Isaiah 54:11-17
11 "O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
16 "Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their righteousness is from Me,"
Says the LORD.
Our peace with God is on His righteousness imputed to us. The picture painted of a foundation of many precious gems and buildings of crystal with walls of the precious stones also points to the New Jerusalem long before it was revealed as such to John the apostle in Revelation 21:18-19 for us to understand God’s goodness planned for His people. He says these things through Isaiah to comfort the afflicted seeking comfort in life’s storms. Surely this applies to all His people who are called as His chosen (Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9) and not just to Israel at that time as a merely symbolic metaphor. Much in Isaiah is hidden until Christ revealed it through His words and the apostles to us. God promised to teach His children and give them peace as we see also in Romans 5:1 and John 6:45, among other places (such as John 14:26, 1 John 2:27). That great peace comes from His law written in our hearts and our minds given spiritual understanding and wisdom by His working in we His people under our sovereign King as citizens of His kingdom. We are established in His righteousness far from fear of the eternal torment of sin’s just penalty (1 John 4:18) and our own righteousness is His as verse 17 reminds us as given to His servants whom we are in Christ. Our enemies will also be defeated by Him before us because He does fights for our eternal souls. In the judgment, all set against the Lord and we who are in Him will face judgment and its consequences of the sentence of divine justice. We can take comfort in these things and be at peace in the storms around us because we have a certain hope and our righteousness is in Christ because we are in Him.
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