Isaiah 51:18
Among all the sons she bore, there is no one to guide her; among all the sons she brought up, there is no one to take her hand.
Among all the sons she has borne
This phrase speaks to the multitude of descendants that Zion, representing the people of Israel, has produced. The Hebrew word for "sons" (בָּנִים, banim) often signifies not just literal offspring but also spiritual or national descendants. Historically, Israel was a nation blessed with many children, yet this abundance did not equate to spiritual leadership or guidance. The imagery here is poignant, suggesting a mother who has given birth to many but finds herself without support or direction from them. This reflects the spiritual state of Israel at the time, where despite their numbers, they lacked true leaders who could guide them back to righteousness.

there is no one to guide her
The absence of guidance is a critical issue highlighted in this verse. The Hebrew root for "guide" (נָחָה, nachah) implies leading or directing with care and wisdom. In the context of Israel's history, this absence of guidance points to a period of spiritual and moral decline, where the people had strayed from God's commandments and lacked prophets or leaders to steer them back. This phrase underscores the need for divine intervention, as human leadership had failed to provide the necessary direction.

among all the sons she has raised
The repetition of the idea of "sons" emphasizes the potential and responsibility that comes with being part of God's chosen people. The Hebrew word for "raised" (גָּדַל, gadal) suggests nurturing and bringing to maturity. Despite being nurtured and brought up with the knowledge of God, the people of Israel had not matured in their faith to the point where they could lead or support their nation spiritually. This highlights a failure in spiritual growth and maturity, a theme that resonates with the need for personal and communal responsibility in faith.

there is no one to take her hand
This phrase evokes a sense of abandonment and helplessness. The act of taking someone's hand is a gesture of support, guidance, and companionship. In the Hebrew context, the hand (יָד, yad) often symbolizes power and action. The absence of anyone to "take her hand" signifies a lack of initiative and strength among the people to rise up and lead. It reflects a community that has become passive and reliant on external help, rather than taking responsibility for their spiritual journey. This imagery calls for a return to reliance on God, who is ultimately the one who can provide true guidance and support.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Zion/Jerusalem
Often personified as a woman or mother in the book of Isaiah, representing the people of Israel and their spiritual state.

2. Sons of Zion
Symbolic of the inhabitants of Jerusalem or the people of Israel, who are expected to provide guidance and leadership.

3. Isaiah
The prophet who delivers God's message to the people, calling them to repentance and offering hope for restoration.
Teaching Points
The Need for Godly Leadership
The absence of guidance in Zion highlights the importance of godly leaders who can provide spiritual direction and support.

Human Limitations and Divine Dependence
The failure of human leaders to guide Zion underscores the necessity of relying on God, who is the ultimate guide and comforter.

God's Faithfulness Amidst Desolation
Even when human support is lacking, God's promises remain steadfast, offering hope and restoration to His people.

The Role of the Community in Spiritual Guidance
This passage challenges believers to step up as spiritual leaders within their communities, providing guidance and support to those in need.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of Zion as a mother without guidance reflect the spiritual state of Israel at the time?

2. In what ways can we see the need for godly leadership in our own communities today?

3. How do other scriptures, like Psalm 27:10, provide comfort when human support is lacking?

4. What practical steps can we take to ensure we are relying on God as our ultimate guide?

5. How can we, as members of the body of Christ, provide guidance and support to those who feel abandoned or without direction?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 49:14-15
This passage also personifies Zion, expressing feelings of abandonment but affirming God's unfailing remembrance and compassion.

Lamentations 1:1-2
Describes Jerusalem as a lonely widow, emphasizing the desolation and lack of comforters, similar to the imagery in Isaiah 51:18.

Psalm 27:10
Offers a contrast by highlighting God's faithfulness even when human support fails, providing a hopeful perspective.

Isaiah 40:1-2
Provides comfort to Jerusalem, promising that her warfare is ended and her iniquity is pardoned, pointing to future restoration.
Encouragement for JerusalemE. Johnson Isaiah 51:17-23
Spiritual StupefactionW. Clarkson Isaiah 51:17-23
People
Isaiah, Rahab, Sarah
Places
Jerusalem, Rahab, Tigris-Euphrates Region, Zion
Topics
Bore, Borne, Care, Forth, Guide, Hold, Laying, Leader, None, Nourished, Reared, Sons, Takes, Taketh
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 51:17

     1265   hand of God
     5283   cup
     5534   sleep, spiritual

Library
August 25 Morning
Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.--ISA 51:1. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity.--None eye pitied thee but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, Live. He brought me up . . . out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

January 26. "I Called Him Alone and Blessed Him" (Isa. Li. 2).
"I called him alone and blessed him" (Isa. li. 2). When we were in the East we noticed the beautiful process of raising rice. The rice is sown on a morass of mud and water, ploughed up by great buffaloes, and after a few weeks it springs up and appears above the water with its beautiful pale green shoots. The seed has been sown very thickly and the plants are clustered together in great numbers, so that you can pull up a score at a single handful. But now comes the process of transplanting. He first
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Awakening of Zion
'Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.'--ISAIAH li. 9. 'Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion.'--ISAIAH lii. 1. Both these verses are, I think, to be regarded as spoken by one voice, that of the Servant of the Lord. His majestic figure, wrapped in a light veil of obscurity, fills the eye in all these later prophecies of Isaiah. It is sometimes clothed with divine power, sometimes girded with the towel of human weakness, sometimes
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Hearken and Look; Or, Encouragement for Believers
THE second verse contains my actual text. It is the argument by which faith is led to look for the blessings promised in the third verse. It is habitual with some persons to spy out the dark side of every question or fact: they fix their eyes upon the "waste places," and they study them till they know every ruin, and are familiar with the dragons and the owls. They sigh most dolorously that the former times were better than these, and that we have fallen upon most degenerate days. They speak of "shooting
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 27: 1881

