Isaiah
Chapter 54
Fertility of the Barren Woman
Rejoice, O barren woman who has not given birth; sing and shout for joy, you who never had children, for more are the children of the rejected woman than the children of the married wife, says the Lord.
Enlarge the space for your tent, stretch out your hangings, lengthen your ropes, and strengthen your stakes,
for you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will take possession of the nations and inhabit abandoned cities.
Do not be afraid, for you will not be deceived, and do not be ashamed, for you will not be disgraced. You will forget the shame of your youth; no longer will you remember the disgrace of your widowhood.
For your Maker is to marry you; the Lord Sabaoth is his name. Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; he is called God of all the earth.
For the Lord has called you back as one forsaken and grieved in spirit. Who could abandon his first beloved? says your God.
I have abandoned you for a brief moment, but with great tenderness, I will gather my people.
For a moment, in an outburst of anger, I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love, I have had mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.
This is for me like Noah’s waters, when I swore that they would no more flood the earth; so now I swear not to be angry with you and never again to rebuke you.
The mountains may depart, and the hills be moved, but never will my love depart from you, nor my Covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord whose compassion is for you.
Reconstruction of Jerusalem
O afflicted city, lashed by storm and unconsoled, I will set your stones with turquoise, your foundations with sapphires.
I will crown your wall with agate, crystalizing your gates and ramparts of precious stones.
All your children will be taught by the Lord, and they will prosper greatly.
Justice will be your foundation; tyranny and the fear of oppression will never come near you.
If ever you are attacked, it will not be of my doing; and your attacker will surely fail.
Look, it is I who created the blacksmith, who fans the burning coals and forges his weapons. But I have also prepared the one who makes them useless.
No weapon forged against you will succeed, and all who speak against you will be silenced. Such is the lot of the Lord’s servants, and such is the right I grant them, says the Lord.
Commentaries
Fertility of the Barren Woman.
The Lord speaks tenderly and without reproach to Israel as a wife who was abandoned but is now accepted again (7-8). Because of God’s eternal love and faithfulness to his people (8, 10), Jerusalem and the deserted cities of Judah will be repopulated with returning exiles (2-3). The “covenant of peace” signifies the complete blessing and protection of the Lord over the people from any future harm (cf. Nm 25:12; Ez 34:25).
Reconstruction of Jerusalem.
These verses go beyond history. God is establishing an eternal city (cf. Rev 21:18-21), which will be secure and precious, no longer suffering or being humiliated as it once was (14). This reaffirms the promise made to Noah (Gn 9:9) that the waters will never again destroy the earth. God will oversee the arms industry and its destructive power to ensure peace (16).