Isaiah 4  Isaiah has painted a picture of devastation and terror, where the women who once walked in high society...with beauty and wealth, had become like Holocaust victims.. wearing sackcloth, smelling putrid, being branded, and their hair plucked out.  They were desperate and frightened and ashamed. 

And, then in the middle of this horror, God gives Isaiah a vision of Zion.. the New Jerusalem.  "In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel."   There will be a remnant of believers who will see the glory of the Messiah who will come to reign!

The Lord will wash "away the filth of the daughters of Zion." 

He will "purge the bloodshed of Jerusalem .." 

Jesus will come to Zion! There will be a "cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. And there will be a shelter to give shade from the heat of the day, and refuge and protection from the storm and rain." 

Jesus.. Emmanuel, God with us.. will come again to reign on earth. He will come with the "spirit of judgement and the spirit of burning."  And those who will trust in Him fully will see His glory, know His cleansing, and live with Him for eternity.  Hallelujah!

Father in heaven, may Your name be exalted in all the earth!  May we see the Kingdom of Christ come and fill the earth with glory!  We long for that day and thrill at the thought of it. Yet, our hearts break for those who are lost. Those whose hearts are hardened. Those who have listened to the lies of the evil one and forsaken the Truth of Your Word.  Lord, open doors of opportunity for Your people to speak up and to share the Good News of Jesus, the Messiah who comes to wash away the filth of men and women in this world.,. in our country.. in our families.  Help us, dear Lord, to walk in the power of Your Spirit, to live holy and blameless lives before You, and to share the way of Life with those we can.  We ask this in the wonderful and beautiful Name of Jesus. Amen.