Survivors

DEVOTION

ISAIAH

SURVIVORS

Isa 4

4:1-6

In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, "We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!"

2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. 5 Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. 6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.

NIV

It is thought these first couple of verses should be a part of the last chapter, concerning the great battle and how many men fell in battle there were not enough men for each woman to have her own mate. So a great number, here symbolized by the number seven, of women needed to gather around one man in order to repopulate the land. Women would become the suitors chasing after the men. It seems history repeats that lifestyle. As a youth it would never have been possible to think women would be the aggressors of relationships, yet today it seems that appears to be more and more the case. But let us look further into the words of Isaiah here and see the city of Jerusalem under the shelter of his wing. The verbiage about survivors in a beautiful and glorious Branch of the Lord, with fruit of the land being their pride and glory, speaks of the Day of the Lord, the new city of Jerusalem under the protection of God. The survivors are those believers who made it through the great spiritual battle of life against the forces of evil. Those in that city will be called holy, and all who are called among the living in Jerusalem, those whose names are in the Book of Life. Everything said here is about that city, that place where God is there overshadowing the living, protecting those in the city. Oh to be there, to survive this life, this battle against evil, even the evil which beseeches us so easily. When we want to do that which is good, evil is right there with us. Those things we do not want to do, we do and what we want to do, we do not. Why is life such a battle? That is why God has given us his armor, so we can be ready for this battle. To ignore this battle would be foolish, like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand. Yet we also have to know throughout this battle, the Lord is overshadowing us with his glory. He provides a cloud by day and a fire by night, as a canopy we are covered under the blood of the Lamb. He is our hiding place, our shelter, and our refuge, in this storm and rain, or reign of evil in which we live. Evil is everywhere we turn, all around us, it encamps, encircling around us, like a whirlwind, but God has us in the palm of his hand and we will not be overtaken by evil. He has bestowed us with the Spirit, who lives within us, as a guarantee of our inheritance. Evil cannot reside where the Spirit does, so we know we are victors, we are survivors.