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Christ and his faithful remnant

 

The meaning of these splendid words for the believer in Christ far surpasses any significance they may have had for the faithful remnant in ancient days.

 

"Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us," demanded Philip, eager to see a theophany comparable to that revealed to Moses in Mt. Sinai (Jn. 14:8). The theophany was there in Christ his Lord — the Holy One, dwelling with "him that is of a contrite and humble spirit." Jesus was himself the bruised one (s.w. as 'contrite'; 53:5), humbly taking on himself the form of a suffering servant.

 

This very fact made him a stumblingblock to his people — "to the Jews a stumblingblock" (1 Cor. 1:23). But the prophet's call is: "Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way, O my people" (v. 14). Later on, Isaiah repeated these words, only substituting for "stumblingblock" the in­spiring word "standard, ensign" (62:10). For the true people of God, Jesus became this: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal. 6:14).

 

For all who give loyalty to this standard, reproach is rolled away: "I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth, when the spirit fails before me, and the souls which I have made" (v.16). For such, "he will not always chide, neither keep his anger for ever" (Ps. 103:9; cp. 85:5; Is. 28:28).

 

The rich young ruler

 

The man who came to Jesus asking: "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" has provided a fine illustration of estrangement brought about by a man's unwillingness to yield full loyalty to the appeal of Christ. The text of the LXX version has some remarkable coincidence with the gospel record of that encounter. Also, when it is recognized that there is fair evidence for identifying the rich young ruler with Barnabas (see "Gospels", ch. 148), the coincidences become even more remarkable:

 

"For the iniquity of his covetousness ('great possessions'; Lk. 18:23) for a little while (i.e. until Acts 4:36) I grieved him (s.w. Mk. 10:22)...and he went (away) sorrowful (s.w. Mk. 10:22)...I have seen his ways (Lk. 18:24), and I healed him, and exhorted him, and have given him true exhortation (Acts 4:36 s.w.); peace upon peace to them that are far off* (the gospel to the Gentiles committed to Barnabas and Paul), and to them that are nigh (they preached to Jews also)," (v.17-19).

 

The principles behind this call of Barnabas stand for all who would "inherit eternal life".

 

But the wicked, whether he be Sennacherib "casting up mire and dirt" against the God of Israel, or whether he be Merodach-baladan "casting up (political) mire and dirt" against Assyria, are all "like the troubled sea, for it cannot rest" (v.20). God's alternative: "Peace, peace," sounds very much like Siloam. Better the cool refreshing underground waters of Hezekiah's tunnel than the mire and dirt of a Godless troubled sea. Teaching the same lesson, Jesus said: "Peace, be still," to the wild waters of Galilee (Mk. 4:37-39). Only he has the power to do this. Yet Isaiah's phrase is: "saith my God"!

 

 


* Used of (a) Jewish dispersion; Dan. 9:7. (b) Gentiles; Eph. 2:17.

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58 (1). Fasting to the Lord (v.1-7)

 

It has already been observed that the second synagogue reading for the Day of Atonement is Isaiah 57:14 - 58:14. This is an admirable Scripture to combine with Leviticus 16, for there can be no manner of doubt that the prophet was building all this exhortation to his people on the familiar Day of Atonement service — probably on an outstanding Day of Atonement in which king Hezekiah called the people to repentance.

 

Jeremiah 26:18,19 has a remarkable reminiscence, spoken a hundred years later, of this occasion which had left its mark in the memory of the nation. Evidently when the treaty was signed with Merodach-baladan, not only did Isaiah rebuke the king but also Micah denounced impending judgment because of it (Mic. 3:12). The effect of this prophetic disapproval was to bring about an immediate dramatic change in the attitude of Hezekiah — he "feared the Lord, and intreated his favour." Thus the threatened judgment was deferred: "the Lord repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them." So once again Hezekiah's intrinsic godliness and wholesome example was the salvation of the nation*.

 

It would seem that Isaiah's call to celebrate a true Day of Atonement was heeded, and thus a God-sent disaster was averted — for the time being, at any rate. "There shall be peace and truth in my days" (39:8) has its echoes in 57:17-19 (peace) and 59:14,15 (truth). And 57:21 ("no peace") links easily with Mic. 3:5 which immediately precedes 3:12.

 

Allusions to the Day of Atonement

 

This prophecy repeatedly makes use of language appropriate to Yom Kippur:

  1. "I dwell in the high and holy place" (57:15) provides a pointed reminder that on this great Day there was a special offering in the Holy of Holies.
  2. "With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." There is reference here to the great multitude of the people praying in penitence in the outer court.
  3. "I create the fruit of the lips" (57:19) — the high priestly benediction pronounced only after God had signified His pleasure at the people's penitence and His acceptance of their sacrifice.
  4. "Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near" — "The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace." And this blessing was available to Jew and Gentile alike (Lev. 16:29) — both "near" and "far off". Contrast v.21 "No peace to the wicked."
  5. "Lift up thy voice like a trumpet" (58:1) alludes to the Shofar sounded at the Feast of Trumpets ten days earlier and also to bring in the Day of Atonement itself.
  6. "Show my people their transgressions." This was, of course, the outstanding day in the year when remembrance was made of sins committed.
  7. The sustained allusions to fasting (58:3-6) are difficult to make sense of apart from the Day of Atonement, for this was the only fast prescribed in the Law of Moses. "We have afflicted our souls" (v.3) comes straight from Lev. 16:29,31.
  8. "An acceptable day to the Lord" (58:5) employs a word which very commonly refers to one of the Feasts of the Lord or to an acceptable sacrifice.
  9. "Let the oppressed go free" (58:6) alludes to the fact that the Year of Jubilee (the release of slaves) began on the evening of the Day of Atonement (Lev. 25:9). The year of deliverance from Sennacherib's hordes was the only Year of Jubilee mentioned in the Bible (2 Kgs 19:29)**.
  10. "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning" (58:8); this expression describes the manifestation of the Shekinah Glory over the mercy seat (cp. Ps. 80:1). "The glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward" links this with the pillar of cloud and fire which guided and protected Israel in their deliverance from Egypt — "the pillar of the cloud stood behind them" (Ex. 14:19).
  11. "Thy light shall rise in obscurity (the darkness of the Holy of Holies), and thy darkness shall be as the noon day" (58:10) — another allusion to the Shekinah Glory.
  12. "Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (58:11). This is probably to be read with reference to the early rains which come on in Palestine very soon after the Feast of Tabernacles.

 


* On this extraordinary episode, see H.Gt., ch. 20.

** There are hints of another Year of Jubilee in David's reign. Reckoning back 7 x 49 from BC 700 (Hezekiah's Jubilee), this would be BC 1043, early in David's reign.

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Formality and insincerity

 

The spiritual tone of the nation was normally, alas, far below that which Isaiah called for. There were plenty of sins to be brought home to the unresponding conscience of the house of Jacob (v.1). "They seek me daily, and delight to know my ways," the prophet declared with an irony which surely bit deep. But they went through the motions of religious observance, and accordingly felt pleased with themselves. So, in sending His prophets with such a biting message of disapproval, the Almighty was surely not being fair to them. So, they thought: "wherefore have we fasted...and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?" (v.3). Here was boiler-plate self-satisfaction. How was it to be dinted?

 

Determined to take the shine off this complacency, Isaiah went into action with sledgehammer hometruths: "Behold, in the day of your fast ye find (your own) pleasure, and oppress* all your labourers (v.3 RVm; see AVm)...Wilt thou** call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?" — going through the motions of religiousity, but without any true spirit of repentance or re-dedication.

