Isaiah 50-57

LESSON #1 HOW BEAUTIFUL UPON THE MOUNTAINS (Isaiah 52:7–12)

TRUTH:

We can bring others the good news of Jesus Christ, live in a way that honors His message, and trust Him to help us as we share it.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

Sometimes we hear the words “share the gospel,” and immediately start worrying about what we’re supposed to say. What if we don’t know enough? What if somebody asks a question we can’t answer? Isaiah gives us a beautiful way to think about that responsibility. We have good news to carry. News about peace, salvation, and a God who reigns. Somewhere in the lives of the people we teach, there may be somebody who needs to hear that news from them. What gives me a fire in the bones for this lesson is helping our students recognize that they have something worth sharing, and that the Lord will help them to share it.

WHAT THE TEACHER SHOULD KNOW:

Let’s take a closer look here at Isaiah 52:7-12. In these verses, Isaiah pictures the joy of announcing Zion’s redemption. There’s a messenger on the mountains, watchmen raising their voices, and even the waste places of Jerusalem being invited to sing. Why all the celebration? The Lord has comforted and redeemed His people. He reigns. That’s the news the messenger is carrying.

Verse 7 says:

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

Now feet aren’t usually the first thing we think of when we hear the word beautiful. But Isaiah wants us to think about what those feet are doing. They’re carrying a messenger with news that people desperately want to hear.

Isaiah lived in a time before cell phones and instant messages and a 24-hour news cycle. If important news needed to travel, somebody had to physically carry it. Picture people waiting for word of a victory or deliverance. Then a messenger appears with the news they’ve been hoping for. How would they feel about that person’s arrival? Those dusty, tired feet would be a beautiful sight.

And that’s the connection I would want our students to make. What makes the feet beautiful is the message they carry. “Gospel” means good news. When we help somebody learn of Christ and his restored gospel, we’re participating in the work that Isaiah is describing here.

Then verses 8–10 show us why the news is so good. The Lord brings again Zion. He comforts His people. He redeems Jerusalem. And all the ends of the earth will see His salvation. I especially like the phrase in verse 10 that the Lord “hath made bare his holy arm.” In your mind, just picture somebody rolling up their sleeves and what that communicates. They’re ready to go to work, and you can see their strength. The Lord is showing His power to save. The messenger has something wonderful to announce because the Lord is doing something wonderful for His people.

Then we have an instruction in verse 11:

“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.”

Here the picture is of leaving Babylon and carrying the Lord’s sacred vessels. Those who carry holy things are called to be clean. We can apply that to carrying His message. Our lives should honor the Savior we’re telling people about. Now that doesn’t mean we have to be perfect before we can say anything about Him. What it does mean is that we are sincerely trying to follow Him, repent when we need to, and take His teachings seriously ourselves.

Finally, notice the promise in verse 12:

“For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.”

“Rereward” means the rear guard, the protection behind them. Although verse 11 gives an emphatic invitation to depart, verse 12 tells us this isn’t a panicked escape. The Lord will lead and protect His people.

And I really like the way that we can apply that reassurance. I mean, have you ever encouraged somebody facing something difficult by saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll go first”? Or maybe, “I’m right behind you”? Well, here the Lord is saying both. He goes before His people, AND He is their rear guard. As we participate in His work, he’s right there, helping us and giving us encouragement.

ICEBREAKER:

Time: 2 min

For an icebreaker, I like to begin with a slightly unusual question and demonstration. I ask: “Do you have beautiful feet?” And then, as a teacher, I’ll actually take off my shoes and socks in front of the class. So if you decide to try this, you might want to clip your toenails and make sure your feet are clean on the day you teach this lesson. I’ve done this many times with classes of youth, and it always gets their attention. They’re wondering, “What on earth is he doing?”

Then I’ll ask, “Does anybody know how I could make my feet more beautiful?” Take a few quick suggestions. They might mention washing them, getting a pedicure, or putting my socks back on. And you can have a little fun with their answers.

