And this blessing continues in our lives today.
Have you noticed, in reading Isaiah, that he jumps from metaphor to metaphor, though still on the same topic? That 54th chapter “Sing, O barren…”, presents the church as the bride of God, vss. 1- 8, but later returns to describing His redeemed as a building. See verses 11- 15:
“O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.”
The “O barren one” section, 54:1- 8, is similar to the “O afflicted one” passage, 11- 15. The similarity of form invites closer consideration. God’s people are described in two different ways, and with two different metaphors (wife and building). Both refer to the children of the faithful, and God’s mercies to them.
One of God’s mercies, obviously, is that the barren one is no longer barren. Spiritual Israel’s seed is broadcast throughout the world. Chrysostom, commenting on Galatians 4, wrote this:
“Who is this who before was “barren” and “desolate”? Clearly it is the church of the Gentiles, which was before deprived of the knowledge of God. Who is “she who has the husband”? Plainly the synagogue. Yet the barren woman surpassed her in the number of her children, for the other embraces one nation, but the children of the church have filled the country of the Greeks and of the barbarians, the earth and the sea, the whole habitable world.”
This is why the barren one was told, verse 2, to “enlarge the place of your tent”, told even why she was still barren! [2] A call to exercise faith in God’s assurance.
By the way, it is still a “tent” that is being enlarged, not a permanent dwelling [1].
There are other things that could be said, but let’s look at this second section in particular.
The “affliction” described here, is from the Hebrew “ANI”, a word most often translated “poor”.Looking ahead in this book the word is further illustrated. Isaiah 66:2b- 3 gives both assurance and warning:
“But on this one I will look:
On him who is poor (ANI) and contrite in spirit,
And who trembles at My Word.
He who kills a bull as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;”
The very sacrifices of obedience - hadn’t God commanded all these? – will, at the brighter revelation of the New Covenant, become sacrileges, evident tokens of obstinate apostates. They become this because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice. The true worshipers of God worship Him in Spirit and in truth, John 4:24, not in a physical place. Christ refers to this poorness of spirit in the Beatitudes, (Matt. 5:3) as a necessary step to Kingdom-entering blessedness.
He also assures the church, returning back to Isaiah 54:11- 15, that the gates of Hell (the powers of Hell) shall not overcome it.
The “colorful gems”, “foundations", “crystal”, “walls of precious stones” might remind us of two New Testament passages. We find a very similar description of the church, the heavenly Jerusalem, in Rev.21:10- 27. And we also see a cross-reference in 1 Pet. 2:4- 10. As we come to Christ and grow in Him, we are built upon Him, living stones upon the Rock, the chief cornerstone that was laid in Zion. By the way, this is the same Stone in Daniel 2 which, decisively striking the metal image of the earthly kingdoms, grows and fills the entire earth. The blessings of the New Jerusalem, that are enjoyed right now, are knowledge, stability, peace and righteousness. You can see all of these in the Isaiah passage.
We shall all be “taught by the Lord”. This is because all of those in the New Jerusalem are taught by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. Jesus quotes this verse, John 6:45, showing that those taught by God will come to Christ and rest in Him.
It is very important to recognize how richly Christ, and His gift of grace, is interwoven in the Old Testament, and how many passages of the Old Testament can only be understood by turning to the New. As Augustine points out (in “On the Spirit and the Letter”, chapter 27)
“This grace hid itself under a veil in the Old Testament, but it has been revealed in the New Testament…”
But it needs to also be pointed out that many Christians today are deficient in their New Testament knowledge, not because they don’t read the New Testament – but because they don’t read the Old. They miss the connection. They are like those who, just walking in on a rich and deep discussion, expound authoritatively and glibly on the very last words heard.
In this same way, many prophecy students are deficient in their understanding of prophecy – because they read the prophecy books of the Bible too much. By neglecting the rest they likewise miss those connections that would’ve saved them from imbalance and - in some cases - outright spiritual poison.
The best commentary on the Bible is – the whole Bible.
NOTES
Jerome, commenting on Isaiah, aptly writes:
1. “Anyone who is in a tent does not have a secure and everlasting dwelling but is always changing places and hurrying on to the next.… For the end of “living in tents” is the taking possession of the eternal home, whose foundations do not shift nor are moved around.”
2. Also, maybe by divine design, the human instrument who figured largely in this enlarging of the tent of the Israel of God was himself a tentmaker, Paul of Tarsus!
