Isaiah 4
OGCEXAMINATION, Chapter S ONE THROUGH SIX
ASSOCIATION
(Associate the persons or events of column one with the correct person or event of column two. Some of column two are incorrect.)
1
2
Amoz
brother
Zion
Lebanon
plowshares pruning hooks daughters of Zion
eyes coal Hezekiah
ox
mountain of the Lord
ass
unclean
hands
owner
cedars
Sheol
Song Uzziah
died haughty
altar
father
lips
spears full of blood
crib
vineyard Holy One of Israel swords
MEMORIZATION
Come now, and let us ______ together, saith Jehovah: though your _____ be as ______, they shall be as ______ as ______, though they be red like ______, they shall be as ______ If ye be ______ and _____, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and ________, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of ______ hath spoken it. Isaiah 1:18-20. Then flew one of the ______ unto me, having a live ______ in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the ______: and he touched my _____ with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy ______; and thine _____ is taken away, and thy sin forgiven. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, _____ shall I _____, and who will ______ for us? Then I said, _________________; ________. Isaiah 6:6-8
EXPLANATION
Explain the meaning of God asking man to reason together with Him. Isaiah 1:18-20
Explain how the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains. Isaiah 2:1-4
Explain how Israel was like a vineyard planted on a hill. Isaiah 5:1-7
APPLICATION
(In its context every scripture has one meaningthe author’s intended meaning. How may the following be applied in the believer’s life?)
How may God’s refusal to accept Israel’s sacrifices and refusal to hear their prayers be applied to God’s people today? Isaiah 1:10-17
How may the idea of beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks be applied in the New Testament church? Isaiah 2:1-4
How may the Christian apply Isaiah’s vision of the Lord in the temple? Isaiah 6:1-13
SPECIAL STUDY
THE PROPHETMAN, MESSAGE, MEDIUM by John D. Pommert THE MAN
I.
Names and designations for the prophet.
The O. T. Prophets are called by many names and referred to in several ways each indicating something of the character of the man or the nature of his message.
Man of God Deuteronomy 33:1; 1 Samuel 9:6; 1 Kings 12:22; 1 Kings 13:5; 2 Kings 5:14; Jeremiah 35:4; 2 Chronicles 8:14; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 3:17. This name indicates the moral character of the prophet and the ethical quality of his message. (Cf. the N. T. designation holy prophetsLuk 1:70; Acts 3:21; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:21).
Servants of God 1 Chronicles 6:49; 1 Kings 14:18; 1 Kings 18:36; 2 Kings 9:7; 2 Kings 14:25; Titus 1:1. Similar to the above but indicating a serving status.
Messenger of Jehovah Isaiah 42:19; Isaiah 44:26; Isaiah 6:9; Jeremiah 26:12-15; Ezekiel 21:1-10; Jeremiah 20:7. An emphasis upon the teaching or preaching function.
Interpreter Isaiah 43:27; Cf. 2 Peter 1:20-21. These men explained as well as announced the message.
Man of Spirit Hosea 9:7 Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 4:10; Acts 26:24; Micah 3:8 (also translated fool, mad, or wind indicating the people’s opinion of this speaker of strange words).
Watchman Ezekiel 3:17. He is to the people spiritually what the watchman on the tower is to the city physically. Both have important functions; both are responsible for the message; both are to be believed by the people.
Seer 1 Chronicles 29:29; 1 Samuel 9:9. He was a man of insight moved by the Spirit of God to see what others could not.
Prophet Exodus 7:1-2 etc. The most common term used indicating one who speaks for anotherin this case, one who speaks forth for God. Again, a special relationship to God is indicated by this term.
Sons of the Prophets 1 Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 2:3-15; 2 Kings 4:1; 2 Kings 4:38; 2 Kings 5:22; 2 Kings 6:1-7; 1 Samuel 10:5; 1 Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 19:20. Indicating that the prophets were not holy ascetics but men who trained others to carry on their work.1
II.
Personality of the prophets.
