Enlarge the Place of Your Tent, Ron Ward
ENLARGE THE PLACE OF YOUR TENT
Passage: Isaiah 54:1~17  
Key verse: 2
The Future Glory of Zion54 “Sing, barren woman,(A)
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(B)
you who were never in labor;(C)
because more are the children(D) of the desolate(E) woman
than of her who has a husband,(F)”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,(G)
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.(H)
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants(I) will dispossess nations(J)
and settle in their desolate(K) cities.
4 “Do not be afraid;(L) you will not be put to shame.(M)
Do not fear disgrace;(N) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(O)
and remember no more the reproach(P) of your widowhood.(Q)
5 For your Maker(R) is your husband(S)—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(T) of Israel is your Redeemer;(U)
he is called the God of all the earth.(V)
6 The Lord will call you back(W)
as if you were a wife deserted(X) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(Y)
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment(Z) I abandoned(AA) you,
but with deep compassion(AB) I will bring you back.(AC)
8 In a surge of anger(AD)
I hid(AE) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(AF)
I will have compassion(AG) on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.(AH)
9 “To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(AI)
So now I have sworn(AJ) not to be angry(AK) with you,
never to rebuke(AL) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(AM)
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(AN) for you will not be shaken(AO)
nor my covenant(AP) of peace(AQ) be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion(AR) on you.
11 “Afflicted(AS) city, lashed by storms(AT) and not comforted,(AU)
I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[a](AV)
your foundations(AW) with lapis lazuli.(AX)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates(AY) of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(AZ)
and great will be their peace.(BA)
14 In righteousness(BB) you will be established:(BC)
Tyranny(BD) will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.(BE)
Terror(BF) will be far removed;
it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender(BG) to you.
16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith(BH)
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon(BI) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer(BJ) to wreak havoc;
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,(BK)
and you will refute(BL) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants(BM) of the Lord,
and this is their vindication(BN) from me,”
declares the Lord.
54 “Sing, barren woman,(A)
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(B)
you who were never in labor;(C)
because more are the children(D) of the desolate(E) woman
than of her who has a husband,(F)”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,(G)
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.(H)
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants(I) will dispossess nations(J)
and settle in their desolate(K) cities.
4 “Do not be afraid;(L) you will not be put to shame.(M)
Do not fear disgrace;(N) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(O)
and remember no more the reproach(P) of your widowhood.(Q)
5 For your Maker(R) is your husband(S)—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(T) of Israel is your Redeemer;(U)
he is called the God of all the earth.(V)
6 The Lord will call you back(W)
as if you were a wife deserted(X) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(Y)
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment(Z) I abandoned(AA) you,
but with deep compassion(AB) I will bring you back.(AC)
8 In a surge of anger(AD)
I hid(AE) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(AF)
I will have compassion(AG) on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.(AH)
9 “To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(AI)
So now I have sworn(AJ) not to be angry(AK) with you,
never to rebuke(AL) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(AM)
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(AN) for you will not be shaken(AO)
nor my covenant(AP) of peace(AQ) be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion(AR) on you.
11 “Afflicted(AS) city, lashed by storms(AT) and not comforted,(AU)
I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[a](AV)
your foundations(AW) with lapis lazuli.(AX)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates(AY) of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(AZ)
and great will be their peace.(BA)
14 In righteousness(BB) you will be established:(BC)
Tyranny(BD) will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.(BE)
Terror(BF) will be far removed;
it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender(BG) to you.
