Isaiah 54:1

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear, break forth into singing and cry aloud... For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says the Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent... 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. (Isaiah 54:1–5)

When shame becomes singing: how God revives the barren, remarries the widow, and restores the forsaken.

Barrenness Turned to Singing

In ancient Israel, barrenness was looked upon as a shame and carried by a woman as a great disgrace. Yet as we come to chapter 54, that shame is turned into joy and rejoicing. God pictures Israel's exile to Babylon as the shame of barrenness, and now He speaks prophetically about drawing them back. They would receive temporary wrath because of their sin, but also enduring kindness from His hand. We see the same pattern in Jesus Christ — temporary wrath poured out upon Him that you and I would receive enduring kindness.

We already know from the end of Isaiah 39 that they would go into Babylon because of their sin. They would misunderstand that judgment, thinking God was arbitrarily punishing them or forsaking them. Yet He has told them repeatedly that this came because of their own sin. They had sold themselves into slavery, and their iniquity separated them from their God.

That period in Babylon is pictured here as a barren woman. But God promises to revive her: "Sing, O barren... break forth into singing." The joy comes from an abundant offspring. So fruitful will the restoration be that He says in verse 2, enlarge the place of your tent and stretch forth the curtains of your habitations. In modern language, remodel the house and build a second story — you're going to be so abundant in offspring that you'll be rejoicing and not even know what to do.

The Land Made Fruitful Again

God speaks to Judah and Jerusalem: they would go into exile under Nebuchadnezzar, but when they returned He would make them fruitful again. They would break forth on the right and on the left, their seed would inherit the Gentiles, and the desolate cities would be inhabited.

When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, the land lay broken and fallow for seventy years. Then they returned, and God caused the land to sprout once again. Destruction came another time: in August of 70 A.D., Titus and the Romans destroyed the temple. Around 120 A.D. the Jews rose up again in the Bar Kokhba Revolt, and the Romans, enraged, salted the land, destroyed the cities, and expelled the people. For 1,900 years the land was left desolate.

Then in the late 1890s the Zionists began returning to Eretz Israel, purchasing and cultivating their inheritance. After Israel became a nation officially on May 14, 1948, we now see the land blooming wonderfully. Yet this prophecy of inheriting the Gentiles and making the desolate cities inhabited is not fully fulfilled — it looks forward to God's coming kingdom and reign.

Comfort Through Coming Glory

What comfort this would have been to a people who knew, around the 690s B.C., that they were certainly headed into Babylonian exile and destruction. How do you encourage someone looking forward to such suffering? Only by helping them see the sure and secure blessing that comes after it.

It would be like someone telling you that tomorrow you'll lose your job, and six weeks later your home and everything you have. How could you be encouraged? But suppose they added: after a year you'll receive a job paying ten times what you make now, with a tenfold increase over anything you've had. Then you could look through the tribulation and be comforted.

We believers have a far greater promise than Israel did. Their return to Judah and rebuilt Jerusalem was a temporal kingdom. God has given us what Abraham looked for: "a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Yes, we may suffer trials and tribulation, but we have the sure promise of a heavenly kingdom.

Paul's Hope and Our Joy

Paul had this hope. In Romans 8:18 he writes, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." He was beaten with rods, whipped, shipwrecked, imprisoned — things none of us have suffered for Christ — yet he counted them not worthy to be compared with the coming glory. He was so assured of future glory that he told the Philippians, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

Are we living like that right now? People in our church and nation face very difficult, heavy times. Yet are we living with the expectation that to live is Christ and to die is gain? As we'll see, no weapon formed against us shall prosper. Do we have that assurance?

The church ought to be the most joyful crowd on earth. The world should look at us and wonder, "Why are you so joyful?" Charles Spurgeon once said that when you speak of heaven, let your face shine with the glory of the sun, but when you speak of hell, your normal everyday face will do. Sadly, we often walk around despairing, discouraged, and downcast — and yet we are the only ones with an absolute expectation of coming good. Through the ultimate Redeemer, Jesus, we Gentiles become joint heirs of an eternal kingdom. In fact, the New Testament reveals that we are His inheritance.

God Remarries the Widow

In verses 4 and 5, we see God remarrying the widow: "Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed... For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name."

