*Scripture: Isaiah 34:1-2, 8—35:10 (NKJV)* 34:1 Come near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world and all things that come forth from it. 2 For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations, and His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter.
8 For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 9 Its streams shall be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch. 10 It shall not be quenched night or day; Its smoke shall ascend forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever. 11 But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it, also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out over it the line of confusion and the stones of emptiness. 12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing. 13 And thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses; It shall be a habitation of jackals, A courtyard for ostriches. 14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals, and the wild goat shall bleat to its companion; Also the night creature shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. 15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs and hatch, and gather them under her shadow; There also shall the hawks be gathered, every one with her mate. 16 "Search from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them. 17 He has cast the lot for them, and His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever; >From generation to generation they shall dwell in it." 35:1 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you." 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 and the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. *Devotion* God "has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:31) That Man is the risen-from-the-dead Jesus Christ Who will return on the Last Day. "To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." (Hebrews 9:28) For believers in Christ, the Day of the Lord will be a day of great joy to bring them salvation. Trusting in Jesus, the Way, (John 14:6) the redeemed shall walk in the highway of holiness. With every sin forgiven by Christ, they are the clean ones, who will pass over to the everlasting Zion. The Prophet Isaiah also prophesies, "For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion." Vengeance will be dealt out to Christ's enemies, who caused suffering and death for Christ's believers. Jesus explained, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (John 15:19) For unbelievers, the Day of the Lord will be a day of great wrath. Isaiah speaks of his own prophecies saying, "Search from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these shall fail." As we live in this wilderness and wasteland of sin we are told, "Say to those who are fearful-hearted, 'Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you."
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