We all have a strong desire for stability, security, belonging and home. The fact we long for such things suggests that we were made for them. But in this world, they seem so very elusive. From the position of the depths of despair, God promises Ezekiel acceptance, healing, an inheritance and home. All of these things are to be achieved by God and they are all accomplished by Jesus. This glorious vision of the future that God has prepared for his people will motivate us to live for the Lord Jesus in the present.

As Isaiah's listeners overlooked the desolation of the city, they thought they had been abandoned. But this passage shows a tender promise through the Lord's servant that one day those who had been forsaken would become the Lord's delight. This promise has been fulfilled through the arrival of the Lord Jesus and the building of his church. The church is the bride he cherishes and the bride he commissions to bring others into his great salvation.

What are we waiting for? Isaiah gives us a glimpse of the glorious future ahead and then shows us the one who has good news for those who don’t deserve to be there.

One of the things that makes us distinctively human is that we hold visions of the future and act upon them. In times of despair, God provided Ezekiel, and those with him, a vision of the future. In the best and worst of times, this vision provided motivation and hope but also satisfied their deepest longing.

Isaiah reintroduces the Lord’s servant as the very centrepiece of the closing chapters of his prophecy. We meet him this time as the Spirit-anointed conqueror who will come to announce the year of the Lord’s favour. All of the glorious realities of the new creation flanking this central passage reflect the reality of what he will come to bring. But salvation is not the sum total of his work. Crucially he also comes to bring the day of vengeance of our God. For the new Zion to be the city of righteousness, the Lord’s unrepentant enemies must be judged for their sin and injustice. The work of salvation and judgement is what the Lord Jesus has come to bring.

Where can we find justice? Even as we long for justice, Isaiah exposes the true nature of our hearts, to drive us to put hope in the Lord who loves justice and will bring it about.

Justice matters to us. Think of the Hillsborough enquiry, the Bloody Sunday enquiry, the trials of Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein, of Black Lives Matter and of MeToo. Justice also matters to God. He promises a day when all evil and all who have stood against him will be destroyed and removed entirely from his land. On that day, we shall see the glory of God!

Who will be saved by the Lord’s servant? This chapter of Isaiah gives the answer. One who is of a contrite and lowly spirit. But what kind of humility is required? It isn’t the false, outward and self-justifying humility of Israel. Instead, it is the authentic, repentant and self-despairing humility that depends on the coming Redeemer that will benefit from his work.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”. This chapter of Isaiah fills out Jesus’ beatitude by showing us what God does for his contrite people.

Is unity possible in church and society or are the barriers of race, wealth, culture and politics simply too great? Ezekiel promises a perfect world when God’s people will be one forever. But it won’t be achieved by human efforts. Instead through Jesus’ death, he creates in himself a united body. This sets us free from despair in a divided world. It sends us to call people of all kinds to repent and trust in him and gives us reason to hope in the future we need and want.