Contemplative Bible Reading

Isaiah 59:9-10 (New Living Translation)

9 So there is no justice among us,
and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
10 We grope like the blind along a wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
we are like the dead.

Pardon the reference to the TV show of the same name.

The prophet Isaiah is describing the situation among God’s people. They have drifted so far from God that they live in gloom. What a tragedy. Given a close relationship with the Creator, they have looked for something else and found nothing. Now they live in nothing.

They have forgotten what it means to live right with one another. Be honest, be fair, be just. They forgot the meaning of those words. They grope and stumble in the dark.

This isn’t poetry, it is a stark description of the horror of their lives.

It is the horrible existence of anyone at any time when living apart from God.

Thank you God that someone taught me of your justice and loving mercy. Thank you God that I can live in your light instead of stumbling around like the walking dead in eternal darkness.