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Morning Devotion for Christmastide
December 27, 2025
Reading: Isaiah 44:1-8
But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
Thus says the Lord who made you,
who formed you in the womb and will help you:
Do not fear, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my spirit upon your descendants,
and my blessing on your offspring.
They shall spring up like a green tamarisk,
like willows by flowing streams.
This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’,
another will be called by the name of Jacob,
yet another will write on the hand, ‘The Lord’s’,
and adopt the name of Israel.
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
let them declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to be.
Do not fear, or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
The prophet is focused on God’s being. And, I must admit that I have been drawn into focusing on God’s being largely because of the strength and forthrightness of the expressions in this Old Testament passage. The people then had less to distract them, in some ways, and thus they could focus more clearly and definitely, with appropriate awe and respect on God.
Who is this God in a world whose horizon is filled with so many possible objects of worship — so many other gods? There are two complementary bits of this little text: the prophet’s witness and Yahweh’s self-revelation. Think of this as taking place within an orchestra.
The prophet draws attention to the divine utterance by focusing upon who the speaker really is: “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts.” The speaker plays no second fiddle to anyone in the cosmic orchestra. Rather, God is introduced as both the first chair and conductor — the one and only. God is King, Redeemer, and Lord of hosts. This kingship is directed to humanity and the cosmos as a whole. God is also redeemer of Israel. This is not so unique. The Lord Redeemer who speaks to the exiles in Babylon is the same Lord who redeemed their ancestors from the grips of slavery in Egypt.
Though the image of God as Redeemer is not so unique, the image is expanded. God alone saves; moreover, God is also Lord of hosts. In a chaotic world, the promise that this one God is also Lord of hosts fuels a faithful imagination to see chaos and suffering against an alternative world in which God is the final power and authority. Life’s ultimate horizon is not the displacement and subjugation of the present. This is only the penultimate. That God is Lord of hosts suggests that life’s ultimate horizon is lived within the cosmos where God is King and Redeemer. There is no other viable object of worship. There is no other source of life. There is no other King. There is no other Redeemer. There is no other Lord of hosts. “You shall have no other gods before me.” There is silence. And we are directed toward the living God, King, Redeemer and Lord of hosts.
These fears, often awakened and fueled by strong messages from outside of ourselves, demand devotion. Yet, God — King, Redeemer, and Lord of hosts — the beginning and the end — directs our attention and our devotion away from these empty things, away from these empty pursuits back toward the only one who saves, back toward the only source of life. “I am the first and I am the last, besides me there is no god … Fear not, and do not be afraid.”
Consider In this season of Christmastide, particularly the Incarnation, this “first-ness” and “last-ness.” and Jesus Christ’s first-ness and last-ness in Revelation, particularly the declaration of crucified and risen Lord: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” How sharpened our focus on the proclamation of Jesus Christ, King, Redeemer and Lords of hosts, who by his death conquered death.
A Collect for Guidance
O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being; We humbly pray you to so guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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