Have you noticed, in reading Isaiah, that he jumps from metaphor to metaphor, though still on the same topic? That 54th chapter “Sing, O barren…”, presents the church as the bride of God, vss. 1- 8, but later returns to describing His redeemed as a building. See verses 11- 15:
“O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.”
The “O barren one” section, 54:1- 8, is similar to the “O afflicted one” passage, 11- 15. The similarity of form invites closer consideration. God’s people are described in two different ways, and with two different metaphors (wife and building). Both refer to the children of the faithful, and God’s mercies to them.
One of God’s mercies, obviously, is that the barren one is no longer barren. Spiritual Israel’s seed is broadcast throughout the world. Chrysostom, commenting on Galatians 4, wrote this:
“Who is this who before was “barren” and “desolate”? Clearly it is the church of the Gentiles, which was before deprived of the knowledge of God. Who is “she who has the husband”? Plainly the synagogue. Yet the barren woman surpassed her in the number of her children, for the other embraces one nation, but the children of the church have filled the country of the Greeks and of the barbarians, the earth and the sea, the whole habitable world.”
This is why the barren one was told, verse 2, to “enlarge the place of your tent”, told even why she was still barren! [2] A call to exercise faith in God’s assurance.
By the way, it is still a “tent” that is being enlarged, not a permanent dwelling [1].
There are other things that could be said, but let’s look at this second section in particular.
The “affliction” described here, is from the Hebrew “ANI”, a word most often translated “poor”.Looking ahead in this book the word is further illustrated. Isaiah 66:2b- 3 gives both assurance and warning:
“But on this one I will look:
On him who is poor (ANI) and contrite in spirit,
And who trembles at My Word.
He who kills a bull as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;”
The very sacrifices of obedience - hadn’t God commanded all these? – will, at the brighter revelation of the New Covenant, become sacrileges, evident tokens of obstinate apostates. They become this because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice. The true worshipers of God worship Him in Spirit and in truth, John 4:24, not in a physical place. Christ refers to this poorness of spirit in the Beatitudes, (Matt. 5:3) as a necessary step to Kingdom-entering blessedness.
He also assures the church, returning back to Isaiah 54:11- 15, that the gates of Hell (the powers of Hell) shall not overcome it.
The “colorful gems”, “foundations", “crystal”, “walls of precious stones” might remind us of two New Testament passages. We find a very similar description of the church, the heavenly Jerusalem, in Rev.21:10- 27. And we also see a cross-reference in 1 Pet. 2:4- 10. As we come to Christ and grow in Him, we are built upon Him, living stones upon the Rock, the chief cornerstone that was laid in Zion. By the way, this is the same Stone in Daniel 2 which, decisively striking the metal image of the earthly kingdoms, grows and fills the entire earth. The blessings of the New Jerusalem, that are enjoyed right now, are knowledge, stability, peace and righteousness. You can see all of these in the Isaiah passage.
We shall all be “taught by the Lord”. This is because all of those in the New Jerusalem are taught by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. Jesus quotes this verse, John 6:45, showing that those taught by God will come to Christ and rest in Him.
It is very important to recognize how richly Christ, and His gift of grace, is interwoven in the Old Testament, and how many passages of the Old Testament can only be understood by turning to the New. As Augustine points out (in “On the Spirit and the Letter”, chapter 27)
“This grace hid itself under a veil in the Old Testament, but it has been revealed in the New Testament…”
But it needs to also be pointed out that many Christians today are deficient in their New Testament knowledge, not because they don’t read the New Testament – but because they don’t read the Old. They miss the connection. They are like those who, just walking in on a rich and deep discussion, expound authoritatively and glibly on the very last words heard.
In this same way, many prophecy students are deficient in their understanding of prophecy – because they read the prophecy books of the Bible too much. By neglecting the rest they likewise miss those connections that would’ve saved them from imbalance and - in some cases - outright spiritual poison.
The best commentary on the Bible is – the whole Bible.
NOTES
Jerome, commenting on Isaiah, aptly writes:
1. “Anyone who is in a tent does not have a secure and everlasting dwelling but is always changing places and hurrying on to the next.… For the end of “living in tents” is the taking possession of the eternal home, whose foundations do not shift nor are moved around.”
2. Also, maybe by divine design, the human instrument who figured largely in this enlarging of the tent of the Israel of God was himself a tentmaker, Paul of Tarsus!