Then explain: “Well, Isaiah has an answer to that question. And it has nothing to do with toenail polish, lotion, or how your feet actually look. Go to Isaiah 52:7 and see if you can discover what makes somebody’s feet beautiful.”

Give them a moment to find it, and invite someone to share. What makes those feet beautiful? They’re carrying somebody who brings good news—who publishes peace and salvation.

Then, as you put your shoes and socks back on, explain: “Picture someone waiting anxiously for news of a victory or deliverance. Then a messenger comes over the mountains carrying the very news they’ve been hoping to hear. Those dusty, tired feet would be a beautiful sight! It’s the message they’re carrying that makes them beautiful. Today, let’s discover what good news we have to carry—and how we can share it.”

SEARCH ACTIVITY:

Time: 8-10 min

For the search activity, invite your students to read verses 7–10 silently with this prompt in mind:  If someone asked you, ‘What’s so good about the gospel?’ what could you share from these verses?

Give them about a minute to search and invite three or four short responses and record a few phrases on the board.

Things they might identify:

• Peace.• Salvation.• Thy God reigneth.• The Lord hath comforted His people.• He hath redeemed Jerusalem.• All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Now give everyone the following simple handout and invite them to choose one of those truths that they see in verses 7-10 and to imagine they’re explaining it to somebody who isn’t familiar with Isaiah. The message is all about being a disciple of Jesus Christ and what he does for us. So the handout provides them with the following simple prompt: Because of Jesus Christ, _______________.  Encourage them to write one or two sentences that would help someone to understand why it’s good news. Encourage them to just use ordinary words you would actually say to another person.

And what we’re doing here is helping them to think about the meaning of the message. Give them about 90 seconds to write. If they need an example, you could say, “Because of Jesus Christ, we can repent and be redeemed, or forgiven. Our mistakes don’t have to determine our future.”

Once they’ve done that you can have them turn to a partner. Each person reads the message they wrote and points to the phrase in Isaiah that inspired it. Give each person about 30 seconds.

You could then invite two or three people to share their sentences with the class. As they do, briefly connect their words back to Isaiah.

After that activity you could say something like: I hope you can see that you already have something worth sharing with others. You’ve just put a truth about Christ into your own words. That can be the beginning of a meaningful conversation.

Instruction and Reassurance

Time: 3-4 min

Before we send our messengers out, there are two more verses I’d want them to see. Invite them to read Isaiah 52:11–12 and look for at least one instruction for his messengers.

They might share:

Depart ye, Go ye out, go ye out of the midst of her (meaning Babylon)

Touch no unclean thing

Be ye clean

Don’t go with haste.

Then ask: Why do you think that instruction would be important for Jesus’s messengers to remember? We would want our students to understand here that as we bear the message of Christ’s good news, we ourselves need to seek to flee the things of the world and to be clean ourselves.

Then ask: What promise do you see in verses 11-12?

And they should see the promise that the Lord would go before them and would be their rearward, or behind them.  

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

Time: 2-3 min

Then, if you have time, a possible discussion question you could ask would be:

How could remembering that the Lord goes before us and is behind us change the way we approach sharing His gospel?

I WILL GO AND DO:

Time:  2 min

Now invite them to complete the second part of the handout.  It encourages them to fill in the following challenge.

This week, to make my feet more beautiful, I could share the good news of Christ with __________ by __________.

Give them about a minute to choose a person and a simple, appropriate action.

You could offer them some suggestions. It could be sharing a scripture with a friend who would welcome it, telling a family member why a gospel truth matters to them, or inviting someone to learn more about Christ. They might also begin by asking a sincere question and listening.

They don’t need to share the name with the class or force a conversation. Encourage them to pray for the person and for help recognizing an opportunity. Then keep the paper somewhere they’ll see it during the week.

