"Take Care To Listen"

To those of you who wondered about the choice of Isaiah 54:1 to close out yesterday's post, let me assure you that I wondered myself, for a moment. But the more I looked into the several different declarations which God is making, the more fitting I feel that this verse comes into play. This verse sets up a beautiful transformation which God declares to the people that He loves, and in doing so, it begins with the instruction to sing; to actually "break forth into singing, and cry aloud", which is to praise and rejoice. To understand the concept of having joy through a trial or giving God praise through adversity, we must have a clue of the outcome; because it is then that we can begin to see the connection between joy and pain. And yes, I did say pain; pain which causes those that it inflicts to tremble and be still, both at the same time. "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child". The basic idea that the Lord is making here is that of celebration, but in the body of the reason to celebrate is also the reason that others would despair. In light of who is speaking, we should take care to listen, because the point that God is making has to do with not only the children of Israel, but He is also making reference to the Church (you and me). The term "travail with child" is taken from the Hebrew word 'Chul' or Chil', and has so many different meanings that they almost seem to contradict themselves; like: to turn in a circle, whirl, twist, revolve; to writhe; to be in labor; to bear a child, be born; to be afraid, tremble; to reel; to wait; to hope; to rage; to assault; to be strong, pithy; to produce; to cause to bring forth; to hope, to wait; to cause to tremble; to shake; to wait anxiously; to be grieved. As you can see, that is quite a list of a whole lot of different ways to react or bring forth expression; which, if you really think about it, and if you have been with a woman who is giving birth, this pretty much expresses the vast differences that are lived out during the labor process. But this point the Lord is making has got more to do with what is to come, than what has been; because the next portion of this verse says the real message being delivered: "for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord". In this portion of the verse, I believe that God is declaring Himself as the husband to the wife who is married, and the desolate are those that are not His. That being said; the reason that this passage of Scripture spoke so profoundly to me, is the fact that I have not seen yet the fulfillment of my desire, which I will relate to the barren, or 'thou that that didst not bear'; and in the wake of hope is the assurance that God knows best, even though what is best might seem bad; because the fate of the desolate is for more devastating than the shaping of His wife...