OUR FATHER IS OUR LIBERATOR AND OUR SHEPHERD

Isaiah chapter 49 verse 10 describes the Lord's favor upon His people this way;

“They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will lead them And will guide them to springs of water.

In this passage, the Lord is speaking to those who were bound and were captives and to those who were in darkness and blindness.

He instructs them to 'go forth' from their captivity and to emerge from the dark and show themselves.

The Lord says that these people, set free from the bondage of the kingdom of darkness by the Lord's mercy, will be led by the Lord Himself.

Under His guidance, they will not lack food or drink and neither will they be struck by the scorching heat or the sun. The Lord will guide them by springs of water.

This is reminiscent of the first few verses in Psalm chapter 23 which describe the Lord as a shepherd who makes His sheep lie down in green pastures and leads them beside still waters.

The Lord Jesus, in Luke chapter 4 verses18 and 19, officially inaugurating His ministry from a synagogue in His home town, read this passage from Isaiah 61;

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Amen.

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