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Isaiah 65:17-25 – New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁷ For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. ¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating, for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy and its people as a delight. ¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it or the cry of distress. ²⁰ No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days or an old person who does not live out a lifetime, for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. ²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ²² They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat, for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. ²³ They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—and their descendants as well. ²⁴ Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. ²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

Human Family 

I note the obvious differences 

in the human family. 

Some of us are serious, 

some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived 

as true profundity, 

and others claim they really live 

the real reality. 

The variety of our skin tones 

can confuse, bemuse, delight, 

brown and pink and beige and purple, 

tan and blue and white.

I’ve sailed upon the seven seas 

and stopped in every land, 

I’ve seen the wonders of the world, 

not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women 

called Jane and Mary Jane, 

but I’ve not seen any two 

who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different 

although their features jibe, 

and lovers think quite different thoughts 

while lying side by side. 

We love and lose in China, 

we weep on England’s moors, 

and laugh and moan in Guinea, 

and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland, 

are born and die in Maine. 

In minor ways we differ, 

in major we’re the same.

I note the obvious differences 

between each sort and type, 

but we are more alike, my friends, 

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends, 

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends, 

than we are unalike.

Maya Angelou

Today’s text reflects a time when the people of Judah are divided and somewhat cynical about their prospects for a better life. There is hardship in the land all around them; their lives are difficult. People are trying to survive, pursuing help and comfort for themselves and those near to them. 

Returning exiles are faced with the monumental task of rebuilding the ruined kingdom of Judah, and rebuilding a ruined temple. The mood is saturated with doom and gloom. Even if the fighting has ended, the very recent experience and memories of  wickedness, bloodshed, injustice, and greed are still influencing attitudes. People are afraid to trust, afraid to hope, afraid to dream. 

Verse 17, where we began reading this morning, informs us that, “the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.” God, through Isaiah, was encouraging the people to forget what was and look forward to what they and God could create anew. The grief of what they had just lived through needed to be forgotten in order for them to move forward with hope. 

These verses of Isaiah are full of optimism, with the promises of what will be a new creation. YHWH, through Isaiah, speaks of creating a new Jerusalem, in which God will rejoice and delight. In this new creation:

²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ²² They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat. 

These specifics indicate that the inverse was too often the reality. Housing insecurity and food insecurity were the result of wars, unjust leaders, and drought or floods. In the new Jerusalem, created between God and God’s people, parents will not send their children off to war. In the new Jerusalem, all these things God shall see to, even before we finish asking.

Verse 25 of our scripture concludes with:

²⁵ … They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

“My holy mountain” is not only meant to encompass Jerusalem but is expanded to include all lands and all people. When this comes to fruition, all will live peaceably, everywhere and always. 

In the Book of Genesis, God created the world “ex nihilo,” meaning “out of nothing.” In Isaiah, this new creation is not out of nothing but out of the chaos resulting from our human failures.

The utopian vision of  the lion, the lamb, the wolf, and the serpent living peaceably side-by-side is an illustration of what a difficult task we have before us. 

What would your vision be for a new heaven and a new earth? Clean, safe water around the world? Food, shelter, safety, and health care for all people, everywhere? Nuclear disarmament? Educational opportunities for all? A redistribution of wealth and resources so that all have some rather than some having all? 

What has to end for the “newness” promised in this scripture to become reality? There needs to be movement in our hearts and in our minds, and ultimately in our actions so that we move from an “us/them” mentality to embracing the “we” that I believe God intends us to be. 

Theologian and author Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation website offers these guiding questions: “‘What should life be?’ ‘Why isn’t it?’ ‘How do we repair it?’ When these are answered for us, at least implicitly, we have our game plan, and we can live with safety and purpose in this world.” 

Unless and until we truly understand that we are all one, that our success or failure is not meant to be achieved individually but as a whole, we will not realize the new creation that God hopes for us, or that we hope for ourselves. 

The world that we are meant to create with God is to be a joy and we are meant to be a delight. When that happens we shall not hurt or destroy anyone, anywhere and all of Creation will be God’s holy mountain.

In closing, I quote Maya Angelou – 

“…In minor ways we differ, 

in major we’re the same. 

I note the obvious differences 

between each sort and type, 

but we are more alike, my friends, 

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends, 

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends, 

than we are unalike.”

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – November 16, 2025