God's exhortations to be encouraged are never vain platitudes. When He says "fear not," He gives the foundation upon which we build our strength. First, "you shall not be ashamed" — in the original this could be translated, "you will not be disappointed," because God will not delay. Yes, there are times we wonder, "God, are You going to show up?" John the Baptist surely wondered that in prison before his execution. Though He is seldom early, God is never late; He shows up at just the right time.

"Neither be confounded" means do not be wounded by humiliation. "You shall not be put to shame" — you will not be embarrassed for trusting in Him. In Isaiah 54:4, five different Hebrew words for shame are used to make it clear that God's vindication far exceeds anything we could secure for ourselves. It is always the temptation of our flesh to defend ourselves, but the kingdom calls us to be weak and wait for His strength — and He always shows up with a mighty arm. God puts you in a fix to fix you, and when you try to fix it yourself, He has to put you in another fix to fix the fix He wanted to fix in the first place.

The Kinsman-Redeemer

Barrenness was a shame, but widowhood — especially a young woman widowed without children — was a humiliating reproach. The book of Ruth illustrates this: both of Naomi's daughters-in-law lost their husbands before bearing children. The law required a brother of the husband to raise up an heir, but in Ruth's case there was no other brother.

So God says, "For thy Maker is thine husband." The idea is that God will be your kinsman-redeemer. Just as Boaz, a picture and type of Christ, redeemed Ruth, God promises to revive their barrenness and then stand in as the kinsman-redeemer, so the reproach of widowhood is no longer remembered.

The Forsaken Wife Restored

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 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. (Isaiah 54:7–8)

To grasp verses 6 through 8, we need the Jewish marriage custom. A girl would be betrothed young, with a contract between families. About a year before the marriage came a formal engagement period, during which the couple were legally married though they did not yet live together. The husband prepared the household. If during that time the bride was found impure, he could give a bill of divorcement, and she would be considered forsaken or rejected.

This is exactly what nearly happened to Mary. In Matthew 1:19, because Joseph was a just man and didn't want great reproach to come upon Mary, he considered putting her away privately — until the angel revealed what was really happening. So we see the progression: barrenness was a shame, widowhood a humiliation, but this is absolute disgrace — put away because of impurity.

God, because of Israel's infidelity and idolatry, put them away. Back in chapter 49 they cried, "The Lord hath forsaken us," and He asked, "Where is the bill of your divorcement? You have sold yourselves." Yet now He says, "For a moment I have forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee." It is awesome mercy that God still brought His people out of Babylon when He could rightly have destroyed them. And what about us? Deserving of all wrath, we too have received great mercy.

Temporary Wrath, Enduring Kindness

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... For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. (Isaiah 54:9–10)

Just as the floodwaters of Genesis were temporary and receded, God's wrath upon His people would last only a time. But while floodwaters recede, mountains are strong and enduring — and even if the mountains depart and the hills are removed, His kindness shall not depart. Every time you think the Lord has removed His kindness from you, go outside and look at the hills. Even if those hills were torn from their place, God's kindness toward you is still everlasting, and the covenant of His peace shall not be removed.

I Will Rebuild You

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires... and all thy borders of pleasant stones. (Isaiah 54:11–12)

God speaks to His afflicted, storm-tossed, uncomforted people and promises to rebuild their waste places. He will lay the stones, the foundation, the windows, the gates. Every campaign season, politicians promise far more than they can deliver, and their words prove empty soon after election. But God's promises are different: "all the promises of God are yes and amen unto the glory of God by us" (2 Corinthians 1:20). Though Judah would be ripped out of its land and sacked, God says, "When I bring you back — barren, widowed, forsaken, rejected, unlovely, destroyed — I will restore you and rebuild you with beauty and strength."

How many of us have that for a testimony? We were barren, forsaken, rejected, unlovely, thinking no one would ever want us — and the Lord came and said, "I want you for My possession, My inheritance, and I will rebuild the waste places." That is the testimony of every Christian. It doesn't have to be dramatic. Every one of us was rejected, barren, dead in trespasses and sins — but God in His great mercy, because He loved us, died to redeem us back to Himself. The principles are in the New Testament; the pictures that illustrate them are in the Old.

