Isaiah 54:7

For a small moment. During the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity Israel seemed to be cast off and forgotten. In reality, however, that bitter experience was permitted by God to reveal to Israel the folly of her ways and to persuade her of the wisdom of being true to Him (see Hosea 2:6-23). Often, amid the difficulties and disappointments of life, it is our privilege to hear the tender voice of God calling us back from our own willful ways to walk with Him.

Gather thee. The gathering of Israel is one of Isaiah’s favorite themes (see chs. 11:12; 27:12; 43:5, 6; 56:8; 60:4; 66:18). The literal return of the Jews to their homeland after the Babylonian captivity, here foretold, prefigured the greater gathering of all God’s people into the heavenly Canaan.