Isaiah 54:9 says, 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. During Noah’s day, God was very worth, or angry at how the people were acting, and He destroyed all but Noah and his family. God said He promised then that He would never destroy the world this way again and He never fails to keep His promise. He said He would not contend with people this way again. Instead, out of His mercy He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place. He does not just destroy people because of the evil they do, but one day they will face everlasting punishment if they do not accept God’s gift of salvation.
Verse ten adds, 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. God promised that even if the mountains departed and the hills were removed that His promise, or word, would never depart. This will always be true.
Verse eleven continues, O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. Though the people of Israel then and the church today might be in a sad state materially, there is coming a day when that will change. God said that He would lay their foundation with precious stones. The greatest precious stone is not a jewel, but the cornerstone of faith in Jesus Christ.
Verse twelve concludes, And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. God said He was going to make their dwelling place a place of beauty, and this doesn’t mean that we are going to be rich in this world. Our dwelling place as followers of Christ is heaven. We are just passing through this world.
Verse thirteen states, And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. God said their children would be taught about the Lord and they would have great peace if they put their faith in Him. We need to teach our children about Jesus Christ, and if they accept Him as their Savior and Lord, they will have great peace. It will not matter how bad things get in the world. As Christians, we should live at peace in our heart because we know that we have an everlasting home with God.
Verse fourteen adds, 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. Isaiah said that when the people were living up to their covenant relationship with God that they would be established forever and have no reason to live in fear. The covenant relationship was never about just obeying God’s commandments, since everyone falls short of doing so, but it is a covenant relationship based on putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. The people then put their faith in His coming and we now put our faith in the fact that He did. When we live in holiness or set apart from the world by our relationship with Jesus Christ, we should always be at peace spiritually.
Verse fifteen continues, Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Isaiah said that the enemies of God would gather against Him but would fail in defeating His people. It may seem that the whole world is against us today, but as followers of Christ, they will never be victorious spiritually. If we at times fail to live by faith, we may be temporarily defeated, but the ultimate victory is ours through our faith in Jesus Christ.
Verse sixteen says, 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. God said He had created both the smith who created instruments and also the one who could destroy the work of the smith. No matter how many weapons of destruction people make today, they will never defeat God, since He made those who create them and even the materials that they make them from. We just need to rest assured in the promise of God that He has redeemed us to be His people forever.
Verse seventeen adds, 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. Isaiah further expanded the promise of God to His people that no enemy will ever prevail against Him. The heritage of God’s people is that their righteousness is not of themselves but of God. By our own righteousness we fail, but by the righteousness of God we never will. This righteousness is based on God’s goodness and mercy and our accepting the fact that we can do nothing to deserve it. He freely makes us righteous when we accept the gift of salvation made possible by the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He alone lived in complete righteousness.
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