ESOCS Devotional 9 January 2025 – From Gloom To Glory
MEMORY VERSE: “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.” Isaiah 9: 1
TEXT: ISAIAH 9:1-END
Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation
And [a]increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
5 For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
8 The Lord sent a word against Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel.
9 All the people will know—
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria—
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
11 Therefore the Lord shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on,
12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;
And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
14 Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
15 The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men,
Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows;
For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer,
And every mouth speaks folly.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burns as the fire;
It shall devour the briers and thorns,
And kindle in the thickets of the forest;
They shall mount up like rising smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
No man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
And not be satisfied;
Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
Together they shall be against Judah.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional Here
God is in the business of transforming our gloom into glory. Isaiah 8 ends with “And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.” (Is. 8:22). Isaiah 9 begins by offering a contrast, “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish.” (Is. 9:1). That little word “But” describes divine intervention. God breaks through the darkness. In Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” So, we see good news for hopeless sinners sitting in hopeless darkness.
Look what God does in Isaiah 9: God turns gloom (v 1) into increased joy (v 3); God turns anguish (v 1) into rejoicing (v 3); God turns oppression (v 4) into a broken yoke (v 4); God turns darkness (v 2) into light (v 2); God transforms the land of deep darkness (v 2) into a kingdom marked by endless peace, justice and righteousness (v 7). These are God’s gifts to His people today.
God transforms our bondage into salvation: Isaiah 9:4 says, “For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.” The day of Midian is a reference to the story of Gideon in Judges 6-7. At this point in history, Israel is being oppressed by the Midianites. So, God calls Gideon to be the one to deliver Israel from Midian. Gideon acknowledges that he is a-nobody. “I’ve got no resources or influence.” God says, “No problem. I’ll be with you. I’ll do the deliverance” (Judges 6:15-16). God instructs Gideon to cut back the number of soldiers from 32,000 to 300, each soldier is equipped with a clay jar, a torch and a ram’s horn (trumpet). Judges 7:20 says, “[They] blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon! This created terror and confusion for the enemy. The Midianites turned on themselves, destroying one another.”
The point of Gideon’s story is not that Gideon was strong and clever. The story of Gideon is about God’s saving grace – His saving the day. The day of Midian reflects the heart of a helpless people, that is, we cannot save ourselves. We are under the yoke of slavery to sin; we are under the heavy burden of sin; we are under sin’s oppressing rod; we desperately need a Saviour! Jesus declared in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus has the power to transform our bondage into salvation.
CHALLENGES
- How much do rely on God for your victory and restoration? Do you rely on yourself?
PRAYER POINT
- Father, turn my unfavourable circumstance to testimony per time, in Jesus name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Isaiah 10:1-20; James 1:1-end
ESOCS Devotional 9 January 2025
