The Song of Birthing

Isaiah 54:1-3 opens with a paradoxical command: "Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing. ... For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations." The irony here is that no one would direct a despairing reject to sing. In ancient Israel, a woman without children was disenfranchised, suspect of spiritual unworthiness and potentially subject to divorce. Yet the prophet commands the woman to sing and, incredibly, directs her to start preparing a nursery for there are babies (plural) coming! (See verses 2-5.) A tapestry of joy is prophesied, complete with promises of widespread fruit and joyous consequences flowing from the midst of the singer's song. The distinctive thing about Isaiah's words is that the song he calls for is not a joyous response to an impending birth. The song declares the promise and sets the atmosphere for its fulfillment! -Jack Hayford