An Eternal Epilogue
Isaiah 1:26
“And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
Many great books have an epilogue at the end where the author provides behind-the-scenes insights into the story being told, but Isaiah 1:26 is like a divine epilogue given smack dab in the middle of the action. Think of it, friend: at the time Isaiah puts pen to parchment here, the spiritual decay in the land is rampant. This is the city of wickedness, not righteousness. The people have sullied the land with sacrifices to false gods, abandoned the Law at every turn, banished the prophets, and effectively intermixed the lambs of Abel with the fruits of Cain. I’m sure the few saints left in society are grieving daily, effectively crying out with our Lord: “Father, why have You forsaken me?” Yet here, in this present darkness, as the smoke of hell’s altars conceals Heaven’s light, God pierces the clouds with an unassailable promise.
Friend, even if the clamor of wickedness rises all around you and the smoke of idolatry clouds your view, let God’s promise over your own life resound above it all.