TAKEAWAY:

Time: 2 min

To end the lesson, show the takeaway slide and conclude with something like this:

When Isaiah calls the messenger’s feet beautiful, he gives us a different way to think about sharing the gospel. Picture the person waiting for that news. Someone who needs hope. Someone who needs to know that forgiveness is possible. Someone who wonders whether God cares about them. We have something worth carrying to that person. Jesus Christ brings peace. He redeems. He comforts His people. Our God reigns. Those are truths worth putting into our own words and sharing with others. And I love that the Lord promises to go before us and to be behind us as well. We can ask for His help as we do His work. So keep the message you wrote today. Pray for the person you thought of and look for an opportunity to share something of the Savior’s goodness with them. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good tidings. I hope that this week, those feet will be ours.

OPTIONAL LESSON IDEAS:

PRACTICE: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?If you feel like your class would benefit from a more specific situation, you could replace the message-writing and partner-sharing portion with a practice scenario.

You say: A friend asks you, “What is it about believing in Jesus Christ that means so much to you?” Give students a minute to choose a phrase from Isaiah 52:7–10 and prepare a sincere response in their own words. Then have partners take turns practicing. Encourage them to sound like themselves and explain one truth clearly.

QUOTE:

From Jeffrey R. Holland:“Peace and good tidings; good tidings and peace. These are among the ultimate blessings that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings a troubled world and the troubled people who live in it, solutions to personal struggles and human sinfulness, a source of strength for days of weariness and hours of genuine despair.”

(Conference Report, Oct. 1996 “The Peaceable Things of the Kingdom”)

GAME:

Time: 2-3 min

For a quick alternate icebreaker, you could play two rounds of charades. Divide the class into two teams and tell them that each team will get one chance to guess a situation that is being acted out. Invite a volunteer from Team 1 to silently act out “You won a race,” and time how long it takes that team to guess it. Then have a volunteer from Team 2 act out “You found something you lost,” and see how long it takes them to guess it.  Whisper the phrases to your volunteers or write them on slips of paper beforehand, and be ready to accept answers that capture the idea, that are close enough. Whichever team was able to guess their situation the fastest wins. After both rounds, explain: “Those were both pieces of good news, but imagine having to communicate them without being able to say anything! Thankfully, when we share the good news of Jesus Christ, we can use our words. Isaiah describes someone carrying a message worth sharing. Let’s go to Isaiah 52:7 and discover what it is.” Try to keep the entire activity to about two minutes.

LESSON #2 HE SHALL SEE HIS SEED (Isaiah 53)

TRUTH:

Jesus Christ bore our sins and sorrows so we can be forgiven, healed, and spiritually reborn as His sons and daughters.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

For some fire in the bones, think about this. There may be somebody in your class who believes Jesus suffered for their sins but still feels uncomfortable coming to Him. They know what they’ve done, and they wonder how He sees them. Both Isaiah and Abinadi give us something beautiful to help them understand. The people Christ redeems are called His seed—His children. His sacrifice makes forgiveness and a new life with Him possible. If we can help somebody see that returning to Christ means coming to One who wants them to belong to Him, that’s a lesson worth teaching.

WHAT THE TEACHER SHOULD KNOW:

Allow me to walk you through a majority of this absolute masterpiece of a chapter.  I consider it to be one of the greatest chapters in Isaiah and one of the best places in scripture to understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We’ll pick it up in verse 3.

³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

So Jesus is not going to be super popular in certain circles—especially the “in” crowd. People will despise him, reject him, and esteem him not. And then I think we need to be careful about how we interpret the line that he is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Do you picture Jesus as mournful, somber, and incredibly serious all the time? I don’t think so. If wickedness never was happiness, and righteousness always was, and Jesus was the most righteous individual to ever live, then it stands to reason to think he was the happiest individual to ever live as well. I believe he smiled, and ran, and enjoyed being with people, that he had a sense of humor. All throughout the gospels you see him going to feasts, working with large crowds, interacting with people. He must have been a very pleasant person to be around. Now, that’s not to say that he didn’t experience sorrows and griefs, he certainly did. But why does Isaiah describe him as a man of sorrows? I think the next verse holds the key:

⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Ah, so it’s not HIS sorrow and grief that makes him a man of sorrows, but our sorrows and griefs. He carries them for us.  And these verses give us just a few of the many “atonement” phrases within this chapter. Isaiah is going to teach the great principle of the atonement in multiple ways and images.  Let’s pause and take a look at each of those now at the same time and I encourage you to mark each of these in a common color.

