For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
When you hire a contractor, especially now in our digital age, it can be a remarkably impersonal experience. I contract A to do B and pay him C when B is complete. The correspondence and payment is usually done via email. That is the difference between a contract and a covenant. In a covenant, each party values the other with a sacrificial love. In this agreement, the contractor does more work than required, expecting nothing in return while the other gives the contractor all he has. That is the difference between the view many have of God and the reality of who God is. He is not simply a contractor who says, “If you give me this, I will do this.” He is a Heavenly father and his chosen people, Isaiah says, are a crown of beauty, like a bride.
As the church, we are his treasure, a crown of beauty. Imagine that! The Great I AM, the author of beauty, sees us as beautiful because we are clothed in the robes of the KIng. we are princes and princesses. That should change us from customers of God into worshipers of God. If he did this for us, then we are his bride…
And his servants.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church