Isaiah 54:16-17

The *Lord controls arms and armies.

Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible; in the original language, it means ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
exile ~ someone that an enemy takes away to a foreign country.
Israelites ~ Jews; people who belong to the 12 tribes of Israel.
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes of Israel.
tribe ~ group of the later family of one father.
covenant ~ special personal agreement that the Lord made with Israel (see Exodus chapter 24).
Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible; in the original language, it means ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.'look-out ~ someone whose job is to watch for danger; the place where that person waits whilst on duty.
Babylonian ~ a person from the country called Babylon; or anything that has a relationship with the country called Babylon.
Temple ~ special building in Jerusalem where Jews praised God and offered him prayers and gifts.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes of Israel.
tribe ~ group of the later family of one father.

1. Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

God’s Servant Saves God’s People

Isaiah Chapter s 41 to 55

Gordon Churchyard

The words in square brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language. Words in round brackets, (…) are explanations.

Chapter 54

v1 ‘Sing, woman that cannot have a child. [Sing,] you who have never had a baby. Burst into song and shout! Then, you will be so happy! You never suffered a woman’s pain when she gives birth. [But you will be happy.] [Sing and shout!] Because the lonely woman will have more sons than the woman with a husband.’ This is what the *LORD is saying.

v2 ‘Make bigger the area that your tent covers. Stretch the curtains of your tent wider. Do not hold [it] back! Make the strings longer and make the *pegs of the tent stronger.

v3 [Do this], because you will spread out to the right [side] and to the left [side]. Your children [and their children] will make nations go [from their countries]. [Your children] will live in their (those nations’) empty cities.

v4 Do not be afraid. You will not be ashamed. Do not worry about the loss of your honour. You will not suffer shame. Then, you will forget that you were ashamed in your youth. You will not remember how bad you felt as a widow.

v5 Because now your Maker (God, who made you) is your husband. His name is the *LORD of Everything. The *Holy [God] of Israel is your *Redeemer. [People] call [him], “The God of all the earth”.

v6 [This is] because the *LORD has called you back. [You were] like a wife [whose husband had] left [her] alone. [He has called you, like a wife] whose spirit was very unhappy. [She was] a wife who married at a young age. Then, [her husband] sent her away.’ This is what God is saying.

v7 ‘[Just] for a brief moment I left you alone. But [now], because I pity you greatly, I will bring you back.

v8 In a burst of anger, I hid my face from you for a moment. But [now], with kind love that will always remain, I will pity you.’ This is what the *LORD, [who is] your *Redeemer, is saying.

v9 For me, this is the like the day when Noah [lived]. Then, I promised that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So, now I have promised not to be angry with you. I will not punish you again.

v10 Although the mountains shake, my kind love for you will not shake. Although [someone] removes the hills, no[body] will remove my *covenant of *peace [from you].’ This is what the *LORD, who pities you, is saying.

v11 ‘[My city, that the enemy] hurt, storms whipped you. No[body] comforted you. Look! I will build you [again] with turquoise stones (greenish blue precious stones). [I will build you] on a base of sapphires (bright blue precious stones).

v12 I will build your castles with rubies (red precious stones). [I will build] your gates with valuable stones that shine [in the light]. [I will build] your walls with precious stones.

v13 The *LORD will teach all your sons. And your sons will have great *peace.

v14 [The *LORD] will build you upon *righteousness (great goodness). Cruelty will be far away from you. Really, you will have nothing to be afraid of. Great fear will be far away [from you]. It will not come near to you.

v15 If anybody attacks you, I will not have sent them. Whoever attacks you will suffer complete defeat because of you.

v16 Look! I, I created the worker that works with iron. He makes the coal burst into flame. He makes a *weapon that is fit for its work. Also, I have created the destroyer that can destroy everything.

v17 No *weapon that anybody will make will defeat you. And if anyone speaks against you, you will prove their words to be untrue. This is what the servants of the *LORD will possess. And their good character will be from me.’ These are the words of the *LORD.

1. Notes

Here, in Chapter s 54 and 55, Isaiah asks people to do something. God has done something for them, in Isaiah 52:13-53. Now, men and women must accept what God has done for them. They must do these things:

• Be happy and sing, 54:1;

• Make bigger the area that their tents cover, 54:2;
• Come to the *LORD’s great meal, 55:1; and
• Look for the *LORD, 55:6.

This does not only refer to *Jews. Isaiah chapter 55 shows that it refers to everybody! Both Chapter s offer the results of the servant’s work in Isaiah 52:13-53.

