Isaiah - Verse By Verse | Isaiah

Isaiah - Day 97

versebyverse | September 11, 2008 21:09

Scripture: Isaiah 5:17 (NIV): "Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture; lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich."

Thought: To me, the entire earth is "weighed down" with the not-too-pleasant effects of man's deeds.

Question: Do I look forward to a better day--a better earth?

After all judgments have ceased and God has been elevated, peace will come rolling in and incongruently, the ruins of the greedy will serve as pastures where sheep and lambs will feel at home. Man's doings will be forgotten and his so-called marvels of construction will become ruins.

To me, this verse paints a very contrastive picture: previously the houses of the rich were built closely together and the land was inaccessible, probably privately owned, (Isaiah 5:8), but now the gentle sheep have moved in to peacefully graze. There is a fundamental difference between the effects of mankind's domination of the land and God's holy influence!

I think what our current environmentalists long for and attempt to promote today is achieved much more successfully by God's sovereign control! Once God is "exalted by his justice", (yesterday's verse, Isaiah 5:16), He will bring our planet back to its original purposes and His creatures will once again roam peacefully.

What a wonderful "Day" that will be!

Prayer: Great God, how I appreciate Your Holy control of our planet! One day You will restore tranquility to our earth. Amen.