IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

True Beauty and Glory

Date: Mar. 30, 2022

Passage

Isaiah 3:16-4:6 (ESV)

16   The LORD said:
  Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
    and walk with outstretched necks,
    glancing wantonly with their eyes,
  mincing along as they go,
    tinkling with their feet,
17   therefore the Lord will strike with a scab
    the heads of the daughters of Zion,
    and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.

18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and nose rings; 22 the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

24   Instead of perfume there will be rottenness;
    and instead of a belt, a rope;
  and instead of well-set hair, baldness;
    and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth;
    and branding instead of beauty.
25   Your men shall fall by the sword
    and your mighty men in battle.
26   And her gates shall lament and mourn;
    empty, she shall sit on the ground.

And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”

In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 3:4:2

  And I will make boys their princes,
    and infants shall rule over them.

The women of Zion were haughty. Their glory was in how others viewed them and looked up to them as objects of desire. The Lord would take away all the things they held high and make them objects of shame in their own eyes. Zion, personified as a woman, would sit destitute on the ground, in tears. While our bodies and image are important, it is not all we must rely on or put our hope in. There are better things in life than riches and meticulously constructed appearances.

God is the redeemer of our community and our lives. One day, a new beauty and glory would arise, not from the elite of society or through outward adornment, but from the remnant of survivors. Those who remained faithful would find the redeeming power of God to be their glory and stronghold from past wounds and future threats. When our glory is in God who gave us life and a story of redemption, we can all shine true beauty and bear good fruit.

Prayer: Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to true beauty that does not seek human approval or adoration but comes from your redeeming love.

One Word: One Word: Redeeming glory

Daily Bread

Worthy is Jesus the Lamb

Revelation 5:1-14

Key Verse: 5:12

saying with a loud voice,

  “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
  to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
  and honor and glory and blessing!”

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