A Prospect of Revival
THE pedigree of God's chosen nation Israel may be traced back to one man and one woman--to Abraham and Sarah. Both of them were well stricken in years when the Lord called them, yet, in the fulfilment of his promise, he built up of their seed a great nation, which, for number, was comparable to the stars of heaven. Take heart, brethren; these things are written for our example and for our encouragement. His Church can never sink to so low an ebb that he cannot soon build her up again, nor in our
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

"Sing, O Heavens; and be Joyful, O Earth; for the Lord Hath Comforted his People. " -- Isaiah 49:13.
"For the Lord shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." -- Isaiah 51:3. "Sing, O Heavens; and be joyful, O Earth; for the Lord hath comforted his people." -- Isaiah 49:13. A living, loving, lasting word, My listening ear believing heard, While bending down in prayer; Like a sweet breeze that none can stay, It passed
Miss A. L. Waring—Hymns and Meditations

Of Inward Silence
Of Inward Silence "The Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silence before him" (Hab. ii. 20). Inward silence is absolutely indispensable, because the Word is essential and eternal, and necessarily requires dispositions in the soul in some degree correspondent to His nature, as a capacity for the reception of Himself. Hearing is a sense formed to receive sounds, and is rather passive than active, admitting, but not communicating sensation; and if we would hear, we must lend the ear
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Of Rest in the Presence of God --Its Fruits --Inward Silence --God Commands it --Outward Silence.
The soul, being brought to this place, needs no other preparation than that of repose: for the presence of God during the day, which is the great result of prayer, or rather prayer itself, begins to be intuitive and almost continual. The soul is conscious of a deep inward happiness, and feels that God is in it more truly than it is in itself. It has only one thing to do in order to find God, which is to retire within itself. As soon as the eyes are closed, it finds itself in prayer. It is astonished
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Lii. Manna. Exodus xvi. 4.
I.--Manna like salvation, because undeserved. The people murmured at the very first difficulty. If they had been grateful they would have said, "The God who brought us out of Egypt, and through the Red Sea, will not allow us to die of hunger." But instead of this they accused Moses of being a murderer. And in answer to this God said, "I will rain bread from heaven." What an illustration of Romans v. 8. II.--Manna like salvation, because it saved the people from perishing. Nothing else would
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

Early Battles
Six months of joyous service amongst the Welsh miners was cut short by a telegram announcing to the sisters the serious illness of Mrs. Lee. Taking the news to their Divisional Commander, they were instructed to Headquarters. It was found that the illness was due to shock. The income from investments of the little estate left by Mr. Lee had dwindled; it now had disappeared altogether. Captain Lucy faced the matter with her usual practical decision. 'Mother, darling, there are two ways out. Either
Minnie L. Carpenter—The Angel Adjutant of "Twice Born Men"

Stedfastness in the Old Paths.
"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."--Jer. vi. 16. Reverence for the old paths is a chief Christian duty. We look to the future indeed with hope; yet this need not stand in the way of our dwelling on the past days of the Church with affection and deference. This is the feeling of our own Church, as continually expressed in the Prayer Book;--not to slight what has gone before,
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

An Appendix to the Beatitudes
His commandments are not grievous 1 John 5:3 You have seen what Christ calls for poverty of spirit, pureness of heart, meekness, mercifulness, cheerfulness in suffering persecution, etc. Now that none may hesitate or be troubled at these commands of Christ, I thought good (as a closure to the former discourse) to take off the surmises and prejudices in men's spirits by this sweet, mollifying Scripture, His commandments are not grievous.' The censuring world objects against religion that it is difficult
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Ci. Foretelling his Passion. Rebuking Ambition.
(Peræa, or Judæa, Near the Jordan.) ^A Matt. XX. 17-28; ^B Mark X. 32-45; ^C Luke XVIII. 31-34. ^b 32 And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem [Dean Mansel sees in these words an evidence that Jesus had just crossed the Jordan and was beginning the actual ascent up to Jerusalem. If so, he was in Judæa. But such a construction strains the language. Jesus had been going up to Jerusalem ever since he started in Galilee, and he may now have still be in Peræa. The parable
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate,
CLEARLY EXPLAINED, AND LARGELY IMPROVED, FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BELIEVERS. 1 John 2:1--"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." By JOHN BUNYAN, Author of "The Pilgrim's Progress." London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms, in the Poultry, 1689. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This is one of the most interesting of Bunyan's treatises, to edit which required the Bible at my right hand, and a law dictionary on my left. It was very frequently republished;
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Death Swallowed up in victory
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory! D eath, simply considered, is no more than the cessation of life --that which was once living, lives no longer. But it has been the general, perhaps the universal custom of mankind, to personify it. Imagination gives death a formidable appearance, arms it with a dart, sting or scythe, and represents it as an active, inexorable and invincible reality. In this view death is a great devourer; with his iron tongue
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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