 

The God of Israel sought, and still seeks, a different kind of devotion from His people:

 

"Is it not sharing your food with the hungry, taking the homeless poor into your house, clothing the naked when you meet them and never evading a duty to your kinsfolk? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn and soon you will grow healthy like a wound newly healed; your own righteousness shall be your vanguard and the glory of the Lord your rearguard." (Is. 58:7,8 NEB).

 

This eloquent passage surely applied the judicial pronouncement which dominates Christ's own picture of the Last Judgment:

 

"I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat:

I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:

I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Naked, and ye clothed me:

I was sick, and ye visited me:

I was in prison, and ye came unto me" (Mt. 25:35,36).

 

The people of Isaiah's day were far from reaching such standards of unselfconscious philanthropy. And to this day the nation is given to the same comforting conviction, that, provided the forms of religion are attended to, there need be no worries about personal dedication of spirit.

 

Even the New Israel is not untarnished in this respect. What good is there in a routine of meetings, if they become just a spiritual soporific, soothing when they should stir or stimulate, reaching to the depths of the soul?

 


* Another of Isaiah's caustic puns — tin-g'su (exact, oppress) suggests tin-g'shu (draw near to God).

** Note the effective personal appeal behind this sudden change to a singular pronoun.

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58 (2). Repentance, then Blessing (v.8-14)

 

The theme of the Day of Atonement runs on through much of this chapter and the next:

 

  1. There is mention of "the Glory of the Lord", identified with the Shekinah Glory which led Israel out of Egypt and which guided the people in the wilderness (cp. 52:12): "thy righteousness (the glory a sign of divine acceptance) shall go before thee; the Glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward." (v.8). It was this Glory which shone forth from above the mercy seat.
     
  2. “Thy light (cp. 60:1) shall break forth as the morning (i.e. the glory of a radiant dawn), and thy healing (the forgiveness of sins) shall spring forth speedily" (v.8).
     
  3. Those key terms "spring forth...righteousness...glory" come together in what is demonstrably a psalm for the Day of Atonement (85:9-11).
     
  4. "Then shalt thou call (the communal prayer of the people whilst the high priest was in the sanctuary), and the Lord shall answer" (v.9).
     
  5. "Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day" (v.10) — allusion to the shining of the Glory in the utter darkness of the Holy of Holies.
     
    These allusions continue into chapter 59:
     
  6. "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you" (v.2). This last phrase looks back to Isaiah's vision of cherubim with covered faces (6:2) — they are called "seraphim" (fiery ones) because the characteristic cherubim faces are covered.
     
  7. "We wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness (the manifestation of the Glory in response to the high priest's ministration of sacrifice), but we walk in darkness" (v.9).
     
  8. "Transgressions...sins...iniquities..." (v.1 2); the same word as in Lev. 16:21.
     
  9. In v.9-15 there is a long detailed confession of national sinfulness, but with no means of salvation, no righteousness to cover all this sin (v.16).
     
  10. "The way of peace they know not" (v.8) alludes to the high-priestly blessing: "...and give thee peace."
     
  11. "Your sins have hid his face from you" contrasts sharply with "the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon thee"!
     
  12. Immediately after Paul's quotation of v.7,8 (in Rom. 3:15) there comes the only New Testament mention of "mercy seat" (v.25 Gk.), except for Heb. 9:5.
     
  13. "Your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath uttered perverseness" (v.3), instead of the solemn prayer appropriate to God's holy day.
     
  14. "Hands defiled with blood" (v.3) makes a grim contrast with the finger of the high priest anointing the sacrificial blood on the mercy seat.

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If...then...

 

The Lord's appeal through His prophet is both plain and eloquent: Cease this dependance on formal religion; let your religion be one of the spirit, expressing itself in heartfelt acts of brotherly kindness to your fellows — "then shall thy light break forth as the morning...the Glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward" (v.8); in other words God will supply an open sign of His approval, and thereafter abundant blessings will rain down on you. "Thou shalt cry, and he (the Lord) shall say Here I am" (v.9).

 

But if God's Israel would enjoy such close communion with their God, there must be change of heart. That powerful little word "if" comes into play. Let them abandon the yoke of oppression, the putting forth of the finger in trickery (or criticism?), and all indulgence in wicked talk (v.9). Instead, self-denial — bestowing on the hungry that which you would like for your own self-indulgence (v.10 RVm). If these things are done, then with all confidence you may look for an open token of heaven's approval (v. 10b).

 

And not just one sign. The blessings of God will multiply, just as they did for Israel in the wilderness: "The Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought" (other wilderness allusions in v.6,8).

 

"He shall make strong thy bones" (v.11). Here is yet another of Isaiah's clever double meanings, for by simply splitting one word in two this unexpectedly declares: "a Tree shall cause thy dead to be released"! And the next phrase speaks of Paradise restored: "thy soul shall be like a watered garden."

 

"Eternal waste places" (v.12), so-called because their desolation seems to be everlasting, shall be built. These "desolations of many generations" (61:4) can and will be restored. "And he shall call thee, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths for the sabbath (the sabbath year, which began at the Day of Atonement?; Lev. 25:9)." It is the repairing of breaches in a water conduit which restores a path for the waters, so that there is indeed a watered garden and a spring of water which does not fail.

 

"He — the Lord — shall call thee" by these gracious names, but in fact it is He who pours forth the blessings. What makes thee "a repairer of the breach" is thy repentance and thy keeping of a true fast unto the Lord. All the rest is done by the Lord Himself. And this stands as true for the New Israel of the twentieth century as for the Israel of twenty-seven ancient centuries ago.

 

Its own reward

 

The Almighty's eloquent "if" comes in yet again: "If thou turn away thy foot from a sabbath*-of-doing-thy-pleasure on my holy days (as in 56:2,4,6), if thou call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking words (i.e. talking tittle-tattle, or business; Am. 8:5): then** shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord " (v.13,14).

 

At first sight there is something odd about this conditional promise, for — paraphrased — it seems to say: "If you take delight in serving God, then you will take delight in serving God."

 

This is not word-spinning, but the enunciation of an important spiritual truth: "To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundance." The man who finds pleasure in devotion and service to God finds more and more pleasure in such a life as time goes on.

 

Centuries before, the prophet Samuel taught the same way of life: "If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the command­ment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you con­tinue following the Lord your God" (1 Sam. 12:14).

 

But, alas, the converse of this proposition is also true;. "From him that hath not is taken away even that which he hath." An endless litter of spiritual wrecks bears witness, not the least impressive of these being national Israel.

 

Isaiah was guided to harness the vivid words of Moses' last solemn warning to his people: "I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth (in the cherubim chariot of the Lord), and feed*** thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father"(v.14; cp. Dt. 32:13,9).

 

The tag of divine guarantee is attached to this alluring prospect: "the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

 

 


* There is surely some link here with 2 Kgs. 16:18, but it is not easy to see just what. Eccl. 5:1 suggests the temple service.

** Very emphatic, as in v.8.

*** The Gk. word for "sop" (Jn. 13:26) has a very close link with LXX usage here. Did Jesus quote these words to Judas? The next paragraph (59:1-8) could hardly be more apt.

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59 (1). A Searing Denunciation (v.1 - 8)

 

The sequence of basic ideas in this part of Isaiah is impressive in its inevitability:

 

Chapter 56: Do judgment and justice, and so experience God's salvation.

Chapter 57: Israel chooses instead either a foul religion or else —

Chapter 58: the right religion in the wrong spirit.

