The Book Of Isaiah. Day 169, Zion's New Name

Chapter 62 contains more good news for Zion (Jerusalem) and for the nation of Israel. Isaiah has predicted that the southern kingdom will fall to an enemy. In his day it was Assyria that Judah feared, for it conquered the northern kingdom during Isaiah's lifetime, but we know from our study of the kings that Judah was spared for another 130 years until it was conquered by Babylon. Isaiah provided some bad news in his book but he also provides good news: good news for the nearer future and good news for the farther future. We are studying a segment that regards good new for the farther, more permanent, future. Although there will be a return to the land and a rebuilding of so much that has been lost, which is a glorious thing, a permanent state of glorious joy will be theirs someday.

The Lord says: "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow." (Isaiah 62:1-2)

Israel has had many enemies throughout the ages. All of these enemies have been Gentiles: "the nations". Even in our own day, Israel has many enemies who would like to see her wiped off the map. But the Lord has always promised to preserve descendants of Jacob and, in the eternal kingdom, to make Jerusalem the capitol city of the whole world---the city from which the King of kings will reign forever. 

Every time He has rescued Israel from an enemy, the world has seen it. No king or regime has ever been able to eradicate the descendants of Jacob from the earth or to completely destroy the nation. Even nations that don't acknowledge the Lord as their God have had to admit that He has provided for and protected the descendants of Jacob and the Promised Land. 

"You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate." (Isaiah 62:3-4a) The land desolated by ancient enemies would not remain uninhabited by the people who whom the Lord gave the land when He brought them out of Egypt. Many would return from captivity to resettle it. In more modern times, since the reinstatement of Israel as a sovereign nation in 1948, many more Jewish people from all around the world have returned to the land. In a future time, it appears that under the Messiah's eternal reign there will be more people returning than ever before---perhaps all of the people on earth of Jewish heritage. The borders of the Promised Land were intended to be quite large, as outlined earlier in our study of the Old Testament, but the people never conquered and took possession of all of it. But in the Messiah's kingdom all of the land outlined in the Old Testament will be the nation of Israel, allowing for a great number of Jewish people to live there.

The Lord is going to exchange some old names for new names. The land will no longer be able to be accurately called "Deserted" or "Desolate". In exchange for these terms the Lord will call it something else. "But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you." (Isaiah 62:4b-5)

The name "Hephzibah" means "He delights in her", and the name "Beulah" means "married". There are many occasions in the Bible when the Lord refers to Israel (the people as a whole) as His wife. When so many of the citizens fall into idolatry, He compares them to an unfaithful wife. In the Old Testament we've seen Him stating His intention to separate from this wife for a while due to her adultery against Him, meaning He intends to allow her to be conquered and carried away for a time. But a day is coming when He will never again find occasion to be angry with her. He will delight in her as a man delights in the woman he loves. He will join Himself with her forever, never again to be parted from her.

A young man who is about to be married thinks his bride-to-be is the most beautiful woman on earth. He loves her so much that he only has eyes for her. He makes his vows to live with her in fidelity his entire life. The Lord is making vows like this to Israel. He thinks she is beautiful, so beautiful He finds her continually a delight to His eyes. He intends to protect her and be with her forever.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 168, Garments Of Salvation

As we study the concluding verses of Isaiah 61 we cannot be certain who is speaking. I don't know if the praises to God are Isaiah's words alone---words with which he interrupts his prophetic narrative because the glory of the preceding verses are so wonderful---or whether they represent Isaiah and all the people of Isaiah's nation who place their trust in the Lord or whether they represent all the believers of all nations.

"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations." (Isaiah 61:10-11) We can be certain that such words can only be spoken by believers, for the words declare that He is "my God". We cannot declare Him as our God unless we have placed our faith in Him.

From the beginning of our chapter until now, Isaiah has been relaying a message from the Messiah. When we place our trust in Christ, our filthy garments of sin are replaced with garments of salvation. The robe of His righteousness is flung about our shoulders and from then on, when God the Father looks at us, He sees the righteousness of God the Son. We have no righteousness within ourselves. We cannot do enough good works to erase our sins because righteousness has always been by faith, not by works. The Scriptures told us way back in Genesis that Abraham's faith is what imputed righteousness to him. Abraham lived long before Christ but he believed in the one true God and he believed that God was going to bring the Redeemer---the One who would bless all nations---through his offspring. Therefore he was saved by his faith in what was to come. He trusted God to bring about what He had promised. 