16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith(BH)
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon(BI) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer(BJ) to wreak havoc;
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,(BK)
and you will refute(BL) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants(BM) of the Lord,
and this is their vindication(BN) from me,”
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Cross references
- Isaiah 54:1 : S Ge 30:1
- Isaiah 54:1 : S Ge 21:6; S Ps 98:4
- Isaiah 54:1 : Isa 66:7
- Isaiah 54:1 : Isa 49:20
- Isaiah 54:1 : S Isa 49:19
- Isaiah 54:1 : S 1Sa 2:5; Gal 4:27*
- Isaiah 54:2 : S Ge 26:22; Isa 26:15; 49:19-20
- Isaiah 54:2 : Ex 35:18; 39:40
- Isaiah 54:3 : S Ge 13:14; S Isa 48:19
- Isaiah 54:3 : S Job 12:23; S Isa 14:2; 60:4-11
- Isaiah 54:3 : S Isa 49:19
- Isaiah 54:4 : Jer 30:10; Joel 2:21
- Isaiah 54:4 : S Isa 28:16; S 29:22
- Isaiah 54:4 : S Ge 30:23; S Ps 119:39; S Isa 41:11
- Isaiah 54:4 : S Ps 25:7; S Jer 2:2; S 22:21
- Isaiah 54:4 : S Isa 51:7
- Isaiah 54:4 : S Isa 47:8
- Isaiah 54:5 : S Ps 95:6; S 149:2; S Isa 51:13
- Isaiah 54:5 : S SS 3:11; Jer 3:14; 31:32; Hos 2:7, 16
- Isaiah 54:5 : S Isa 1:4; 49:7; 55:5; 60:9
- Isaiah 54:5 : S Isa 48:17
- Isaiah 54:5 : S Isa 6:3; S 12:4
- Isaiah 54:6 : Isa 49:14-21
- Isaiah 54:6 : ver 6-7; Isa 1:4; 50:1-2; 60:15; 62:4, 12; Jer 44:2; Hos 1:10
- Isaiah 54:6 : S Ex 20:14; Mal 2:15
- Isaiah 54:7 : S Job 14:13; Isa 26:20
- Isaiah 54:7 : S Ps 71:11; S Isa 27:8
- Isaiah 54:7 : S Ps 51:1
- Isaiah 54:7 : S Isa 49:18
- Isaiah 54:8 : Isa 9:12; 26:20; 60:10
- Isaiah 54:8 : S Isa 1:15
- Isaiah 54:8 : ver 10; S Ps 25:6; 92:2; Isa 55:3; 63:7
- Isaiah 54:8 : S Ps 102:13; S Isa 14:1; Hos 2:19
- Isaiah 54:8 : S Isa 48:17
- Isaiah 54:9 : S Ge 8:21
- Isaiah 54:9 : S Isa 14:24; S 49:18
- Isaiah 54:9 : Ps 13:1; 103:9; Isa 12:1; 57:16; Jer 3:5, 12; Eze 39:29; Mic 7:18
- Isaiah 54:9 : S Dt 28:20
- Isaiah 54:10 : S Ps 46:2; Rev 6:14
- Isaiah 54:10 : S Ps 6:4
- Isaiah 54:10 : S Isa 51:6; Heb 12:27
- Isaiah 54:10 : S Ge 9:16; Ex 34:10; Ps 89:34; S Isa 42:6
- Isaiah 54:10 : S Nu 25:12
- Isaiah 54:10 : ver 8; S Isa 14:1; 55:7
- Isaiah 54:11 : S Isa 14:32
- Isaiah 54:11 : Isa 28:2; 29:6
- Isaiah 54:11 : S Isa 51:19
- Isaiah 54:11 : 1Ch 29:2; Rev 21:18
- Isaiah 54:11 : S Isa 28:16; Rev 21:19-20
- Isaiah 54:11 : S Ex 24:10; S Job 28:6
- Isaiah 54:12 : Rev 21:21
- Isaiah 54:13 : S Isa 28:9; Mic 4:2; Jn 6:45*; Heb 8:11
- Isaiah 54:13 : S Lev 26:6; S Isa 48:18
- Isaiah 54:14 : S Isa 26:2
- Isaiah 54:14 : Jer 30:20
- Isaiah 54:14 : S 2Sa 7:10; S Isa 9:4
- Isaiah 54:14 : Zep 3:15; Zec 9:8
- Isaiah 54:14 : S Isa 17:14
- Isaiah 54:15 : Isa 41:11-16
- Isaiah 54:16 : S Isa 44:12
- Isaiah 54:16 : S Isa 10:5
- Isaiah 54:16 : S Isa 13:5
- Isaiah 54:17 : S Isa 29:8
- Isaiah 54:17 : S Isa 41:11
- Isaiah 54:17 : Isa 56:6-8; 63:17; 65:8, 9, 13-15; 66:14
- Isaiah 54:17 : S Ps 17:2; Zec 1:20-21
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. Sing, O barren woman (1-4)
Isaiah speaks to those who have been ravaged by sin. A barren woman is the symbol of fruitlessness and hopelessness. Israel had become a people without hope. But God had hope for them. He has hope for forgiven sinners. He told this fatalistic people, 'Enlarge the place of your tent...your descendants will possess the nations.' God makes barren women fruitful and forgiven sinners useful. God's people must not give in to adverse circumstances; we must obey his command to go into all the world with his gospel of love and hope. When we widen our vision, God gives fruit and blessing.
2. Your Maker is your husband (5-17)
We have hope because our Creator God is our Redeemer and true Husband. He is the guardian of our hearts; he is the one who forgives us, who loves and protects us and who makes our lives fruitful and blessed. He promises peace and victory and his kingdom as our inheritance.
Prayer: Lord, help us to enlarge the place of our tents and possess the nations.
One Word: Enlarge the place of your tent