What type of men were these holy prophets? Clovis Chappell summarizes them as follows: (1) humanthey had the same feelings and frailties of other menthey were not angels or superhuman creatures; (2) men of insightwho could see (by aid of the Holy Spirit) God’s meanings in daily events; (3) individualistseach has his own peculiarities and personality which refused compromise; (4) fiery zealotsmen who did not preach a Believe-what-you-want message but with a Thus-saith-the-Lord authority and urgency; (5) unpopular menwho endured fire and sword and death because they refused to compromise their message (Hebrews 11).2 Too often we make these men something other than men whom God used. They were holy men, dynamic men, inspired men, courageous men, but MEN!
III.
MARKS of a Prophet
Kyle Yates shows us a different side of these men when he outlines the marks of a prophet.3 He sees the prophet to differ from other men in: (1) his uncompromising individuality; (2) his consciousness of his divine call to be a mouthpiece for God; (3) his awareness of his privileged access to the inner counsel of God; (4) his boldness expressed in action and not just theory-he always commands attention; (5) his awareness of God’s authority and backing in every emergency even when he is a lone man against a mob; (6) his prayer life and communion with God which often results in a separation from men; (7) his cleanness of life and holy moral character (none of the genuine prophets receive even a breath of scandal concerning moral lapses); (8) his outspoken and fearless criticism of social evils; (9) his ability to foresee and reveal the future.
IV.
Social Position and Background of the Prophets
Brant Lee Doty has an interesting two paragraphs about the backgrounds of these men when he writes:
God used a most heterogeneous selection of men for this purpose. Some were of royal blood, while others knew poverty and the hard life of farm or field. Some began their labors while yet virtually children, whereas others did not step fully into the position until well advanced in years. A few probably knew personal wealth, but the great majority were of humble, lowly background. Regardless of these factors of age or wealth or station, the messages came from God and must be delivered fearlessly.
The prophets were not trained by some standardized procedure. Some were called instantly from their occupations, perhaps without prior hint of their selection. Some spent a part of their lives in schools introduced by the time of Samuel (1 Samuel 10:5; 1 Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 19:20). They learned from the compounded, wisdom of earlier men, with special attention to a full mastery of the laws of God, preparing their hearts in anticipation of the call from heaven, and springing to their tasks when this call clearly came.4
V.
Comparison to Modern Day Preachers
Some have compared the prophets to modern day preachers who also preach the Word of God. However, there are several differencesmainly that the prophet’s message was directed by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21) whereas the present day preacher can claim no special guidance. The preacher has a regular congregation and receives a set salary while the prophet was not called by the people, did not preach regularly to the same group, and did not receive any pay. The preacher is under the authority of an eldership while the prophet was answerable only to God. The preacher plans his preaching and can even announce his text in advance; the prophet spoke at odd times and in odd places. The preacher spoke in a religious context to religious people; the prophet usually spoke outside to whatever people were present. Other differences could be noted all indicating the apparent similarity of preacher and prophet to be only in a few particulars.5
VI.
A Summing Up
To sum up the O. T. prophet, we should think of him as a ``holy man (i.e., one set apart with a special mission) speaking a message from God to an impenitent people. His message was often indicative (Webster’s second definition of this wordpointing out, giving intimation or knowledge), sometimes predictive, but always productive (for God’s Word does not return unto Him void.)
THE MESSAGE
I.
The Context of the Message
The prophet always declared that his message was not his own but came from God. Young in My Servants the Prophets uses up four pages simply listing the declarations of Isaiah, Thus saith the Lord, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, etc. These men were convinced that the message they preached came from God. In fact, they were not always happy in their ministry nor with the responsibility to preach but were faithful to its delivery nonetheless (Cf. Jeremiah 15:16 ff; Jeremiah 20:7 ff; Ezekiel 3:3).
This message frequently contained predictions concerning future events, but the main burden of the message dealt with present evils and a call for immediate repentance. Harper’s Dictionary6 summed up the tension between today and tomorrow by noting, Though prophecy was primarily concerned with current situations, the prophets realized that tomorrow is inherent in today.
