Advent: From Barren to Bountiful

Introduction

          This is the second week of our new Advent series, "Christ Foretold: Christmas with the Prophets."  Advent is a time when the church comes together and intentionally focuses on the coming of Jesus Christ.  Advent is not a new trend or holiday but an ancient tradition. The church has been celebrating Advent back to the 400s AD. The word “advent” in Latin means coming or visitation. The historic church celebrated Advent a little differently than how most churches celebrate today. Today, churches have given each week of Advent a different theme or word. The five weeks of Advent are about hope, peace, joy, love, and Christ. Each week corresponds with a different Advent candle on the wreath. We will follow the same pattern for the scripture readings and the candle lighting. One different thing is that the early church would focus on two things. First, they would look to Christ's second coming. The first two weeks of Advent were spent fasting, praying, and longing for our King Jesus to return and rescue his people. Second, they would look to Christ's first coming. The last two weeks would be spent as a remembrance and a reflection on Jesus’s first coming. Our short sermon series will examine what the prophets say about Jesus’s first and second coming.

             Last week we learned from the Prophet of Zechariah. We looked at Zechariah 9:9-17. We learned that when Jesus comes, he comes in a beautiful paradox. He is the humble suffering Servant and simultaneously the mighty warrior King. He comes to establish peace from sea to shining sea and also to defeat his enemies. He comes to bring salvation and righteousness, and also judgment. How can these paradoxes be reconciled? These things are reconciled through the blood of Jesus; his blood is the blood that seals and secures the covenant for us. This week we will be learning from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 54:1-17 says....

            “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord. “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities. “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall 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. If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”  (Isaiah 54:1-17)

Context

         It is a dangerous game to look at certain books of the Bible and rate them in order of importance. But if this was something you wanted to do, you would be hard-pressed not to have the book of Isaiah near the top of that list. The book of Isaiah has such a high theology of God and of Christ. Starting with God as King. This book depicts Yahweh as seated on a throne, and his robes fill the temple. The angels are forever flying around the throne singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Host, the whole earth is filled with his Glory." When God speaks, his voice shakes the foundations of the earth and his majesty is unbearable. This is the mighty God we worship. Isaiah teaches us that God is the creator. Isaiah tells us that it is God who has created all things, and he is able to orchestrate all things, large and small, according to his good pleasure. It was God who unrolled the heavens like a scroll and it was he who filled the depths of the seas.  

Isaiah has more to say about the Messiah than any other prophet in the Old Testament. It is from Isaiah that we learn about the virgin birth. He tells us that the Messiah will be a suffering servant who will bear the iniquity of his people. Isaiah teaches us that this Christ will be the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, and the government of the world would be on his shoulders (9:6). It is like God allowed the Prophet Isaiah to climb the mountain and see the mountains that are in the horizon of salvation history.

         Last week we learned that Zechariah is a post-exilic prophet. This means that he lived and ministered after Israel's time in exile. Isaiah is different. He is a pre-exilic prophet. Isaiah lived before Israel was taken captive and carried off as slaves. During Isaiah's lifetime, the people of Israel embraced idolatry. They turned from Yahweh and started to worship false idols. The further the people walked away from God, the more wicked they became. Israel the light to the nations, had descended into darkness. Enter Isaiah. 

          Today we come to Isaiah 54. Before we jump in, we should take notice of what has been going on in this book. Last week I took a few minutes to teach you the message of the prophets. Isaiah is no different. First, you have broken the covenant. Isaiah 1 is all about how the people of Israel have abandoned God. Second, you better repent. Isaiah is full of passages that call the people to repentance.  Third, no repentance then judgment. If the people do not turn from their evil, God will bring the whole nation into judgment. They will be exiled and carried off to faraway lands (Isa 3,5,8). Fourth, but after judgment, there is hope for a glorious restoration. This is where we are today, in chapter 54. The people have broken the covenant; they did not repent. Therefore, they will go into exile. But even then, God will make a way to save his people. He will send his servant, the Messiah, to save his people. When this Messiah comes, he is going to change everything.

Verses 1-3: From Barren to Bountiful

            “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD. “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and left, and your offspring will possess the nations and people the desolate cities."

