Isaiah 54

Isaiah 54 belongs to the prophecies of comfort that begin in chapter 40 of Isaiah. It immediately follows the Suffering Servant song of Isaiah 53 and depicts in poetry the restoration of a people who have become like a forsaken wife.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 The barren woman is told to sing and to enlarge the place of her tent. Her descendants will spread abroad on the right hand and on the left and will inherit the nations.
• Verses 4–8 She is told not to fear, for her Maker is her husband. Though he forsook her for a small moment, he promises to gather her again with great mercies.
• Verses 9–10 Just as he swore after Noah's flood, the LORD swears that he will not be wroth with her again. Though the mountains depart, his kindness and the covenant of his peace will not depart from her.
• Verses 11–14 He promises to rebuild the afflicted city with sapphires, agates, and carbuncles. Her children will be taught of the LORD and will be established in righteousness.
• Verses 15–17 Those who gather together against her will fall, and no weapon formed against her will prosper. The chapter concludes by declaring that this is the heritage of the servants of the LORD.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 54:2 "Enlarge the place of thy tent": widely cited as a promise of restoration and expansion.
• Isaiah 54:10 "My kindness shall not depart from thee": speaks of God's steadfast love (hesed).
• Isaiah 54:17 "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper": frequently memorized as a promise of protection.

Persons and Places

• The LORD: the speaker, who calls himself her husband, her Redeemer, and the Holy One of Israel.
• Noah: mentioned in verse 9 in connection with the flood narrative.
• The forsaken woman: the text does not name her. In light of the preceding chapters, she is generally understood to be Zion, that is, Jerusalem and its people.

Points for Reflection

• Many scholars date chapters 40–55 to the end of the Babylonian exile and call them "Second Isaiah" (Deutero-Isaiah). Conservative scholars attribute this section, too, to the prophet Isaiah himself.
• Verse 9 appeals to the Noahic covenant as the basis for the unchanging nature of this promise.
• In Galatians 4:27, Paul quotes verse 1 and applies it to "Jerusalem which is above." John 6:45 quotes verse 13. The jeweled city of verses 11–12 is often compared with the New Jerusalem.
• Interpretive traditions differ in emphasis over whether this promise is fulfilled in the church or also includes a future restoration of the nation of Israel. Covenant theology places greater emphasis on the former, and dispensationalism on the latter.

In the Korean Church

Verse 2, "Enlarge the place of thy tent," is frequently used as a sermon text for church plantings, building projects, and founding anniversaries. The English missionary William Carey is known to have preached a sermon on verses 2–3 in 1792 urging overseas missions, and that sermon is often mentioned in missionary preaching on the passage.