OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS

Our Old Testament lessons for the third week of Advent explore hope.  Isaiah 35 proclaims the inevitability of God's salvation, even when we find ourselves at a great distance from Zion in situations that appear to be hopeless. Psalm 146:5-10 is a hymn of praise that calls us to trust in God because of God's enduring reliability.

Isaiah 35:1-10 - "Hope for the Hopeless"
Setting.  Theophanies are biblical texts that describe the appearance of God. The oldest theophany traditions in Israel follow a format in which the forces of nature would respond to the approach of God (see  Judges 5:4-5). Although  Isaiah 35:1-10 is a relatively late text—often assigned to second Isaiah or third Isaiah—note how it still follows this pattern of providing a response of nature to the ap…