Isaiah 54:11-12 (NIV)
"Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with lapis lazuli. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones."
A Promise of Restoration
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord promised to restore His people from their state of ruin (physically and spiritually), assuring them that they would be released from Babylonian captivity and able to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. But more than that, this beautiful picture of their future ultimately pointed to a Savior and an eternity spent with Him (see Revelation 21).
Likewise, God promises to rebuild us from our own state of devastation when we come to Him in repentance. Because of Jesus, we can be freed from captivity and become a place — a temple of sorts — in which the Holy Spirit can dwell and continue to transform us. This amazing reality allows us to experience and reflect God's beauty, strength, glory and restoration in our earthly lives as we await the day when He makes all things new.