Read Isaiah 54 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
54:1-8 {s} YHVH has gathered His forsaken wife to Him in mercy; her children shall be very great
54:9-10 {s} YHVH’s anger is not against Israel forevermore, for His kindness and covenant of peace will not be removed
54:11-17 {s} YHVH establishes Israel in righteousness/ no weapon or judgment against her shall prosper
The Chiastic structure:
Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and brings forth a weapon for his work, and I have created the destroyer to ruin. Isa 54:16
Some charge God with injustice or wrong because He said, “I have created the destroyer to ruin.”
To create is Strong’s H1254, ברא bara, “to bring into existence.” (Hebrew Root Word parable.)
Destroyer is from to destroy, Strong’s H7843, שחת shachat, “one who destroys, corrupts, ruins, causes to decay.”
To ruin is Strong’s H2254, חבל chabal, “to bind by a pledge,” often oppressively cramping the freedom or movement of, as someone discovers their pledge restricts them as much as literal chains.
The context is made clear by the structure: If someone stirs up strife against Israel, it is not at His instigation. God is assuring Israel that as the Creator, He is in control of the destroyer and his weapons. So if the Creator says, “No weapon formed against you will prosper,” He means, NO weapon, including anything the smith and destoyer can come up with.
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