“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.” (Isaiah 54:17)
This is part of the eternal covenant of peace Isaiah prophesies over Israel which will be realized during the thousand-year reign of Christ. Christians have taken this verse, believed it for themselves and have confessed it over themselves. There are four reasons that make it perfectly right for us to do that. We will explore that and exactly what this promise has for us.
Is this prophecy for the Christian? First, this is a covenant of peace for Israel. Remember that the church is part of Israel, grafted in and receiving from the root, Jesus what He supplies to Israel. “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;” (Romans 11:16-17).
Another reason Christians can claim this prophetic promise is because we have a covenant of peace ratified by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul mentions it at the end of his letter to the Hebrews. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21) Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross bought for us an everlasting covenant. And it is the covenant of peace. As recipients and beneficiaries of God’s grace and mercy through Jesus, we are or should be living in this covenant. Because of ignorance brought about by neglect of the Word, most Christians are satisfied to merely live and know that they are going to heaven, that they are saved and that their sins are forgiven. But there is so much more that we are neglecting. And we cannot know how to live as children of the Lord God Almighty if we don’t read the covenant and study God’s Word. I can just hear in my spirit the groans because there is so much to learn. Yes, that’s true. And even with years of daily reading and studying the Word, I feel I can’t grasp the enormity of what I need to not only learn but put into practice. But daily there are little things I learn that give me a reason to praise and glorify the Lord. We will never grasp all of God’s goodness in our lifetime. But daily we can learn and live more in God’s eternal covenant of peace.
A third reason we can claim this prophecy for us is because this prophecy is “the heritage of the servants of the LORD...” (Isaiah 54:17) Are we servants of the Lord? If we are children of God, born again of God new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), then we are not only servants, but bond servants of the Lord. A bond servant is one who voluntarily makes himself a slave forever to another. “And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him forever.” (Exodus 21:5-6) When we make Jesus Lord of our lives, that’s exactly what we do. We make ourselves bondservants of the Lord. While some just mouth their commitment and have no idea what the word lord means, they did not make Jesus their Lord. And although they might be forgiven, saved and going to heaven, their lives on earth are ruled by the world. They never know the supernatural life in Jesus.
And the fourth reason is stated in our Scripture of study. “... their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. Jesus has given His righteousness to the children born of God and new creations. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Corinthians 5:21) It’s the righteousness of Jesus that makes us right in God’s eyes. It gives us access to the Father. Our righteousness is nothing. We are fallible and fail. Our righteousness is not sustainable for heaven, nor is it reliable. We cannot get to heaven on our righteousness. Think about how many times you have failed to obey the Lord. It proves that our righteousness fails many times.
Now that we’ve established that this promise is for us, we can confidently claim it. God is faithful in His promises. He never fails to fulfill them. “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)” (Hebrews 10:23). And even when we fail Him, He remains faithful. Even when we doubt Him, He remains faithful. “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself.” (2Timothy 2:13) God cannot deny His goodness, His mercy and love toward His children.
The Scripture says, “no weapon.” No lie about us, no curse pronounced over us, no spiritual, thought or emotion can be successful against us. We can say, “It is written... no weapon formed against me” will come to fruition. It will fail in its purpose. Any illness or attack on my body will not fulfill its purpose. I condemn those words, those curses and attacks on my body, on my mind and in my life. This is my heritage. And I will not allow the sacrifice of Jesus to be for nought in my life.
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