Chapter 59:1-8 Such sin makes God's salvation impossible.

Chapter 59:9-15 Repentance at last!

Chapter 59:16-21 Salvation at last!

 

Certain other features of this very fine chapter call for attention.

 

The variation in pronouns breaks it down into five distinct paragraphs.

 

v.1 -3: The prophet's apostrophe to a sinful nation.

v.4-8: His withering description of their corruption.

v.9-15: The nation's abject repentance.

v.16-19: The prophet tells how his God comes to the rescue.

v.20,21: God's own promise of Messiah and his work.

 

Another remarkable characteristic is the emphatic repetition of "judgement" and "righteousness", five times each in v.1 -17 RV. In this context both words signify the same personal moral quality: "judgement" is that which will stand up to God's judgment — His scrutiny and assessment. These two words frequently come together in Isaiah, sometimes with the meaning just indicated (as in 58:2), sometimes as synonyms for God's salvation (as in 51:4,5), and at least once in both senses (56:1).

 

A sinful nation

 

Is there any part of Isaiah's prophecy which begins in more telling fashion than this?:

 

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear...your sins have hid his face from you.*" Powerful anthropomorphism, to match the indictment of Israel: "Your hands are defiled with blood (cp. 1:15), and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness" (v.3).

 

Here is the answer to the self-righteous remonstration of the nation: "Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?" (58:3). It was not God's fault. By their perversity they had bound him hand and foot. He was helpless to help them. "Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver?" At present, alas, the only possible answer to these rhetorical questions was only too evident, an answer supplied by their own hypocrisy and wilfulness.

 

Nations depending on other gods found them "short of hand" (37:27mg), powerless to withstand the inroads of Assyrian might, and behold, Jehovah was now in a like sorry plight!

 

Instead of the cloud of sweet-smelling incense which shrouded their high-priest from the nuclear radiation of the Lord's Shekinah Glory (Lev. 16:12,13), "your sins have hidden his face from you" — a smokescreen of horror!

 

The indictment that follows makes it evident that even the influence of good king Hezekiah had had a reforming effect on only a fraction of the nation. The evils of earlier days were not readily purged out.

 

"None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies" (v.4). In an earlier exposure, Isaiah had declaimed against the same cynicism that turned law into lawlessness: "They make a man an offender by the Word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate (Isaiah himself?), and turn aside the just with the rubbish (tohu, as in 59:4)" (29:21).

 


* What a contrast with 53:3!

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Telling metaphors

 

In this later diatribe Isaiah piles up one vivid figure of speech on another: "They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity*. They hatch cockatrice eggs...he that eateth of their eggs dieth (poisoned!), and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper" (v.4,5). Here is all the quiet evil of the serpent, as in Eden.**

 

And as the sinners in Eden *** sought to fashion garments of their own devising so also these: "they weave the spider's web" — intricate, clever past imagining, something to marvel at; nevertheless — "their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their (own) works" (v.5,6; cp. 30:1; Job 20:12-16). To cover his own sin, a man needs that which no amount of human ingenuity can contrive — an imputed righteousness. "The bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in" (28:20) — different metaphors, but the same idea!

 

There may be another of Isaiah's double meanings here. For the word for "cockatrice" strangely suggests "north"; and "viper" is linked with "south" (30:6). Then was Isaiah having a clout at the schemings of the pro-Assyria and pro-Egypt parties at court?

 

The figure changes again: "Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood (as though desperate to quench a great thirst!)...**** wasting and destruction (51:19) are in their highways (by which they make pilgrimage to Zion!). The way of peace they know not...they have made them crooked paths" (v.7,8).

 

It is noteworthy that Paul uses these words to establish that "Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, as it is written..." (Rom. 3:9). But the passage cited is about Jewry — and so also all his other texts here. Then has Paul proved only half his case? Not half, but all of it, for if his point stands for Jews, it most certainly stands for benighted Gentiles also.

 

Isaiah had now said enough. His words had gone home. The long wail of misery and repentance which his next paragraph records proves this. But before that can be considered, it is desirable to go back and examine the remarkable NT. connec­tions of the words just reviewed.

 


* A quotation from Ps. 7:14, which inveighs against the traitor who plots against the life of God's Beloved.

** Phrase after phrase in v.2-8 seems to hark back to Gen. 3,4.

*** lt is even possible that the worship of the brazen serpent, stamped out by Hezekiah, had secretly come into being again. In Gehenna, at the end of Solomon's conduit coming in from south of Bethlehem there is the Dragon's well.

**** In Rom. 3:16 Paul omits the powerful phrase about "thoughts of iniquity" — because he has already covered this in 1:21?

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New Testament applications

 

John the Baptist, ever using Isaiah's prophecy as his text-book, angrily reproach­ed his hypocritical contemporaries as a "generation of vipers" (Lk. 3:7), and his Lord took up the same reproach (Mt. 12:34).

 

In another place Jesus less angrily seems to have echoed the same passage: "If he (the son) shall ask an egg, will he (the father) give him a scorpion?" (Lk. 11:12) — a figure for a biting retort? Man may do this, but not the Father in heaven. Again using Isaiah John warned his hearers that the crooked paths they had made for themselves (59:8) must be made straight (40:3,4; Lk. 3:5). It was a denuncia­tion taken up by an angry Paul against the sorcerer who would impede the progress of the gospel: "O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil (seed of the serpent)...wilt thou not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:10).

 

Jesus also: "If thou hadst known...in this thy day the (ways) unto peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes" (Lk. 19:42). These are Isaiah's words: "The way of peace they know not...we grope for the wall like the blind, who hath no eyes" (59:8,10). And alas, to this day blind Israel still gropes for its Wailing Wall, but finds there no true repentance.

 

Jesus made another subtle use of this passage. "Peace" (Shalŏm) is Siloam. The way of Siloam they knew not, but to the blind man (Jn. 9) Jesus showed the way, so that he who "looked for light", begging for it, "walked in darkness" no more, but saw "the light of the world."

 

Against such a NT. background as this, can it be doubted that this pregnant passage was also intended as a prophecy of the trial of Christ before the Sanhedrin?:

 

"Your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity...Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood (Judas' phrase! Mt. 27:4)." No wonder Paul quoted these words about Jews and Gentiles being alike under sin (Rom. 3:9,15), for the condemnation of Christ came only from a conspiracy of crude injustice, manipulated by Israelite and Roman working together.

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59 (2). Confession and repentance at last (v.9-15)

 

At last appeal and denunciation have their effect. The change of heart God has long asked for is now evident. The historical occasion was probably the repentance which ensued when Micah and Isaiah denounced the Babylonian alliance (39:5ff; Jer. 26:18,19).* Always "God's salvation is near to come" (56:1), but until the people's frame of mind is right He still holds off.

 

Now, by a moving confession of worthlessness God is brought nigh and the promised blessings of His Year of Jubilee (2 Kgs. 19:29) are made sure. The words read like the high priest's recital of the people's repentance as he ministered in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.** "Ye shall afflict your souls," commanded the Law of Moses (Lev. 16:29) and now, in inner truth — and not just in the outward formality of fasting — the people did so, to the glory of God.

 

The curses of God's disapproval had overtaken them (v.9: s.w. Dt. 18:15,2), but now, thanks to a change of heart, His "judgment" and "righteousness" (His salvation) were soon to overtake them instead.