:4 He hath borne our griefs

:4 He carried our sorrows

:5 He was wounded for our transgressions

:5 He was bruised for our iniquities

:5 the chastisement of our peace was upon him

:5 with his stripes (stripes means whippings or scourgings) we are healed

:6 the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all

:8 for the transgression of my people was he stricken

:11 by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many

:11 he shall bear their iniquities

:12 he bare the sin of many

:12 [he] made intercession for the transgressors

Do you see how many different ways Isaiah says it? And that’s poetry for you, expressing the same thought with multiple images and phrases. But those phrases describe the miracle of the atonement.  That miracle being that Christ was able to take upon himself our sins and make intercession for us. His grief brings us relief, his sorrow brings us joy, his wounds heal ours, his bruises bring us wholeness, his chastisement brings us peace, his stripes bring us freedom from punishment, his back bears the load of our iniquities so that we may walk uprightly, his being stricken makes us complete, his intercession makes saints out of transgressors.  Now exactly how that works, I don’t think I could logically explain or diagram or satisfactorily comprehend it, but I do have faith that it works.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

If we are like sheep, that would make Christ the good shepherd. I like that contrast there. It’s a bit of an ironic image, but it’s an accurate one. He compares us to sheep but at the same time says that we have turned every one to his own way. That’s a good description of the modern mindset. We want to do our own thing. We don’t want to be told what to do. We say, “I want to be a unique individual, just like everybody else.” Because, are sheep known for doing their own thing? No. They are known for following. No matter how much lip service we give to the idea of being original, we just can’t seem to suppress our herd instinct. And so those that rebel, usually all rebel in the exact same way, like sheep. Maybe when Jesus compared himself to a good shepherd, and we his flock, perhaps that wasn’t much of a flattering compliment. But then, there is another sheep in our midst.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

This “lamb of God” was brought to the slaughter as a sacrifice, but opened not his mouth. He did not protest. When Christ was betrayed, abandoned, scourged, judged, spit upon, and ultimately crucified, he humbly and meekly accepted it. He didn’t fight it. He didn’t protest. The scene of Christ standing before Pilate and the angry crowd demanding his death and Christ allowing them to judge him has got to be the absolute definition of meekness—power under control. With the snap of his fingers, he could have called down legions of angels to protect and deliver him. The earthly power of Pilate and the entire might of the Roman empire and the Jewish authorities was absolutely nothing compared to his infinite and divine power. And yet he submitted, like a lamb to the slaughter.

⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

⁹ And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

There’s a lot happening in these verses and an important question is asked. These things literally do happen to Christ, don’t they? He is taken from prison and judgment and cut off out of the land of the living. He will be executed. He will make his grave with the wicked, think of the thieves that were crucified with him. And the rich in his death is a direct prophecy of Christ being buried in a rich man’s tomb. That of Joseph of Arimathea. And he will be falsely accused and unjustly slain. But what’s the important question that’s asked by Isaiah? Who shall declare his generation? In other words, who’s going to be his seed, his heritage, his heirs, his children? Because he died so young! He didn’t live long enough to pass on his legacy or have children to carry on his name or generation. In Bible times, ancestry and posterity were everything. Not to have an heir to perpetuate your family legacy was one of the worst things that could happen to you. So who are going to be HIS kids? Answer: verses 10 and 11.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

¹¹ He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Do you understand what Isaiah’s saying here? After he has been bruised, put to grief, and made his soul an offering for sin, then he WILL see his seed! His children! He will not be left childless! He shall see the travail of his soul. Travail means labor, or childbirth.  This is the image chosen to help us understand what it may have been like for Christ. Suffering the atonement was like giving birth. But what do mothers do when that little child is laid in their arms after all that labor, and travail, and difficulty? Do they look down and say, “Well, that wasn’t worth it”?  No, they are satisfied. They smile, and clasp the child near, and tenderly gaze at their beloved child.  The pain is forgotten.

