Enlarge the Tent

Our text has one theme but Isaiah uses two images to present that theme to us. The theme is restoration which makes sense when you remember that Isaiah is writing for the sake of those exiles. Their need is clear. They need to hope, and Isaiah, once again, gives them a reason to do that. He presents to them two images of the promised restoration: first, a woman and then, a city.

Listen as I read Isaiah 54.

Isaiah’s first image is a woman. What is distinctive about her is that she is barren. She has no children. That was a matter of great shame in that culture. You’ll remember Hannah who was tormented so by her husband’s other wife just because she had several children while Hannah had none. There also was Sarah, Abraham’s wife. In the New Testament, we have Elizabeth. Isaiah begins with the image of a barren woman. Isaiah’s point is that this woman of whom he writes will no longer be barren. Her situation will dramatically change. So, he writes, ‘… the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married.’ The barren woman is to be restored to her husband and from that will come many, many children. So many, in fact, that the call goes out, ‘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.’ The family tent is too small for the multitude of children who are to come. It needs to be enlarged to accommodate them all. The barren woman will bear many children. And that explains the excitement of the opening lines of our text. ‘Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor!’ The curse of barrenness will be removed. Instead, there is the blessing of many children. Joyous singing only makes sense.

There is a reason for this dramatic change. God explains. ‘“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.’ Here, we are reminded of life in Israel during the reign of King Ahaz and the other unfaithful kings. We looked at this at the beginning of our journey through Isaiah. The people had been sinful. God became angry. There was a separation: the exile. In a previous chapter Isaiah used the language of divorce. Thus barrenness. It is worth noting that while God talks about His response to Israel’s sin, He never actually mentions their sin as the cause. That says something about the nature of forgiveness.

The exile, the divorce, will come to an end. There will be reconciliation. Out of this comes one of those great and precious promises that fill the Scriptures. ‘“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.’ There was a divorce, but that is over. Now, the vows are renewed so that there could be the assurance of love – and many children.

Isaiah’s second image is that of a city. It is a city that is not doing well. Isaiah calls it ‘afflicted’, ‘storm-tossed’ and ‘not comforted’. But then come the promises. First, God promises beauty. He describes this in terms of precious gems. These will be used in the reconstruction of various parts of the city. Beauty is important to God. The city will become beautiful. Then, the inhabitants of this city are described. ‘All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.’ God Himself will teach the people whatever it is that they need to learn about living well. Out of that will come great peace. And then, finally, another assuring promise. ‘… no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.’ While there will be conflict, some will attack the city with sword others with words, these attacks will not succeed. The city will stand, beautiful and secure.

Isaiah ends the chapter with a statement that brings both images to a climax. ‘“This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me,” declares the LORD.’

That was the overview of our text. Now, let’s fill in some details so you can see how this speaks to you. First, who is Isaiah writing about? Isaiah writes to the exiles. The city he writes about is Jerusalem, their home. And since the husband is the LORD, the wife is Israel. Isaiah is writing about the restoration of those exiles to their city and especially to their God. The people of God will once again be many. Jerusalem will once again be beautiful, the joy of the earth. This is what Isaiah was writing about.

Having said all of that, you need to see that the Spirit intends more. If you look at this chapter from the vantage point of the New Testament some things become clearer. Who is the husband? It’s Jesus. And that makes it clear that the woman, His wife, is the Church. Paul writes about this in Ephesians 5. Christ is the perfect husband who loves His wife, the Church. The imagery of the city also shows up in the New Testament. ‘And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.’ Here, we have both images together, the wife and the city, both pictures of the Church. So, here’s the point. While Isaiah was writing about the Church of his own day, by the Spirit he was also writing about you, the Church of today. You are the restored wife. You are the beautified city. The text is about you, the Church.

If Isaiah 54 is prophecy about the Church, what are the details of the fulfillment? Let’s go down the list. First, the woman will have many children. Where do we see that? How about Pentecost? What is Pentecost about? The Spirit of Jesus has come and, as a result, many are flooding into a tent, three thousand after just one sermon. The Church was once limited to this small ethnic group, twelve tribes of Jacob. But those days are over. On Pentecost the Church begins to spread beyond the borders of Israel to the nations. Soon after that three thousand come, we have what might be called another ‘Pentecost’ involving the Samaritans. And then, after that, another Pentecost to include the Gentiles, people like Cornelius. The tent gets bigger and spreads to the nations, just like Isaiah said. ‘For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations…’ The once barren woman, the Church, was to bear many children, and she is.