          Israel is repeatedly personified as a woman throughout the Bible. The same thing is happening here. Isaiah is speaking to Lady Israel; she has been barren and unable to have children. She has been like many of the matriarchs of her own family. Think about all of the infertile women in the Old Testament. Sarah, , Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah are just a few of the barren women in the storyline of Israel. As modern western people, we do not comprehend how significant this would be. In the ancient world, civilizations rose and fell around children. The family was expected to have lots of children. To not have children was devastating; they did not have hormonal treatments like they do today, and there was no such thing as IVF.  When Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the woman's womb and the ground for the man. Eve is cursed with pain in childbearing. One of the consequences of the fall is barrenness. For men, the earth is cursed and shall no longer yield its fruit with ease, but it will require hard labor. You could say that the earth itself is barren. But when the suffering servant comes, God tells barren Israel to break forth in singing. 

            Lady Israel is just like all of the matriarchs; when they are barren, they call out to God, and God opens their womb. For example, Hannah is barren and she goes before the altar as she is praying. Eli, the prophet, hears her and tells her that she will bear a child. And Hannah hearing the news that she is going to have a child, breaks forth in singing. She sings, "And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation. “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn."

            Israel will be barren no more. Her womb will be open, and she will have so many children that she will have to extend her tent. She will have to lengthen her cords and drive the stakes of her house deep into the ground. Even then, she will have so many children that the land will not contain them. The children of Israel will spread out across the earth's landscape; they will go to the right and the left and possess all of the desolate cities. 

            What does this mean? This is a mission. Israel, in her flesh, was barren. She was unable to have children. I mean that she has always been like Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, and it is always God who does a miracle and provides children. It is through this suffering servant that God will take this tiny nation of Israel, and he will open her womb, and she will bear children all over the face of the earth. There are going to be a great multitude of children who will come from this new birth, and they will possess the entire earth. The gentiles who believe in Jesus Christ have become children of Israel. 

Verses 4-5: From Widowhood to Wedding

            "“Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.”

            Israel was a barren woman, and now because of the suffering servant, she is a matriarch with many children. Here Israel is compared to a suffering widow who has been redeemed by the Lord, her husband. She has gone from the shame of her widowhood to the splendor of the Lord's wedding. From the beginning of Israel's story as a nation, she is personified as a bride of Yahweh. During the exodus under Moses, Israel was redeemed from slavery and brought to mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments were more than just a set of rules and regulations that Israel was to follow. No, they were the terms of the marriage covenant. At the exodus, Israel was redeemed from slavery and was married to Yahweh (Ezek 16, Jer 31, Hosea 2). When Israel was saved from slavery, she was redeemed by God. The word "redeemed," is an exchanged word. It means to purchase from slavery or from bondage. When the Lord came for Israel, all of the burdens of Egypt were relieved, and all of the hard labor was behind them. It was as if all of their shame and disgrace were gone. All of this happened at the first exodus. If you want my honest opinion, Isaiah 54 is not talking about the first exodus. No, I believe that everything in this chapter is a result of the suffering servant. When Israel was redeemed from Israel, the payment for redemption was the blood of lambs on the door post at the Passover in Exodus 12. But when the suffering Servant comes, he redeems his people with his own blood; he saves his bride by freely laying down his life for her. Isaiah 54 is about the new exodus. It is about the work of King Jesus. He is the Groom of heaven, and we are his bride. We are the ones who were sitting in darkness, covered in our shame and disgrace, utterly hopeless; we were in shackles. We were like a widow, helpless and alone. But because of the work of Jesus, we have been redeemed. 

                        "For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called"

            Do you see this? When Christ, our Savior, comes, he comes to be a groom for his people. He is our Maker, and he is our God. Who are we that the maker of heaven and earth would come down to redeem us? He is the One who has brought us from our widowhood to the glorious wedding. He is the groom, and we are his bride. When he saves us, it is once and for all. Our sin and shame are no more; they no longer stand over us in condemnation. Our old rags have been replaced with the radiance of a wedding dress. Oh, how beautiful the church is. Never take for granted the church. She is the bride of our King, and to neglect her, is to neglect Christ Jesus. 

Verse 6-8 Restored and Rescued

          "For the LORD has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer."

            Suppose you want evidence that this passage is speaking of Jesus and not just about the people of Israel returning from exile. Here you go. Israel, as a wife has been unfaithful. She is like Gomer in the book of Hosea. She has played the harlot; she has constantly chased after other gods and sought pleasures everywhere except in God. Because she has abandoned Yahweh, Yahweh briefly abandoned her. Because Israel forsook God, she paid the price; she became destitute and deserted. Before I get to the good part of this verse, I want to give you this warning, church. If you exchange Jesus Christ for a lesser idol, it only leads to pain. It only leads to despair. Idols always overpromise and underdeliver. Idols will always leave you and abandon you when it counts. Do not leave Christ. Cling to him, for he is always faithful. 