 

"We wait for light, but behold darkness; for the brightness***(of God's Shekinah Glory), but we walk in thick darkness." (v.9; cp. 58:10). Here is a realisation of helplessness. "We grope for the wall like the blind." The words are straight from the Deuteronomy catalogue of curses (28:29), and their quotation here is an open admission of failure wilful and perverse. Thus God's chosen people find themselves like men of Sodom blinded by the Glory of God (Gen. 19:11), like blind men leading the blind into ignominy (Mt. 15:14). And proud intellectual philosophers of Athens were in the same helpless condition until they set themselves to "feel after Him ('grope', s.w. LXX as in Acts 17:27), and find Him."

 

The Crucifixion

 

But far more important than the experience of these Athenians was that of others in the same generation, foretold here in unmistakable terms: "We stumble at noon day as in the night (about the sixth hour, darkness over all the Land till the ninth hour; (Lk. 23:44)...We roar all like bears****, and mourn sore like doves (all the people...beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned; Lk. 23:48)...conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood (false witnesses!). And judgement is turned away backward...truth (Pilate!) is fallen in the broad place (the Praetorium)...and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey" (v. 10-15).

 

Now let the spotlight move to focus on Saul of Tarsus!: "Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood...we grope for the wall like the blind...and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noon day (Acts 22:6) as in the night...speaking oppression and revolt...he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey; and the Lord saw, and it displeased him...therefore his Arm brought salvation unto him...So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun" (v.7,10,14-16,19). In plenty of places, and not just here, the OT. has prophecies not only about Christ, but also about Christ's men!

 


* The concluding verses of ch.59 may imply an earlier occasion when the Assyrian attack was threatening.

** The pronouns echo 53:3-6.

*** Heb. nogah, always has this reference; s.w. 60:3; 62:1. Here, it is an intensive plural.

**** ln Hebrew another play on words, suggesting: "those with sorrow of heart" (Lev. 26:16).

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On trial

 

The figure of a court of law is almost commonplace in Isaiah (41:1,21-29; 43:8-13,26; 44:7; 45:20-25; 50:8; 58:2). Here once again it is elaborately worked out. "Our transgressions make accusation* before thee, and our sins testify against us...And judgement is turned away backward, and justice (righteousness) standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the broad place (the temple area where the trials were held in public, 2 Chr. 29:4 RV)...he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw, and it displeased him that there was no judge­ment...no intercessor, therefore..." (v.12-16).

 

The point here is simple: No amount of human effort or cleverness, no reliance on legalism or the keeping of rules, can acquit mankind from a sweeping and utterly justified condemnation before God. Verse 13 compresses the proven indictment into "Guilty on two counts — crime against God and against one's neighbour":

 

a. "In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God;"

b. "speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood."

 

From this guilt there is no escape by any human means. Even "he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. And the Lord saw (this helplessness), and it displeased him" — as indeed it must. Was His great Purpose, begun in Eden to come to nought? So He went into action.

 

All this is anthropomorphism, of course, for there was "a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." But how reassuring to the Lord's faithful discouraged remnant! They may not be able to expunge the horror of their own sins, but such an open and frank confession as this prophecy expresses, cannot fail to harness the pity and the mercy and the effective action of the Redeemer-God of Israel.

 

 


* Deriving the verb from riv, accuse, rather than ravav, multiply.

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59 (3). Rescue Operation (v.16 - 21)

 

The people of the Lord had sinned grievously (59:1-8). Then at last they had repented and confessed their guilt (59:9-15a). Yet still the consequences of their apostasy were with them. They were in dire straits, and there was no human deliverer (v.15b,16a). So God Himself came to the rescue.

 

The relevance of the remarkable passage which now follows, to the times of Isaiah is obvious and even exciting. The Assyrian invasion was the people's well-deserved punishment from their God (8:6,7; 10:5,6). But now, with some of the people learning faith from their worthy king, the situation called for salvation, righteousness (i.e. deliverance), vengeance, recompense.

 

So the angel of the Lord went forth clad in heavenly armour. "When the enemy shall come in like the Euphrates (the waters of the River strong and many; 8:7), the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him" (v. 19). In response to the king's agonized inquiry a similar message came to Hezekiah: "Behold, I will send a blast upon him (appoint a spirit against him), and — in his other camp at Libnah (2 Kgs. 19:8) — he shall hear tidings, and he shall return to his own land" (37:7). The mighty hurricane of the Shekinah Glory which the angel of the Lord raised up against the Assyrians is powerfully described in Isaiah 30:27-33; 31:8,9.* Thus "his righteousness, it sustained him", vindicating against Assyrian railing and invective the God worshipped in Jerusalem (2 Kgs. 18:22,30,32-35; 19:4,10-13,16-19, 22-24,27,28,34,37).

 

"So shall they fear the name of the Lord (30:27) from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun" (v. 19a). The destruction of the might of Assyria inevitably brought glory to the God of Israel and to His king reigning in Jerusalem. Nations near and far stood in awe.

 

But this only came about because, thanks to Hezekiah's fine example there were those that turned from transgression in Jacob (v.20).

 

However, right at its end, as in some other instances, the prophecy fails in its contemporary fulfilment: "My spirit that is upon thee (Hezekiah), and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever" (v.21).

 

At the time of the Assyrian invasion Hezekiah had no son. And when a son was born, he was a Manasseh and not another Hezekiah**. But the promise of a never-ending line was not sustained to Hezekiah, and instead the Messiah came through a collateral branch of the family of David (Lk. 3:31).

 


* In 31:9 "ensign" is the same as "standard" (59:19).

** Even so, Manasseh's repentance must not be overlooked (2 Chr. 33:12-16). It very often is.

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Gospel fulfilment

 

Once again the comment has to be made that, exciting though the contemporary reference of this prophecy may be, its real force and power comes out when NT directives are followed to apply it to redemption in Christ. The other is mere foreshadowing.

 

"And the Lord saw (and it pleased him that there was a contrite heart in his people, and confession of sin; v.9-15), and it displeased him that there was no judgement. And he saw that there was no man*, and wondered (Heb. he desolated himself) that there was no intercessor" (v.15,16).

 

Jeremiah and Ezekiel, ever alike in their message, have the same kind of telling phrase (Jer. 5:1; 11:14; Ez. 22:30), but in their time the current problem was how to save Israel from the immediate consequences of their own thick-skinned dis­loyalty — and these prophets found no answer. Isaiah, always more fundamental and with an eloquent anthropomorphism, describes the Almighty moved with pity for his helpless people and racking His brains for the solution to a desperate problem.

 

No man! Then why not send them "an angel from heaven with a despotism"? Because it was "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." So, "by the righteousness of One Man," and only by that means shall there be "justification of life."

 

"No intercessor"? But indeed there is! Prophecy had already revealed "the Arm of the Lord" strong to "make intercession for the transgressors" (53:1,12). "Therefore his Arm brought salvation unto him" (v. 16). That last simple phrase is im­portant, for salvation from sin can only be through acceptable sacrifice ministered by an acceptable priest and brought "unto Him" in His holy presence. And in the parallel: "his righteousness, it sustained him;" the verb is very commonly used of both priest and sacrifice (e.g. Ex. 29:10,15,19; Lev. 3:2,8,13).

 

Salvation — phase 2

 

More than that, sin has not only to be atoned for, but also slain. So the equipment of the high priest — breastplate, crown, ephod, girdle and the rest — become the accoutrements of a warrior: a different kind of breastplate, a helmet of salvation**, garments of vengeance (contrast v.6), zeal as a cloak (s.w. 9:7), the girdle of truth, and the Sword of the Spirit (v.21). And all who join in this war must be similarly equipped with "the whole armour of God" — it is called that because He is the Commander-in-chief and He provides the equipment (Eph. 6:14ff; 1 Th. 5:8).

