In
which the exiles rejoice in a coming new order of justice and peace
Genesis
1:24-31
And
God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of each kind, cattle and
crawling things and wild beasts of each kind. And so it was. And God made wild
beasts of each kind and cattle of every kind and all crawling things on the
ground of each kind, and God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let us make a
human in our image, by our likeness, to hold sway over the fish of the sea and
the fowl of the heavens and the cattle and the wild beasts and all the crawling
things that crawl upon the earth.
And
God created the human in his image, in the image of God He created him, male
and female He created them.
And
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the
earth and conquer it, and hold sway over the fish of the sea and the fowl of
the heavens and every beast that crawls upon the earth.” And God said, “Look, I
have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth and every
tree that has fruit bearing seed, yours they will be for food. And to all the
beasts of the earth and to all the fowl of the heavens and to all that crawls
on the earth, which has the breath of life within it, the green plants for
food.” And so it was. And God saw all that He had done, and, look, it was very
good. And it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day.
Isaiah 65:17-19,
25
For
I am about to create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall
not be recalled and shall not come to mind. But rejoice and exalt for all
times, that I am creating, for I am about to create in Jerusalem exultation and
with it rejoicing. And I will exult in Jerusalem and rejoice in My people, and
no longer shall be heard within it the sound of weeping and the sound of
screams.
The
wolf and the lamb shall graze as one, and the lion like cattle eat hay and the
serpent—dust, its food. They shall do no evil and do no harm on all My holy
mountain, said the LORD.
Advent is a season of longing, as we
wait for what we do not yet see: for God to come, in Jesus, and establish that
reign of justice, mercy and peace.
Hold on. The kingdom of God has drawn
near. A new day is coming.
Biblical
texts: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary
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