Tim Keller | February 28, 2010
God tells a woman who can’t have children that she will have more children than a woman who can. Even though it might seem like God has forgotten her for a while, He promises to come back with deep love and kindness that will never end. The last part of Isaiah talks about the work of Jesus, showing how amazing things can happen when God is involved, like miraculous births, a special marriage, and an extraordinary life.
1. Miraculous births
The story of a woman who can’t have kids but then has many is a picture of how God brought His people back after they were taken away and how people can have a new life through believing in Jesus. Just like a woman who can’t have kids needs God’s help, we can’t be the best we can be without God changing us. This idea comes up a lot in the Bible, like in the stories of Abraham, Jacob, Judah, and David, who all made mistakes but changed with God’s help.
2. Miraculous marriage
When God talks about a wife who isn’t faithful, He’s actually comparing it to how His people loved other gods, which led to God taking away His protection. But God also talks about a time when the relationship will be fixed, showing both how serious God is about sin and how much He loves us. This comes true in the New Testament with Jesus dying on the cross and how much God forgives us, showing how serious sin is and how strong God’s love is for us.
3. Miraculous life
To live a miraculous life, we need to listen to God, give up the wrong things we worship, and let go of our past mistakes. We need to recognize when we’re worshipping things like money and power without realizing it and find our worth in God’s love instead. We find real joy and a full life when we serve God because we love Him and want to make Him happy, like how Peter learned from his mistake and was forgiven by Jesus.