November 2025
‘I will raise up their ruins’
Isaiah 44:26 (NCB)
The prophet Isaiah had a difficult job. Working about seven hundred years
before Jesus, he was asked to warn God’s people Israel that their waywardness
would result in upheaval and loss.
His prophecy contains some of the Old Testament’s best-known words. ‘Woe is
me. I am ruined’ is uttered when Isaiah catches a glimpse of ‘the King, the Lord
Almighty’ during his ministry commissioning. The ‘Joy of the Redeemed’ is
anticipated today by Christians travelling home on ‘the Way of Holiness’.
Christmas services include ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great
light’, his reference to the promised Messiah.
The promise to rebuild is declared to Judah as both warning and reassurance.
Isaiah is sent to declare a divine judgement as befitting the nation’s sin. Injustice
had become normalized. In removing security and protection, the nation will find itself in another land, living with the loss of home, nationhood, and the
beloved Temple.
As this chapter begins, God calls them to listen. Israel is still chosen, the one
formed by God. He will in time bless them again. He reminds them that in the
coming exile, no other god compares to Him. He alone is their Rock. He alone,
their Redeemer, the maker of the heavens, will restore them to Jerusalem. The
towns of Judah will be reinhabited, their very ruins rebuilt.
For us, living on the other side of that predicted exile and return, we gain much
from the words of Isaiah. He spoke repeatedly of the promised Redeemer and
still speaks to us today as we see his promises reflected and fulfilled in the face of
Jesus.
The One who died ‘outside the city wall’ of Jerusalem, promises to restore and
rebuild our very life, once ruined by sin and rebellion. For anyone who comes to
Him can find rest, restoration and hope.