 

The change from atonement to warfare is signified not only by a change of terminology but also by a change of tenses, from past (v. 16,17) to future (v. 18-21), as though to intimate two phases in the Redeemer's work.

 

The day is yet to come when "according to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies" (v. 18). the character of this recompence becomes startlingly clear when it is realised that verse 16 — "his arm brought salvation..." — is repeated (63:5) in a juggernaut assertion of divine authority: "He shall smite the oppressor with the rod of his mouth" (11:4).

 


* Note how this passage puts a more wholesome meaning on the prototype in Ex. 2:12. Moses did not look furtively, hoping to be able to act unobserved; he considered that there was no man both willing and qualified to set about the task of saving his helpless people, and then — trusting in God (Acts 7:25RV) — took action himself.

** A crown of thorns!

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Salvation — phase 2

 

More than that, sin has not only to be atoned for, but also slain. So the equipment of the high priest — breastplate, crown, ephod, girdle and the rest — become the accoutrements of a warrior: a different kind of breastplate, a helmet of salvation*, garments of vengeance (contrast v.6), zeal as a cloak (s.w. 9:7), the girdle of truth, and the Sword of the Spirit (v.21). And all who join in this war must be similarly equipped with "the whole armour of God" — it is called that because He is the Commander-in-chief and He provides the equipment (Eph. 6:14ff; 1 Th. 5:8).

 

The change from atonement to warfare is signified not only by a change of terminology but also by a change of tenses, from past (v. 16,17) to future (v. 18-21), as though to intimate two phases in the Redeemer's work.

 

The day is yet to come when "according to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies" (v. 18). the character of this recompence becomes startlingly clear when it is realised that verse 16 — "his arm brought salvation..." — is repeated (63:5) in a juggernaut assertion of divine authority: "He shall smite the oppressor with the rod of his mouth" (11:4).

 

Wilderness foreshadowing

 

Once again, in that last hour, Israel will find itself swamped by an enemy who will "come in like a flood" (v. 19). But once again, as in the days of Hezekiah, "the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up the standard against him."

 

Here is a reminiscence of God's deliverance of Israel from Amalek in the wilderness. One phrase after another suggests it: "His arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him...when the enemy shall come in like a flood...this is my covenant with them...my words which I have put in thy mouth ...from henceforth and for ever." Jehovah-nissi — the Lord is my standard — com­memorates that "the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation" (Ex. 17:15,16).

 

Problem passage

 

But this redeemer "will come to Zion," not to Sinai, "and to them that turn from transgression in Jacob" (v.20). The words are easy, their meaning simple. But they present a major problem by turning up in a distinctly different form when quoted by Paul. In Romans 11:26 the apostle appropriates this passage to confirm that ultimately God will bring salvation to cast-off Israel as well as to Gentile members of His New Israel. But Paul's LXX text differs: "There shall come for the sake of Zion the Deliverer, and he shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" — and this in turn he alters to "out of Zion." This last phrase may be borrowed from Ps. 14:7 — distinctly relevant — Paul does that kind of thing. But two problems still remain:

 

  1. The problem of inspiration and authority of the text. Which reading is correct? Is Paul here (as in so many other places; e.g. Rom. 9:9,27,28,29) correcting the Hebrew text by means of his LXX? — a conclusion that might startle con­servative scholars. Or does one's understanding of the inspiration of scripture have to be re-shaped in the light of examples such as this?
     
  2. The problem of the meaning of the text. In Isaiah, the idea appears to be that Messiah will come to save those who are already repentant, the faithful remnant in Israel. In Romans, the passage seems to mean: Messiah will come to change the stony hearts of the nation (according to the usual, though mistaken, interpretation of Zech. 12:10). Actually both ideas are clearly taught in the OT. (Lev. 26:40-42; Dt. 30:1-3; Joel 2:12-18 — Rev. 1:7; Ez. 20:33-38; 36:24-28), a fact which saves the interpreter from some embarrassment. But which idea did Isaiah intend to teach here?

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A New Covenant

 

Because of the sudden change of pronouns in verse 20, it has been suggested that perhaps this verse is to be read as a parenthesis. But evidently Paul did not so read it, for his quotation in Romans 11:26 runs on: "For this is my covenant unto them," using the words from verse 20. But Paul broke off there, evidently with Jeremiah's great prophecy in mind about the New Covenant written in men's hearts (31:33; but see also Is. 61:8,9). There is no inconsistency with Isaiah's fourfold emphasis on "my words in thy mouth," for "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:10).

 

But in the first instance the promise of "my spirit upon thee, and my words in thy mouth" must apply to the Messiah, the Prophet like unto Moses, of whom it was foretold: "I will put my words in his mouth" (Dt. 18:18). In Isaiah, the Spirit is the hallmark of the Messiah (11:2; 40:7,13; 42:1; 44:3; 61:1; 63:14), and so also God's word in his mouth (40:8; 45:23; 51:16; 55:11). But the emphasis on "thy seed" and "thy seed's seed" is reassurance enough that the promise is not for Messiah exclusively (44:3; 53:10; 61:8,9; 65:23).

 

Modernist dogma

 

By contrast with the two (three) satisfying applications of this prophecy suggested here, the weakness of the modernist approach is immediately apparent. The "experts", much divided amongst themselves, either go for reference to Israel's deliverance from Babylon in the time of Cyrus, or (more commonly) to a period several generations later. In either case a specific reference for the vivid details in this paragraph is not attempted. Relevance to either of the epochs suggested becomes a matter of guesswork.

 

In particular, the powerful picture of a Redeemer God coming to the rescue of His Chosen People, pouring out wrath on their Gentile oppressors, and commanding the awe and allegiance of kings far and near has absolutely nothing in the history of Cyrus onwards to match it. Prophecy and history simply do not correspond. From Hezekiah to the time of Jesus this fine passage is phenomenally irrelevant.

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60 (1). Zion exalted

 

By this time it is surely almost unnecessary to vindicate Isaiah 60 against the dogmatism of modernists who assert a late date for "Second (or Third) Isaiah." Aware of the incongruities arising from an attempt to pin chapter 60 on to the time of Cyrus, they steal a few more generations, hoping for greater facility of reference to the time of Nehemiah or later. But the difficulties are still there:

  1. There is no period between Hezekiah and Paul when this prophecy can have any semblance of relevance to current events (which is what modernists always look for). At no time during those centuries did Gentiles gladly flow to Zion to glorify the God of Israel.
     
  2. Verses 7,13 speak plainly of a temple in existence — "mine altar...the house of my glory...the place of my sanctuary."
     
  3. "The nation that will not serve thee shall perish" (v.12). For seven centuries after Hezekiah these words were currently meaningless.
     
  4. The very close links between this chapter and Isaiah 49 (listed below) demand that both these Scriptures be given a like reference. The modernists, even on their own hypothesis, are in a fix here. Apply both to Hezekiah and his times, and the problem evaporates.



Isaiah 60


Isaiah 49

4.

Lift up thine eyes round about,

18.

Lift up thine eyes round about,


and see: all they gather


and behold: all these gather


themselves together, they come


themselves together, and come


to thee.


to thee.

4.

Thy sons shall come from far,

22.

They shall bring thy sons in their


and thy daughters shall be nursed


arms, and thy daughters shall be


at thy side.


carried upon their shoulders.

