Nothing Formed

Isaiah 54:1-17

Introduction: The last verse of Isaiah chapter 54 is one of the verses we lean on frequently.

NLT – Isaiah 54:17 ‘But in that coming day no weapon (turned, formed, forged) against you will (succeed, prosper)’.

‘You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from me. I, the LORD, have spoken!

Application: SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco 49er Ricky Pearsall, 23, was shot and wounded in an attempted robbery in Union Square on Saturday afternoon in the middle of the afternoon in a highly populated area, the San Francisco Police Department said.

Context: SALVATION TO COME FROM THE SERVANT (CHAPS. 54-57)

These chapters speak of the great salvation that will come to Israel (chap. 54) and proselytes (55:1-56:8) based on the work of the Servant, and of the condemnation which will come on the wicked (56:9-57:21). Ultimately the Servant will establish the millennial kingdom. Unlike Israel, He will not fail in His mission.

a. Salvation for Israel (chap. 54)

• Israel’s Changing (numerical) growth.

God speaking through the Prophet Isaiah, spoke about a reversal that would occur then and permanently later through a Coming Messiah (Jesus).

Israel – ‘you who have never given birth; who have borne no child’

I will reverse you from a barren, dead, unfruitful people to a blessed, healthy and virile one.

I. Barrenness to Virility

‘aqar = barren or sterile

Understanding: In Israel, a barren woman was disgraced, for children aided in family chores and helped the parents in their old age.

• Fertility on every level was a sign of God’s blessing. For example, when Hannah was not able to have children she was devastated, but when the Lord allowed her to have a son she sang for joy (1 Sam 1:1-2:10).
• There are several infertile women in the Bible such as Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, Samson’s Mother, Sunamite women, Michal, and others.
  
  
• Two of Israel’s matriarchs were sterile, namely Sarai, Rebekah and Rachel.

God told Israel, the once barren & childless that things would change.

‘Break forth / Shout with singing, and loud cries’. ‘for the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman, says the Lord.’

Israel was like a woman who had no children and was therefore in a continual state of mourning.

But by God’s sovereignty and grace, He will enable her to have many children. So she will break into song and shout for joy. Jerusalem, once desolate and mourning (Lam 1:1-5), will be revitalized and teeming with people. Also like a nomad who has so many children he has to enlarge his tent to accommodate them all, Israel’s descendants will increase and even settle in the cities of foreign nations because there will not be enough room for them in their homeland.

 Understanding: Through our God and the work of Jesus, we are transferred

Colossians 1:13-14, ‘For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins’. (NLT)

II. Israels Return, Belonging through Regathering – v. 4-8

• The LORD will regather Israel the way a man would take back his wife.
• The nation need to have no fear (cf. 41:10,14; 43:5; 44:2,8) of disgrace, for she will no longer be desolate and helpless like a widow.
• God, like a husband (cf. Jer 3:14; 31:32; Hos 2:16), will take back Israel, His wife.
• He is the LORD Almighty… the Holy One of Israel, her Redeemer (cf. Isa 54:8; see comments on Isa 41:14), and in His uniqueness He is the God of all the earth, that is, its Creator and Sustainer.

• The Lord had deserted His people for a short while (a brief moment).

• Though not stated here, Isaiah had given the reason for it several times: because of the nation’s sins (cf. 50:1) and God’s commitment to His word.

• But because of His compassion (54:7) and kindness (hesed, “loyal love,” v. 8, trans. “unfailing love” in v. 10), He will restore the nation to Himself. T
• The short moment during which God hid His face (i.e., abandoned Israel because of His anger against her sin) contrasts with the everlasting nature of His covenant loyalty.

1 Peter 2:9-10, ‘But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy’. (NKJ)

Transition: The prophecy moves Israel From (1) Barren to fruitful; and from (2) Lost and Abandoned to blessed and belonging, and then, or lastly for now, from being vulnerable to being protected and Defended.

III. Vulnerability to Protected and Defended – 54:9-10.

After the Flood, in which God executed His anger against the world’s depravity, He promised never again to devastate the earth in the same way (Gen 9:11). Similarly God promised that the day is coming when He will never… rebuke Israel again. Statements like this show that Isaiah was speaking of the millennial kingdom rather than the return from the Babylonian Captivity, for the nation has suffered God’s anger many times since the post-exilic return. Even if the world could be punished again as in the Flood, God’s love (hesed; cf. v. 8) and compassion will never cease. The covenant of peace (also mentioned in Ezek 34:25; 37:26) refers to this promise which God had just made. God will give His people lasting peace (cf. Isa 9:7; 32:17-18; 54:13; 55:12; 66:12; Jer 30:10; 33:6,9; 46:27).

Transition: The prophecy moves Israel From (1) Barren to fruitful; and from (2) Lost and Abandoned to blessed and belonging, and then, or lastly for now, from being vulnerable to being protected and Defended to a Secure and Peaceful Place.

IV. Israel’s Peaceful and Secure Future (54:11-17).

11-12. Jerusalem, the afflicted city, had been through many troubles, called storms, and no one had comforted her (cf. Lam 1:2,9,15-17,21). However, the Lord will build up the city with stones made of precious gems, symbolic of His care and esteem for the value of the city.

13-14. Israelites always considered the training of their children a high priority. Many wanted them to be true to the Lord and not guided by the pagan world around them. In the Millennium, the children will be taught by the LORD Himself and will enjoy His peace (cf. comments on v. 10). Righteousness will prevail (cf. 33:5; 46:13; 58:8; 62:1-2) and Jerusalemites will no longer fear for the Lord will protect her from tyranny.

15-17. In the millennial kingdom no nation will be allowed to defeat Israel because the Lord has so decreed. Nations rise and fall based on His word. In the past He allowed the destroyer (Babylon) to overcome His people, but this will never again occur. Peace and safety are the heritage of those who trust in the LORD.

Salvation for the Gentiles (chap. 55)

So let me finish with verse 17, ‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD’.

[No weapon that is formed] No instrument of war, no sword, or spear; no instrument of persecution or torture that is made by the smith, Isa 54:16.

[Shall prosper] On the meaning of this word, see the notes at Isa 52:13. The sense here is, that it shall not have final and ultimate prosperity. It might be permitted for a time to appear to prosper as persecutors and oppressors have done, but there would not be final and complete success.

Conclusion:  Deuteronomy 20:4, ‘Deuteronomy 20:4 For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’ (Deu NLT)

1 Samuel 17:47 “Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’S, and He will give you into our hands.” (NKJ)