In All Their Distresses He Too Was Distressed,
and the Angel of His Presence Saved Them
63: 7-14

In all their distress He to was distressed, and the Angel of His presence saved them DIG: What are the many good things God has done for the house of Isra’el in the past? What do these verses express about God’s relationship to Israel? What might Isaiah mean in 63:10 (see Psalm 78:17-22)?

REFLECT: What is the “exodus experience” that you fondly recall in your life when it was clear that the LORD was working in you? How do you feel now when times of spiritual emptiness occur? Does it encourage or discourage you to recall the past? Why?

These verses contain Isra’el’s prayer at the end of the Great Tribulation that brings about the Second Coming of Christ. The actual words of this prayer are found in four key passages of Scripture, first, in Psalm 79, secondly in Psalm 80, thirdly in Isaiah 53:1-9, and lastly here. Here the believing remnant, at the end of the Great Tribulation, looks back on God’s past dealings with Isra’el and His extension of His mercies to them.

God’s dealings with Isra’el have never been on the basis of merit, but always on the basis of His compassion and many kindnesses. Here the believing remnant remembers back and says they will tell of the kindness of ADONAI (God the Father), the deeds for which He is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us – yes, the many good things He has done for the house of Isra’el, according to His compassion and many kindnesses (63:7). Kindnesses is the plural of chesed, meaning God’s pledged love for His people; here plural, to intensify and amplify, a love that never changes and contains every aspect of true love. The fourth example of the Trinity of the Godhead in the TaNaKh is found in the context of this passage that deals with a summary of the Exodus. The other three examples are found in 42:1, 48:12-16 (this is the clearest example) and 61:1. Within the context of this passage, only three Persons are mentioned.

In love ADONAI identifies with His people. He said: Surely they are My people, children who will be true to Me. Love cannot be seen to be love until it does something for the loved one. And here, God loved not merely in His heart or words, but in action. So He became their Savior (63:8). When the LORD entered into a covenant relationship with Isra’el, His hope was that because they were His people, they would be true to Him. And because He had hoped that Isra’el would be true children, He became their Savior. The means by which He did this was to bring them out of Egyptian bondage.

Isaiah describes what it was like for God when Isra’el was in bondage to the Egyptians. In all their distress He too was distressed. ADONAI Himself participates in the sufferings of His people. And the Angel of His presence (God the Son) saved them (63:9a). A second Person is mentioned here. Earlier in the TaNaKh this angel was called the Angel of the LORD. And whenever this expression is used it means the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ.

This Person was very active in the Exodus and is mentioned a number of times. In Exodus 3:1-5 this angel was responsible for the calling of Moses. In Exodus 14:19 it was this angel who separated the Jewish army from the Egyptian army all night long with the pillar of cloud. This brought light for the Jewish army and darkness for the Egyptian army and prevented the Egyptian army from attacking that night. In Exodus 23:20-23 we are told that this angel was responsible for bringing Isra’el into the Promised Land. Interestingly, God told Moses: Do not rebel against Him; He will not forgive your rebellion, since My Name is in Him. Therefore, He cannot be a common angel because He has the power to forgive sins. He is also mentioned in Exodus 32:34 and 33:1-2 regarding His responsibilities in bringing Isra’el into the Promised Land. His presence is said to be in Isra’el’s camp (Exodus 33:14-15). In His love and mercy He redeemed them (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Bz – Redemption); He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old (63:9b). This Angel of His presence is the same as the Angel of the LORD, who has the name of ADONAI Himself. Notice in 63:9 that it was this Angel who was responsible for saving them and for redeeming them not on merit, but on the basis of His love and mercy.

But how did Isra’el respond? Was God’s hope in 63:8 fulfilled? No. For even in the days of the wilderness wanderings they rebelled and grieved His Ruach (63:10a). The Hebrew is emphatic; they all rebelled against Him. A third Personality is the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (The Spirit of God) mentioned three different times: First: Yet they rebelled and grieved His Ruach. Second: Where is He who set His Ruach among them (63:11b)? And third: Like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (63: 14a). In this passage, the three personalities are clearly in view. There are not less than three, and there are not more than three. However, in Jewish theology the Ruach ha-Kodesh is viewed as some sort of force from God. How can we tell from this verse that He is dealing with someone who must have a personality? Because He is able to be grieved. You cannot grieve a force. When they grieved His Ruach, the result was that He turned on them and He became their enemy and He Himself fought against them (63:10b). Isra’el’s rebellion turned God from friend into foe (James 4:4).