            God is so faithful that because of the suffering servant, God is going to call to his bride, and he will gather her to himself. Instead of a spiteful husband, God will have compassion on her. He sees his bride in her ruined estate, runs to her, and redeems her a second time. He comes to her with "everlasting love," literally in Hebrew, "forever love." This is gospel. Do not tell me that the God of the Old Testament is wrathful and just wants to judge me. This is a story of redemption. We are a faithless people; we are stubborn, obstinate, and capable of downright evil. But when God sees us, he comes not in raging fury but in radical compassion. Our God is good and gracious, and he is slow to anger. He loves his people with a love that makes the angels fall prostrate before him in amazement. If you believe in Christ Jesus, you are loved. This is you. This is the Church. Oh, how lovely is our Lord? All of his ways are perfect. 

Verses 9-10: Real Anger is Passing, Real Love is Lasting

             “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you."

          What is to keep God from abandoning us? What is the basis for his love? Where does his compassion come from? It comes from his covenant of peace with us. In the days of Noah, the people of the earth were so wicked that God sent a flood to judge his creation. The flood waters of judgment destroyed all life on earth. Following the temporary flood, God made a permanent covenant with Noah that he would never again destroy the earth with water. In the same way, God has brought a judgment upon Israel for her wickedness, but this judgment is only temporary. When the suffering servant comes, she will be redeemed and he will establish his covenant of peace with her forever. Just like the flood of God's wrath was temporary, it was followed by a covenant of peace. So it is with Israel. God no longer is going to send a flood of judgment upon her, but he will send an ocean of mercy to wash away her sins and He will make a covenant of "shalom" with her on the basis of his "hesed" love. God's anger is passing, but his love is lasting.  God will never again look at us in regret, or in distain, but now when God looks at his people he only sees the righteousness of Christ, he sees the holiness of his son, and he sees the beauty of his bride.  This is the love that will reign forever. 

Verses 11-17: From Storm-Tossed to Secure

    “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall 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. If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”

          So far, we have seen the image of a barren woman blessed with many children. We have looked at a widow who has been redeemed. We have looked at an abandoned wife who has been restored. Now we are going to look at the ruined city of Jerusalem being restored. Here God calls out to his people, "Afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted." Do you ever feel this way? Does your life ever feel like you are a ship on the sea, and you have lost total control and are now storm-tossed and battered upon the rocks of life? Do you ever feel like you are just suffering daily, being afflicted from every angle? If so, listen to the sweetness of God's voice as he speaks to his people. God sees you; God knows your suffering; he knows you do not have it all together. Does that not give you comfort? God is going to speak a beautiful promise of restoration to his people. "O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children." 

          God is going to take this city that lies in ruins, and he is going to turn it into a beautiful spectacle for the nations. The city of God that has been burned down and destroyed will have its beauty restored 100-fold its original beauty. Spoiler alert, this is not talking about earthly Jerusalem. This is talking about the new heavens and the new earth. This refers to the new Jerusalem, where we, as God's people, will dwell forever with him in perfect peace. The stones that were laid bare will be replaced with antimony. This is a stone that has the appearance of silver. The overturned foundations will be laid with sapphire, a beautiful blue stone. The city's gates will no longer be burned down, like in the days of Nehemiah, but they will be strong and secure set with carbuncle, a red emerald. And the walls of the city will be covered in precious stones. 

          This is a restoration of what has been lost and an adornment of the bride. Jerusalem will be beautiful, and God's people will walk in the light of the Lord in this place. This is the hope of all Christians. All of these stones are blue and red, and silver. These colors are the colors of the priestly garments. This is going to be a city of priests. Not only will the city be gloriously beautiful, but it will be the home to the nations. We started Isaiah 54 with Lady Israel. She will have so many children that they will have to spread out over the earth, but when the new Jerusalem comes. All of her people will be secure in the land. All of the children of Israel will be taught by the Lord himself, and there will be great peace (shalom) in the land. The peace of the garden of Eden will be returned at last. There will be no more wanting or waiting. Christ will teach his people, and we will be secure with our King forever. 

            Look at how the chapter ends, "This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD."  Christian, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, this is what awaits you at the Advent of our King. This is your heritage and inheritance from Jesus, our king.