That was his experience with the atonement. When he sees his children, he’s satisfied. He remembered no more the anguish and felt only joy.  But still, we haven’t answered the key question yet. Who are these children that Isaiah speaks of? Who are the children of Christ? We’re going to have to go to the Book of Mormon to really answer that question. Abinadi is going to say it most clearly and directly:

Mosiah 15:10-12

¹⁰ And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed?

¹¹ Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God.

¹² For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed?

Who are the children of Christ? Those that HEAR the words of the prophets, but not only hear, but HEARKEN to the words of the prophets, but not only HEAR, and HEARKEN, but BELIEVE the words of the prophets and have LOOKED FORWARD to the day of the remission of their sins provided them by the sacrifice of their father, the Savior. These are his seed. 

That message, of what makes us children of Christ, would be where I would want the emphasis of this lesson to be placed

ICEBREAKER:

Time: 2-3 min

When I teach about the Atonement, I sometimes begin by holding up my cell phone and asking, “Does anybody know how this works? How can I type a message, press a button, and have somebody on the other side of the world read it almost instantly?”

Take a couple of brief responses, but don’t let this turn into a technology lesson. Then explain:

“Honestly, I couldn’t begin to explain everything happening inside this little device. But I do know how to use it. I can call my family, get directions, and listen to music. I don’t have to understand everything that makes it work to benefit from what it can do.

“In some ways, that’s how I feel about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I can’t fully explain how He took upon Himself our sins and sorrows or how His suffering makes our forgiveness and healing possible. There’s a depth to His sacrifice that’s beyond my understanding. But I can learn how to turn to Him, and I can experience His power in my life.

Then transition:

Isaiah 53 helps us understand what the Savior’s sacrifice makes possible for us. And near the end of the chapter, there’s a beautiful description of the relationship He offers those who receive Him. That’s what I’d especially like us to discover today.

SEARCH ACTIVITY:

The Miracle of the Atonement of Jesus Christ:

Time: 6 min

On the board you should make two columns. Label one column. “What He bore”, and in the other column “What He Makes Possible.”

Then, read verses 3–6 aloud while the class follows along and ask them to notice those two things.

Here’s what they should find:

For What He bore:

Griefs

Sorrows

Transgressions

Iniquities

Wounds

Bruises

Chastisement

Stripes

Iniquity

What He Makes possible:

Peace

Healing

But overall, they should recognize that he is taking all of those things on himself for us.  He’s taking our griefs, our sorrows, our transgressions.  So I might add what’s implied in those verses,

Help with our sins and sorrows.

And, forgiveness.

You may want to  draw attention to “all” and “every one” in verse 6: All of us need what He offers. Isaiah includes our sorrows and our sins. His suffering makes forgiveness, peace, and healing possible.

At this point I would sincerely testify of Christ’s ability to bring us forgiveness, help, healing, and peace through the power of the Atonement. These verses beautifully illustrate the miracle of the Atonement. The fact that his suffering brings us redemption.  

The People He Redeems Become His Children

Time: 8 min

Now take them to verse 8 and explain the question that’s asked. “Who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living.”  Or, who is going to be his seed? His children? Who’s going to carry on his name and legacy?

Then take them to verse 10 and explain the meaning of that verse. Jesus will have children.  After he has “travailed” and “made his soul an offering for sin,” he shall see his children. Create a third column on the board with the heading, “Who are Christ’s Children?”

Tell them that Abinadi in the Book of Mormon answers that question clearly for us. Send them to Mosiah 15:10-12 or display it on the screen and ask them to search for the answer to that question.

They should identify the following:

Those who hear and hearken to the words of the prophets.

Those who believe that the Lord would redeem His people.

Those who look forward to the remission of their sins.

Make the point that if they can relate to those phrases, then THEY are the children of Christ.  In fact, you could make the point that they probably remember the day when they were born. Born again. When they were baptized, they became children of Christ. And Jesus named them. He gave us His name. We took upon ourselves the family name of “Christ.”