Why did God turn and become their enemy, and fight against them? Does that sound like what a loving God would do (see 34:2)? In Joshua we learn when God declares something devoted to destruction (Joshua 6:18), we must obey His wishes and have no part in it. But if we, like Achan (Joshua 7:1-26), touch, become one with, partake of, that which is devoted to destruction, then we become devoted to destruction. Stated another way, if we reject the sacrifice, we become the sacrifice.

The Israelites at the end of the end of the Great Tribulation find themselves hunted down to be slaughtered by the antichrist and the world. They will find themselves in desperate straits and begin to reflect on their glorious past. Then His people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and His people (63:11a). It will be as if they are asking, “ADONAI, are you still in the miracle business? Are you still the One who did all those glorious things in the past?” They ask a series of questions:

First: Where is He who brought us through the Red Sea and divided the waters before us to gain for Himself everlasting renown (see the commentary on Exodus Ci – The Waters Were Divided and the Israelites Went Through the Sea on Dry Land) with Moses, the shepherd of His flock, leading the way (63:11b, 12b-13a)? Could the LORD who had once provided a Moses for His people provide still another through the house of David as He had promised (9:7, 11:1, 32:1, 55:3-4)?

Second: Where is He who set His Ruach among them (63:11b) (Numbers 11:24-30)? The Bible teaches that God the Father put His Ruach among the nation of Isra’el, as well as the Angel of His Presence. Therefore, the entire Trinity, God the Father, the Angel of His Presence, and the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, was responsible for the Exodus. Could Isra’el yet again have Spirit-filled leadership (59:21)?

Third: Who sent His glorious arm (the overwhelming might of God) of power to be at Moses’ right hand (63:12a)? If the arm of the LORD was present with Moses before Pharaoh, surely the same glorious arm will be present again in the power of the Spirit of God at the end of the Great Tribulation.

Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble; like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (63:13b-14a). Being freed from Egypt was like giving a horse free rein in open country or like letting cattle graze on a wide plain. As God gave them rest and guidance, His reputation was made known. This is how you guided your people to make for you a glorious name (63:14b). The implication is that because ADONAI demonstrated His hesed for Isra’el in the past, and had done all those wonderful things to glorify His name, could He not do so again. Of course He could, and on that basis there will be hope while they wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of their great God and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah (Titus 2:13).

So the believing remnant, being in the city of Bozrah, surrounded by all the armies of the world gathered against them, suddenly begin to realize that the reason for all the problems that the Jews have faced over the centuries is a result of their rejection of the Messiah. As a result, they begin praying this penitential prayer, which will bring about the Second Coming.

Isra’el’s National Confession of Sin
63:7 to 64:12

One of the three purposes of the Great Tribulation is to break the stubbornness of the Jewish nation (Dani’el 11-12 and Ezeki’el 20:34-38). It is through the crucible of the Great Tribulation, the distress that it brings being compared to childbirth, that Isra’el will be brought to repentance. These verses contain Isra’el’s prayer at the end of the Great Tribulation that brings about the Second Coming of Christ. The actual words of this prayer are found in four key passages of Scripture, in Psalm 79, in Psalm 80, in Isaiah 53:1-9, and here.

The Jewish leadership rejected Christ. The rabbis taught that when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai he not only brought down the Written Law, or the Ten Commandments, but he also brought down the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ei – The Oral Law). Before the time of Christ the Oral Law was held to be equal, if not more important, than the Torah. Therefore, the rabbis taught that when the Messiah came, He would not only believe in the Oral Law, but would participate in the making of new Oral Laws. It was no surprise that for every one of the 613 Laws of Moses found in the Pentateuch, the Pharisees had made up 1,200 oral laws. That was the real reason they rejected Him. He had rejected their manmade Oral Law or the tradition of the elders (Matthew 15). But the professed reason they rejected Him was on the basis of being demon possessed. They could not deny His miracles. But they did not believe He was the Messiah. So the only conclusion they would come to was that He was demon possessed. So when the Pharisees, who came down from Jerusalem said: He is possessed by Beelzebub (Satan)! By the prince of demons He is driving out demons (Matthew 12:25; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:17-22 and John 7:20), the people also rejected Him.

The Jewish people had also rejected Messiah. When Yeshua was before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, it was his custom at the Passover to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? For Pilate knew it was out of envy that they had turned Yeshua over to him. But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. “Which one do you want me to release to you? asked the governor?” “Barabbas,” they answered. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify Him!” “Why? What crime has He committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said, “It is your responsibility!” All the people answered, “Let His blood be on us and on our children.” Then Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Yeshua flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified (Matthew 27:15-26).

