Lent Day 26: Zion's Song

On this twenty-sixth lenten morning, my heart is drawn to the following verse: 

" ‘Sing, O barren woman, 

you who never bore a child; 

burst into song, shout for joy, 

you who were never in labor; 

because more are the children of the desolate woman 

than of her who has a husband,’ says the Lord" 

Isaiah 54:1, NIV

This barren woman is a metaphor for the original Zion/Jerusalem in light of the greater purposes of God -- " . . . through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:18, NIV). The original Zion (Israel) was the chosen people of God—having received God's salvation, favor, love, blessings, precepts, etc. 

Israel was given the express assignment to be a model for other nations, to be a light to the Gentiles, to bear fruit in bringing other nations to know and serve the Lord. However, far from remaining faithful to the Lord, Israel rejected the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—prostituting herself by worshipping foreign gods and pursuing worthless idols. Thus, the original Zion became "sterile" or barren, spiritually speaking.

Gratefully, Isaiah 49 talks about how the Lord promises to extend salvation not just to His beloved Israel, but to all people who accept Him—a sentiment echoed in Galatians and Colossians as Paul clarifies, “whether Jews or Gentiles, circumcised or uncircumcised, male or female, slave or free”—thereby creating the new Zion, the New Jerusalem, the Church, the bride of Christ. 

"In Christ there is no East or West,

In Him no South or North;

But one great fellowship of love

Throughout the whole wide earth.

Join hands, then, children of the faith,

Whate'er your race may be;

Who serves my Father as a child

Is surely kin to me." 

-- Extracted from In Christ There Is No East or West, 

John Oxenham (1852-1941)

Indeed, in Jesus, salvation and inclusion came to earth as a Light with a brightness that flared into the darkness, one that continues to enlighten and bless everyone who will run to its shining. As more and more hearts are surrendered to Christ, Zion who once was barren proves to grow more and more fertile.

Hence, Zion (the barren woman) is given cause to rejoice and sing instead of lamenting and mourning in disgrace as was common in the context of that culture. Barrenness, in those days suggested there was no one to continue the family line, no one to receive the inheritance of the parents, no growth, no love, no passion, no joy, no success, no significance, no notoriety, no recognition, no purpose. However, God, in His lavish grace, promised to water and plow the sun baked clay of barren Israel and transform it into rich soil (verdant Zion) that bears much fruit for the advancement of His kingdom.

“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion; 

Shout , O Daughter of Jerusalem . . . 

He is the righteous Savior . . . 

and He shall speak peace unto the heathen.” 

Zechariah 9:9-10, NIV

You and I are part of the reason Isaiah 54:1 was written. Pondering this concept, the Holy Spirit convicts me and enlightens my heart to see how often you and I allow ourselves to remain in a state of spiritual barrenness. 

We are barren when . . .

     -  we don't remain attached to the Vine

     -  we don't seek first the Kingdom and righteousness

     -  we don't confess Christ Jesus as Lord to the glory of the Father

     -  we don't rely completely on the grace and finished work of the blood of Christ

     -  we don't allow the Holy Spirit to manifest His fruit in us (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, temperance -- Galatians 5:22-23)

Lenten thought calls us to rend our spiritual barrenness and receive Christ's fruitfulness through total reliance upon the Father whose Spirit alone is able to transform hearts, adding more and more believers to His heavenly family. In other words, our lenten journey beckons us to see that we will remain spiritually barren as long as we keep trying to do anything at all in our own strength. We will be spiritually fruitful only when we accept that fruitfulness really comes from the Spirit of the Father alone.

So, Zion was called to sing because God foresaw and foreknew that we, too, would one day heed Christ's invitation to surrender our hearts to Him. You and I can join in the chorus, waiting with bated breath for future believers who will join the throng. We can pray and sing and worship in light of that hope. 

Soli Deo Gloria!