16.

Thou shalt suck the breasts of

23.

And kings shall be thy nursing


kings.


fathers.

16.

Thou shalt know that I the Lord

23.

Thou shalt know that I am the


am thy Redeemer.


Lord.

21.

The work of my hands, that I may

3.

Thou art my Servant, O Israel, in


be glorified.


whom I will be glorified.
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Contemporary events

 

The relevance of many details in Isaiah 60 (as a primary reference) to the after­math of God's remarkable deliverance of Jerusalem in Hezekiah's day is very impressive. The modernists abandon all attempts at correlation between this chapter and history. To them these words are no more than wishful thinking by a pious prophet.

 

  1. This prophecy speaks of altar and temple as in existence (v.7,13).
     
  2. The sustained picture of Gentile tribute to the God of Israel matches the history perfectly: "And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that He (the Lord) was magnified in the sight of all nations from henceforth." (2 Chr. 32:23).
     
  3. "To bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them" (v.9) is a perfect counterpoise to (i) the massive captivity of 200,000 Jews whom Sennacherib boasts about in his Taylor Prism inscription; (ii) the lavish payment of tribute which had been made in an earlier attempt to buy off the Assyrian (2 Kgs. 18:15) was also let go.
     
  4. "The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted" (v. 12). These words, confidently labelled by many an expositor as an interpolation because so completely out of harmony with the rest of this prophecy, can now be seen as a most effective paren­thetical quotation of the bombast of Sennacherib in his efforts to cow Jerusalem into submission: "The nation and kingdom that does not serve me perishes; yea, those nations are utterly wasted" (compare 36:18-20; 37:11-13,18,19). That word for "wasted" makes play with the name of Sennacherib. And there is also another pun: "The nation that will not serve thee shall not be preserved." Similarly, "the Lord thy saviour" alludes to Isaiah's own name.
     
  5. "For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver" (v. 17). There is pointed contrast here with the earlier occasion when, during Hezekiah's sickness, his faithless princes tried to buy Sennacherib off (2 Kgs. 18:15,16), by stripping the temple of its gold and silver in a futile attempt to avoid the ravages of invasion (now note again verse 9).
     
  6. "The branch of my planting" (v.21) anticipates the blessing of the Year of Jubilee (2 Kgs. 19:29; cp. 61:3): "The remnant that is escaped of the house of Israel shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward" (19:30). And "inherit the land for ever" contrasts very effectively with invasion and the departing of great numbers of captives. There are plenty of other expressions which likewise contrast most effectively with the suffering and wretchedness of that time; e.g. v.10a,b,11a,c, 14a, 15a, 17c, 18a, 22.

 

Thus this prophecy, like almost everything else in Isaiah, has its roots in the prophet's own days. But recognition of this fact is only the first step in appreciation of its message. The New Testament interpretation is what matters most.

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60 (2). The Gospel Era

 

There can be no manner of doubt that, whatever prototype may be available, the real intention of this prophecy is to describe in rich figure and warm glowing phrase the blessings of Israel in the Messianic age. The People, the City, the Gentiles, and the Glory of the Lord — these are the main constituents of a rich and satisfying picture.

 

Yet, in not a few places, the NT. appropriates these ideas with confidence to describe the blessings brought by Christ in his first advent.

 

"The Gentiles shall come to thy light and kings to the brightness of thy rising" (v.3). When these lovely words are followed by a picture of Gentiles bringing "gold, and frankincense" (v.6RV), a link with the visit of the Wise Men to the child Jesus seems inevitable (Mt. 2:1-12), especially when it turns out that the last phrase of that verse 6, when read in Hebrew, sounds rather like: "his drinking myrrh shall shew the Lord." It was evidently a similarity which had been noted by the Wise Men themselves.

 

This closer linking of Isaiah 60 with Messiah's birth helps to establish that the "star" seen by the Wise Men was actually a manifestation of the Glory of the Lord. * The Hebrew word nogah — "brightness" — always has this idea; and the verb zarach — "rising" — often carries this meaning. **

 

It is easy now to see why the sub-apostolic church assumed that the Wise Men were kings. In the light of this Isaiah passage, how far wrong were they?

 

There is also a Gentile context about Paul's echo of verse 21: "the work of my hands, that I may be glorified" — cp. "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Eph. 2:10; see v.11,12). But of course this is the way Isaiah uses this language elsewhere: 45:11,12; 29:23 — both of them fine passages.

 

The companion phrase — "the branch of my planting" — was doubtless in the mind of Jesus when he scornfully wrote the Pharisees off for their hypocrisy: "Every plant, which my heavenly father hath not planted, shall be rooted up" (Mt. 15:13). But on the other hand, the corn of wheat falling into the ground and dying brings forth much fruit (Jn. 12:24) — "a little one shall become a thousand" (v.22).

 

A double entendre, characteristic of Isaiah, has the same redemption theme: "In the womb (the virgin birth!) I have had mercy (Symmachus: reconciliation; cp. 54:7,8) on thee" (v. 10) — and verse 16 goes on to talk about the redeemed as God's babies, nursemaided by the Gentiles.

 

Thrilled by this theme and its heart-warming fulfilment in Gentile response to the gospel, Paul might well express his relief and thanksgiving in the words of this prophecy: "Thine heart shall fear (the Lord), and be enlarged (with joy and affection)" (v.5; cp. 2 Cor. 6:13). Indeed, in discouraging times this prophecy became his reassurance: "If the diminishing of them (Israel) be the forces of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness?" (v.5; 61:6; Rom. 11:12).

 

Finally, there is the remarkable parallel sequence of thought in the Epistle to the Ephesians. Perhaps in only two places (see 5:14) does Paul actually quote from this part of Isaiah, but the sequence of ideas is undeniably similar:


Ephesians


Isaiah

2:1

Dead

59:10

2:3

Lust of the flesh

59:4

2:7

Ages to come

60:21

2:10

Work of my hands

60:21

2:13

Gentiles far off, made nigh

60:5,11

3:6

Gentiles fellow heirs

60:21

3:14

Bow knees

60:14

4:24

Put on

61:10

5:2

Redeemer

60:16

5:8

Were darkness

60:2


Ephesians


Isaiah

5:8

Children of light

60:1,3

5:9

The Spirit

59:21

5:14***

Shine upon thee

60: 1

5:22

Husband and wife

61:10

 


* No astronomical phenomenon ever cited will satisfy the details in Mt. 2:9.

** Dt. 33:2; Is. 58:10; Mai. 4:2; 2 Sam. 23:4; Ps. 112:4; and what about Gen. 32:31? Note also the sinister meaning in 2 Chr. 26:19.

*** Here the words of 60:1 seem to be combined with phrases from 52:1,2.

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60 (3). The Messianic Kingdom

 

The earlier applications of this prophecy are both of them well-grounded in Scripture and impressive in their relevance. But, without doubt, the full power of this prophecy is only felt when its rich language is read as a divine anticipation of the splendour of the Messianic Age.

 

The resemblances to Psalm 72 are most marked. That "Psalm for Solomon" was a great king's prayer for the promised Messiah, whose goodness and power he knew he could never hope to emulate. This perhaps explains why Isaiah 60 has so many of the echoes of the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon's court.



Isaiah 60


1 Kings 10

9.

Unto the name of the Lord thy

9.

Blessed be the Lord thy God


God and to the Holy One of


which delighteth in thee.


Israel.



5.

The forces of the Gentiles shall

2.

With a very great train (s.w.).


come unto thee.



6.

The multitude of

2.