Taught by the Lord, Kept in Perfect Peace

"All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children" (Isaiah 54:13). Perfect peace is granted to all who trust the Lord. As Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." In the Hebrew it is shalom, shalom — peace, peace — repeated for emphasis. If that is true, then the logical exhortation follows in verse 4: "Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."

Ultimately this promise of children taught by the Lord and enjoying everlasting peace is fulfilled in the millennial reign of Christ. Isaiah 2:3 looks to that time: "Many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord... and he will teach us of his ways." And the result, verse 4: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares... neither shall they learn war any more." God Himself will teach the nations, and an enduring peace will come.

Your Enemies Will Be Ruined

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17)

God promises His people will be established in righteousness — and what is established in righteousness must be founded on righteousness. The only right foundation is Christ. "For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11). Founded on that rock, you have no need to fear, for no terror can succeed against you.

Enemies will surely gather — "but not by me," God says. Back in Isaiah 10, God called the Assyrians as the rod of correction in His hand; He whistled for the Babylonians; the Romans came in 70 A.D. because Israel rejected the Messiah. Those were judgments. But when you are founded on righteousness and the enemy gathers, it is not because God called them — it is because that enemy hates the Lord. And they will fall for your sake.

In Psalm 2 the heathen rage and the kings set themselves against the Lord and His anointed. But "he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh." That may be the only place in Scripture where you see God laugh — He chuckles when the enemy comes against Him and His anointed, and in Christ we are His anointed. When the enemy comes, we quake — but if we are founded on the rock, we need the right perspective. The God who created both the smith who forges the weapon and the spoiler who wields it is greater than them both. Even the devil is not the equal opposite of God; he is a created being, and we ought not fear him.

Their Righteousness Is of Me

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. These are not blanket promises to all people, but to His followers. And the reason they stand without fear is the final phrase: "their righteousness is of me." If we stood in our own righteousness, we would have every reason to fear the enemy's accusations. But we stand in the righteousness of the Lord.

Isaiah 61:10 — "He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness." Jeremiah 23:6 calls Him "The Lord our Righteousness." Romans 3:22 says it is "the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." My favorite verse, 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." And Philippians 3:9: "not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ." This is the inheritance of those who serve the Lord — standing not in their own righteousness but in Christ's.

Ho! Everyone That Thirsts

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat... without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1)

The word translated "Ho" is the Hebrew oy — alas, listen up. God shouts to His people: if you thirst, come to Me. This should remind us of John 7. Alfred Edersheim, in his work on the life and times of Jesus the Messiah, describes the Feast of Tabernacles. For seven days the people slept in booths so their children would look up at the stars and ask why, and the fathers would tell how God brought them out of Egypt and tabernacled with them in the wilderness.

Each day a great procession went from the Temple Mount down to the Pool of Siloam, drew up water in silver pitchers, and carried it back to pour out on the Temple Mount, remembering how God provided water from the rock. But on the last, great day of the feast, the procession went down in solemn silence and drew up no water, turning empty pitchers upside down — remembering that once they entered the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey, they no longer needed water from the rock. At that silent moment, Jesus stood and cried with a loud voice, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink... out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." If the Jerusalem Post had existed, that would have been the headline.

When we read Isaiah 55:1, our minds should immediately go to Jesus, for He alone quenches thirst. He told the woman at the well, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water" (John 4:10). She was ignorant of two things — the gift, and the Giver. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). The call goes to everyone who thirsts, and nothing will be withheld from those who come — without money, without price.

Hear and Eat That Which Is Good

Why do men spend their money on that which is not bread, laboring for what cannot satisfy? They grow weary, ready to faint, spending all their energy on worthless things. So God says, "Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good." The Hebrew shema means to hear, take notice, and obey.

It is important to hear God's word, but it only works effectually when we consume it. People constantly hear the word — flipping channels and stumbling on a Bible teacher, or scanning the radio dial — yet it remains ineffectual because they do not hearken diligently and eat it. Our nation consumes entertainment like no nation in history, content with fleshly satisfaction. But there is only one thing that satisfies the soul: the Word of God. "Let your soul delight itself in fatness." That requires discernment — we must choose good things, as Paul says in Philippians 4: whatever is good, lovely, and wholesome, think on those things, and the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds.