This gave rise to double-prophecya message which had relevance for those of that day as well as also foreshadowing a far distant event such as the return of Christ from Egypt.
II.
The Content of the Message
What, then, did these men preach? In terms of today they presented doctrine and duty. The doctrine had to do first of all and most of all with God. On the basis of what they believed about God, the prophets also dealt largely and boldly with ethics.7 The prophets came with a message but it was not a new message primarily for as Martin Buber notes,
Generally speaking, it is not a new teaching they advance, but they fashion its form to fit the changing historical situations and have different demands, and they perfect a teaching they have received but where is the beginning of this teaching?8
They always point back to the Mosaic law or the Abrahamic covenant as a basis for their preaching. God’s people have a special relationship to God and thus have certain obligations to Him and the world. When this call to repentance failed, they reached judgment, destruction, and hope. Halley summarizes the mission and message of the prophets under five heads: (1) To try to save the nation from idolatry and wickedness: (2) With little response, to announce impending destruction; (3) But to give hope in that a remnant will be saved; (4) From this remnant will come an influence that will change the world; (5) That Influence will be none other than the Son of David, Jesus.9
III.
The Style of The Message
The prophets employed the noblest characteristics of the Hebrew people (at least in the writing prophets) as they used the poetical forms of that day with its balanced statement, parallelisms, etc. This structure added a structural force to the meaning of their words. A message delivered in a striking and memorable way has greater impact than the same message sloppily given.
They used many types and symbols.
They found that dramatic approaches made the message more urgent.
IV.
The Audience
Primarily, the prophets preached to all people as exemplified by Amos in the marketplace.
Sometimes the message was directed to the king or higher authorities (Nathan, Jonah.)
It was not restricted to Jewish audiences but also extended to foreign peoples (Cf. Amos, Jonah, Obadiah).
The prophets made use of every circumstance be it a home (2 Kings 5:9), a wayside (1 Kings 20:38), in the court (2 Samuel 24:11), or in the temple (Amos 7:10 ff).10
THE MEDIUM
… To the prophet
The message came to the prophet in a variety of ways. Sometimes it came in a dream as with Joseph (Genesis 37). But the prophet knew that it was the voice of God and not just a bit of undigested mutton.
The message might come in a vision or a series of visions such as those Ezekiel received. The prophet understood these scenes as containing a revelation from God and was able to interpret these to the people.
The message seems to come directly to the prophet in most instances. The means are not described, but the prophet is sure that the message came from Jehovah (2 Peter 1:21). I found this comment from the Zondervan Pictorial Dictionary quite interesting:
The Biblical prophet must be distinguished from the, prohetes of Greeks. The latter really acted as an interpreter for the muses and the oracles. The prophets, however, were not interpreters. They uttered the actual words which God had given to them, without any modification or interpretation upon their part. The Bible itself gives an accurate description of the function of the true prophet, … and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him (Deuteronomy 18:18 b). The words are placed in the prophet’s mouth by God, i.e., they are revealed to the prophet, and then the prophet speaks unto the nation precisely what God has commanded him.11
… From the Prophet
The prophet received the message from God; he delivered this same message to the people.
The basic medium used was that of words, those verbal symbols of spirit meanings. Thus, the prophet was very concerned about delivering the exact word(s) of the Lord. (Remember Young’s emphasis upon the frequency of the thus saith the Lord in the prophets.) Rowley had a thought-provoking comment when he wrote, We should not forget that every prophetic word was believed to have a vitality within itself to work for its own fulfillment. (Cf. Isaiah 45:23; Isaiah 55:10 f) The prophet’s word was not merely a forecast of the future. It was a living force which helped to mould the future.12 (Remember the early chapter of Genesis when God spoke and the worlds were created,)
But the prophet also spoke by symbolic action. Isaiah would walk naked and barefooted (Isaiah 20:3) as an object lesson to Israel; Jeremiah would bind a wooden yoke to his neck (Jeremiah 27:2) so that he could preach forecoming bondage for these hard-hearted people without saying a word; Hosea took a wife of whoredom to illustrate the love of God. Of course, the action in itself would not proclaim the messageit amplified the verbal one which preceded or attended it.
