Isaiah 54-56; 63-65

The chapters assigned for this week’s lesson include some of the most beautiful and eloquent chapters in the whole book, although I am very surprised that the assignment skips over chapter 58, which is my personal favorite. (If you don’t remember it, please go read it; it’s a wonderful chapter, well worth studying at length.)

In Isaiah 54:2, Isaiah uses the analogy of a tent, anchored to the ground by stakes, to represent the “habitations” of Israel. This of course is the reason why, when wards are organized into groups of wards, that we call them stakes; if you look at the growth of the LDS church throughout the world, you can imagine tents spreading to cover the entire earth as the gospel spreads into the lives of new members. (In my imagination, at least, those tents are of brightly colored silk, and there is a good wind going.)

Isaiah 54:6 compares Israel to “a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit.” The Lord is compared to her husband. Isaiah explores this image throughout the chapter, including that favorite Primary verse, Isaiah 54:13 (“And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children”). It’s interesting to think about this verse on a personal level, but it is also interesting to think about it on a symbolic level, where the Lord is the father, Israel is the mother, and we individually are the children.

Isaiah 55:1–3 are also verses I’ve known and loved for many years. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” What can anyone add to that?

I also like Isaiah 55:8–9, which reads, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” This reminds me of another verse, 1 Nephi 11:17, which reads in part, “I know that [the Lord] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” Although I think it helps to understand that we live in a telestial world, certainly there are many things that we simply do not understand. However, we do understand enough to know that we are loved.

The Lesson Guide has a reference to Isaiah 55:10–13, although I think the best parts of this reference are in verses 10 and 11: “For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall be my word that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

One of the things I like about our descriptions of the Lord is that he is very efficient. He knows how to do things in the most effective way. You could have a problem and ask two people to solve it; one person, trying to do a good job, might make a little bit of effort but not really see a lot of result from that effort because of a lack of knowledge about what is most effective. Another person, having perhaps more knowledge and experience, would come in and make different choices in terms of time and resources. But the results of the second person far exceed the results of the first person.

This is something I think most of us would like to emulate: to have maximum effectiveness with the time and effort we put into things. I know that for years I have tried to study people who were very strong in particular areas. I have wanted to know how they approach problem solving so that I can learn from them. However, the Lord is the best problem-solver of all. It reminds me of Abraham 3:19, which is a verse I love because it is phrased in such a mathematical way, and I like math. It reads, “And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.”

The Lesson Guide suggests that you look at Alma 32:28, where Alma is teaching the poor “upon the hill Onidah” (Alma 32:4) and he compares “the word unto a seed” (Alma 32:28). However, I really think you are cheating yourself if you don’t read a lot more than that out of this particular chapter, which is one of the best chapters in the entire book. I would recommend verses 15 and 16, verses 21 through 23, and verse 26 to the end of the chapter.

In particular, however, I would draw your attention to Alma 32:32, which reads, “Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.”

Has your religious commitment and faith in Christ caused you to grow? Has it taught you to be more effective in how you spend your time and where you put your emphasis? Does it feed your soul? Does it satisfy you? How could you do better?

The last three chapters of the reading assignment are Isaiah 63–65, which deal with the Second Coming and the Millenium. The reference in the lesson guide is to Isaiah 65:17–25. It’s all good, but I especially liked verse 19, which reads, “And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.”

The day when that verse comes to pass is going to be a really wonderful day.

Sunday School Notebook - October 2006 - Susan Morgan