Isaiah Chapter Fifty-Four Commentary

Contents

I. Introduction

Our purpose is to render a commentary on Isaiah chapter fifty-four. Isaiah’s prophetic ministry was to Judah (and beyond!), and began in the year king Uzziah died (740 BC, Isa 6:1); it lasted through the reigns of Jotham (c. 742-735 BC-W.F. Albright), Ahaz (c. 735-715 BC-W.F. Albright), and Hezekiah (c. 715-686 BC-E. Thiele) (Isa 1:1), all kings of Judah. It is thought that he died a martyr’s death sometime during the reign of Manasseh (c. 687-642 BC-W.F. Albright) | (Dillard 275). This portion of Jehovah God’s holy Word is the second (Henry) of a closely linked three chapter sequence in the works of Isaiah, God’s holy prophet, that begins with chapter fifty-three, which prophesies of the humiliation and exaltation of our great savior God Jesus Christ (”Isaiah Chapter Fifty-three Commentary”), and moves prophetically to the humiliation and exaltation of our Savior’s Bride, the Christian Church, in this our chapter fifty-four (see also “Psalm Two Commentary” and the Messianic Kingdom), and ends with the prophetic passages in chapter fifty-five concerning the manifestation of Gospel Grace owing to the dove-tailing of the Godhead’s labors prophesied of in chapters fifty-three and fifty-four (“Isaiah Chapter Fifty-five Commentary”).

We will follow this format:

· Verse of Scripture utilizing the YLT text followed by an NASB mouseover of that verse. Key words in the YLT text will be footnoted with a link to a word study based on the Hebrew text, and/or a general discussion relative to the given word (we are not biblical Greek or Hebrew scholars, please consider our grammatical constructions with a critical eye).

· Commentary We shall be commenting on this passage keeping before us at all times the crucial fact that every jot and every tittle comprising these verses came forth under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit. We pray that He, by His grace, helps us along the way.

II. Isaiah Chapter Fifty-four Commentary Verses

54:1-3 Like a Mustard Seed unto the Greatest of Plants

YLT TEXT: Sing, O barren, she hath not borne! Break forth with singing, and cry aloud, She hath not brought forth! For more [are] the sons of the desolate, Than the sons of the married one, said Jehovah. Enlarge the place of thy tent, And the curtains of thy tabernacles they stretch out, Restrain not — lengthen thy cords, And thy pins make strong. For right and left thou breakest forth, And thy seed doth nations possess, And desolate cities they cause to be inhabited. Isa 54:1-3

COMMENTARY: Dearest reader, is not Salvation a blessed Song? Yea and amen (Isa 12:2, 55:12-13). Though in a manner these verses prophetically bespeak of the desolate state of Judah and particularly Jerusalem (Isa 1:1) owing to the Babylonian exile (587 BC) and her ultimate restoration unto renewed prominence by the grace of Jehovah God (beginning with release by way of Cyrus’ decree in 538 BC; note the word of God through Isaiah here-Isa 44:28, 45:1-4), their primary reference, as Paul the Apostle makes clear, has in view the inheritors of Salvation—the Children of Promise (Rom 9:6-9, Gal 4:26-28—esp. Gal 4:28), including specifically the Gentiles (Act 13:46): “…Sing, O barren, she hath not borne! Break forth with singing, and cry aloud, She hath not brought forth! For more [are] the sons of the desolate, Than the sons of the married one, said Jehovah…” Here then presaged is the waxing of Christendom; that is, the waxing strong of the Lord Jesus’ Church (Mat 13:31-33), and at the same time is presaged the waning of Judaism (cf. Mat 21:19), for the former is shown to overtake the latter: “…For more [are] the sons of the desolate, Than the sons of the married one, said Jehovah…” [1]. From today’s twenty-first century viewpoint this prophecy could hardly be more accurate [2]. The accuracy of this prophecy as it concerns the planting and outspreading of the Christian Church (and thus the Gospel) is astounding—unrestrained growth and outreach is predicted, just as we see it today, millennia after the words of this prophecy were first spoken: “…Enlarge the place of thy tent, And the curtains of thy tabernacles they stretch out, Restrain not — lengthen thy cords, And thy pins make strong. For right and left thou breakest forth, And thy seed doth nations possess, And desolate cities they cause to be inhabited….” [3]. Notice: desolate cities, where by default there is absolutely no notion of the only true God Jehovah, can, in the spirit of the metaphor, only become inhabited when desolate hearts become inhabited with notions of God, and this only through the Revealer of God, Jesus Christ (Jhn 10:27-30 , Jhn 14:9 , Jhn 17:5-8, 26), who works through His Church—the Children of Promise—a Body empowered by the Holy Spirit in our Lord’s manifest absence (Jhn 14:26, 15:26, 16:7, Act 2:1-4). Sing sweetly O barren maiden, for no longer art thou barren, but now bearest an eternal heritage unto the Lord thy Husband who dost open thy womb—it is to Him for a Name, and to thy seed for a Song. Praised be Jehovah God (Fig. 1).

