|
|
|
ISAIAH CHAPTER 4
OBSERVATION STAGE
The purpose of
the observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand within the
normative rules of language, context and logic 
.
.This
limits the observer to the content offered by the book of Isaiah. This
will serve to avoid going on unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and more
importantly, it will provide the framework for a proper and objective
comparison with passages located elsewhere in Scripture.
Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.
Immediately below is an excerpt that reviews the context of the previous chapter 3 which continues into chapter 4
Or
skip to the beginning of chapter 4: 
************* EXCERPT FROM ISAIAH CHAPTER 3 ************
(Isa 3:16 YLT) "Because [the] daughters of Zion have been haughty, And they walk stretching out the neck, And deceiving [with] the eyes, Walking and mincing they go, And with their feet they make a tinkling, (Isa 3:17 NKJV) Therefore the LORD will strike with a scab The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, And the LORD will uncover their secret parts. (Isa 3:18 NKJV) In that day the Lord will take away the finery: The jingling anklets, the scarves, and the crescents; (Isa 3:19 NKJV) The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils; (Isa 3:20 NKJV) The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands; The perfume boxes, the charms, (Isa 3:21 NKJV) and the rings; The nose jewels, (Isa 3:22 NKJV) the festal apparel, and the mantles; The outer garments, the purses, (Isa 3:23 YLT) Of the mirrors, and of the linen garments, And of the hoods, and of the vails, (Isa 3:24 NKJV) And so it shall be: Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench; Instead of a sash, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, baldness; Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty. (Isa 3:25 NKJV) Your men shall fall by the sword, And your mighty in the war. (Isa 3:26 NKJV) Her gates shall [have lamented] and [shall have mourned], And she [having been] desolate shall sit on the ground. (Isa 4:1 NKJV) And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, 'We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach.' " =
Isaiah chapter 3 continues the context of chapter 2 of the day of the LORD's coming into the world to establish His Eternal Kingdom rule but with a focus upon Jerusalem and that future generation of Judah. Isaish 3:16-4:1 stipulates that the LORD would single out the haughty behavior of the daughters of Zion i.e., that generation of the women of Israel, at the time of the Day of the LORD, evidently to make them particular examples for judgment as a reflection of how all of His people would be conducting themselves. For the women of that future generation of people would indeed reflect the kind of society they lived in and were ruled by. Isaiah wrote, "Because the daughters of Zion have been haughty, And they walk stretching out the neck - [in the sense of holding ones head arrogantly high, i.e., ones nose in the air], And deceiving [with] the eyes, [in the sense of wanton deception] Walking and mincing they go, [in the sense of taking small haughty steps to show themselves off in a wanton manner] And with their feet they make a tinkling, [in the sense of the tinkling of the bangles they wear on their angles to get attention]" So, instead of pride, wealth and beauty, the women of Zion would have sores on their heads and be bald, evidently due to disease or mourning. The LORD would uncover their sinful secrets, evidently making them public. The women would lose all of their finery and jewelry. Instead of fragrance, they would have an awful odor. They would wear a rope instead of a sash, a sackcloth instead of a robe; and be branded, disfiguring their beauty. The sackcloth would be a sign of their mourning for their men, (husbands, brothers, friends), who would have died by the sword. The city would be lamenting and mourning their extreme destitution. At that time, for the lack of available men, the women would compete desperately and disgracefully to gain a husband to take care of them, (Isa 3:16-4:1).
************* END OF EXCERPT FROM ISAIAH CHAPTER 3 ************
(Isa 4:2 NKJV) "In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped.
(Isa 4:3 NKJV) And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy - everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.
(Isa 4:4 NKJV) When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood [pl. in the sense of blood violently shed] of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning,
(Isa 4:5 NKJV) then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering.
(Isa 4:6 NKJV) And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain."