Camels.


camels...dromedaries of Midian




and Ephah.



6.

Frankincense

2.

Spices

6.

Gold

2.

Very much gold.

17, 19

Peace...righteousness

9.

Judgement and justice.

19.

Everlasting light...inherit the land

9.

For ever.


for ever.



9.

Ships of Tarshish.

22.

Ships of Tarshish.

13.

Fir, pine, box...to beautify the

12.

Almug trees...pillars for the house


place of my sanctuary.


of the Lord.

3.

Gentiles...kings to thy rising.

24.

All the earth.

17.

For brass gold...etc.

21.

Vessels of pure gold...silver




nothing to be accounted of.


But note especially:







17.

Thy officers peace, and thy

5:13

King Solomon raised a levy


taskmasters righteousness.


out of all Israel.
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It soon becomes evident from the Book of Revelation's copious use of Isaiah 60 that what Solomon was able to achieve only in a rather gross materialistic fashion will be lifted to a superlatively high degree of spiritual fulfilment when Christ is king in Zion.



Isaiah 60


Revelation 21

3.

Gentiles shall come to thy light.

24.

The nations shall walk in the light




of it.

5.

The forces (wealth) of the

24.

The kings of the earth do bring


Gentiles shall come unto thee.


their glory into it.

11.

Thy gates shall be open con­tinually;

25.

The gates of it shall not be shut


they shall not be shut day nor


at all by day (for there shall be no


night.


night there.

14.

They that despise thee shall bow

3:9

I will make them to come and


themselves down at the soles of


worship before thy feet, and to


thy feet.


know that I have loved thee.

14.

They shall call thee, The city of

3:12

I will write upon him...the


the Lord.


name of the city of my God.

18.

Thy walls Salvation, and thy gates

12.

A wall great and high...twelve


Praise.


gates.

19.

The sun shall be no more thy

23.

The city had no need of the sun,


light by day; neither for


neither of the moon to shine in it.


brightness shall the moon give




light unto thee.



19.

The Lord shall be unto thee an

23.

The glory of the Lord did lighten


everlasting light, and thy God thy


it, and the Lamb is the light


glory.


thereof.

20.

Thy sun shall no more go down;

25.

No night there.


neither shall thy moon withdraw




itself.



21.

Thy people also shall be all

27.

There shall in no wise enter in


righteous.


any thing that defileth...

22.

I the Lord will hasten it in its time.

22:20

Surely I come quickly.
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Another set of allusions intermingling with those just listed seems designed to suggest the bringing in of a New Creation, a New Paradise, unspoiled and unspoilable:

 

2. Darkness.

1-3. Light.

19. Sun and moon.

7,8. Animals and birds.

21. The Lord's garden ("my planting"); cp. 61:11.

13. Trees "beautify the place of my sanctuary" (cp. 61:3).

7. Acceptable sacrifice.

11. Gates not shut.

 

Also in chapter 61:

 

7. No more shame.

9. Seed blessed.

10. Clothed with garments of salvation.

10. Bridegroom and Bride.

11. A garden like Eden.

 

And in chapter 62:

 

4,5. The marriage blessed.

 

The parallels with Isaiah 49 are also worth re-considering in this light. (See also Is. 66:12-14,19-21).

 

In his television tour of the splendour of the Zion that is to be, the prophet uses his camera on four main features — the Glory, the City, the People and the Gentiles.

 

The Glory

 

"From first to last, it is a blaze of light", writes Torry. In the opening verses this is made even more impressive by contrast with its immediate prelude — darkness covering the Land, and gross darkness the People. The Hebrew word for the second of these phrases normally refers to the thick darkness of the Shekinah presence as an expression of divine displeasure: "In thick darkness they (Israel) shall be driven away" (8:22). The pillar of cloud "was a cloud and darkness to them (the Egyptians), but it gave light by night to these (Israel)" (Ex. 14:20; cp. Joel 2:2, - Zeph. 1:15).

 

But now all estrangement between God and His people is past. Instead, a ringing cry to "arise, be enlightened" by the Heavenly Light. Ezekiel describes the return of the Shekinah Glory from heaven and, via the Mount of Olives, into the sanctuary (Ez. 43:2,7). And Isaiah himself has already foretold that "in the day when the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious" there will be "upon every dwelling place of mount Zion...a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night" (4:2,5). This Glory of the Lord, which was seen intermittently in the temple from the time of Solomon (e.g. 1 Kgs. 8:10,11; 2 Chr. 26:16-20(?); Is. 6:1-4; 38:8) will be a normal permanent feature of Zion in the days to come. The entire city, and not just the inner sanctuary, will be a Holy of Holies filled with Heavenly Light (Rev. 21:23).

 

Doubtless this emphasis on the de-grading of the sun and moon in Zion (v. 19,20) is just part of the intense symbolism which runs right through this vision of Messianic blessing and splendour, but it is difficult (in the light of the supporting Scriptures) to evade the conclusion that there will be a marvellous Heavenly Light in and over Mount Zion in the age to come: "I will glorify the house of my glory...He hath glorified thee...I will make the Place of my feet glorious...that I may be glorified...his Glory shall be seen upon thee" (v.7,9,13; 21:1; cp. Mal. 4:2; Is. 40:5).

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The City

 

The character and quality of this New Jerusalem is portrayed in symbolic language* of poetic splendour: "The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls...thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night** (v. 10,11). There will be a profusion of trees — cedars of Lebanon, firs, pines, box trees — to "beautify the place of my sanctuary" (v.13) and to make available countless booths for a non-stop Feast of Tabernacles (Neh. 8:15).

 

Everything about this city will be of the finest. No tawdry materials, nothing perishable, for it is a City of God. "For brass I (the Lord) will bring gold, and for iron silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron" (v.17). What a contrast with the in­glorious days of Rehoboam when (as at the present day) tawdry shields of brass perforce had to do duty for God's glorious shields of gold! (2 Chr. 12:9,10). In that day even gold will scarcely suffice! Better materials will be there, to strengthen and glorify: "Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise" (v.18) — Jesus the Saviour, and a true Judah, the saved.

 

In the two pictures of the New Jerusalem — Isaiah and Revelation — there is an interesting change of emphasis. Isaiah describes a city with a temple — "the (holy) place of my sanctuary...the place of my feet" (v.13). This last phrase alludes to the ark of the covenant (1 Chr. 28:2; Ez. 43:7; cp. 66:1). And there are sacrifices to be offered: "the flocks of Kedar...shall come up with acceptance on mine altar" (v.7). But in Revelation, "the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal" (21:16) — the entire city is a Holy of Holies; and there is no hint of sacrifice or the sprinkling of blood, for that has been done "once for all" (Heb. 9:28; 10:10-14).

 

Then is Isaiah describing sacrifice in the Age to Come or isn't he? This, at least, may be said — that the concentration of palpably figurative language in Isaiah 60 (e.g. v.4c,8,10a, 11 a, 16ab, 17,20a) makes it impossible to dogmatize, on the basis of this evidence, that animal sacrifices will be resumed in the Millenium.

 

That Isaiah should use this kind of language is readily explained. He was writing for his own generation as well as for the distant future, and necessarily had to express himself in terms of contemporary ideas. But when John wrote, the days of Jerusalem's temple were numbered.

 


* lt must be symbolic. Look at the use made of it in Rev. 21!