54:4-10 Thou Wast Dear To Thy Loving One-Jehovah From the Beginning Barren Maiden

YLT TEXT: Fear not, for thou art not ashamed, Nor blush, for thou art not confounded, For the shame of thy youth thou forgettest, And the reproach of thy widowhood Thou dost not remember any more. For thy Maker [is] thy husband, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name, And thy Redeemer [is] the Holy One of Israel, `God of all the earth,’ He is called. For, as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Called thee hath Jehovah, Even a youthful wife when she is refused, said thy God. In a small moment I have forsaken thee, And in great mercies I do gather [4] thee, In overflowing wrath I hid my face [for] a moment from thee, And in kindness age-during I have loved [5] thee, Said thy Redeemer — Jehovah! For, the waters of Noah [is] this to Me, In that I have sworn — the waters of Noah Do not pass again over the earth — So I have sworn, Wrath is not upon thee, Nor rebuke against thee. For the mountains depart, and the hills remove, And My kindness from thee departeth not, And the covenant of My peace removeth not, Said hath thy loving one – Jehovah. Isa 54:4-10

COMMENTARY: It is shameful, is cause for being afraid and confounded, when a person or a people are not tethered to Jehovah God, as were the Gentiles here tethered instead to their multifarious gods and goddesses down through the ages, for time and again (evidentially) these gods and goddesses showed themselves impotent. Clearly in this redundant foolishness lies the cause for said Gentiles’ being both afraid and ashamed: “… Fear not, for thou art not ashamed, Nor blush, for thou art not confounded, For the shame of thy youth thou forgettest, And the reproach of thy widowhood Thou dost not remember any more…” The only true God Jehovah removed said reproach ( no more shame, blushing, not confounded, reproach removed and forgotten); indeed, the Gentiles’ loving-One, Jehovah God, showed Himself faithful, and in spite of their infidelities tethered Himself to them in their ignorance, with the hope that they (“whoever” Jhn 3:16) would ultimately reciprocate and tether themselves to Him through Jesus Christ (Act 17:30-31, Rom 7:4, 2Cr 11:2, Gal 3:8, Rev 21:9). This is consistent with the high and lofty thoughts and ways of our God (Isa 55:8-11): “…For thy Maker [is] thy husband, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name, And thy Redeemer [is] the Holy One of Israel, `God of all the earth,’ He is called. For, as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Called thee hath Jehovah, Even a youthful wife when she is refused, said thy God….” And if the Gentiles of antiquity needs be ashamed and afraid of their idolatry, even in their ignorance of the true God Jehovah, how much more so those contemporary with the Church age, who have had the light of the Gospel preached to them but reject it in lieu of their contemporary gods and godesses? Though God had His eye on the Gentiles for their ultimate betrothal to Himself, He shall remove His eye from those of today; yea, comparatively, those so very much privileged today with knowledge of the only true God Jehovah, upon whose kin of old His favor beforetime was deferred until the first advent of Jesus Christ; the ones who pull back their wedding-ring finger and mock and snub His incessant wooing of themselves (Hbr 10:26-27, “A Letter Of Invitation”) [6].

Notice that since the northern (ten) tribes have disappeared (they are demographically and geographically dispersed and have melded into the fabric of humanity per se), the “barren maiden” subject of this chapter is probably not Israel proper, for a disappearance in no way lasts for a small moment: “… In a small moment I have forsaken thee…”, and again: “… In overflowing wrath I hid my face [for] a moment from thee…” Moreover, there is spoken in these verses of an in-gathering: “…And in great mercies I do gather thee …”, which does not fit into the context of the history of Israel proper. Notwithstanding, ‘a moment of wrath,’ and ‘in-gathering’ fit well if the subject in view here were the Jews of the Babylonian exile, or the Gentiles, or both—the theological evidence is strong in the direction of the Gentiles as being the primary subject, as said above, while biblical history clearly supports an argument for the Jews of the Babylonian exile being a secondary subject. This is not a dichotomy, in that there is in the history of the Babylonian exile and restoration a very strong theological undercurrent that resonates with the theological intricacies attending the latent (in that the Jews were privileged to know God first; to be His ministers first) restoration of the exiled Gentile Bride of Christ (Christian Church)—Isaiah accurately relates a vision of God’s plans for both the Gentiles and probably the Babylonian exile Jews (we are interested in the Gentiles in this commentary).

It is with an everlasting love that the great Redeemer Jehovah God has loved the Gentiles, in spite of their pervasive, mindless love affairs with sundry other gods, which no doubt precipitated their momentary exile and latent restoration: “…And in kindness age-during I have loved thee, Said thy Redeemer – Jehovah!…”, and again: “… For, the waters of Noah [is] this to Me, In that I have sworn — the waters of Noah Do not pass again over the earth — So I have sworn, Wrath is not upon thee, Nor rebuke against thee. For the mountains depart, and the hills remove, And My kindness from thee departeth not, And the covenant of My peace removeth not, Said hath thy loving one – Jehovah…” Is this not a beautiful testimony to the holy essence of our God (His set way high apart, lofty thoughts and ways, which are tantamount to His Name; “O, That Name!”)? Amen; particularly when viewed through the redemptive lens of Calvary (Jhn 3:16, Rom 5:1, Hbr 13:20-21): “…And My kindness from thee departeth not, And the covenant of My peace removeth not, Said hath thy loving one – Jehovah …[red font added].” Praised be your Name faithful peace-covenant God Jehovah.