Make that connection explicit. The sins He bore are the sins of people He invites into a new life with Him. As we believe his prophets, as we believe in Him and receive His redemption, we BECOME His children and He becomes our Father.

I WILL GO AND DO:

Time: 2-3 min

I suggest an “I will go and do” for this lesson.  Invite them to ponder the following: As someone who wants to belong to Christ, one way I’ll strengthen my relationship with Him this week is . . .

Act on something I’ve been taught. Choose one teaching of Jesus Christ or His prophets that you’ve been meaning to follow, and take a step this week.

Take a step in repentance. Bring something you’ve been avoiding to the Savior and seek His forgiveness.

Express my gratitude for His sacrifice. In prayer, name something specific His Atonement has made possible in your life.

Make my prayers more personal. Tell Heavenly Father where you’re struggling and ask for help to grow closer to His Son.

TAKEAWAY:

Time: 2 min

To end the lesson, show the takeaway slide and conclude with something like this:

“As you look at this image, notice the Savior’s wounded hand and the people He’s embracing. He bore our sins and carried our sorrows so we could be forgiven, healed, and become His sons and daughters.

“Then consider what Isaiah says in verse 11: ‘He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.’ That makes me think of a mother holding her baby for the first time after a difficult labor. The pain was real, but now she holds this child she loves, and there’s joy in the life she’s helped bring into the world.

“I think that image helps us appreciate something beautiful about the Savior. He knew how painful our redemption would be, and He willingly gave Himself for us. When Isaiah speaks of Him seeing His seed and being satisfied, it gives me this thought: We were worth it to Him. There’s joy for Him in the people His sacrifice brings into His family.

“So take the step you identified today. Act on His teachings. Seek His forgiveness. Trust Him enough to return. As you do, remember the Savior’s wounded hand and that embrace. He loves the people He suffered to redeem, and He invites you to be among those He calls His children.”

OPTIONAL LESSON IDEAS:

QUOTE:

From Elder Neal A. Maxwell:

“Thus the compassion of the divine Jesus for us is not the abstract compassion of a sinless individual who would never so suffer; rather, it is the compassion and empathy of One who has suffered exquisitely, though innocent, for all our sins, which were compounded in some way we do not understand. Though He was sinless, yet He suffered more than all of us. We cannot tell Him anything about suffering. This is one of the inner marvels of the atonement of Jesus Christ! “

(All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, p.35 ‑ p.36) 

TEACHER INSIGHT:

If you had more time, you might want to include a discussion of verses 1 and 2 in chapter 53. Verse 1 introduces the Lord’s power with the image of His arm being revealed. Like, he’s rolling up his sleeves to get to work. And his work, is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. But then verse 2 describes Jesus coming as a tender plant, which is a surprisingly humble picture. You could connect that imagery to Christ’s quiet upbringing, His work as a carpenter, and His gentle invitations to follow Him. Isaiah also tells us that outward beauty wouldn’t be what drew people to Him. I think there’s an important reminder there: we can miss what God offers if we expect it to come in an impressive package. Recognizing the Savior requires us to look beyond outward appearances and listen to His message.

LESSON #3 MY KINDNESS WILL NOT DEPART FROM THEE (Isaiah 54)

TRUTH:

Even when our lives feel unsettled or broken, we can trust the Lord’s enduring kindness and His power to restore us.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

Sometimes the hardest part of a trial is what it makes us wonder about God. Is he there? Is he listening? Does He still care? Have I disappointed Him too many times? Am I worthy of His help? Isaiah 54 gives us words and promises to place beside those questions. Here the Lord is speaking to people who are ashamed, grieving, and tossed by storms, but He promises mercy, restoration, and enduring kindness. What gives me a fire in the bones for teaching this lesson is the possibility of really helping someone who may be struggling in your classes this week. As teachers, we may not be able to change what they’re going through, but we can help them to hear something about the Savior that can give them courage and confidence to keep turning to Him.

