Reading 98 | The Bible in 100 Passages

Saturday, December 20, 2025  

Today's Scripture
Isaiah 65:17–25

For I am about to create
new heavens and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.

No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years
will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred
will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord
— and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent — its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord. (NRSV)

Reflection

Isaiah paints a beautiful image of peace, hope, and love. There’s a promise of a future time when there will be no more violence, no more injustice, no more distress. According to this scripture, we’re right on the cusp of that time, or we were sometime around 500 BCE. God’s timeline appears to be different from our timeline. “I’m about to do it” has taken a long time! Perhaps the “when” of this vision is not as important as the “what”.

What God promises through Isaiah is joy, long life, and justice — things that the people returning home from their exile in Babylon needed and wanted. The invitation to “rejoice in what I am creating“ (verse 18) suggests that God is already doing it (I am creating), in addition to being “about to” create. God is continually creating — now and in the near future and far into the future.

What God promises regarding justice is that people will receive the benefits of their work: They’ll be able to live in the houses they build; they won’t have to build them for their oppressors. People will be able to eat the food they grow; they won’t be left hungry while others benefit from their work. The people will enjoy the work of their own hands. All will be cared for, ensuring a long life for most.

Even in the most difficult times, God continues to create and invites us to join God in creating. Even now. Even later.

Prayer

Creator God, help us remember the joy of your creating and the delightful people you have brought into the world. Give us hope for the future in times of weeping, and forgetfulness about past suffering. Turn our vision toward new possibilities — new heavens and a new experience on earth. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. 

Written by Nanette Sawyer, Associate Pastor

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

Devotion index by date | I’d like to receive daily devotions by email