Devotion for Thursday 4 November
Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watchword for today is taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter Sixty One verse Ten, “My whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,” (NRSVB). Isaiah prophesied regarding the release of the captives from Babylon, the coming of the Messiah and the future reign of peace. This chapter opens with scripture portion that Jesus read in the temple from the scroll that he was given: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me to preach the good news to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, to proclaim the accepted year of the Lord,” as we read in the Gospel of Luke in Chapter Four verse Eighteen. Jesus was promised by God as the coming salvation already in the Garden of Eden, after the Fall of Humanity. As a sign God gave his word and made garments from animal hides for Adam and Eve to cover and protect them. Throughout Scripture the promise was reaffirmed by the prophets, believers waited for the fulfilment of the promise of deliverance. The captives returned from Babylon and their mourning clothes, or sack cloths, were replaced by garments of rejoicing, this was the first sign of the promise. The second sign of the promise was the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus Christ wears the robe of righteousness and salvation, he is dressed or clothed, inwardly and outwardly, with the marks of divine justices. He came down from heaven to earth as the Enfleshed Word of God, the living manifestation of “God with us.” The soldiers mocked him and put a kingly robe and crown on him to make sport of him. Little did they know that their acts of injustice and reviling only amplified the world’s misunderstanding of his royal estate, Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. Isaiah prophesied that the power of the words spoken by Christ and his triumphant cry on the Cross stating, “It is finished,” would herald in the age of salvation. “The Lord God will cause righteousness and justice and praise to spring forth before all the nations through the self-fulfilling power of His word,” as we read in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter Sixty One verse Eleven, (Amplified Bible).
Being clothed with the robe of righteousness, as a sign of God’s grace and his gift to his children, was experienced by the Minister of the Treasury of the Queen of Candace. He was an Ethiopian, a faithful believer, who came to Jerusalem to worship. He was travelling, returning home, reading scripture aloud from the cabin of the chariot. The Apostle Phillip heard him reading the scroll from the Prophet Isaiah, he came to him, asking him if he understood what he was reading. The Ethiopian officer said to Phillip, “Tell me about whom does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Phillip explained the promises of scripture and the life, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus to the officer. As they came to some water the officer asked Phillip to baptize him as a believer in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. After Phillip baptized the Ethiopian officer the Spirit of the Lord took Phillip way and the officer could not see him anymore. Scripture tells us in the Book of Acts, Chapter Eight verse Thirty Nine, “And the officer went on his way rejoicing,” (Amplified Bible). Being clothed with the water of baptism and the Enfleshed Word of the Lord will cause our whole being to exult in the Name of the Lord, to praise Him and rejoice in His salvation for us.
Father, we thank you that you take away our clothes of mourning and dress us with your robes of righteousness. We thank you for your promises for us, and for your work made visible in our lives, as we wear the robes that you have made for us to cover and protect us, robes that tell of your forgiveness, Amen.
