Isaiah uses the word picture of a ‘woman’ to refer to *Jerusalem and its inhabitants. • In earlier Chapter s, Isaiah had referred to *Jerusalem as a ‘woman’ that was without the benefit of children. There were several possible reasons why a woman should feel very sad. Her family might be *exiles (s... [ Continue Reading ]
ISAIAH: GOD CONTROLS THE NATIONS GOD’S SPECIAL SERVANT ISAIAH CHAPTER S 49 TO 57 _NORMAN HILLYER_ CHAPTER 54 THE NUMBER OF GOD’S PEOPLE WILL INCREASE VASTLY V1 (The *Lord speaks) ‘Sing for joy, you women who never had a husband! Shout for joy, you wives that never gave birth to a child! Any w... [ Continue Reading ]
The soft sides (walls) of the tent are called ‘curtains’. This refers to the manner that the walls of ancient tents hung down. They hung straight down from beams or ropes (strings) like curtains. Tents were usually square structures, and not like many modern tents. • The people are to spread the cu... [ Continue Reading ]
While the people from Israel were *exiles in Babylon, foreigners took their property. Now the *Israelites will get it back. THE *LORD’S LOVE FOR ISRAEL V4 ‘Do not be afraid. You will not know shame again. Do not worry. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth. Nor will you continue to... [ Continue Reading ]
The Book of Isaiah emphasises the *Lord’s special name, ‘Commander of Heaven’s Armies’, over 60 times (see my note on Isaiah 44:6).... [ Continue Reading ]
In this verse, ‘husband’ continues as a word picture for ‘*Lord’. Israel’s ‘shame’ (verse 4) was their failure to obey their *Lord in earlier days. That failure interrupted Israel’s communication with the *Lord. That is, in a word picture, Israel’s ‘husband’ (the *Lord) left her (Israel).... [ Continue Reading ]
The *covenant relationship between the *Lord and his people was permanent (see Psalms 105:8-10). The temporary interruption did not mean that the relationship had ended. In fact, the *Lord himself had sent the people from Israel to Babylon as *exiles.... [ Continue Reading ]
For the Noah incident, see Genesis 9:11-15 and Matthew 24:37-38. THE FUTURE *JERUSALEM V11-12 ‘Inhabitants of *Jerusalem, you have suffered so much. And nobody came to help you. Look, I will use a variety of precious stones to build again the foundations (firm base) of your city. And I will use m... [ Continue Reading ]
The purpose of the precious stones is to reflect the beauty of the city (see Revelation 21:2 and Revelation 21:10-27).... [ Continue Reading ]
These verses refer to the distant future (see my note on Chapter s 40 to 66, at the beginning of chapter 40). The verses describe the repair of *Jerusalem after the *Babylonians had ruined it. The city will be more magnificent than ever before. But there is no reference to the *Temple.... [ Continue Reading ]
The *Lord will personally provide peace and security for his people. This promise refers both to a military attack and to an attack in words.... [ Continue Reading ]
The *Lord controls arms and armies. LORD ~ God’s name in the Bible; in the original language, it means ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’. JERUSALEM ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called... [ Continue Reading ]