Day Fifty-One -- Let the earth hear, and all that is in it . . .

Isaiah 29:1 to Isaiah 41:18

Biblical scholars have long understood and categorized the Book of Isaiah as consisting of three main parts, each covering a different period of time and ministry of the prophet (of which there was probably more than one).  We have been reading, and complete today, the first part of Isaiah which consists of the first thirty-nine chapters of the book.  Isaiah is in Jerusalem prophesying to the city and to Judah, warning of the fall that is coming to them in response to their sinfulness.  The powerful Assyrian nation is knocking at the door, and while with the LORD's help it will be kept from besieging Jerusalem, the kingdom of Babylon will not.  Unlike many of the prophets, Isaiah does not seem to be scorned by the people or the kings to whom he speaks the LORD's words, perhaps because he always holds out some hope to them.  Although God gives Isaiah the assignment of warning about the bad things that are to come, he is also chosen to assure the people that God will not completely abandon them:

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. 
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
... And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
... and the ransomed of the LORD will return. 
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (from Isaiah 39)