Some of the prophets put these messages into written form (Cf. Jeremiah and King Zedekiah); thus, they are able to speak to us today through these written forms.
We might even say that God spoke through the personality of the prophet himself (Hosea is a good example as he personifies the love of God as he lives his love for Gomer.)
Oftentimes the personality of the prophet even recedes completely into the background, and the speaker appears to be God Himself. Almost naturally, for example, one reads words such as I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins; return unto me; for I have redeemed thee (Isaiah 44:22). The usage of the personal pronoun in the first person clearly refers to God Himself. Nor is such a phenomenon unusual. It appears throughout the prophecy, and is interwoven naturally with the utterances which the prophet speaks forth as having been given to him by God.13
The godly patience of Jeremiah incarnates the patience of God as did no other until Jesus came. Noble men and great preachers who lived their messagethese were the prophets. Hebrews 11 well describes their faith, courage, and devotion concluding with this poignant statement, of whom the world was not worthy. A nobler group of men have not appearedbut the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest of all these. Praise God for a Christ Who can make the most insignificant Christian of greater import than the greatest of these great men. Greater than Jeremiahby what grace has He wrought it?
FOOTNOTES
Much of the foregoing was taken from Class Notes given by George M. Elliott at Cincinnati Bible Seminary, Cincinnati, O.
Clovis Chappell, And the Prophets, pp. 10-15. Abingdon Press, N.Y. 1946.
Kyle M. Yates, Preaching From the Prophets, pp 3, 4. Broadman Press, Nashville, Tenn. 1942.
Brant Lee Doty, Standard Bible Teacher and Leader, July, 1958. Standard Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio.
David Freedman and James Smart, God Has Spoken, pp. 151, 152. Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pa. 1949.
Quoted by Jerry Phillips, Elements of the Prophetic Call, Christian Standard, August 10, 1968.
Andrew W. Blackwood, Preaching From Prophetic Books, pp. 16, 17. Abingdon-Cokesbury, N.Y. 1951.
Phillips, Ibid.
Homer Halley, The Pocket Bible Handbook, p. 251. Homer Halley, Chicago, Illinois, 1951.
H. H. Rowley, Prophecy and Religion In Ancient China and Israel, Chapter 1. Harper & Brothers, N.Y., 1956.
Merrill Tenney, ed., Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, Prophet.
Rowley, Op. Cit., p. 13.
Edward Young, My Servants the Prophets, p. 175. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1965.
Isaiah 4:1
b. THE WOMEN
TEXT: Isaiah 3:16 to Isaiah 4:1
16
Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet;
17
therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will lay bare their secret parts.
18
In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets and the cauls, and the crescents;
19
the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers;
20
the headtires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes, and the amulets;
21
the rings, and the nose jewels;
22
the festival robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satchels;
23
the hand-mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the veils.
24
And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty.
25
Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war,
26
And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit upon the ground.
And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name; take thou away our reproach.
QUERIES
a.
What are mincing steps?
b.
Why was God displeased with the finery of the women?
c.
Why would seven women plead with one man to become his wife?
PARAPHRASE
In addition to the foregoing judgments, Jehovah will judge the haughty women of Judah who walk along with their noses in the air, looking suggestively and seductively at men with their eyes; mincing and affecting their steps so that the tinkling bracelets on their ankles will direct attention to them. Because of their unashamed haughtiness, the Lord will strike them with repugnant scabs and wounds to ornament their heads, and those who delight in immodest exposure the Lord will permit to be immodestly exposed at the hands of vile men. No longer shall they call attention to themselves by tinkling as they walk. For the Lord will strip away their facade of beauty when He takes away their anklets, amulets, crescents, pendants, bracelets, veils, headdresses, armbands, sashes, perfume boxes, charms, rings and nose jewels, holiday dresses, overtunics, cloaks, ornate purses and combs, mirrors, lovely lingerie, beautiful dresses and veils. Instead of smelling of perfume, they shall stink; for sashes they shall wear ropes like prisoners and slaves; their well-kept hair will begin to fall out; they will wear sackcloth instead of robes. Their beauty will be marred with the branding iron of their captors. Their husbands shall die in battle; the women alone and helpless, shall mourn. The city herself shall be desolate and alone and have nothing left to do but sit and mourn. At that time so few men will be left alive that seven women, all fearing childlessness, will all fight over one man and say, Let us all become your wives! We will furnish our own food and clothing-only give us a name and children.