(Isa 4:2 NKJV) "In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped. (Isa 4:3 NKJV) And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy - everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. (Isa 4:4 NKJV) When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood [pl. in the sense of blood violently shed] of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, (Isa 4:5 NKJV) then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. (Isa 4:6 NKJV) And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain." =
Isa 4:2 begins with the phrase, "In that day" continuing the context of the previous chapters which refers to the historical time of the Day of the LORD at the time of a future generation of Israel when He will purge the world of sin and establish His Eternal Kingdom on the earth, (cf Isa 1:21-31; 2:2-12; 3:1ff).
(Isa 2:2 NKJV) "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.
(Isa 2:3 YLT) And gone have many peoples and [have] said, 'Come, and we go up unto the mount of Jehovah, Unto the house of the God of Jacob, And He [teaches] us of His ways, And we walk in His paths,' For from Zion [goes] forth a law, And a word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
(Isa 2:4 YLT) And He [has] judged between the nations, And [has] given a decision to many peoples, And they have beat their swords to ploughshares, And their spears to pruning-hooks, Nation [does] not lift up sword unto nation, Nor do they learn any more -- war.
(Isa 2:5 NKJV) O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the LORD.
(Isa 2:6 NKJV) For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with eastern ways; They are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they are pleased with the children of foreigners.
(Isa 2:7 NKJV) Their land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, And there is no end to their chariots.
(Isa 2:8 NKJV) Their land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made.
(Isa 2:9 YLT) And the low [bows] down, and the high is humbled, And [You] [accept] them not.
(Isa 2:10 NKJV) Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty.
(Isa 2:11 NKJV) The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
(Isa 2:12 NKJV) For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything."
As Isa 4:2 continues the context of the Day of the LORD as described above with "In that day, The Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious," the prophet Isaiah refers to the LORD in His earthly role of purging sin and establishing His Eternal Kingdom of God as the Branch of the LORD, i.e., as the Messiah / Savior Who comes into the world Whose beauty and glory would be demonstrated to the world - evidently the glory and beauty of the LORD. Just as Isaiah chapters 1-3 indicate that the LORD will purge the world of iniquity and commence His rule of the Eternal Kingdom of God, so verse 4 indicates that it was the LORD, more specifically the Branch of the LORD, Who will purge the world of iniquity and commence His rule of the Eternal Kingdom of God.
The term "Branch" is used to refer to the same Person elsewhere in Scripture Who is the LORD, Who all the while being God yet appearing in Human form on the earth to judge all mankind and establish the Eternal Kingdom on Earth, (cf. Isa 11:1; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8).
(Isa 11:1 NKJV) "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
(Isa 11:2 NKJV) The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
(Isa 11:3 NKJV) His delight is in the fear of the LORD,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
(Isa 11:4 NKJV) But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
(Isa 11:5 NKJV) Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And
faithfulness the belt of His waist."
Isa 4:2b goes on to say, "In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious: And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped" - those who have survived the Branch of the LORD's purging of the earth of all iniquity, i.e., those who are called "holy - everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem," (Isa 4:3b); in the sense of those of that generation of Israel who have acknowledged their sins and trusted in the LORD's provision of His Righteousness, (cf. Isa 1:18).
(Isa 1:18 NKJV)
"Come now, and let us reason together,' Says the LORD, 'Though your
sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red
like crimson, They shall be as wool.".
(Isa 1:19 NKJV) "If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land"
(Isa 3:10 YLT) "Say... to the righteous, that [it is] good, Because the fruit of their doings they eat."
Note that this implies that in the time leading up to the Day of the LORD the fruit of the earth would not be excellent and appealing, but barely edible.
Isa 4:3 continues the train of thought of verse 2: "And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy - everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem." The Hebrew words rendered, "Called holy," (lit., set apart), in the NKJV convey the sense that the LORD set them apart as His chosen people for His Eternal Kingdom. So those that were left will be those that survived the purging of the LORD - when He will have "Washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood [plural, hence in the sense of blood violently shed by the unfaithful] of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." Burning in the sense of 'a fiery judgment,' i.e., through the processes of a purging fire, which outwardly consumes the faithless, (Isa 4:4).
So according to Isa 4:4 the Branch of the LORD will purge the world of sin and rebellion through judgment and the spirit of burning:
(Isa 4:2 NKJV) "In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped. (Isa 4:3 NKJV) And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy - everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. (Isa 4:4 NKJV) When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood [pl. in the sense of blood violently shed] of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.
