Desperation and Hope
On that day, things will be so bad that seven women will grab hold of one man and say, “We’ll take care of ourselves—our own food, our own clothes. Just let us take your name so we won’t be shamed.”
But in that same day, the Lord’s branch will be beautiful and glorious. The land will produce abundantly for those who survive in Israel. Everyone left in Zion, everyone still in Jerusalem, will be called holy—each person whose name is written in the book of the living. The Lord will wash away the filth of his people and cleanse Jerusalem’s bloodstains through his spirit of judgment and fire.
God’s Sheltering Presence
Then the Lord will create over every home on Mount Zion, over every gathering place, a cloud of smoke by day and a blazing fire by night. His glory will shelter everything. There will be a shelter to shade from the daytime heat, a safe place to hide from storms and rain.