NOTES for Isa 54:1-17
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. |
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; |
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. |
4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. |
5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. |
6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. |
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. |
8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. |
9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. |
10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. |
11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. |
12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. |
13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. |
14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. |
15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. |
16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. |
17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. |
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Today's reading again returns us to the theme of the new Israel. Here the prophet uses an image that first appeared in Hosea: a wife abandoned by her husband for unfaithfulness, whom the husband takes back after her repentance (vv. 1-7; Hos 2:1-23). This image becomes the key to understanding today's passage: it explains the very possibility of what happened to the people. The point is the unchangeability of the covenant-union, to which God remains faithful even when there is no way to count on the people's faithfulness (vv. 9-10).
At first sight, such an approach is quite far from any ideas of justice. In this case one can speak of love that forgives everything, but such blind and all-forgiving love belongs rather to fallen man than to God: His love is always demanding. It does not make peace with the imperfection of the beloved, whom God always strives to make as perfect as possible.
The matter, apparently, is different. In characterizing relations between God and the human being, the biblical authors most often turn to such a concept as faithfulness. In the Russian Synodal translation the corresponding Hebrew word is usually translated as "faith." And the measure of faithfulness, as is easy to guess, is determined by the measure of spiritual depth and wholeness in the one who keeps faith. Therefore human faithfulness is limited and finite by definition, while God's faithfulness is absolute. And such absolute faithfulness cannot disappear even when the other side forgets about faithfulness.
For God to stop keeping faith with His people would mean betraying Himself, and this naturally cannot happen, because God is not a human being. And so God has to work long and persistently with His people, reminding them of the covenant-union that was made, of the obligations they took upon themselves and later forgot, and of the fact that the very existence of the people depends on their relationship with God. He has to make utterly incredible efforts in order to make His people truly His again, to purify and sanctify them again and again, and to lead them after Himself, trying at last to teach them to walk more or less on their own.
Such pedagogy requires infinite strength and infinite patience, and God has both. If everything were otherwise, if God wished to renounce the covenant once made, the fate of His people would be completely different. But, fortunately for all of us, the God of love cannot act otherwise.
Readings for 27 September 2025
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