Is. 29: 18-21 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nothing, the scornful one is consumed, and all who watch for iniquity are cut off--who make a man an offender by a word, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just by empty words.
Is. 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD binds up the bruise of His people and heals the stroke of their wound.
Is. 32:2-4 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. The eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen. Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
Is. 33:14-24 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil: he will dwell on high; his place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be given him, his water will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off. Your heart will meditate on terror: "Where is the scribe? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?" You will not see a fierce people, a people of obscure speech, beyond perception, of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand. Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, a tabernacle that will not be taken down; not one of its stakes will ever be removed, nor will any of its cords be broken, but there the majestic LORD will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, in which no galley with oars will sail, nor majestic ships pass by (for the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King; He will save us); your tackle is loosed, they could not strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail. Then the prey of great plunder is divided; the lame take the prey. And the inhabitant will not say, "I am sick"; the people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.
Is. 35 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you." Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the death shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
I've been seeing an awful lot about rivers and streams of water recently, so I've been praying for that. Also, I haven't really known at all what to say about this, but for probably a year now I've been seeing verses about standing before kings (not like, "So and so stood before the king and..." but more like, "Such and such a person shall stand before kings," and "You shall stand before kings"), and I don't quite know what to make of it, but it's jumped out at me so much that it must be important. I think He's up to something.
Also, I was reading in John 8 the other day, and John 8:10-11 says, "But Jesus stood up and spoke to her, 'Woman, where are they? Does no one accuse you?' But she said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'I do not accuse you; go, and from now, sin no longer.'" I thought this was really interesting; this passage has messed with me a little ever since Jon had me read a short story (or something like a short story, anyhow) based on this passage. Basically the gist of the story was that, after Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin among you cast the first stone," He picked one up and killed the woman with it, on account of He was without sin. If you're freaking out to hear that someone wrote a story like that, I'm right with you. But anyway, yeah, it's been a problem. I see this story, and it's so interesting to see that Jesus, who knows that this woman has been caught in adultery, turns to her and says, "I do not condemn you." I pretty much just don't understand that kind of grace--I mean, He really didn't come to condemn the world, did He? He really did come to seek and to save that which was lost. And He modeled it, right there in front of the temple. What I love about this story is that, when the Pharisees throw her into the middle of the place, she's standing, and Jesus squats to write on the ground. Just in terms of the blocking of a scene, Jesus is physically below her. He intentionally puts Himself on a lower level, busily writing as the Pharisees file out, condemned by their consciences. He does not judge or condemn the Pharisees, and He does not judge or condemn the woman. He lets them go, and He out and out tells her that she isn't condemned. And, you know, people say all the time that God's not fair, but seriously, He doesn't condemn either party. It blows my mind. Both are equally guilty, and He gives both equal grace.
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