COMMENTS
Isaiah 3:16 THE REASON: Wantonness (i.e., undisciplined; unruly; unchaste; lewd; licentious; extravagant; arrogant recklessness) of the women. The daughters of Zion means the women of the covenant nation. The women were haughty and proud and concerned with luxurious adornment of themselves in order to bring attention to themselves. This is immodesty! They copied every fad and fashion of their heathen neighbors. Outstretched necks probably means walking with the nose in the air. Mincing steps means to walk with short little steps so as to affect primness or daintiness. It was all exaggeration in order to draw attention to themselves. Fabulous amounts of money were spent on adornment. Many hours of each day were wasted by these women primping and beautifying themselves. When women are wholly vain and self-centered, the cancer of moral decay has begun to consume a nation or a people. Proper adornment and true beauty in women should never call attention to themselves but should direct the beholder’s attention to God and His Son. When women cultivate beauty only for itself, they are infringing upon and detracting from the glory of God. Such vainglory might be expected in women of the world, but the daughters of Zion (which today is the church) must exemplify the beauty of holiness!
Is Isaiah, or the Bible, against all feminine or masculine adornment? Hardly! It is the misuse of adornment against which the Bible speaks. In fact, God has made certain parts of the human body to be alluring and attractive. The Song of Solomon gives a great deal of detail about both natural beauty of the human body and the adornment of it. But the Song does not indicate such beauty and adornment should be used for prideful purposes, rather for God-ordained purposes of love. When one pauses to consider the disparity between the billions of dollars spent each year by American females (and males) on vain and selfish cosmetics and clothing and the few dollars given each year to the work of the Gospel which transforms men and women into the beauty of holiness, one wonders what God must think!
Isaiah 3:17-24 THE JUDGMENT: They will reap what they sow. Those who delight in immodest exposure will be rewarded with immodest exposure at the hands of vile men. Why are those women who delight in overtly attracting men by their immodesty always so shocked and offended when immodest and vulgar men demonstrate their attractions?! Laying bare their secret parts probably means they will be raped by pagan soldiers. Their indulgences will inevitably result in physical afflictions and loss of real beauty. There will be a loss of their luxury when their pagan neighbors, attracted by their exaggerated showiness, will plunder their jewels and finery.
a.
anklets: ornamental chains with bangles attached which made a tinkling sound when they minced along.
b.
cauls: front-bands, head-bands, amulets
c.
crescents: some sort of metallic jewelry in the shape of moons
d.
pendants: like small pearl earring, or tear-drop shaped earrings.
e.
bracelets: decorated bands to fit about the arms (or necks)
f.
mufflers: or veils, to muffle the face
g.
headtires: diadems, or circlets of gold or silver
h.
ankle chains: may have been chains designed to force short steps
i.
sashes: wide, gaudy, expensive bands of cloth around the waist
j.
perfume boxes: probably like the alabaster boxes of Luk 7:37 etc.
k.
amulets: charms, probably inscribed with incantations,
l.
rings: finger rings with jewels, etc.
m.
nose jewels: nose rings, (Cf. Esther 3:12; Genesis 41:42; Genesis 24:22; Genesis 24:47).
n.
festival robes: festal robes, state gowns, holiday dresses
o.
mantles: overtunics
p.
shawls: cloaks
q.
satchels: purses
r.
hand-mirrors: small metallic mirrors, highly polished metal
s.
fine linen: lingerie, undergarments of expensive cloth
t.
turbans: head wrappings, head garments
u.
