DIGGING DEEP NO 1003 September 26, 2023 PREPARE TO BE BLESSED  Isaiah 54:2-3

Growing with God:  “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.”

Isaiah 54:2-3  “Clear lots of ground for your tents! Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big! Use plenty of rope, and drive the tent pegs deep. You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family. You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities.”

“Enlarge the site of your tent [to make room for more children]; stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them; lengthen your tent ropes and make your pegs (stakes) firm [in the ground]. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; and your descendants will take possession of nations and will inhabit deserted cities.” –

“Enlarge the place of your tent: The curse and shame of barrenness would be so completely broken, and Israel would be so fruitful, that they would have to expand their living space. This would be of particular comfort to the returning Babylonian exiles, who felt themselves small in number and weak. This promise would strengthen them.” ~David Guzik

In Isaiah 54:1, we found Isaiah likening Israel to a barren woman. He instructs Israel to sing and rejoice, for God was going to bless her. God was going to take away her barrenness.

“Rejoice with singing, you barren one! You who have never given birth burst into a song of joy and shout, you who have never been in labor! For the deserted wife will have more children than the married one,” says Yahweh.” –Isaiah 54:1

In this passage, we find this line of thought continuing. God’s Message to Israel, through Isaiah, is to prepare themselves to receive the blessing that He is about to pour out upon them.

“Enlarge your house. You are going to need a bigger place; don’t underestimate the amount of room that you’ll need. So, build, build, build. You will increase in every direction to fill the world. Your offspring will take over the nations; your people will revitalize long-abandoned towns.” –(VOICE)

Remember,……. this Message is coming to a nation who had been in captivity for a long time. They had endured loss, but God is preparing them for restoration and blessing.

God, through Isaiah, tells Israel to: “Get ready! Prepare yourselves for what I am about to do! Blessings beyond your wildest dreams!”

“Women were responsible to erect and maintain the family tents in the ancient Near East, so it was appropriate for the Lord to call this formerly barren woman to enlarge her tent. She should prepare for a larger family with urgency and exuberance. The figure is an old one reaching back into the patriarchal period of Israel’s history and the wilderness wanderings. Most Israelites did not live in tents in Isaiah’s day. This type of living recalls, therefore, the Lord’s faithfulness to the patriarchs in fulfilling His promises to them, and to the Israelites, in bringing them into the Promised Land.” ~Thomas Constable

God tells Israel that once they return home they should enlarge their houses, and this is for you to add additions, and be sure to spread out. The Voice Translation brings it across well: “…don’t underestimate the amount of room that you’ll need. So, build, build, build.” What God is about to do for Israel (you) would be amazing, and He wants you to be prepared to receive this blessing.

The number of God’s people were about to increase greatly. Let us not forget the promise God had made to Abraham back in Genesis:

“Eternal One said to: Abram, get up and go! Leave your country. Leave your relatives and your father’s home, and travel to the land I will show you. Don’t worry—I will guide you there. I have plans to make a great people from your descendants. And I am going to put a special blessing on you and cause your reputation to grow so that you will become a blessing and example to others. I will also bless those who bless you and further you in your journey, and I’ll trip up those who try to trip you along the way. Through your descendants, all the families of the earth will find their blessing in you.” –Genesis 12:1-3

God was going to not only restore Israel, but His blessing would be upon them once again.

“Enlarge your house; build on additions; spread out your home! For you will soon be bursting at the seams! And your descendants will possess the cities left behind during the exile and rule the nations that took their lands.”

“Make ready for God’s blessing, you who are pining and groaning for greater things than these; God is about to bless you. Enlarge your tents; lengthen the cords, and strengthen the stakes; prepare for the coming blessing, for you are to have better and brighter days than you have ever yet known. Therefore, be no more sad, but look forward with joyful anticipation to the good things in store for you.” ~Charles Spurgeon

Jesus, talking to the crowds that followed Him, reminded them of the need to be obedient to the Word of God. Jesus told them that those who obeyed God’s Word would be blessed:

“Those who hear the teaching of God and obey it—they are the ones who are truly blessed.” ~Luke 11:28

Moses also stressed the need for obedience in order to receive God’s blessings. Take note of what Moses said to Israel:

“If you listen closely to the voice of the Eternal your God and carefully obey all the commands I’m giving you today, He’ll lift you up high above every other nation on earth. All of the following blessings will be yours—in fact, they’ll chase after you—if you’ll listen to what He tells you. You’ll be blessed in the city and blessed in the fields. You’ll be blessed with children and crops and cattle. Your herds will multiply, and your flocks will increase. Your basket will be blessed; it will be full at harvest time, and your kneading bowl will be blessed; you’ll always have plenty of bread. You’ll be blessed when you go out of your home and blessed when you return to your home.” –Deuteronomy 28:1-6

“Amplius” means broader, fuller, wider. That is God’s perpetual word to us in relation to the filling of the Holy Spirit. We can never have enough to satisfy His yearning desire. When we have apprehended most, there are always unexpected supplies in store ready to be drawn upon.” ~ F.B. Meyer

My friend, what should we be taking away from today’s passage? First, God desires to bless us. Enlarge, increase, multiply his blessings on us.

Second, we must be obedient to the teachings of the Lord to receive said blessings. Third, be prepared to be blessed beyond what you expect when it comes to God’s blessings.

We should therefore learn that the only good we have is what the Lord has given us gratuitously; that the only good we do is what He does in us; that it is not that we do nothing ourselves, but that we act only when we have been acted upon, in other words under the direction and influence of the Holy Spirit. “~John Calvin

My Prayer:

Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, you are the Bless-er. You blow my mind daily with the blessings that you pour into my life. And I am so blessed to be counted among your children. I am blessed to call you my Savior and my Lord. I am reminded that all good things come from you and that it is your desire to bless and to bless abundantly. Help me to be prepared to receive your great blessings. In turn, help me to use those blessings to bless others, for I know that is what pleases you. Help me to generously mimic you, Lord. Let my life be a blessing to you and to others as well.