Incline Your Ear and Live

"Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David" (Isaiah 55:3). In a crowd full of noise, when someone calls your name you bend your ear to hear. That is what God asks — bend your ear, recognize He is speaking to you, hear what He says, discern it, and act upon it. Be not a hearer only, but a doer. Then your soul shall live.

We need physical food to sustain our bodies; we need the Word of God for our souls to live eternally. And God promises an everlasting covenant — "the sure mercies of David," a covenant characterized by mercy rather than law. David was a man after God's own heart, yet a sinful man whose failures are recorded for us, lest we think we could never be like him. Why did David receive mercy when Saul was rejected? Because he inclined his heart to the Lord and offered obedience over sacrifice. Saul was quick to offer sacrifice; David was ready to obey — and "obedience is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15). If we incline our hearts to the Lord, we too will receive mercy.

A Witness, a Leader, a Commander

"Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people" (Isaiah 55:4). Commentators debate whether "him" is David or the Son of David, Jesus. David was a witness of God's mercy — deserving punishment, yet given mercy. But Jesus most perfectly witnesses God's mercy, for God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us. He most perfectly fulfills the role of leader and commander. "Thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God" (Isaiah 55:5).

Seek the Lord While He May Be Found

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6–7)

This is our exhortation to the world: now is the day of salvation. Turn to Him while there is still time, for there is coming a day when His wrath is poured out and it will be too late. To come near, the wicked must forsake his way and the unrighteous his thoughts — that is repentance — and God will have mercy and abundantly pardon, just as He did with David. When David's sin with Bathsheba was exposed, he cried, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned" (read Psalm 51). God pardoned him.

This is antithetical to our thinking. When someone wrongs us terribly, everything in us cries for vengeance. Yet God says, "Repent, turn to Me, and I will abundantly pardon." Why is this so far from our minds? "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways" (Isaiah 55:8–9). And we should rejoice daily that He is not like us — if He were, He would never abundantly pardon after all we have done.

The Word That Does Not Return Void

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud... so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void. (Isaiah 55:10–11)

As the rain waters the earth and causes it to bring forth abundantly, God's word goes forth and accomplishes what He pleases. What part do we play? If His word is the rain, we are the clouds — we carry the water to this world and faithfully give it forth, knowing it will not return void. In Jude and 2 Peter, false teachers are called clouds without water; they have no sweet word of God. We are simply to carry the word.

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

Imagine a drought-ridden land that hasn't seen rain for months; when the clouds pour out the water, you can almost picture the trees and fields clapping their hands. So the church goes out with joy, making disciples of all nations. I have seen this firsthand. In Germany I taught a simple devotion to thirty or forty youth from the German YMCA on Matthew 17 and the transfiguration. By the time I drove home, an email was waiting: "The kids were blown away. No one has ever taught them the Bible sentence by sentence. They want you to come back." There is a desire in dry and weary lands for the word of God. Talking today with Roberto about Brazil — everywhere they went, the people just wanted the word.

"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree" (Isaiah 55:13). Thorns are the result of sin (Genesis 3). When the word goes forth, there is fruit — no more the thorn, but the fir tree — and it shall be to the Lord for a name, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

This is the great and awesome gospel we've been given: though we were barren, God has revived us; though forsaken, He has restored us; though widowed, He has redeemed us as our Kinsman-Redeemer. His wrath was poured on Jesus for a moment that we would receive everlasting kindness — the sure mercies of David — if we will repent and turn to Him.

Closing Prayer

God, Your word is so good. It is sweeter than the honey in the honeycomb. Lord, we thank You that Your word is perfect, converting the soul. We thank You that You have given us Your word freely and desire that we would freely bring it to others. Help us to be faithful like the clouds, just carrying the water to the dry land — Your word that is perfect, Your testimony that is sure, making wise the simple; Your statutes that are right, rejoicing our hearts; Your commandment that is pure, enlightening our eyes; Your fear that is clean, enduring forever; Your judgments that are true and righteous altogether. Help us to desire them more than gold, for it is sweeter than honey in the honeycomb. Teach us, Lord, not only to hear Your word but to eat it, to delight in fatness, that our soul would be revived and strengthened. We praise You in Jesus' name. Amen.