Last Updated on September 10, 2023 by Rayna
Isaiah 54 has been a chapter that the Lord has given to me over and over again. When I say given to me I mean that this chapter of scripture has been prophesied over me and that Jesus has led me to this specific chapter of Isaiah since the beginning of my walk with Him. I have read it and declared it over my life. Because my Seeking Him Today blog is all about learning the ways to seek Jesus in your everyday life I want to dive into this chapter and share with you what Isaiah 54 has taught me. You ready?!
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Table of Contents
- Isaiah 54 in the Amplified Bible and The Passion Translation
- God’s perspective on apparent barreness
- God will restore
- Let’s decree Isaiah 54:17
Isaiah 54 in the Amplified Bible and The Passion Translation
I have read Isaiah 54 in many versions of the bible but today I am going to teach out of both the Amplified Bible and The Passion Translation. I have included links to both bible versions below to add to your library in case you don’t have them:
To start, I love the title that the Amplified Bible gives to the chapter which is, “The Fertility of Zion.” As most of you know, I’m right in the middle of my fertility journey so I can relate to the barren place the scripture refers in verse one. I also waited many years to meet my husband which was a barren season. But, I married for the first time at 39 years old when God answered His promise to me for a husband. True to the character of God, He begins this chapter with a conundrum. Why is he telling the barren to shout for joy when the chapter is focused on fertility?
1 “Shout for joy, O barren one, she who has not given birth; Break forth into joyful shouting and rejoice, she who has not gone into labor [with child]! For the [spiritual] sons of the desolate one will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 54:1, Amplified Bible
To put this scripture in context, it was considered a terrible thing to be barren. Children were considered a reward from God because of how much help they provided and because they would take care of their parents as they aged. If you were barren and did not have children in that time it was considered a great stigma.
God’s perspective on apparent barreness
2 “Enlarge the site of your tent [to make room for more children]; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them; Lengthen your tent ropes And make your pegs (stakes) firm [in the ground]. 3 “For you will spread out to the right and to the left; And your descendants will take possession of nations and will inhabit deserted cities.
Isaiah 54:2-3, Amplified Bible
God’s response to apparent barrenness is to make room for more children. My response was, “Wait God, I don’t have any children yet?!” And when you look at verses 2-3 in The Passion Translation it says, “Increase is coming.” It’s like God is saying, “Your circumstances don’t scare Me because I already know what’s going to happen! I already planned it and your increase is coming!” This is always such a great reminder that our circumstances are not an indicator of God’s truth. God’s word is our compass for His truth.
God’s promises
Verse three begins with the promise that your dwelling place will expand and goes on to say that your descendants will possess nations and will establish themselves in deserted cities. This does not sound like the fate of a childless woman who has no one to pass on her legacy. I love how God’s plan is almost always the polar opposite of the world’s view. In the kingdom of God you lose your life to save it and you give everything away to be rich. Isaiah 54:4 is no different. God is challenging us to rejoice in the barren places of our lives and hand those places over to Him.
Do not fear, for your shame is no more. Do not be embarrassed, for you will not be disgraced. You will forget the inadequacy you felt in your youth and will no longer remember the shame of your widowhood.
Isaiah 54:4, The Passion Translation
I love how God is speaking to the fear in our lives. We do not have to fear because our shame is no more. When we dedicated our lives to Jesus Christ the supernatural exchange left us with circumstances that are now circumvented by God Himself.
The God of the whole earth is your husband
In all His glory, God goes on to say that He is your husband. Your Maker is your husband; the One who created you perfectly in your mother’s womb will care for you and provide for your every need. He is your Redeemer.
“For your husband is your Maker, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of the whole earth.
Isaiah 54:5, Amplified Bible
According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the synonyms for redeemer are deliverer, rescuer, saver, and savior. The actual definition references Jesus Himself! As Christians one of our promises is that we are married to our Redeemer. He will deliver you, rescue you, save you, and send His only son (Jesus) as your Savior. Bring. It. On.
I am drawing you back to Me
Verse six is so good because Father God explains how He has called you. It may feel like you had been rejected and scorned but God has called you back to Him. The Passion Translation compared us in Isaiah 54:6 to a young wife who has experienced rejection then He says, “I am drawing you back to Me.” I love how precious and intimate that statement feels.
6“For the Lord has called you, like a wife who has been abandoned, grieved in spirit, and like a wife [married] in her youth when she is [later] rejected and scorned,” says your God. 7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, But with great compassion and mercy I will gather you [to Myself again]. 8 “In an outburst of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” Says the Lord your Redeemer. 9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me, As I swore [an oath] that the waters of Noah would not flood the earth again; In the same way I have sworn that I will not be angry with you nor will I rebuke you.
Isaiah 54:6-9, Amplified Bible
Verses seven through nine explain God’s heart in that He abandoned His people because of an outburst of wrath. He hid His face from us for a moment but with great compassion, mercy and everlasting kindness He is drawing us back to Him. He even compares this to the great flood in Noah’s time and says He will not be angry with us just like He will never flood the earth again. What a promise! But, that’s just the beginning!!
