Today let’s look at the last half of chapter 54 of Isaiah. In the first half of chapter 54 it said, “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide.” (2) That’s “because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” (1) Israel who was captured by Babylon was truly like a “desolate woman”, (1) but the Lord will in due time restore them and they “will spread out to the right and to the left.”(3) In today’s passage too it continues to talk about Israel’s restoration.
Ⅰ．God will make your walls of precious stones (Vs. 11,12)
First of all please look at verses 11 and 12. Here God promises to make Israel like precious stones.
“O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlement of rubies,your gates of sparkling jewels,and all your walls of precious stones.”
“O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted” is Israel. Israel was afflicted by and lashed by the storms of Babylon. However, the Lord says that he will make such an Israel into precious stones. Turquoise is a bluish-green stone. Sapphires and rubies I think you know. Their walls will be of precious stones. God will make Israel like these precious stones. It will be just like a beautifully dressed up bride. From head to foot she is decked up and brilliantly shinning. The rock that has been broken to pieces will be restored by God.
Please look at Rev. 21:1-2.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”
This is a scene of heaven. Heaven is truly like a bride dressed up for her husband. The prophecy that Isaiah saw was of heaven. In other words, this isn’t only just a prophecy of Israel who was captured by Babylon being liberated and made into precious stones, but also at the end of the world God’s people, Christians too will be so. It is a two folded prophecy.
In the verses following Rev. 21:10 it says in more detail what the new Jerusalem is like. In verse 11 it says, “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” Verses 18 to 21 say, “The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.” Heaven is such a place shining with precious stones. Christians in the course of time will inherit such a heaven.
How wonderful this is! Now for a while we may be afflicted by various problems and “lashed by storms.” (11) We may be only suffering and in the condition of not finding hope anywhere. However, God will surely comfort you. In due time, he will lead you to the heavenly kingdom which is like precious stones.
Ⅱ．A great peace (Vs. 13)
The second point is that your children will have great peace. Please look at verse 13.
“All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace.”
This is a wonderful promise! We all put ourselves aside and desire that our children become happy. Our children will all “be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace.” (13) Now it may not be so. They may not now know why they are living, but when they realize that they are living for God’s joy and glory, then they will have joy and peace. In the course of time such a time will come. “All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace.” (13)
Do your children have a great peace? Here it says, “be taught by the LORD.” (13) For your children’s peace to be great they must “be taught by the LORD.” (13) Peace is not something that is obtained automatically. It is the grace that is brought by being “taught by the LORD.” (13) Why do children rebel against their parents? Why are children anxious? Why are children selfish and self centered? It’s the age we live in…No! It is because they are not “taught by the LORD.” (13) If they are taught by the Lord, “great will be your children’s peace.” (13)
Ephesians 6:1-4 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ –which is the first commandment with a promise-‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’ Fathers, do no exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” How can children be happy and “enjoy long life on the earth”? (Eph. 6:3) It is by obeying their “parents in the Lord”. (Eph. 6:1)Then the parents are commanded, “do no exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4)
Looking back on the past, I exasperated my children a lot. Raising children is not easy. Things don’t go the way you want them to. However, even though while having such weaknesses, if we bring our children “up in the training and instruction of the Lord,” (Eph. 6:4) the Lord will give peace and will be responsible for bringing them up. Of course, this is not just going through the actions of reading the Bible and praying every day. Here it says, “in the Lord.” (Eph. 6:1) This is in the Lord’s love and instruction. In any case, what is certain is when your children are taught by the Lord, “great will be your children’s peace.” (13) You may think that your child is still too young to understand, but in reality it is when a child is very small that is the most important time. It seems like they don’t understand at all, but in reality they are soaking it up. Therefore, whether they understand or don’t understand, if you want them to have a great peace, you must seek to have them receive the Lord’s teaching. Those who think that it is too late because their children have already grown up, must not give up. No matter how big they have gotten if you pray that your child will walk in the Lord and grow, then surely that prayer will be answered. “If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (I John 5;14) Therefore, no matter how old your child gets, don’t give up, but pray. In the course of time your child will look at his parents and your child too will for sure walk in the way of the Lord.
Ⅲ．In righteousness you will be established (Vs. 14-17)
The third point is “in righteousness you will be established.” (14) Please look at verses 14 to 17. I will read verse 14.
“In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you;you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed;it will not come near you.”
