Isaiah 41:13-20 / Matthew 11:11-15 (2019)
Israel had its golden age during the time of king David and king Solomon. That was also the time the first Temple was built in Jerusalem (833 BC).
Before that it had to struggle for freedom from slavery in Egypt and to find its identity as a nation with a king to rule over them.
But after king Solomon, the kingdom of Israel became divided and also tragedy upon tragedy befell them, with the annihilation of the Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians in 721 BC and the destruction of the Temple and exile in Babylon in 586 BC.
So when the 1st reading described Jacob as a poor worm and Israel as a puny mite, it is not just an expression but more like the reality.
Yet God said that He will help Israel and called Himself not just the Holy One of Israel but also its redeemer.
The word "redeemer" in the Old Testament originally meant the nearest male relative who will avenge the blood of someone who has been murdered, or pays off a debt and frees the debtor from prison, or protects the defenceless.
When God called Himself the redeemer, it meant that He is the one who will protect and liberate His people.
And He will even turn Israel into a fearsome threshing-sled with double teeth that will crush mountains and turn the hills into chaff.
But with Jesus as the Redeemer and Liberator who is sent by God, He does not break the crushed reed or snuff out the smouldering wick.
He calls out to those who have ears to listen to the prophesies of the prophets and the Law.
If only we will listen to the Word of God and keep it in our hearts, then the golden age of peace and joy will come upon us. We only need to listen.