When The Barren Sing

Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child. For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 54:1 NKJV

Sing, barren woman, is part of a prophetic message from God to Israel through the prophet Isaiah. It comes immediately after Isaiah 53, where the “Suffering Servant” (a foreshadowing of Christ) bears the sins of many. Isaiah 54 then shifts into a tone of restoration and hope, specifically for Zion/ Jerusalem, symbolized as a barren and desolate woman. 

For historical context on Isaiah’s time and message, the book of Isaiah can be divided into two broad parts: Words of Judgment (Isaiah 1:1-39:8) and Words of Comfort (Isaiah 40:1-66:24). The first 39 chapters generally carry the message of judgment for sin. The prophet brings a message of judgment to Judah, Israel, and the surrounding pagan nations. The people of Judah had a form of godliness, but in their hearts, they were corrupt. Isaiah’s warnings were intended to purify the people by helping them understand God’s true nature and message. The final 27 chapters of Isaiah generally bring a message of forgiveness, comfort, and hope. This message looks forward to the coming of the Messiah, who is described as both the suffering Servant and the sovereign Lord. Isaiah 54 falls within the section of words of comfort and hope, written to comfort Israel during or in anticipation of exile in Babylon. The people feel forsaken (like their God has abandoned them), barren (as if their covenantal fruitfulness has dried up), and humiliated (like a woman who cannot bear children in a culture where motherhood is tied to honor and legacy). 

I’m fairly certain that some of us have experienced the same feelings the Israelites might have felt during this time; I know I have.

Isaiah 54:1 uses barrenness as a metaphor for Israel’s condition. This imagery not only speaks to Israel’s loss but also speaks of a promised reversal; that the desolate will bear more children than the married wife. This is God’s prophetic assurance, as if He’s saying to both them and you and me that He’s not finished. As He instructs these people to break into song, He not only tells them that He will reverse their reality but that He will give them more children than the children of a married woman. 

To understand the depth of this promise, we need to revisit Isaiah 49:20 (NIV):

“The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing,

‘This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.’”

The barren, desolate Jerusalem will become too small to hold all the children she didn’t think she could have; it will become so full of life that she’ll need to expand her walls. In this context, “children” represent restoration, renewal, and the expansion of God’s covenant family. This promise is God whispering to a discouraged heart:

What you thought was too late for, too far gone, or too barren… will become too small to hold the blessing I’m about to pour out.

But, it’s important to note that before Isaiah 54, before the exile, and before the comfort, there was a plea in Isaiah 2:5 (NIV):

“Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”


This is important because God often calls us into the light before we see the results of restoration. He asks us to walk in obedience and trust, even when the evidence still appears barren. It’s a call to align ourselves with His truth, His perspective, and His promise, even when our present doesn’t reflect our future.

This is a call to: worship in desolation, sing while still barren, and trust that the light is coming because God has already spoken. 

Centuries later, the Apostle Paul references Isaiah 54:1 again, this time in his letter to the Galatians. He was addressing a divided church, where some believed that they had to follow the law of Moses to be fully accepted by God.

Paul writes in Galatians 4:27 (NIV):

“Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child;

Shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor,

because more are the children of the desolate woman

Than of her who has a husband.”

He connects this verse to the story of Hagar and Sarah from Genesis, two women whose stories are symbols of two covenants:

  • Hagar: The slave woman who represents the old covenant at Mount Sinai, where people try to earn righteousness through the law.

  • Sarah: The free woman who represents the new covenant from Jerusalem above that speaks to righteousness by faith and the promise.

Sarah was barren. And yet, through her came Isaac, the child of promise.

Paul’s point was that we, as believers, are not born of the law (Hagar); we are born of promise (Sarah). That promise makes us heirs of God’s abundance, grace, and spiritual fruitfulness. So when Paul quotes Isaiah 54, he’s essentially saying to us:

Even if you feel desolate, fruitless, or forgotten, God’s grace will produce more in you than anything human effort could achieve.

Lessons from the Barren Woman

  1. Barrenness Is Not the End of the Story - In God’s economy, barrenness often precedes breakthrough. The places that feel empty are often the ones He fills with the most glory.

  2. Sing Before the Evidence- Worship isn’t just a response to a blessing; it’s often the seed of it. God calls the barren woman to sing before she has children, not after.

  3. Your Identity Is in the Promise, Not in the Circumstance- Like Sarah, your story is rooted in God’s promise, not in your performance. You don’t have to produce the outcome; you only have to believe in the One who made the promise.

  4. God Makes Room Where There Was No Room- Isaiah 49 reminds us that our “too small” spaces can’t hold what God is bringing. Redemption brings expansion, and when God restores, He doesn’t return you to where you were; he gives you more than you lost.

Reflection Questions

  1. Where in my life do I feel barren or forgotten?

  2. Am I walking in the light of God’s Word, even before I see the results?

  3. What would it look like to “sing” in this season of waiting?

  4. Do I see myself as a child of striving or a child of promise?

  5. Am I willing to make room for a blessing I haven’t yet seen?

You may feel like a barren woman in a forgotten season, but God says: Sing. Because what’s coming will be more than what was lost, and more are the children of the desolate woman.

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Healing Through Scars