** So the walls are obviously figurative. Little point in having literal walls, if the gates are never shut!

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The People of the City

 

Those who have established their rights of citizenship in the New Jerusalem will make haste to take up residence: "Who are these who fly as the Cloud* (of the Shekinah Glory) and as the doves** (of God's Holy Spirit) to their windows?" (v.8). Doubtless Paul was influenced by this Scripture when he described the gathering of the saints thus: "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught away together with them, in Clouds, into the air for the purpose of meeting the Lord (at Jerusalem)" (1 Th. 4:17).

 

"Thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed*** at thy side (v.4). They will be the honoured elite of the new society, recognized as such and not needing to assert their privileges: "the ships of Tarshish...bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them,**** unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel" (v.9) — it will be their spiritual bank balance that will be transferred to the funds of the New Jerusalem, for "violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders (contrast Gen. 49:5)...thy people shall be all righteous" (v.18,21 )*****

 

How relative standards will change! "The Little One (among the thousands of Judah: Mic. 5:2) shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation" (v.22). David, the youngest in his family, and despised by the rest, will rise to highest honour. And men like Paul (= the small one, "the least of the apostles"; 1 Cor. 15:9) will be found to have built himself into a mighty Gentile family.

 

But all these are the fruits of Christ, "the Branch of my planting" (v.21; s.w. 11:1). They are the work of His hands, that He may be glorified.

 


* What a contrast with Ez. 38:9!

** The final Deluge of destruction is past. Now, a New Era (Gen. 8:11; 6:16).

*** This Hebrew word also means "faithful".

**** The converts of the preacher of the gospel; 1 Cor. 3:12.

***** The future prospects of Zion and its people are filled out in such passages as 11:4-10; 29:19,23,24; 30:23-26; 32:15-18; 33:17,20-22.

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Nowhere else in all the Bible is there such sustained emphasis on Gentile sub­mission in the Kingdom of God. The nations of the world will increasingly find pleasure in the rule of God. More and more they will gladly devote the finest resources of their lands to the glorifying of the God of Israel.

 

"The wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings, shall be brought...camels of Midian, dromedaries of Ephah: all they from Sheba, they shall bring gold and incense* ...the flocks of Kedar...the rams of Nebaioth...the ships of Tarshish...the glory of Lebanon...strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee...the sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee...thou shalt suck the milk of Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings" (v.5-16).

 

All the earlier sanctuaries of the Lord were made of Gentile materials. Israel plundered the Egyptians, and from their riches fashioned the Tabernacle. David dedicated all the gains of his long series of Gentile wars to the temple which Solomon built. The second temple, built after the Captivity, had the practical encouragement of Cyrus and Darius Hystaspes. The temple built in the time of Jesus was financed by Herod the Great, an Edomite. And the spiritual temple which has taken its place has been made up mainly of Gentiles. So it is fitting that in the coming era God will be glorified by the votive offerings of Gentiles (cp. Jer. 33:9; Dt. 33:19).

 

It is noteworthy that nearly all the regions mentioned — Midian, Ephah, Sheba, Kedar, Nebaioth, Lebanon — are Arab territories. The very peoples who are described in the prophets as gloating over the last-day discomfiture of Israel (Ez. 35:10; 36:2; Obad. 12; Ps. 79:4; 83:3-12) now join Israel in humble submission. Here is the final solution of the vexatious Jew-Arab problem.

 

This happy reconciliation in godliness will not be an immediate unanimity, human nature being what it is. So that out-of-step verse 12 has an air of sober realism about it: "The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee (and with thee) shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." Zechariah fills out the picture, and tells precisely how: "no rain...plague" (14:17,18) — these, where necessary, in a world of unparalleled fertility and in the midst of a population bursting with health!

 

With the Glory of the Lord filling the City of God, the New Jerusalem thus becomes a centre of world re-generation. It is a theme Isaiah never wearies of (e.g. 35:6; 45:4; 46:12; 49:14-26; 51:3-11; 52:1,8-10; 54:11-14; 55:12,13), but nowhere is he more eloquent than here.

 

His picture of godly prosperity ends with the heartening reassurance: "I the Lord will hasten it in his time**" (v.22). So also the NT. portrayal of the New Jerusalem: "Surely I come quickly" (Rev. 22:20). But this guarantee did not inhibit the Lord's apostle from adding his own: "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

 

 

 


* The omission, or disguised inclusion, of myrrh might suggest that the day of suffering is past.

** What a contrast in 5:18!

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61 (1). The Blessings of Jubilee (v.1- 6)

 

One of the great types of the Messianic Kingdom is the Year of Jubilee, when slaves were set free, and land returned to the families who originally owned it, and under the blessing of God the sabbath year of non-cultivation was continued for yet another year (Lev. 25:8-24). Allusions to all this are traceable in Isaiah 61:

 

  1. "To proclaim liberty to the captives" (v.1). This is the very phrase of Lev. 25:10.
     
  2. "To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (v.2).
     
  3. "Trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord" (v.3). All that grew in the Year of Jubilee came through the blessing of God, and not by man's cultivation.
     
  4. "Therefore in their land they shall possess double (the double blessing of Lev. 25:22): everlasting joy shall be unto them" (v.7).
     
  5. "They are the seed which the Lord hath blessed" (v.9).
     
  6. "As the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth" (v.11).

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Contemporary history

 

The Jubilee blessing on which this lovely language is based is, of course, the Jubilee in Hezekiah's reign (37:30) which confirmed to God's people that the astonishing deliverance from the brutal Assyrians was God-wrought, and not a fluke of good fortune. This Jubilee is the only one alluded to in the whole of Scripture (with the possible exception of David's Jubilee; see Ps. 133).

 

Other phrases clearly have their origin in the same impressive historical events:

 

  1. "The opening of the prison to them that are bound" (v. 1) describes the sudden access of freedom which came to the great multitude of captives carried off by Sennacherib.
     
  2. "The day of vengeance of our God" (v.2), an expression seemingly so out of place in this winsome passage, now presents no difficulty.
     
  3. "Trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord" (v.3) is matched by Isaiah's prophecy of Jubilee: "And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward" (37:31).
     
  4. "They shall build the old wastes...they shall repair the waste cities" (v.4). Sennacherib boasted about the "forty and six fenced cities" (Taylor Prism) which he captured — and doubtless burnt, according to a favourite Assyrian custom. It is known for certain that he did this to Lachish. The abundant bless­ings of the Year of Jubilee meant that the people had time to concentrate on the re-habilitation of towns and farmsteads. Assyrian
     
  5. "Ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles" (v.6). Here is allusion to Assyrian plunder and also to the gifts which poured in from delighted and awestruck Gentile neighbours who shared in the widespread relief at Assyrian discomfiture.
  6. "As a bridegroom...as a bride" - an allusion, carried over into 62:4,5, to Hezekiah's health-blessed re-union with his wife Hephzibah, from whom he had been separated by his leprosy. "Garments of salvation...the robe of righteousness" (v.10) in what was, to all intents and purposes, a new marriage.
     
  7. The Hebrew word for "proclaim liberty" (v. 1) also describes the swallow. Thus there is implied a time when captives, dragged away by the Assyrians, may migrate back to their homeland. "Freedom to the captives" matches the language of Isaiah in many another place about the same utterly unexpected phenomenon; e.g. 42:22; 45:13; 48:20; 49:9,20,21; 51:14; 60:9.
     
  8. Verse 3 is, literally, "the mourners of Zion", and could allude to far-off captives mourning that they have been snatched away from service in the temple; cp. contemporary Ps. 137:1ff
     
  9. "Their seed shall be known among the Gentiles...all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed." (v.9).

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