“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. (Isaiah 54:1-13 ESV)
Sing you who have no children. You who have no hope for a future because you are cursed and can not bear a child. Leap for joy you who have never gone through labor as you will have many blessings even though the world says you are cursed and not worth the space and time.
Am I the only one that reads this and wonders a bit about the sanity of Isaiah when he said this? How can a barren woman be joyful, because she is cursed and will have no future without offspring. She has no worth if not in bearing children, specifically male children to keep her linage going.
Yet it does not stop at the first verse, the prophet goes on to say that we should all enlarge our
tents and prepare for families beyond our imagination, because God is our husband, and He will provide a family so rich and diverse that our tents will be busting at the seams. God is telling us here in Isaiah that everyone in all of creation is coming in and those of us who don’t have children will have plenty of people to care for!
You see it is not about blood family, but Blood family! We are all made family through the blood of the lamb, through the new covenant. God named us and claimed us as His own creation and we are His and therefor we are the brothers and sisters of one another and need to care for each other. No one is an outsider, no one is a stranger. We are all part of the covenant and we need to start acting more like we like each other the way Jesus first loved us – accepting us as we are…
aSacredRebel 