The Lord promised to bring the Redeemer from Abraham's descendants and He has done so. The Redeemer has been made manifest to the Gentile peoples of the world as well. This is why Isaiah could declare that the righteousness of the Lord and the praise of His goodness would "spring up before all nations". 

What message did the Gentile nations hear? The gospel message. My ancestors and most of your ancestors were Gentiles. They worshiped false gods. They engaged in many immoral rituals. They made offerings and sacrifices to deities that did not exist, and in some cases even made human sacrifices, which is an abomination in the eyes of God. But Christ, who came from the family tree of Abraham, came to rescue not only Jews but also Gentiles from fruitless living. He came to wash our sins away and to clothe us in His righteousness, without which we can never stand before a holy God. And that gospel message spread far and wide, bringing Gentiles into the family of God. 

If not for the gospel message, I would still be lost in my sins. I would still be wearing the filthy garments of useless works. I would still be living a fruitless and pointless life. But because of what the Redeemer did for me, I can praise the Lord and say: "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness." 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 167, The Messiah's Message, Part Two

Isaiah has been relaying to us a prophecy in the words of God the Son. When we began Chapter 31 we looked at the words Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth when He began His earthly ministry. He talked about how His advent was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-2a. He said that this was the beginning of the "year" of the Lord's favor. 

The "year" (or "era", as the word can be translated) began with the advent of Christ and the beginning of His ministry. He did not read the remainder of verse 2b because it was about the judgment of God the Father. That time has not yet come and we are still living in the era of His favor.

Those who place their faith in Him will experience great joy, for in the millennial kingdom and then later in the eternal kingdom He will: "Comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion---to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor." (Isaiah 61:2b-3) The people of Israel will be strong and immovable in the power of the Lord, never to be uprooted. In Isaiah's day the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria; approximately 130 years later the southern kingdom of Judah was conquered by Babylon. But nothing like that will ever happen again when Christ sits on the throne at Zion (Jerusalem). 

"They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast." (Isaiah 61:4-5) I believe this portion has to do primarily with the millennial kingdom, which occurs before the final judgment and the eternal kingdom, when numbers of Jewish people like never before will accept Jesus as the Messiah. But these verses can also symbolize the way the Gentile believers will join themselves to the Jewish believers. Already we see many of the Christians of the world supporting the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, but they will support them as never before during the millennium. When we arrive at the book of Revelation we will study what the millennium is and how it differs from the eternal kingdom.

"Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours." (Isaiah 61:7) Sin doesn't benefit anyone. It will not bring glory. It will not bear godly fruit. As the Apostle Paul phrased it, "What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!" (Romans 6:21) But salvation in Christ brings forgiveness, redemption, rewards, and everlasting joy. Our sin has brought us nothing but disgrace and shame. But salvation in Christ bestows upon us a double portion of joy! The Lord doesn't simply replace our shame with an equal measure of blessing; He gives us twice the amount of blessing. 

I think another meaning is in view here---a meaning which has to do only with the nation of Israel. The Lord called Israel His "firstborn son" in His message to Pharaoh in Exodus 4:22. The firstborn son was the son that received the double portion of his father's inheritance. I believe the Lord is saying to Israel that each person who is descended from Jacob will receive a double portion of blessing when they receive Jesus as the Messiah. They will receive the inheritance of a firstborn son when they believe in Jesus (the literal Firstborn Son): a double portion from the Father.

Today's text concludes: "For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In My faithfulness I will reward My people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed." (Isaiah 61:8-9) Many things in the Bible only involve the nation of Israel but many things involve both Jews and Gentiles. In the kingdom age, no Gentiles will ever hate Israel again. No one will ever say, "The Lord's wrath is upon them and my god's blessings are on my nation." Instead they will say, "Blessed be Israel and the Lord God of Israel!" Jewish believers and Gentile believers will be of the same family, which is why the Apostle Paul said of Christ: "For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility." (Ephesians 2:14) And Paul says again in another book: "Both the One who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family." (Hebrews 2:11a)