Isaiah 54:9 tells us why this passage is used as the haftorah for Parashah Noach: “For this is the waters of Noah to Me, in that I have sworn that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth, so have I sworn not to be wroth with you, nor to rebuke you.” Considering that Elohim’s people have suffered for their disobedience and refusal to do all that He has commanded, this raises a number of questions if this passage is about them.

Who is the barren one who has never given birth to a child but yet has many children?
Could Elohim be wroth with and rebuke a nation but still not completely destroy it?
How is Elohim’s covenant of peace not shaken even when mountains are removed?
How could a woman have foundations of sapphires and gates of crystal?

So much in Isaiah chapters 54 and 55 don’t seem to make sense when read literally, but can make sense when read from an eternal perspective. Consider these four options:

1) The woman is Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who was barren until Elohim promised her a son. Isaac was born when Sarah was about 90 years old. She had only one son, but that son brought forth Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) and Esau (often called Edom). From these two grandsons many nations were born. The remaining Torah portions are all about them and how they struggled together and had to deal with the other nations that came forth from Noah’s other descendants. There will be lots to learn!

2) The woman is Israel, which went into Egypt as a family of 70 and came out a great nation. The previous lesson explained how a lot of nations were created and given different languages because of Ham’s grandson, Nimrod, and the Tower of Babel. It also mentioned that Shem’s descendant, Abraham (and his wife, Sarah), was brought up to fight against that evil. We know how Abraham became the father of the faithful from other Bible studies but have not gotten into that yet in this curriculum, so let’s just notice for now that the growth of Israel as a nation appears to fulfil the promises relating to a command to “enlarge the place of your tent...” and “break forth to the right and to the left.” Given that Israel was taken into Babylon because of its sin, the verse “For a little while I have forsaken you, but with great compassion I shall gather you” seems to fit. So does “all your children (shall be) taught by Elohim and the peace of your children (shall be) great,” but we are inclined to think that refers to the time of the Millennium after the Resurrection.

3) The woman is the Garden of Eden, which was covered during Noah’s flood (unlike Sarah and the nation of Israel, which weren’t in existence yet). This would explain references to mountains being removed and hills being shaken in verse 10, and “Oh you afflicted one, tossed with storm” and the mention of stones beginning in verse 11. Children in this context would be the people who will live in Eden eventually and they could be “living stones.” However it’s also possible that these stones are actually what a city is built from. (Note: there is a theory that the Garden of Eden was removed from the earth so it would not be damaged by the flood and that’s what will be brought down to the earth in the form of the New Jerusalem. That would invalidate point 3.)

4) The woman is Jerusalem, although it wasn’t physically in existence at the time of the flood either. Isaiah 52 talks a lot about Jerusalem, so chapter 54 could be continuing the conversation after taking a break to talk about the Messiah in chapter 53. Those stones mentioned in Isaiah 54:11-12 would certainly make a city beautiful with its “battlements of rubies, gates of crystal, walls of precious stones” built on “foundations of sapphires and stones set in antimony.” Verse 54:15 tells us people will indeed assemble against Jerusalem “but not because of Me. Whoever shall assemble against you falls for your sake.” This prophetic statement refers to the time when the enemy will try one last time to defeat Elohim by taking down His beloved city at the end of the Millennium. (Read Revelation chapter 20 for context.) What does Elohim say about this? “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall prove wrong.” At the end of the book of Revelation we see the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven (21:2) “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” which most people believe happens at the end of the Millennium, but some—including this author—believe it happens at the beginning. The people of Elohim, those worthy of the Resurrection, get to live in this amazing city. Verse 17 tells us, “This is the inheritance of the servants of Elohim, and their righteousness from Me.”

Chapter 55 gives us lots of motivation to endure and do what it takes to qualify for the Resurrection. Memorize these verses and take them to heart:

* Verses 1-3: “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters” and “incline your ear...so that your being lives. And let Me make an everlasting covenant with you.”

* Verses 6-7: “Seek the Lord while He is to be found, call on Him while He is near. Let the wrong forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, who has compassion on him.”

* Verses 12-13: “For with joy you go out, and with peace you are brought in—the mountains and the hills break forth into singing before you...And it shall be to Elohim for a name, for an everlasting sign which is not cut off.”