Can you please explain Isaiah 54:11-12?
Let us read Isaiah 54:11-12. “O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.” If you read the rest of Isaiah 54, it is clear that verses 11 and 12 are speaking of Jerusalem during the Millennium. Verse 10 states, “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.”
Verses 13-17 describe a time of peace and security that Israel will never enjoy until Christ reigns on Earth for 1,000 years. Let us read these wonderful verses. “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. 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. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. 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. 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.”
Now that we are certain of the setting of verses 11 and 12, let us return to discussing them. For thousands of years Jerusalem has been “afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted” (verse 11). However, during the Millennium, instead of being ransacked and destroyed, Jerusalem will shine with great beauty. The Lord promises that this will happen and we can be sure that He will fulfill it. The word “agates” in verse 12 speaks of ornamental stones consisting of a hard variety of chalcedony (a type of quartz) and are usually banded in appearance. The word “carbuncles” in verse 12 describes bright red gems.
I find great encouragement in verse 14. Reading it again, it says, “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.” I find it amazing that Israel is promised freedom from terror when that is such a concern today. I am not saying that they did not endure terror when the book of Isaiah was written, but how wonderful it is that there will be no fear of terror during the Millennium. This is an example of how the Word of God is always relevant to our lives, even though this verse was written over 2500 years ago.
As we read in 1 Peter 1:23-25, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” Praise God for the living Word, which gives us tomorrow’s news today, and is never out-of-date. All glory to Him! (301.1) (DJ)