Isaiah 65:13-25: a reflection

13Therefore the Lord GOD says, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed. 14Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit. 15You will leave your name for a curse to my chosen, and the Lord GOD will kill you. He will call his servants by another name, 16so that he who blesses himself on the earth will bless himself in the God of truth; and he who swears on the earth will swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from my eyes. 17“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight, and her people a joy. 19I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; and the voice of weeping and the voice of crying will be heard in her no more. 20“No more will there be an infant who only lives a few days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child will die one hundred years old, and the sinner being one hundred years old will be accursed. 21They will build houses and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22They will not build and another inhabit. They will not plant and another eat; for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, and my chosen will long enjoy the work of their hands. 23They will not labor in vain nor give birth for calamity; for they are the offspring of the LORD’s blessed and their descendants with them. 24It will happen that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.

God unfolds a glorious hope: Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered. He describes a world made new, where his people will build and inhabit, plant and eat the fruit, not laboring in vain; where the voice of weeping is heard no more, where God will delight in his people, and even before they call, he will answer. It is the hope of a renewed creation, where sorrow, futility, and death are no more.

Notice the marks of the new creation God promises: no more weeping, no more futile labor, no more early death; God delighting in his people, answering before they call, the very hostilities of nature healed. The former things, the sorrows and futilities and deaths of this world, will not even be remembered; God will make all things new. It is a hope of complete renewal, where everything that mars this world, sorrow, futility, death, is done away, and God rejoices over his people in a world made new.

That hope of the new creation is a great comfort in a world of sorrow, futility, and death. We live now in a world where there is weeping, where labor can be in vain, where death cuts life short; and this can weigh on us. But God has promised a new creation, where these are no more, where he will wipe away the former things and make all new, delighting in his people. Hold the hope of the new creation: the sorrow, futility, and death of this world are not the final reality; God will make all things new, and the former troubles will not even be remembered. When the sorrows and futilities of this world weigh on you, lift your eyes to the new creation God has promised, where weeping is no more, labor is not in vain, and God delights in his people. Let the hope of the new heavens and new earth carry you through the sorrows of this present world, for God will make all things new, and everything that mars this world will be done away, remembered no more, in the renewed creation God has promised.

Lord, you unfold a glorious hope: behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered. You describe a world made new, where your people build and inhabit, plant and eat the fruit, not laboring in vain; where the voice of weeping is heard no more, where you delight in your people, and even before they call, you answer. Show me the marks of the new creation you promise: no more weeping, no more futile labor, no more early death; you delighting in your people, answering before they call. The former things, the sorrows and futilities and deaths of this world, will not even be remembered; you will make all things new. Give me that hope, a great comfort in a world of sorrow, futility, and death. I live now in a world where there is weeping, where labor can be in vain, where death cuts life short; and this can weigh on me. But you have promised a new creation, where these are no more. Help me hold the hope of the new creation: the sorrow, futility, and death of this world are not the final reality; you will make all things new. When the sorrows and futilities of this world weigh on me, help me lift my eyes to the new creation you have promised, Lord, where weeping is no more, labor is not in vain, and you delight in your people. Let the hope of the new heavens and new earth carry me through the sorrows of this present world. Thank you that you will make all things new.