‘Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted, I will set your stones in black mortar, and lay your foundations in lapis lazuli. I will make your fortifications out of rubies, your gates out of sparkling stones, and all your walls out of precious stones. Then all your children will be taught by the Lord, their prosperity will be great, and you will be established on a foundation of righteousness. You will be far from oppression, you will certainly not be afraid; you will be far from terror, it will certainly not come near you. If anyone attacks you, it is not from me; whoever attacks you will fall before you. Look, I have created the craftsman who blows on the charcoal fire and produces a weapon suitable for its task; and I have created the destroyer to cause havoc. No weapon formed against you will succeed, and you will refute any accusation raised against you in court. This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants, and their vindication is from me.’ This is the Lord’s declaration. (Isaiah 54:11-17 CSB)
One of the greatest joys in life is being a parent and one of the most challenging things in life is being a parent. That goes double for being a grandparent. I love seeing my kids and grandkids develop into responsible, caring and contributing adults and members of society. However, one of the hardest things is to watch them make life choices that you believe will turn out badly for them. We want them to learn from our mistakes but, most often, they only learn through making their own mistakes.
I’ve made my fair share of mistakes, some with minimal consequences and some with disastrous results. My wife tends to remind me about those disastrous ones. I doubt anyone makes a bad choice knowing it is going to turn out badly. Most often, those disastrous decisions come from a lack of knowledge, experience or understanding. In other words, we just aren’t qualified to undertake the task. We’d be better off leaving it to the real professionals.
This weeks’s focal passage is all about recognizing that fact, some things only God can do. We’re better off leaving God things to the professional. We have grandiose ideas, astronomical dreams and far flung hopes but they always seem to fall far short of their mark. We develop utopian ideals for our society and communities, never realizing that we simply don’t have the ability to achieve them. Only He can achieve those goals and when we let Him take them over, nothing can stop Him.
The first two verses of our focal passage describe the glorious City of God. While neither word for “city” or “Jerusalem” actually appears in the Hebrew text, it is obvious in the details what Isaiah is describing. In fact, the description he gives virtually matches the Apostle John’s description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21. Everything is moving towards the final fulfillment of God’s promises and covenants and this is the culmination of our redemption. But this is nothing man can achieve, only God can do this.
So far in this chapter, Isaiah has shown us the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant: the childless one/desolate one/enlarged tent (vs. 1-3); the Mosaic covenant: disgraced youth/widow/deserted wife (vs. 4-8); and the Noahic covenant: water/flood/peace. Now he brings us to the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan and the establishment of an everlasting peace, the New Jerusalem at the end of the age. The former Jerusalem had been afflicted, storm-battered and not comforted but this new city will be different, vastly different.
What was formerly afflicted and storm battered is now decorated with incredible gemstones set in black mortar to highlight their brilliance and beauty. The city’s foundation will be bright blue sapphire, the battlements or fortifications will blaze like the sun, and the gates will be sparkling red like they’re on fire. While we can go on and on about the description of the holy city, the point is really clear – there has never been and there never will be anything else like it. Man can’t do anything like this, only God can do this.
Go back, read that last sentence again. The kind of life we seek, the kind of place we long for, the real peace we desire can’t be found in any human endeavor, societal achievement or spiritual state of mind. What we need can only be found in God and through the work accomplished by His perfect Servant and in His redemptive love. If you’re afflicted, battered, storm-tossed and in need of comfort then you’ll never find help or hope in the things of this world or through your own efforts. The kind of life you want to build for yourself is something only God can build. You just don’t have the ability to do it yourself. You need to talk to a professional who’s skilled at that. You need to talk to God about that.
Listen to how Isaiah describes life in the City of God: “Then all your children will be taught by the Lord, their prosperity will be great, and you will be established on a foundation of righteousness. You will be far from oppression, you will certainly not be afraid; you will be far from terror, it will certainly not come near you. If anyone attacks you, it is not from me; whoever attacks you will fall before you.” (Isaiah 54:13-15 CSB)
First, all our children will be taught by the LORD just as the Servant learned obedience from the Word of the LORD. The Word of God is the source of truth and all knowledge and wisdom flow out of our relationship with Him and obedience to His word. Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17 CSB) To be sanctified is to be made holy, worthy of being God’s children and worthy of being allowed into His presence, and that only comes through the truth – the truth of God’s word. Remember, with hearing God’s word comes the divine expectation of obedience. Don’t be people who have ears to hear the truth, but refuse to obey it. Don’t be people who have eyes to see the truth, but refuse to believe it. To do so is to call God a liar because He only speaks and does what is true.
But remember, Isaiah is describing life in the City of God but not necessarily the lives we live today. We often fail to teach our children the truths of God’s Word just as we often fail to live in obedience to it. We have ears, but we often reject the truth of His word. We have eyes, but we often fail to see the blessing of faithful obedience. Isaiah tells us the benefits of being sanctified by the truth, our children’s will prosper greatly and our foundation of righteousness will be firmly established (vs. 13b-14a).
Be honest, you want your children to prosper. Don’t you? The problem is that we often fail to see how teaching them God’s truth can benefit them in this world. Well, therein lies the problem. The real benefit to hearing, learning and obeying the word of God is not promised for this world. It is promised for the next, the City of God. As Jesus said, “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/jhn.16.33.HCSB) You can teach your kids things that will benefit them in this world, for a measly 80, 90 or 100 years. Or you can teach them the truth of God’s word and it will benefit them for all eternity as they enjoy life in the City of God.
But not only will your children’s obedience benefit them for all eternity, it will also benefit you as it establishes a foundation of righteousness. But a life built on a foundation of righteousness is far different from the life we are taught to desire, to pursue, to get by any means necessary as we claw our way to the top, in the city of man. What’s righteous about our selfish pursuit of happiness? But if we truly walk in the path of the Righteous Servant, we will desire to hear truth, know truth and live in obedience to the LORD’s truth. “Your word is truth.” And when we do…
“…You will be far from oppression, you will certainly not be afraid; you will be far from terror, it will certainly not come near you. If anyone attacks you, it is not from Me; whoever attacks you will fall before you.” (Isaiah 54:14b-15 HCSB)
The Apostle Paul put it this way, “What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us… nothing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 8:31-34, 39b HCSB)
Finally, no attack upon us will succeed and no accusation made against us will stand. The LORD will defend us against any and all enemies and vindicate us before any and all accusers. John describes the final assault against God in Revelation as a war, but it won’t be a fair fight. I think the word “war” is used only because we lack the language to describe an actual assault against God, at least one that stands any chance of success (see Rev. 19:19-23).
If you can’t win in a fight against Him, why keep fighting? If obedience to Him results in all the best things life can possibly offer, why rebel against His will? If life in the City of God is accurately described by Isaiah, why don’t we embrace the truth, teach it to our children, ensure their true prosperity and establish a foundation of righteousness for ourselves?
Simple truth: you can’t build the life you really want, only God can do that. Trust Him. Walk with Him. Obey Him and teach it to your children!
Hilltop Baptist Church - Shawnee, OK 
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