“In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time
To recover the remnant that remains of his people,”
Isaiah 11:11a

I absolutely love the imagery of Isaiah. Check this out:

Isaiah 11:16 And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.

A highway! Not a path or a meandering lane. A highway! Look what he says later on.

Isaiah 35:8-10
8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come on it; they 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; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Can you imagine what it must have been like for the people to return to their land after captivity? You see the words of prophesy. It happened just as foretold. Wow!

Isaiah 12
1 You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 And you will say on that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Lots of things to celebrate, right? There sure are! And….we also have commands. We’re supposed to tell the whole world about who? The Holy One of Israel. Jesus.

Got that?

Wait, isn’t this simply for those who returned from Babylon? Yes, and no. It applies to the church, the entire Seed of Abraham, for there will come another time when Jesus will gather once again not only that remnant who walked on the highway Isaiah described but also all the others to whom God the Father has had mercy. This is the next prophetic event to happen:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Can you picture this? You and I, believers, will be on this trip! Can you imagine it? Seriously, ponder how all these things weave together. This isn’t just some cleverly-written story. This is prophecy that both has and will come to pass. It’s a done deal, as far as God is concerned. So, it should be settled in our minds. Therefore, shouldn’t Isaiah 12 be just as applicable? Today?

v. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Father, thank you. Amen.

Copyright © 2019 Scott Powers