The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.

Isaiah 61:1-3

There’s a kind of great exchange that Isaiah talks about near the end of his prophesy to the people of God.
And he gives it to us in a lovely list of opposites here:
If your heart is broken, it will be put back together,
If you are captive you will be set free,
If you are mourning, you will be comforted.  

It’s just lovely.
But my favorite part of these three verses is when Isaiah says we are given a garland instead of ashes.
In the Bible, ashes were considered a kind of sign of destruction.
It makes sense actually.
I mean, ashes are what are left behind after a fire burns out.
And so when people were mourning or grieving, it was tradition to sit on a pile of ashes, or place ashes on their heads.

Conversely, when someone was celebrating, they were anointed with oil, a sign of joy.
Isaiah says he has come to bring good news, that there is hope for all of those who are mourning and broken and captive.
The good news?  God gives garland instead of ashes, and oil of gladness instead of mourning.

You may have heard this translated before as beauty for ashes.
Beauty for ashes.
What a lovely exchange.
This is what God does for us.
God takes all the ashes, all the destruction, and gives you himself.
It’s beautiful.
You’ve been given life, freedom, love, and comfort today.

Beauty for Ashes.
Take that with you today.
God gives you Beauty for Ashes.

 

 

 

P.S. I was reminded of this verse because I heard one of our young people here at Prince of Peace sing this song.  Take a listen if you need another reminder of this beauty for ashes today.