Rebuilding the Ancient Ruins

I was reading through the book of Isaiah recently. Many of the early chapters are about how angry God was with His people for worshipping pagan gods, but then there are the most wonderful prophecies about God’s grace, mercy, and healing for His people when they choose to repent of their unfaithfulness and return to be in relationship with Him and worship Him.

My favourite passage is Isaiah 61:1-3, which is so special because it is about the coming of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus. Jesus Himself quoted these words at the beginning of His ministry to explain His calling (Luke Chapter 4:14-30). Here is a literal word for word translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls (the earliest manuscripts ever found of the book of Isaiah).

‘The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because YHWH has anointed me to preach good tidings to the weak; to bind up the brokenhearted, to call to the captives liberty, and to the imprisoned the opening of prison. To announce the favourable year of YHWH, and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all who mourn; To appoint to the mourners in Zion, to give them beauty instead of dust, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness; and they shall call to them oaks of righteousness, the planting of YHWH, for glory.’

Through our relationship with Jesus as Saviour and Lord, we Christians are grafted into the covenant relationship God established with His chosen people. We can claim some of the promises made to them for our lives, but we also have to take on the responsibility God gave to them. We are able to be part of God’s Kingdom purposes and plans in the world.

I was on my way to an Ellel Centre to be on the prayer ministry team and thinking about these promises in Isaiah Chapter 61:1-3. Then I saw I had an email from the evangelist J. John who quoted that very passage and wrote, ‘You may be someone who looks at your life and all you have done and can see nothing but dry, grey ashes, but with Jesus Christ, one day all that will be wonderfully transformed into a glorious crown of beauty. Rejoice!’

I remember how I was once in that position myself of needing the Lord Jesus to heal me and set me free, and now I have the privilege of praying with others who need that. I feel I can relate to verse 4 in Isaiah Chapter 61. It says this: ‘And they shall build the ancient ruins, the desolations of the beginning they shall raise, and they shall renew the ruined cities, the desolation of generation after generation. They shall raise them up’ (Isaiah 61:4, Dead Sea Scrolls word for word literal translation).

‘They’ would seem to refer to ‘the weak’, ‘the broken-hearted’, ‘the captives’, ‘the imprisoned’, ‘all who mourn’, and those who have ‘a spirit of heaviness’. I believe it says they will be the ones to raise up others who are in need of the Lord’s healing.