Steadfast, faithful love
Now Father God starts to express His true love toward us. He says that if everything crumbles and disappears His heart of steadfast, faithful love will never leave us and His peace covenant with us will NEVER be shaken. I love that I have the promise that the love and compassion of God Himself will never give up on me. If you are a parent you can understand how you will never give up on your child. This is how God feel about us.
Even if the mountains were to crumble and the hills disappear, my heart of steadfast, faithful love will never leave you, and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken,” says Yahweh, whose love and compassion will never give up on you.
Isaiah 54:10, The Passion Translation
I will admit though that I used to read this verse and not really get it. I felt like it was words on the page. Now that I have walked with Jesus for almost 20 years and I have proof of His steadfast, faithful love, the words mean so much more to me.
I met my husband when I was 38 years old. God had promised me He would pick out my husband for me (this was my request!). I kept choosing men who would hurt my heart and one day I gave it all over to Jesus and asked Him to pick my husband. I’m like if you can create the world you can pick out my husband.
His love and compassion will never give up on you
It took 12 years for Jesus to answer my prayer for a husband. There were many times my heart wandered and doubted His promises. But in 2014 my husband walked in to one of my bible studies and we became friends. It was September and I had probably been on two dates that year. Yeah. It was not looking good for me to marry someone anytime soon. Lol! As we got to know each other we knew very quickly that we would marry. He was a normal, good looking guy who was my age with similar goals and aspirations. After all the mismatched people I had dated he was a breath of fresh air. We clicked and we became best friends then we got married nine months later.
So now I know the steadfast, faithful love that God promises because I have experienced it. Every time I would doubt His plan for me Father God would give me this chapter, Isaiah 54. He would say, “I am your Husband until I bring your husband into your life.” And, during my single years my every need was taken care of. Father God loves you and He will restore your life too because that’s what He promises.
God will restore
Father God goes on to express the magnificent ways He will restore your life. He compares the trials you have encountered to a storm-tossed city. He understands that you do not feel comforted. And, His answer is jewels! Yes, I’m serious. He will restore our foundation to that of precious jewels including sapphires, rubies, beryl stones, and He will make our walls of precious stones. Did you know that beryl stones include emeralds, aquamarines, and morganite? Wow!
11 “O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed, and not comforted, Listen carefully, I will set your [precious] stones in mortar, And lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 “And I will make your battlements of rubies, And your gates of [shining] beryl stones, And all your [barrier] walls of precious stones. 13 “And all your [spiritual] sons will be disciples [of the Lord], And great will be the well-being of your sons. 14 “You will be firmly established in righteousness: You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear, And from terror, for it will not come near you.
Isaiah 54:11-14, Amplified Bible
God’s promises go even further to say that your children (both spiritual and natural) will be disciples of the Lord. He will take care of their well-being just like He has done for you. God goes even deeper into this promise and says he will establish you in righteousness. Even the thought of oppression will be far from you and you will not fear. No terror will come near you.
Did you know that oppression is defined as having experienced prolonged cruel or unjust treatment. Father God says that even the thought of this will be far from you. His plan for you is to have peace and feel His caring love.
God will become your defense
Isaiah 54 starts out by speaking to a person experiencing barrenness, which is the greatest shame they could imagine when this was written. The chapter goes on to say that not only is the God of all the earth now going to be your husband, He will also draw you back to Him. In His pursuit of you, He will shower you with every jewel imaginable and He will give you successful children who will also serve God. From there, just when you didn’t think it could get any better, Father God goes on to say how He will handle anyone opposing you.
15 “If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me. Whoever attacks you will fall because of you. 16 “Listen carefully, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals And who produces a weapon for its purpose; And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.
Isaiah 54:15-16, Amplified Bible
God has not only become your husband but He has also become your defense. No one will fiercely attack you anymore. He will create weapons to inflict ruin if needed. For these two verses we have to check out how The Passion Translation version reads. Here it is:
15 If anyone dares to stir up strife against you, it is not from me. Those who challenge you will go down in defeat. 16 See, I am the one who created the craftsman who fans the coals into a fire and forges a weapon fit for its purpose, and I am the one who created the destroyer to destroy.
Isaiah 54:15-16, The Passion Translation
I love how it says that those who challenge you will go down in defeat. By choosing to dedicate our lives to Father God we gain a fierce, warrior husband who refuses to let us be defeated in any way.
Even if there is a weapon it will not hurt you
The chapter closes with my most quoted scripture. I have been speaking this scripture (Isaiah 54:17) over my life for over 20 years now and I highly encourage you to start decreeing it over your life.
“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn. This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And this is their vindication from Me,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 54:17, Amplified Bible
Here is The Passion Translation version:
But I promise you, no weapon meant to hurt you will succeed, and you will refute every accusing word spoken against you. This promise is the inheritance of Yahweh’s servants, and their vindication is from me,” says Yahweh.
Isaiah 54:17, The Passion Translation
Let’s decree Isaiah 54:17
- I decree and declare that no weapon formed against me shall prosper.
- I decree that every tongue that rises up against me in judgment will be condemned.
- I will refute every accusing word spoken against me.
- I walk in my full inheritance and my vindication comes from Father God.
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