Verses 11-17 are about the city called Jerusalem. Isaiah does not use the word ‘city’ in this section, but he means Jerusalem. There are two key words: *peace, verse 13; and goodness, verse 14. They remind us of Melchizedek, king of Jerusalem. In *Hebrew, ‘zedek’ means goodness, and ‘salem’ means *peace. Isaiah often refers to God’s city, see Isaiah 1:26; Isaiah 2:2-4; Isaiah 4:2-6; Isaiah 12:1-6; Isaiah 25:1-9; Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 66:10 and several other places. The Book of Revelation continues to emphasise the City of God especially in Revelation Chapter s 21 and 22.

2. Notes

Verse 1 ‘Sing’ here means ‘be happy.’ God tells the woman to be happy because there are many sons. They are not the sons of the woman, but sons that the *LORD has sent to her. Notice these things about the woman.

• She cannot have a child.

• She has never had a child.
• She has never suffered the pain of a woman who ‘gives birth’. (That means the pain of a woman who ‘has a child’).
• She is lonely because she is without a husband. In other words, there is no man to give her a child.

These sons are the children that are ‘born again’, John 3:1-16. ‘*LORD’ is the name for God that he uses in his *covenant. The only people that should use it are his servants. The note on verse 10 explains the word ‘*covenant’.

This woman means Jerusalem (see Isaiah 49:14 to 21). It is a reference both to the old city called Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem. Her ‘children’ is a way to describe all God’s people.

Verse 2 The ‘tent’ is a special description of where the people lived. The *LORD would bring more people (‘sons’ in verse 1) to them. Those people are not only *Jews, but they are from other countries also. Therefore, the *Jews must make their tents bigger! The strings held the tent up so that it did not fall over. People fixed the strings to the ground with *pegs. So then the tent did not blow away.

Verse 3 ‘Left’ is the opposite of ‘right’. In the *Hebrew Bible, ‘your children [and their children]’ is actually the word that means ‘seed’. That is an important word in the Bible. For Christians, it does not only mean *Jews. It means everybody that is ‘born again’. That is because ‘born again’ means Christian. That is, ‘in Christ’. And Paul tells us that ‘seed’ in the *Old Testament often means just ‘Christ’ (Galatians 3:16). That explains why an accurate way to translate part of this verse is this. ‘And your seed, he will make nations go [from their countries].’

(Look at the note on verse 1. And look at number 4 in the section called ‘Something to do’.)

Verse 4 The work of God’s servant in Isaiah 52:13-53 brings all the results in this chapter. One important result is that God will take away his people’s loss of honour. Notice that this extends from youth to old age (‘as a widow’). A widow is a woman whose husband is dead. The Bible often refers to God’s people as his bride or wife. Therefore, when God left them, they were widows! So, the word ‘widow’ in this verse has a double meaning.

Verse 5 ‘Maker’ is a name for God. It means that he made his people. He has come back to them. They are not ‘widows’ (verse 4) because they now have God as a ‘husband’. There is a note on ‘*redeem’ in Isaiah 35:10.

Verse 6 It was the work of God’s servant in Isaiah 52:13-53 that ‘called you back’. It was Judah and Israel, the ‘wife’, that did something wrong. But now God has called them back. This does not mean back from *exile. It means back to God. The words make it seem as if God had left his people. But really, his people had left God.

Verses 7-8 ‘I pity you’ in these verses means ‘I have a deep love for you’. ‘Kind love’, here and in verse 10, is a special Bible word. The *Hebrew word is ‘chesed’. It means the type of love that never changes. We have translated one word as ‘burst’. Bible students do not know what that word really means. Our translation makes it mean ‘sudden’, as in ‘sudden anger’.

Verses 9-10 Notice that God mentions the ‘waters of Noah’. God used the ‘waters of Noah’ (that is, Noah’s flood) to punish people. The story is in Genesis Chapter s 6 to 8. These ‘waters of Noah’ satisfied God’s anger. He promised that he would not use the ‘waters of Noah’ again. God hung his bow (the ‘rainbow’) up in the clouds, Genesis 9:13. His promise is permanent. In Isaiah chapter 53, the death of his servant again satisfied God’s anger. In the same way, the servant’s work is permanent. The word ‘shake’ means ‘change’ the second time. That is, God’s ‘kind love will not change’. Notice the use of ‘shake’ and ‘remove’ in verse 10. God uses the same words twice, with slightly different meanings. This is a special type of technique to help us to remember something. A ‘*covenant’ is a type of agreement. In an ordinary agreement, both people decide what to agree about. But in this *covenant, God decides what his people must agree to. The servant’s work has brought *peace to God’s people. It is a permanent ‘*covenant of *peace’.