There is also the promise of blessing to the inhabitants of the city. What did Isaiah say? God Himself will teach the people whatever it is that they need to learn about living well. And what is this about? Isaiah is writing about the ministry of the Spirit. Jesus said, ‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.’ It is the Spirit who teaches you what you need to know. Isaiah also wrote that the children would enjoy great peace. And we find this in one of Paul’s letters. ‘And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ And then, there is, in our text, the promised steadfast love. Again from Paul: ‘For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ And while there will be conflict – remember that the evil one hates us – it will not succeed. Jesus said, ‘And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ Isaiah’s closing line fits here also. ‘This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD…’

Now, my goal here is not merely for you to learn how to understand Old Testament prophecy. My goal is to show how understanding the Old Testament is helpful. All of this is helpful. It’s helpful because first it explains what Jesus is up to these days. He is not passively sitting up in heaven. He is busy. He is in the process of producing children through the Church. Would you like some proof of that? Then, look around at the people in this room. Look at yourself. You are the proof. You are children that Jesus has produced through the Church. The tent has been enlarged to include you. Jesus is busy producing children. Now, Jesus is also busy reconstructing and beautifying the city, His Church. Sin is the essence of ugliness. Jesus is dealing with that and making you, His Church, beautiful, with a beauty that precious gems can only hint at. Bit by bit He points out your sin and by the power of His Spirit, He removes it, replacing it with the beauty of peace, joy, love and holiness. In our text we have Isaiah explaining what Jesus is up to these days. And He is up to a lot.

As we understand this better, it also explains something else. This also explains what we are to be up to. There are more children to be born, or rather born again. The tent is still too small. There are many more to come. Our expectations need to match this. The words to the hymn fit here.

We long to see Thy churches full,

That all the chosen race

May, with one voice and heart and soul,

Sing Thy redeeming grace.

If it is true that Jesus is busy producing children through His Church, then that tells us what we are to be doing also. We are to long to see many children produced, to see His churches full. There are many things to be done so that this longing might be fulfilled through us. But behind them all is one basic requirement: following Jesus. We are to be devoted disciples who follow Jesus by faith. As we trust Him, He will produce children through us.

Let me explain that in this way. By the Spirit, Isaiah wrote about promises of security and love to the Church, promises that included the Church of Jesus’ day. And yet, listen to what Jesus said to that Church. ‘And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”’ Jesus predicts that Roman armies will come and destroy Jerusalem. But what happened to that promise of love and security? ‘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.’ The promises of Jesus are the heritage of the Church not merely because she is the Church but because she entrusts herself to her faithful Husband. When Jesus was here, His message was clear. ‘Follow Me.’ Some, by faith, submitted to that call; Peter, James, John, Andrew and many more children of the Church. But most rejected it. ‘He came unto his own, and his own received him not.’ The result of this rejection, of this refusal to follow Jesus by faith, was destruction by Roman armies. The promises of Jesus are ours but only by faith. Being the Church means nothing unless it means being the Church by faith. Then, it means everything. Every day, in different ways, Jesus calls to His Church: ‘Follow Me.’ He says that in specific situations calling for specific responses. Responding in faith does not mean that you understand exactly what to do in that situation. Nor does it mean that you are sure that you are able to do it. Responding in faith simply means that you have heard Jesus’ call and you want to follow Him – whatever that may mean. Responding in faith is saying, ‘Lord Jesus, I trust You. So, I want to follow You in this situation. Tell me what to do. And please give me the ability to do it.’ To these the Spirit comes, teaching them how to follow and giving them all the ability that they need. All that Jesus calls for is a trusting heart that wants to follow. As the Church responds in this way, as the Church follows Jesus by faith, children are born again. The Spirit will be present in powerful ways. By your words and your lives the Gospel will be proclaimed. And many will come and join us in a tent that gets larger and larger until it fills the whole earth. But if there is no faith, if Jesus’ call to follow falls on deaf ears, then there can only be destruction. I say this not because I expect it in our situation. Quite the contrary. I see in most of you a growing desire to follow Jesus well. I see faith. So, I am expecting Jesus to use us to produce more children. I point to the destruction of Jerusalem simply to remind you that being the Church requires faith.

So, let me encourage you to do this: pray. Pray that we would respond in faith to Jesus’ daily call to follow Him so that as we do He will use us to produce many children who will have it as their goal to make Him look good.