Thought for Today’s Text
Unlike most other biblical prophets, here Isaiah is filled not with warnings over wrongdoing, but with encouragement to reevaluate Judah’s past and future. Composed for exiled people in the mid-sixth century BC, just as the international tide is turning, just as the possibility of returning to the broken city of Jerusalem is reopening, Isaiah soars with inviting poetry of hope, offering to pave the way homeward with confidence and expectancy.