Promises of Restoration

Isaiah 54-57

            I’m not sure there’s a throughline for these chapters, so here are some random thoughts.

            In chapter 54, I appreciate how the imagery of marriage and childbearing are used for the restoration of Israel’s hopes. It might not make as much sense in our day and age, but in ancient Israel a woman’s prospects really depended on a man. If she was young, her identity was wrapped up in her father; when she was of the right age, her identity was wrapped up in her husband. This is why the law of Moses has such an emphasis on taking care of widows, lest they be left destitute in the absence of a man. So, here renewed fertility is a metaphor for the restored fortunes of Israel.

            Chapter 55 is well-known. It begins with the Lord’s grace, expressed as free food and water. In some ways, idolatry is in the background: why chase after other gods to provide what the Lord already gives free of charge? Then there is the famous statement about the word of God accomplishing what the Lord desires, calling to mind a theme throughout these chapters of the enduring power of the Word. Finally, there’s a beautiful promise of restoration, one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible, “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!”

            I don’t have much to say about chapter 56, but there is one interesting little play on words and images. In verses 4-5, literally the Lord promises a name that will never be cut off to the eunuchs (who, at the risk of being scandalous, are those who have been ‘cut off). A fun little pun that is lost in modern translation…

            Again, not much to say about chapter 58, either, but I do love verse 16, that the Lord will not be angry forever. Punishment is God’s foreign work; it’s something He does not because He delights in it but because human rebellion pushes Him to it. His proper work is to be gracious and merciful. So, His anger will not be His last word.