Beauty for Ashes

The Story

In ancient Israel, people in deep grief would tear their clothes and put ashes on their heads. It was a way of saying, everything is ruined.

Isaiah wrote down the words of one the Lord had anointed, someone God would send to people sitting in the ashes.

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”

He would “comfort all that mourn.” And He would make an exchange. He would give “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

The ruins would be rebuilt. Cities that had been desolate for generations would be restored.

Seven hundred years later, Jesus stood up in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth. He was handed the scroll of Isaiah. He found this very passage and read it aloud. Then He rolled up the scroll, sat down, and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

Reflection