veils: same as mufflers
Isaiah predicts that all this finery will be replaced with ugliness because of their selfish, haughty, unbelieving perversion of it all. Instead of rich sashes, they will wear the ropes of captivity and slavery around their waists; instead of intricately coiffed hair-dos, their hair will either fall out or be cut off by their enemies; instead of rich garments, they will be wearing the sackcloth of mourning; instead of beauty marks, they will wear the ugly scars of the branding-irons, (it was a practice of pagan armies in that day to brand or disfigure slavesespecially by castrating men and using branding-irons on womento forever mark them as slaves).
v. Isaiah 3:25 to Isaiah 4:1 FINAL DEGRADATION: With the moral decay Of womanhood comes the weakening of all the fibres of the nationincluding its men. When its male leaders become morally weak the nation becomes filled with rebellion, anarchy and conflict. War is a consequence. The male population will be destroyed in war (Cf. Lamentations 2:21). A great disproportion between the sexes will appear. Instead of the God-intended ratio of one woman for one man, there will be seven or more women for every male.
The great curse of the Hebrew female was to be unmarried and childless. (Cf. Sarah and Abraham, Hannah, etc.). It was the fear of a lack of seed that had led the daughters of Lot to act in the shameful manner described in Genesis 19:32 ff. Women to whom Isaiah preached would some day no longer live as normal womenthey would have no offspring since their husbands would be slain in the wars. For this reason they would abandon their natural modesty and take the initiative in a bold and shameful way, openly asking a man to marry them. Thus the order instituted in Eden is reversed. No longer is man the head of the wife. He does not seek her, but she him.
And so, womanhood, always the last stronghold of a people’s morality, strength of character, and hope for the future, crumbles and falls into decadent disarray. With it goes the whole nation. God-fearing women have always been the handmaidens of the Lord (Moses-’ mother; Samuel’s mother; women judges; Ruth; Esther; John the Baptist’s mother; Jesus-’ mother, etc.). Godfearing women have wrought salvation of whole nations through their faith. But when women go bad, their degradation can cause such an upheavel in society that the very foundations of that society are destroyed.
QUIZ
Why did the prophet condemn the women for adorning themselves?
What is mincing?
What is the meaning of laying bare their secret parts? -4. Is adornment categorically condemned by all the Bible?
Why mention branding?
Why were seven women concerned to marry one man?
How important is God-fearing womanhood to any nation?
Isaiah 4:2-6
CHAPTER FOUR
THE VICTORY OF THE CLEANSED Isaiah 4:2-6
TEXT: Isaiah 4:2-6
2
In that day shall the branch of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
3
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem;
4
when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of justice and by the spirit of burning.
5
And Jehovah will create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be spread a covering.
6
And there shall be a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.
QUERIES
a.
Who is the branch of Jehovah?
b.
Why is Jehovah going to create a cloud and a flaming fire over Zion?
c.
What is the pavilion?
PARAPHRASE
In those latter days when the glorious future of the mountain of the house of the Lord comes to pass, the Messiah, the Branch of the house of David, will bring God’s people their true beauty and glory; this Branch in His humanity will be the offspring of Israel and will exhibit the true beauty and godliness which only God’s saved-ones recognize as the true glory of humanity. And all those who have escaped the wrath of God and have found salvation in Zion will be named holy. These have their names written down in God’s book of life. This will all be done for God’s people when God has brought about a washing away of the filth of sin like that which has contaminated the women of Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit of God will accomplish this through a judgment and purging. Then the Lord will create over the whole covenant people, wherever they may assemble, divine guidance, divine protection and divine access. Over all of His saved people God will create a shelter which will afford them divine protection and refreshment sufficient to meet every danger and need.
