IN THAT DAY

The promise that Isaiah passed on to the people was that, after they had been exiled by the Assyrians, God would act again. “There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt” (Isaiah 11:16). Just as God had intervened on behalf of His people in their history, particularly in leading them out of Egypt and making a way through the Red Sea, so He would intervene again to lead His people back to their land and back to His plan for their nation.

“In that day” (Isaiah 12:1), songs of praise would again resound toward God as they had after the people of Israel had passed through the Red Sea to safety (see Exodus 15:1–21). “In that day,” when God resumed His role of bringing salvation to His people, trust would be restored, and fear would be removed. While their present circumstances made it difficult to sing such a song, it was an expression of faith and hope to anticipate and expect that such a day would come, a day on which singing such a song would again make sense.

God’s promise also revealed His nature.

Centuries after Isaiah, the apostle Paul insisted, “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:38, NLT).

But Isaiah had already made this case, arguing that even God’s occasional anger at the nation, even the punishment that He apparently brought through foreign invaders, could not separate the people from God’s love. For the people at that time, it was yet a statement of faith. But in that day, it would be again celebrated in all its reality.