Verses 11-12 God will rebuild his city with stones. But these are not ordinary stones. They are precious stones, like diamonds. Here are their colours:

turquoise stones: greenish blue

sapphires: bright blue

rubies: bright red

valuable stones that shine: probably red like a fire

Verse 13 This verse links with verses 1 (‘sons’) and 10 (‘*peace’). In the *Hebrew Bible, the order of the words is:

‘Your sons, the *LORD will teach. And great *peace [will come] to your sons.’

Notice one of Isaiah’s techniques. He starts and ends a verse with the same words. Some translations have ‘children’ for ‘sons’. This loses the connection with verse 1. Everybody that benefits from the servant’s death (Isaiah 52:13-53) is one of Jerusalem’s ‘sons’. That includes girls and women also! In Hebrews 2:12, Jesus (who is God’s servant in Isaiah 52:13-53) calls them ‘brothers’. This also includes girls and women, because it includes all the church. Here, ‘the church’ means God’s people. Everyone whom God has saved belongs to his church, both male and female, and from every nation (Galatians 3:28).

Verse 14 ‘*Righteousness’ (great goodness) is an important word that writers often use in the Bible. People who are ‘*righteous’ (very good) have that quality. Only God is really *righteous (very, very good). But his people try to be *righteous, too. They are always trying to do what is right and good. However, it is only God who can make a person *righteous. He does it for the person who trusts him (Romans 4:5).

Remember that verses 11-17 are about Jerusalem city. Therefore, ‘[The *LORD] will build you on *righteousness (goodness)’ is about Jerusalem. So it means that he will build Jerusalem upon his sons’ (people’s) good character. Their *righteous (good) character will be the base. Normally when we think about a city’s base, we think about rocks and stones. But here God says that the real base of any city is the good character of its people. Such a city will never be afraid of anything or anybody.

Verse 15 When people are *righteous, God supports them. Their enemies do not come from God. And in the end, their enemies cannot succeed, because God protects his people. Even if their enemies kill them, their spirits are safe with God in heaven.

Verse 16 ‘*Weapons’ are ‘military arms’. Here, the *weapon is probably a knife or a sword that the worker made out of iron. But although the worker made the *weapon, God created the worker!

Verse 17 ‘You’ in this verse still means ‘the city’, verse 11. But the end of the verse tells us that the city means the people in it! As a result of the servant’s work in Isaiah 52:13-53, all God’s people will become God’s servants. ‘Their good character will be from me’ reminds us of Isaiah 53:11. There we read that God’s servant will make many people good. In other words, he will provide good character for many people. Here, God tell us that he approves of the servant’s work. The *New Testament tells us that God and the servant are the same person! Isaiah 53:11 and Isaiah 54:17 really tell us something similar.

3. Something to do

1. Read the story of Sarah. At first, she had no children. But the *LORD made her a mother, then a grandmother, then the mother of the nation called Israel. Look in Genesis 11:30; Genesis 16:1 and Isaiah 51:2.

2. Read Psalms 87 and John chapter 3. It is very important to understand what ‘born again’ means. Make sure that you are ‘born again’.

3. Read Isaiah 22:20-25. Look how the writer uses the word ‘*peg’ in these verses.

4. Look for the word ‘seed’ in Genesis 22:17 and Galatians 3:16. Notice that the word ‘seed’ in those verses does not mean children, grandchildren and so on. It means Jesus Christ.

5. How many different names for God can you find in Isaiah Chapter s 54 and 55?

6. Study what the Bible teaches about Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18-20; Psalms 110, and Hebrews 6:20-7.

7. Compare Isaiah 54:11-17 with Revelation 21:19-20.

18. heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.
    Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
    LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
    lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’) it is a name for God.
    Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
    peg ~ an object which holds something in its place. For example, it may attach a string to the ground; or hold a cup against a wall.
    holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy. He is so holy that he is separate from everybody else.
    covenant ~ the agreement between God and his people. In this agreement God agrees to help and to protect his people. His people agree to love and to serve God. Or, an agreement between nations.
    peace ~ a calm and content attitude. The word often means simply that there is no war. But ‘peace’ especially means the calm and content attitude of a person who has a right relationship with God.
    righteousness ~ great goodness.
    weapons ~ military arms; the tools that a soldier uses during a battle (for example, swords).
    Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.'Old Testament ~ the earlier part of the Bible.
    redeem ~ a member of your family buys you from an enemy.
    exile ~ a person whom enemies force to live away from his own home or country. Or, the place where that person has to live.
    righteousness ~ great goodness.
    righteous ~ very, very good. Only God is really righteous (always right) but he calls his people righteous too.
    weapons ~ military arms; the tools that a soldier uses during a battle (for example, swords).'New Testament ~ the later part of the Bible.