Reading for July 8th

Read Isaiah 54.1-17. In 54.1-17: Consolation for the new Jerusalem. In verses 1-8:The city must put behind it the memory of its past, forgetting it shame and disappointments. It must instead make plans for enlargement and growth (vv. 2-3). Using the peaceful imagery of widowhood, the prophet looks ahead to the properous and bustling future that awaits (vv. 6-7). In verses 9-17: Anothe lesson from the traditions of the past is the lesson of Noah, who after the ending of the Great Deluge was the recipent of a divine promise that never again would such a catasrophe overtake humankind (see Gen 9.8-17). So God would ensure that Jerusalem's citizens were taught the divine way (v. 13), and those who brought strife (v. 15), or made war against the city, would fail in their purpose (v. 17). Comments or Questions..