find ourselves right in the middle of what’s known as ‘Third Isaiah’ (chapters 56-66). This section is thought to date from the period when Israel’s return from its exile in Babylon began. The Israelites had been held in slavery in Babylon for a period of between 48 and 70 years before Cyrus the Great gave them permission to return to their homeland. The return was gradual and halting, with some choosing to stay behind in Babylon, the place that had become their home.

Those who do choose to return to Israel are expecting a glorious restoration of both their homeland and their fortunes – and in this context, the promises of building up “ancient ruins” and raising up the “devastations of many generations” are especially powerful. These images speak to the hunger of a people for the glory, status and security they once possessed but now have lost. Many in the community were born in captivity, and so would not have witnessed first-hand the original glory spoken of here – but they would have been raised on the stories, memories and nostalgia of their people for a better time.

But Christians don’t treat this passage of Scripture as something that was reserved only for a particular people in a particular time – though it clearly originated in that way. And that’s because we find these same words on the lips of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel at the start of his earthly ministry (Luke 4:18-19) – he reads them from the scroll at the synagogue and declares the Scripture fulfilled (Luke 4:21).

The Israelites soon found their hopes for a glorious restoration frustrated, but on the lips of Jesus these words take on new meaning and power. What is it that God seeks to do through Jesus? To bring comfort, healing and freedom to broken, weary and locked-in people. To turn fortunes around, from where people once sat in ashes. Christ wants to make people strong enough that they can rebuild their lives in defiance of the suffering they have known.

To Ponder

• Have you ever found yourself mourning for the past? What would restoration look like for you?
• What might the promise of Jesus’ mission statement mean in your life?
• What part can you play in bringing restoration to someone – or something – this Lent?