“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has
sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of
the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to
console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy
for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may
be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”
--Isaiah 61:1-3
Beauty for ashes is an interesting term. In order to fully understand it, we must first
know the significance of ashes in the Bible.
Ashes represented a time of mourning, loss, purification, or repentance. In our focus scripture, Isaiah is prophesying
to the people of Israel who are being held captive and oppressed as a result of
their rebellion against God.
There is always a
consequence for rebellion. But because
of God’s grace, we don’t always get what we deserve. And even though we rebel against God, He never
leaves us without hope. If we turn to
Him, His promises are true. There will
be an exchange:
- Healing in exchange for brokenness;
- Freedom in exchange for captivity;
- Comfort and consolation in exchange for mourning;
- Beauty in exchange for ashes;
- Joy in exchange for mourning; and
- Praise in exchange for heaviness.
Margaret Slaughter