WHAT THE TEACHER SHOULD KNOW:

Chapter 54 is a section that is FILLED with comforting messages for God’s people. It’s a direct message from Christ to his bride, Zion. And you may need to remind them of that common metaphor that we find in the scriptures. Jesus is the husband, and Zion is his bride. And sadly, Zion had been unfaithful to him for a time. It had gone after other gods. And, he, as her husband, has every reason in the world to forsake her or divorce her, because, she had left him, and not the other way around. In fact, as a sidenote, that’s the context behind the meaning of Isaiah 50:1.

There he assures them he never divorced or forsook them. There’s no bill of divorcement and he assures them that he is still there to answer them, redeem them, and deliver them. And, thank heavens, Zion is coming back, seeking for his forgiveness and acceptance. So you have to picture Jesus as the one speaking here. And to perhaps make the message more personal and relevant, we can ask ourselves if we have ever felt that way. Have we ever felt like we’d done something that has displeased the Savior? Have we ever felt like we needed his love, help, reassurance, or mercy? We want to picture that scenario as we study this chapter. Because of time constraints, for this lesson I would only cover verses 4-17 and allow me to walk you through those verses together.

:4

⁴ Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

The message here? You don’t need to worry about the past. There’s no need to be ashamed about what you’ve done. Forget about it because I have.

And :5

⁵ For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

I’m still with you! I haven’t abandoned you. I’m forever your husband.

:7-8

⁷ For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

⁸ In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

Yes, I admit it, I did allow you to feel the pain of your sins for a time, to help you recognize the folly of them. But only for a small moment, just enough to help you learn the lesson, and no more. I am kind and merciful.

:10

¹⁰ For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

Now back then, mountains and hills were places of safety and refuge. If you were under attack, it was best to run for the hills, to gain the high ground. So he reassures them, “Even if you’re feeling like there’s no place of safety for you in the world to run to, run to me. My kindness, and peace, and mercy are places of safety that can never be removed. They will always be there for you. If you’ll come.”

:11-12

¹¹ O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

¹² And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

The Lord promises not only to restore Zion, but to make it beautiful.  It won’t just be a house he’ll build for them; it’s a palace. And it’s not a palace built of mere brick and mortar, or limestone, but sapphires, and agates, and precious stones. It’s a beautiful building. A temple, even. This is the kind of place that he has prepared for his beloved wife and for all his children.

:13

This is a great one for parents:

¹³ And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

I don’t know about you, but one of my greatest anxieties and fears in life is the worry I feel for my children considering the world they’re being brought up in. Every night I pray not only for their physical but for their spiritual safety. I want them, more than anything to remain true, and faithful, and righteous. The Lord promises here that our children will be taught and have peace.

And then verse 17

¹⁷ No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

So there’s some comfort for those living in a wicked world. No opposing force will prosper against you. Nothing will stop Christ from returning and Zion being redeemed! As long as we remain servants of righteousness, which is completely within our realm of control, then triumph will be our heritage, our legacy. So forget about the anti-church websites, the protestors on temple square, the critics, the skeptics, the slanderers. All their efforts will come to naught in the end, and Zion, and all her children will be redeemed. A very COMFORTING chapter.

ICEBREAKER:

Time: 4 min

Now to teach this lesson, I would start with this simple icebreaker. It’s a quick four-corners activity. Before class, place a sign in each corner of the room with one of these phrases:

• Someone listens

• Someone helps

• Someone reassures

• Someone stays

Then explain what each one means. Someone listens gives you a chance to talk and really tries to understand. Someone helps does something practical to ease your burden. Someone reassures offers words of encouragement and hope. And someone stays is willing to be there with you, even when there isn’t much they can say or do to fix things.

Then ask: “When life gets hard, which of these usually means the most to you?”

Invite them to stand and move to the corner that best represents their answer. Of course, we might appreciate all four, but ask them to choose the one they’d most want right now.

Once they’ve chosen, give them about 20 seconds to tell someone in their corner why they picked it. They don’t need to share a personal situation—just what they appreciate about that kind of comfort. Then invite one or two people to briefly share with the whole class.