(Isa 1:21 NKJV) "How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers.
(Isa 1:22 NKJV) Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed [in the sense of diluted] with water.
(Isa 1:23 NKJV) Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.'
(Isa 1:24 NKJV) Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, 'Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies.
(Isa 1:25 NKJV) I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy.
(Isa 1:26 HOLMAN) I will restore your judges to what they once were, and your advisers to their former state. Afterwards you will be called the Righteous City, a Faithful City. (Isa 1:27 NASB) Zion will be redeemed with justice And her repentant ones with righteousness.
(Isa 1:28 YLT) And the destruction of transgressors and sinners [is] together, And those forsaking Jehovah are consumed.
(Isa 1:29 YLT) For [you, plural] are ashamed because of the oaks [lit. terebinth trees] that [you] have desired, and [you] are [ashamed] because of the gardens that [you] have chosen.
(Isa 1:30 YLT) For [you, plural] are as an oak [lit., terebinth tree] whose leaf is fading, And as a garden that [has] no water.
(Isa 1:31 HOLMAN) The strong one will become tinder, and his work a spark; both [will have burned] together, with no one [quenching the flames].' " =
In Isa 1:21-31, Isaiah provided the LORD's answer to generations of Israel's unfaithfulness with a view to His coming to purge the world of sin to establish His Eternal Kingdom on the earth at the time of a future generation of Israel; evidently beyond the timeframe of the four Kings of Judah, (Isa 1:1). Verse 21 began with a lamenting exclamation "How!" in the NKJV: "How the faithful city [Jerusalem] has become a harlot!" The LORD declared that formerly the city "was full of justice..." that "Righteousness lodged in it." But in that Day, the city would become full of murderers. The city's silver in the sense of the city's value would become like dross, i.e., impure, her wine diluted with water - meaning that generations of Israelites would become corrupted and ungodly. The city's princes, i.e., rulers were rebellious, and companions with thieves, looking for and taking bribes. They neither defended the fatherless, nor the cause of the widow. Verse 24 began with the LORD's expression of indignation rendered "Ah," in the NKJV: Author Isaiah then declared that the LORD said, "The LORD of Hosts, The Mighty One of Israel," to emphasize His Absolute Sovereignty. Whereupon the LORD stipulated that He would rid Himself of His adversaries, referring to those of His chosen people Israel who were as unfaithful wives. Evidently both Kingdoms of Israel were in view. So the LORD would take vengeance upon His enemies, turn His hand against those who were rebellious, purge them from the faithful ones of His people as the process of purifying silver purges and takes away the dross, the impurities, leaving the pure silver; i.e., the remnant of faithful ones of Israel, (Isa 1:21-25).
Verse 26 stipulated that the LORD would restore judges and advisers to their former state of faithfulness. Afterwards the city would be called the Righteous City, a Faithful City. Zion, i.e., Jerusalem would be redeemed with justice, and her repentant ones with righteousness - the city of the Eternal Kingdom of God on the earth, (Isa 1:26).
The text goes on to say that temporal destruction of transgressors would occur - those forsaking Jehovah would be consumed. Those who worshipped idols such as groves of terebinth [oak like] trees or specially grown gardens for that purpose would be ashamed because their idols would not rescue them. For Israel's unfaithful are like the terebinth tree whose leaf is fading; and like the pagan worship gardens which will die for lack of water. The strong one referring to an unfaithful ruler of Israel will become tinder like the terebinth tree which is felled and chopped up; his rebellious works will become as a spark. They will burn and be destroyed together. Note that the temporal destruction by the LORD for unfaithfulness when He comes to establish His Eternal Kingdom sets the pattern for previous generations who are unfaithful, (Isa 1:27-31).
Whereupon in Isa 4:5-6, the LORD would create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering in the sense of protection - a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain. There will be protection over all of Jerusalem to provide safety and peace for the future generation of Israel which has been redeemed at the time of the coming of the LORD], (Isa 4:5-6).