Here it insists that “Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear.” (14) That is because “In righteousness you will be established.” (14) “Righteousness” (14) is salvation. We “will be established”(14) by righteousness, by salvation. To be saved is to have a relationship with God. The first man, Adam and Eve, sinned and fell short of the glory of God. Even when God called out, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) they weren’t able to answer, “Here I am” .but feared the face of the Lord and hid among the trees of the garden. In other words, their relationship with God was completely severed. This is spiritual death. This is hell. Hell is the world where God does not exist. So there is no joy, and no hope. Constantly you are fearful about something. Constantly you are anxious about something. However, when you believe in the Son, Jesus Christ, and you are saved of your sin, God’s light floods your dead soul, and it comes back to life. By the interchange with the life of God you are renewed. If God is with us, what do we have to fear? David confessed this, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Psalm 23:4) If God is with us, even though we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” (Psalm 23:4) we have nothing to fear.
In John Kuuan’s book, A life of thankfulness, 365 days, there is an essay, “Thankfulness from birth to death”. He wrote that there are people who complain with a feast sitting before them and there are people who are thankful with one slice of dry bread. There are people who even though they have been given health, bear a grudge against their environment. There are people who even though have don’t have both arms and legs, they are thankful. There are people who lost only one, but they are angry, and there are people who have lost two, but are thankful. There are people who are despaired or take their life because they failed. There are people who are thankful for all the things of their past and are preparing for their future. There are people who quarrel with those criticize them, or do harm to them. There are people who love their enemies and are thankful. There are people who fear death. There are people who gratefully accept death.
We have many reasons for being thankful: thankful for breathing, thankful for being able to walk, thankful for eating and sleeping, thankful for husband, wife, and children, thankful for success and failure, thankful for sickness and also health. In reality from the time we are born until the time we die, we have nothing more than thankfulness.
Such thankfulness is truly born from God being with us. That’s why there are those for whom death is the end of everything and others who are able to gratefully accept death because even if they die God is with them. Therefore, to have a relationship with God is a greater joy than anything else, a blessing. That is “righteousness”. (14) That is salvation. Salvation is to be in a right relationship with God. Such a person has nothing to fear. “Terror will be far removed.” (14)
We live daily in fear. We worry about losing money, about health, about losing our job and losing family. We have such fears. Besides such fears there are also uncertainties about natural disasters coming upon us. However, in the midst of such fears, if you believe in Jesus Christ, all your sin will be forgiven and you can be in a right relationship with Jesus Christ. God will be with you. Therefore, you will have nothing to fear. “If God is for us…who shall separate us from the love of Christ?…In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:31,35,37)
Please look at verses 15 to 17. “If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;whoever attacks you will surrender to you. See, it is I who created the blacksmithwho fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
If anyone attacks Israel, on the contrary, they will surrender to Israel. For example, Haman who appears in the book of Esther plotted to kill all the Jews and made a gallows seventy-five feet high to hang Mordecai. However, on the contrary, “they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.” (Esther 7:10) God blesses those who bless Abraham and curses those who curse him. Therefore, if someone is antagonistic towards Israel, then on the contrary, they will surrender to Israel. That is because Israel was redeemed by God and is the people of God. It is because God is with them. No matter how much they are attacked, Israel will definitely not surrender.
Also no matter what new weapons the enemy has, it is God “who forges a weapon” (16) so such a weapon will be useless. No one can be antagonistic towards God. Therefore, no matter what happens they will never be shaken. God is sovereign. He controls all so if we depend upon God there is nothing to fear.
Please look at the last part of verse 17.
“’This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,and this is the vindication from me.’declares the Lord.”
“This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD. (17) The servant of the Lord are promised this blessing. If you are the Lord’s servant, then you too are promised this promise. The problem is whether you are a servant of the Lord or not. Also whether you have received the Lord’s righteousness or not.
Please open your Bibles to II Cor. 5:21.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
God made his only son, Jesus Christ “sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Cor. 5:21)
Therefore, if you would like to receive God’s righteousness, you must believe in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for your sin as your Savior. If so, you can receive the righteousness of God. That righteousness has no conditions. It is offered to you. If you believe in Jesus and receive God’s righteousness, you will in the course of time receive the glory that is promised here. “In righteousness you will be established.” (14) Your children too will have a great peace. No matter what kind of fears you are in, you will definitely not be shaken. You will be able to continue standing firmly. God will always be with you and watch over you. What amazing grace! Please accept this grace. Believe in Jesus and receive God’s righteousness, and receive the blessing of this heritage. This salvation is being offered to you..