As they return to their seats, you could say: “We don’t all need exactly the same kind of comfort, and what we need may change depending on what we’re facing. In Isaiah 54, the Lord speaks to people who are grieving, afraid, and feeling alone. As we read His words, watch for the different ways that He comforts them.”

Try to keep the activity to about three minutes so you can move quickly into the scriptures.

SEARCH ACTIVITY:

Time: 1 min

Now, with those different kinds of comfort in mind, we can now give our students a chance to hear how the Lord comforts His people in scripture. Explain that in Isaiah 54, Jesus is speaking to Zion—His covenant people—and He uses the image of a husband reassuring his wife of his love and commitment. And here, he’s speaking to a group of people who have felt ashamed, afraid, and alone.

Time: 4 min

For this activity, I would read Isaiah 54:4–17 aloud or play a recording of those verses. And I particularly like doing that kind of thing here, because there’s something meaningful about hearing these actual promises spoken. A nice touch that you could add to this experience would be to put a portrait of Christ at the front of the classroom while you read or play the words of the chapter.

Invite your students to follow along in their scriptures with just this one question in mind:

Which of the Lord’s promises here is your favorite and would bring you the most comfort right now?

Encourage them to mark a phrase that stands out to them as they listen. And you can assure them that they won’t need to explain any private circumstances. They can simply share the words they chose and what they find comforting about them.

Then you read the passage clearly and warmly, giving the words a little room to settle. I wouldn’t interrupt the reading with commentary. Let them hear the Lord’s message all the way through.

Time: 7 min

When you finish, give them a few quiet moments to look back over what they marked. Then repeat the question and invite several students to share. As they do, you can draw attention to the phrases they’ve noticed and add a brief explanation where it would help them understand the promise.

TAKE IT TO HEART:

Time: 5 min

For a Take It To Heart question, you could ask:When have you felt the Savior’s comfort during a difficult time, and what did that experience teach you about Him?Tell them that if it’s something they would feel comfortable sharing, that you’d love to hear it. As a teacher, be prepared to share one of your own either to break the ice or to give an illustration of the principle if no one feels comfortable sharing.

TAKEAWAY:

Time: 2 min

To end the lesson, you can show the takeaway slide and conclude with something like this:When you look at mountains, you probably think of something solid—something that will still be there long after today’s worries have passed. Yet Isaiah says that even mountains and hills can be removed. Then comes the Lord’s promise: “My kindness shall not depart from thee.” I love that He gives those words to people who are grieving, ashamed, and tossed by storms. He knows what they’re facing. He promises to gather them, restore them, and establish them in peace. Some things we counted on may change. Some answers may take longer than we hoped. But we can keep turning to the Lord who has promised His enduring kindness.  So I encourage you to take the phrase you marked today with you. You may still have storms to face, but you have reason to trust the One who sees you through them. His kindness shall not depart from thee.

OPTIONAL LESSON IDEAS:

VIDEO:

If you have a little extra time, you could conclude with Rob Gardner’s song “My Kindness Shall Not Depart from Thee”, which draws on the very language we’ve been studying in Isaiah 54. Before you play it, invite your students to think about the promise they marked and let the song be a quiet opportunity to reflect on the Lord’s kindness in their own lives. I wouldn’t feel the need to follow it with another discussion. You could simply offer a brief testimony of the Savior’s enduring love and encourage them to carry His promise with them into the coming week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq-KhxsUxNo

QUOTE:

After quoting verse 10, Dieter F. Uchtdorf once shared the following in general conference:

“One of the most important things we can learn in this life is the difference between what is eternal and what is not.

Once we understand that, everything changes—our relationships, the choices we make, the way we treat people.

Knowing what is eternal and what is not is key to growing a testimony of Jesus Christ and His Church.”

(Conference Report, Oct. 2024 “Nourish the Roots, and the Branches Will Grow”)

HANDOUT:

For a handout, at the conclusion of the lesson, you could give your students the following take-home message.  It highlights the message of the lesson and could be put in a place where they could be reminded of the Savior’s kindness when they feel like times are difficult.