Bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Isaiah 61:3
One evening, I noticed neat rows of soil in a vacant lot near my home. Each row contained small green leaves with tiny buds peeking out. The next morning, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a patch of beautiful red tulips sprouting in the lot.
The previous fall, a group had planted one hundred thousand bulbs in empty lots throughout the South Side of Chicago. They chose red to symbolize how redlining (lending discrimination by banks) had impacted neighborhoods where primarily minorities lived. The tulips symbolized the houses that could have been in those lots.
God’s people have endured many challenges—from being exiled from their homelands to discrimination like redlining. Yet, we can still find hope. Isaiah reminds Israel during a time of exile that God would not leave them. He’d give them a “crown of beauty” in place of ashes. Even the poor would receive “good news” (61:1). God promised to exchange despairing spirits with a “garment of praise.” All of these images evoke His splendor and would bring joy to the people, who would now be “oaks of righteousness” instead of dejected exiles (v. 3).
Those tulips also show that God can create splendor from dirt and discrimination. I look forward to seeing the tulips each spring, and more importantly renewed hope in my neighborhood and other communities.
Read: ISAIAH 61:1-3 (NIV)
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
61 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
INSIGHT
- Where in your community have you seen beauty replace despair?
- How can you help create beauty in places of despair?
The beautiful truth of Isaiah 61:1-3 is that it was intended to prepare the people of Israel for their Messiah. How do we know that? Because when Jesus—the Messiah—came, He used this text to announce His arrival and ministry to the people of Nazareth, His hometown. Following Christ’s season of temptation in the wilderness, He went home (Luke 4:14). When He stepped into the synagogue, He read from the scroll of Isaiah. The great promise of Isaiah was to “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Isaiah 61:2), and with Jesus’ arrival that time had come. How did the people respond? At first, they were amazed at His “gracious words” (Luke 4:22), but that shifted when He explained His ministry to the gentiles (vv. 24-27). The people became “furious” with Him and sought to kill Him (vv. 28-29).
PRAYER
Thank You, God, for the beauty You allow me to see even when my circumstances seem dire. In Jesus Holy name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: ISAIAH 61:1-3 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: 1 CHRONICLES 28-29; JOHN 9:24-41