COMMENTS
Isaiah 4:2 THE MESSIAH: In that day, is a flashback to chapter Isaiah 2:2, … in the latter days. Israel and Judah have been punished Isaiah 2:6 to Isaiah 4:1; a remnant has escaped; out of that remnant another day (far in the future) a better day, has come. This branch has to be The Branch, The Messiah (Cf. Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:12) if the context is to be taken into account. The Branch, Jesus Christ, is to come and demonstrate the true beauty and glory of Israel. The fruit of the land probably refers to the Messiah’s humanity having its connection to the nation of Israel (Cf. Numbers 13 for the land of Canaan, which God gave to Israel). The writer of Hebrews probably had this prophecy in mind when he wrote, For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah. (Hebrews 7:14). Edward J. Young points to four reasons the fruit of the land refers to the Messiah: (a) The parallelism between branch and fruit (Cf. John 12:24); (b) In many passages of Scripture there is reference to the fruitfulness of the Messianic age; (c) The text provides no contrast between fruitfulness and barrenness; (d) Only when the phrase fruit of the land refers to the Messiah is there a satisfactory connection with what follows. It might be, however, that the fruit of the land is the product of the Branch, and not the Branch Himself. In this case it would be the redeemed community, the church, Christians.
Isaiah 4:3 MESSIANIC PEOPLE: In those latter days the people who have escaped the wrath of God and have had their names recorded in God’s book of life will have done so because they have been washed and cleansed (Isaiah 4:4). An important parallel to this whole context is the passage in Joe 2:28 to Joe 3:3 where practically the same figurative language is used to describe the Messianic age. Those left in Zion will be truly called holy in contrast with those of Jerusalem of Isaiah’s day who were claiming to be holy but were filthy. The apostle Paul leaves no doubt that the Zion of prophecy is the New Testament church (Cf. Hebrews 12:22 ff).
Isaiah 4:4 THE MESSIANIC CLEANSING: The Lord Himself will take action to cleanse Zion of the filth of sin such as the women of Jerusalem were guilty. The only point at which God could have brought about cleansing, in any ultimate sense, through perfect justice was at the cross of Christ (Cf. Romans 3:21-26). God punished man’s sins in Christ and was perfectly just in keeping His word of judgment upon sin, while at the same time He was perfectly merciful in imputing to man the righteousness of Christ (Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21). Zechariah proclaims this great cleansing (Zechariah 12:10 to Zechariah 13:9). This spirit of burning is portrayed in Malachi as taking place when the Messiah came to purge the sons of Levi (Cf. Malachi 3:1-4). All this cleansing began to take place when Jesus came and offered Himself as both the divine agent to satisfy God’s demands and the divine power to meet man’s needs for purification. It is still taking place through the work of the Holy Spirit as His message of conviction (John 16) is preached and men respond in faith. But it will find its consummation in God’s great and final Day of Judgment and Salvation.
Isaiah 4:5-6 THE MESSIANIC PRESENCE: It is significant that the word create is from the same Hebrew word, bara, used in Genesis 1! That which is to come to pass will be brought into being exclusively by the personal and direct power of God. When the future glory of Zion comes, God is going to create a new Jerusalem (Cf. Isaiah 65:17-25; Isaiah 66:22-23, etc.). The cloud and the flaming fire are figures borrowed from the wilderness wandering of the covenant people. They depict Divine guidance, protection and access to God’s presence. Over the whole redeemed community of the new Zion God is going to spread a canopy. Just as over the Jewish wedding ceremony there was a protective canopy, so here there will also be one to protect God’s bride, the church. There will also be a booth (pavilion) for refreshing shelter and rest and a refuge from the storms. The booth was a small, protective structure, such as was used by Israel in the wilderness at the Feast of Booths. The covert is a hiding place. There are so many New Testament figures brought to our mind hereJesus speaks of the man who builds his house upon the rock for protection from the storms; our life is said to be hid with Christ in God, etc.
It is reassuring to listen to these sweet words of hope from the prophet squarely in the midst of his thundering of the judgment? of God upon sin. It reminds us that the message of God is always two-fold; judgment upon sin, but salvation for faith and repentance.
QUIZ
What day is referred to in Isaiah 4:2?
Who are those that are escaped of Israel?
How are they to be named holy?
What is the spirit of justice?the spirit of burning?
How does the N.T. become the fulfillment of all these figures of protection?