The Year of the Lord's Favor
Isaiah 61:1-3
"He has sent me...to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn..."
(Isaiah 61:1-2)
The year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance are like two sides of the same coin. When God extends grace, or favor, to the oppressed, it of necessity means some level of judgement to the oppressor. Consider early America's period of slavery in the 1800s. When the slaves of Southern plantations were emancipated, their freedom came at the price of a war that cost the lives of thousands and eventually meant higher costs of labor to plantation owners. Both favor and vengeance came rolling out through the Civil War.
The ultimate vengeance of our God was taken out on the Son of God in order to allow for the year of the Lord's favor and grace to us. Our battle has been fought and won! Victory is ours through Jesus. The price of God's grace to us was the death of the Jesus on the cross so that through Him we have been justified and declared righteous. God, in His justice, made His Son the object of His wrath on our behalf so that the year of the Lord's favor would reign in our hearts.
INSIGHT
While God's grace is free to us, it is not without great cost. Jesus took on the vengeance of God on our behalf.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Jeremiah 31-32
Psalm 119:1-64
1 Corinthians 11
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Year of the LORD’s Favor
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Footnotes:
a. Isaiah 61:1 Hebrew; Septuagint the blind
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