Isaiah 49: 25 – 26
This is what the Lord says:
Prisoners will be freed from mighty men.
Loot will be taken away from tyrants.
I will fight your enemies,
and I will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they will become drunk on their own blood
as though it were new wine.
Then all humanity will know that I am the Lord, who saves you,
the Mighty One of Jacob, who reclaims you.
There is no version in which this verse isn’t completely awesome. Genesis 12: 3 says that God will bless those who bless you but also, He will curse those who curse you. Today’s verse, from the NASB, says that God will contend with those who contend with you. Think about that for a moment. To whom does that apply? Is it the guy at work, your neighbor, the grocery store clerk? Regardless, God will handle all those folks while you smile and bless. You get to be the good guy, which is always our role, while God makes sure that everyone you encounter treats you as royalty. Any time that doesn’t happen, you just remind the entire spiritual realm that you are blessed, and that God contends with everyone that contends with you.
I know verse 26 is a bit gruesome, but you know what, I kinda like it. Your enemies will feed on their own entrails. I mean, God is serious about people messing with you and your stuff.
Prisoners are set free and your money loosed from the hands that hold it currently. These words bless me. Few of us, though, realize we are bound. Would that every Christian would be free from every bondage. That is God’s idea. No worries of any kind or limitations. Freedom from stress, bad habits, dysfunctional relationships; complete freedom in every sense, that is what Yahweh wishes to do for you.
Let’s not miss the final sentence of this passage because it is the clincher, the conclusion. When we live in God’s grace, when we live intertwined with Him and in the power of His grace, then all the world will see that He is God, that He is benevolent and that He loves those who call on His name. The world should see, and will, that life with Him is full of victory. The only thing preventing that right now is that we are living below the grace line. We are not living entwined about Him. God’s children need to rise up in the fullness of God’s plans for us and let the world see that He is good.