54:11-17 Zion-The New Jerusalem

YLT TEXT: O afflicted, storm-tossed, not comforted, Lo, I am laying with cement thy stones, And have founded thee with sapphires, And have made of agate thy pinnacles, And thy gates of carbuncle stones, And all thy border of stones of delight, And all thy sons are taught of Jehovah, And abundant [is] the peace of thy sons. In righteousness thou establishest thyself, Be far from oppression, for thou fearest not, And from ruin, for it cometh not near unto thee. Lo, he doth diligently assemble without My desire, Who hath assembled near thee? By thee he falleth! Lo, I — I have prepared an artizan, Blowing on a fire of coals, And bringing out an instrument for his work, And I have prepared a destroyer to destroy. No weapon formed against thee prospereth, And every tongue rising against thee, In judgment thou condemnest. This [is] the inheritance of the servants of Jehovah, And their righteousness from me, an affirmation of Jehovah! Isa 54:11-17

Compare the NLT TEXT: “O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you with precious jewels and make your foundations from lapis lazuli. I will make your towers of sparkling rubies, your gates of shining gems, and your walls of precious stones. I will teach all your children, and they will enjoy great peace. You will be secure under a government that is just and fair. Your enemies will stay far away. You will live in peace, and terror will not come near. If any nation comes to fight you, it is not because I sent them. Whoever attacks you will go down in defeat. “I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals beneath the forge and makes the weapons of destruction. And I have created the armies that destroy. But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. 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!

COMMENTARY: Jerusalem lay in heaps after Nebuchadnezzar devastated her in 587 BC (but…who really brings the sword against a nation, and lays it low? Jer 25:9! cf. Isa 54:15), and it could easily be said that she was afflicted and storm-tossed, not comforted (Isaiah probably did have a vision of that here): “… O afflicted, storm-tossed, not comforted…”, but the type of God-performed: “…I am laying…” (city) restoration spoken of just next does not fit into the history of Jerusalem after that devastation, even after her citizens in some measure returned and began to rebuild her—Zerubbabel’s temple (515 BC) was very modest in comparison to Solomon’s temple (tenth-century BC), and Herod’s temple (first-century AD), more extravagant, was not of the quality here spoken of; and the rebuilding of the walls under Nehemiah (445 BC) was not a labor of extravagance, in the extreme, rather it was a labor of practicality as concerns the materials, shelter, and security, and the same can be said of the city that sprang up after her walls were put in place (under Nehemiah and Ezra; Nehemiah’s second return to Jerusalem was probably in 433 BC): “…Lo, I am laying with cement thy stones, And have founded thee with sapphires, And have made of agate thy pinnacles, And thy gates of carbuncle stones, And all thy border of stones of delight…” Rather, here is surely presaged Zion-The New Jerusalem, the city built by God for His Bride (Fig. 1)—His fruitful “whoever,” Jew and Gentile alike (Mar 4:20, Jhn 3:16, 15:4-5, Gal 4:26, 1Jo 2:2), themselves as precious gemstones in the heart and hands of the blessed Builder ( Zec 9:16, Rev 3:12, 21:2, 18-21, “Saints”).

Particularly consistent with a New Jerusalem setting is the declaration that God will teach His people: “…And all thy sons are taught of Jehovah…” (cf. Isa 11:9). We think that this can only mean that He, Jehovah God, is here manifestly in the midst of His people (Zec 2:11, 8:3), and is working, for the Promise of the last verses paints a picture of unmitigated victory: All His teaching redounds to righteousness for the hearers, and an ambiance of unparalleled peace and security is declared to prevail: “…In righteousness thou establishest thyself, Be far from oppression, for thou fearest not, And from ruin, for it cometh not near unto thee. Lo, he doth diligently assemble without My desire, Who hath assembled near thee? By thee he falleth! Lo, I — I have prepared an artizan, Blowing on a fire of coals, And bringing out an instrument for his work, And I have prepared a destroyer to destroy. No weapon formed against thee prospereth, And every tongue rising against thee, In judgment thou condemnest…” But, all this Grace is declared conditionally: “…This [is] the inheritance of the servants of Jehovah…” It needs be that the Fruitful Maiden is (necessarily) servile unto Jehovah God, like her Husband, yea, the Righteous One, God’s Servant (Isa 53:11), the Warrior-Champion of the Salvation-struggle—who, in dividing the booty (Isa 53:12), decks out His Bride with the precious gemstones of His Righteousness (“Righteous Faith”): “…And their righteousness from me, an affirmation of Jehovah!…”