Reflections on the way....from Isaiah

Halfway through the Old Testament, the genre changes from narrative to....well, to a collection of books which are less easy to categorize. Sometimes we call them Prophets and Wisdom literature, and it is probably true that most of us are less familiar with them than we are with the stories and characters of Genesis, Exodus and Kings.

Perhaps it is good to be reminded that journeys should provoke not just action, movement and progress, but also a time for reflection on where we are heading and what we are learning.

Today's reflection come from the book of Isaiah- an often confusing book of prophecy, which sometimes seems to have little to say to us today: but spend some time with the emotions, longings and sorrow of Isaiah and you will meet a man who is seeking to communicate just how much God loves His people.

In Isaiah chapter 35 we read this alluring vision of the future- is this a future that your journey is leading to?

'The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly.
A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way:
the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveller, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come upon it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.'
Isaiah 35:1,2,8-10

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