Isaiah 54:1-9

Isa 54:1

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

 

This verse is about the gospel going into the world and its increase as the body of Christ grows.  We know this because this verse is re-written in the book of Galatians.  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. (Galatians 4:27)  Here Paul includes the passage from Isaiah concerning the fact that the desolate will have more children than the married woman. It seems that God is typing national Israel and the law as the married woman.  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: (Jeremiah 3:14)  Jeremiah 3:14 states that God was married to Israel. Israel had the law and with it made a few converts here and there, so the one who was married had less children but in the second part of that verse He speaks about taking one of a city and two of a family to bring them to Zion. Zion is another name for the body of believers.  When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. (Psalm 102:16) Once the Lord has saved everyone He plans to save, then He shall return to this earth as we read in Psalm 102:16. So when God is going to bring one of a city and two of a family, He is stating that He will personally save those who are the elect of God.  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37) So back to the Galatians verse. Sarah was to rejoice because even though she only had one child, yet it was the child of promise and she will have descendants without number through the line of that child. Those descendants will be the body of believers who will be saved by grace alone.

 

Isa 54:2

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

 

To enlarge the place of thy tent means that the bounds of the church will be extended to all the corners of the earth.  The curtains were something which was used to make tents or tabernacles and were normally stretched out on poles or stakes.  Here the body of believers will be so large that they need to stretched out farther to accommodate the increase in the amount of souls coming into the kingdom.  The stakes were to be strengthened and that is normally done by placing them deeper into the ground so they would not be able to be moved.  The great tent of salvation will be able to accommodate the massive amount of Gentiles which will come into the kingdom.

 

Isa 54:3

For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

 

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)  Here is the proper understanding of Genesis 12:3 when it is applied to Abraham and his spiritual descendants.  They shall break forth on the right and left, which means the gospel will go forth to the ends of the earth.  The left and right are like the east and west, you can continue to go west and never meet east or you can continue to go to the right and never meet the left.  The Gentiles nations shall inherit the blessing of Abraham which is the reception of the true gospel in Christ.  All the cities of the world which are desolate or inhabited by false gospels will become inhabited with the true gospel and many within their borders will become saved.

 

Isa 54:4

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

 

Then the focus turns to the true believers in national Israel.  First, they will not be ashamed at what had happened to them by going into Babylon for 70 years.  Neither will they face any mass confusion concerning their situation that they have a special relationship with God.  He is chastising them but not forsaking them.  They will not be put to shame as their day will come when they are proven correct in following the LORD.  The shame of their youth goes back to when Israel was first formed and they were made slaves in Egypt and they will also not remember the time of their widowhood when it seemed that they were like a wife who was bereft of her husband.  They will remember the lessons they learned but it will not define who they are in Christ.

 

Isa 54:5

For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

 

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)  The LORD not only created the human race but had chosen to become a husband to the body of believers within the human race.  The LORD of hosts means he has full authority over armies and the angels of Heaven.  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. (Revelation 19:19)  In Revelation 19:19, the body of believers which follow Christ are called an army.  The redeemer of the body of believers is the Holy One of Israel which in this case would be the Holy One of spiritual Israel or the body of believers.  Then he will be known as the God of the whole earth but before he was called the God of Israel.  The knowledge of the LORD will expand greatly once the church begins to go universal and the people in pagan nations who become saved will know that God is the God of the entire world and there are no such things as local gods as many countries practice that belief.

 

Isa 54:6

For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

 

Then the focus goes back upon national Israel while they are in captivity in Babylon.  Israel will be like a woman who was forsaken by her husband and her outlook on life is bleak causing her to be grieved in her spirit, even though she was a wife from her youth such as national Israel was when God formed them in Egypt and they came out a great nation.  Then as a wife who was refused by her husband for some impropriety whether real or imagined, national Israel had suffered because of her idolatry.  Yet, the LORD had called them out of Babylon in that depressed condition and brought her back to the land and then she began to prosper once again and no longer was she considered forsaken.

 

Isa 54:7

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

 

In earthly time seventy years seems like a great length of time but in eternity, those seventy years were but a moment.  God did not forsake them permanently and with great mercy he regathered them out of the hands of Babylon and returned them to the land so they could rebuild the temple and wait for the day when the Messiah would come through the tribe of Judah.

 

Isa 54:8

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

 

In a little wrath God hid his face from them but only for a moment because through them would come the Messiah.  Even though they had a special relationship with God, they were still accountable for the adoption of false religions and idols and they were chastised for what they did but not forsaken.  It is like a parent who spanks his child for being disobedient, they are being chastised for only a moment but are not forsaken by the parents, even though the spanking may hurt for a while after it is over.  Then the LORD assures those true believers within Israel that they are not forsaken because they will continue to receive everlasting kindness with mercy which is the language of salvation.

 

Isa 54:9

For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

 

Then God makes a comparison between the chastisement of Israel and the waters of the flood of Noah.  And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. (Genesis 9:11)  Then God tells Noah that he will never again destroy the earth by a flood.  We have seen local floods all over the world but we have never seen a flood that has engulfed the entire world.  The LORD has sworn that he will never send a universal flood to destroy the world.  The end of the world and the destruction of sin will be accomplished through fire.  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (2 Peter 3:12)  The LORD makes the same promise to Israel that once they have completed their time in Babylon, there would never be another time when Israel will go into captivity.  There would not be a forsaking of Israel again.  This does not mean there would not be any correction or disciplines enacted for the breaking of God’s law.  With the rejection of their prophesied Messiah in 33 A.D. God would enact the final judgment upon them in 70 A.D. signifying their end and never to become a nation again.  Modern Israel is not a biblical nation but a political nation and has no ancestral connections to ancient Israel as the cult of Judaism is the national religion of modern Israel.

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