Therefore, both the Jewish leadership and the Jewish people of the first century rejected Messiah. But here we see the national confession of sin by the believing remnant. This is the second version of this prayer. We saw the first version in 53:1-9. Yeshua will not return again until He is asked to do so by the Jewish leadership and the believing remnant that are alive at the end of the Great Tribulation (also see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). At that point the eight stage campaign of Armageddon will begin (see the commentary on Revelation Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon).

However, before we move on, there is a valuable lesson for us to learn. The Bible teaches that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. How can this be so? Because the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin (First John 1:7b-9). This is what will happen at the end of the Great Tribulation with the nation of Isra’el. On that day when they confess their sin, a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity (Zechariah 13:1). And the same can happen to you today. Do you want a fountain of blessing to be opened to you and cleanse you from your sin and impurity? Just confess your sins to Him right now.

The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon

According to the Bible, great armies from the west and the east will gather and assemble on this plain in the Valley of Armageddon. As the antichrist and his armies approach Jerusalem, God will intervene and Jesus Christ will return to rescue His people Isra’el. The Lord and His angelic army will destroy the armies, capture the antichrist and the false prophet, and cast them alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur (Rev 19:20).

In a sense, Armageddon is a battle that never really takes place. That is, it does not take place in accordance with its original human intent. Its human purpose is to gather the armies of the world to execute the antichrist’s “final solution” to the “Jewish problem.” This is why Yeshua Messiah chooses this moment in history for His return to earth, to thwart the antichrist’s attempted annihilation of the Jews and to destroy the armies of the world. It seems only fitting, in light of mankind’s bloody legacy, that the return of Christ should be precipitated by a worldwide military conflict against Isra’el. Thus, history is moving toward Armageddon.²⁵² Here, then, are the eight stages of this coming Campaign of Armageddon taken from Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s landmark book, The Footsteps of the Messiah.²⁵³

1. The Gathering of the Armies of the Antichrist: This stage will begin with the sixth bowl of judgment recorded in Revelation 16:12-16. With the outpouring of that bowl, the Euphrates River will be dried up. This drying process will be for the purpose of making it easier for the antichrist to assemble his forces for the Armageddon Campaign. Armageddon is a combination of two Hebrew words that mean, the mountain of Megiddo. Megiddo was strategically located on the western end of the Valley of Jezreel (Josh 17:16). The Bible nowhere refers to this valley as the Valley of Armageddon. So what is known as the Valley of Armageddon for many believers is actually the biblical Valley of Jezreel. No fighting takes place there. Here the armies of the world will gather for the purpose of destroying all the Jews still living at that time. This will be the program of the counterfeit trinity, but they will unwittingly accomplish the purpose of the triune God.

2. The Destruction of Babylon: Today Babylon is beginning to be rebuilt. One day it will be rebuilt and become the political, economic, and religious capital of the world (Zechariah 5:5-11). With the armies of the antichrist out of Babylon, the sheep Gentiles of the Tribulation (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Fc – The Sheep and the Goats) take the opportunity to destroy his capital city. Although there are many more, we will limit ourselves to several important passages in Isaiah and Jeremiah regarding the destruction of Babylon.

The prophecies of Chapters 13 and 14, and of Jeremiah 50 and 51 regarding the destruction of Babylon have never been fulfilled in the manner required by the Bible. The Babylon of past history died out slowly and was inhabited again in other generations. But the Babylon of the Great Tribulation will suffer sudden destruction. The means of destruction is explained in 13:1-5. Isaiah saw the gathering of many people in his prophecy against Babylon. The first stage saw the gathering of the forces loyal to the antichrist and Babylon; however, the second stage will see the gathering of those who wish to destroy Babylon. The details of this destruction are given in 13:6 to 14:23. It is extremely important to realize that Babylon has never been destroyed in the manner described by in the Bible. The context of 13:6-22 clearly puts the destruction of Babylon during the time of the Great Tribulation. In addition, Babylon’s destruction is connected with the final redemption of Isra’el in 14:1-2. Babylon will be like Sodom and Gomorrah in that it will be uninhabitable for any human (13:19-22). In fact, unlike other nations, Babylon will have no surviving remnant.

Jeremiah 50 and 51 also give clear details regarding the destruction of Babylon. Jeremiah 50:9-10 tells of a gathering army and then in 11-16, the graphic destruction of Babylon. Once again, this annihilation is so final that Babylon will be uninhabitable for any human. According to Jeremiah 50:39-40, it will be like Sodom and Gomorrah. And in Jeremiah 50:41-42, the prophet speaks of gathering many people against Babylon and the chapter ends in verses 45-46 with God’s decree against Babylon and the Gentile nations’ distress over the destruction of their world capital. An even more detailed description of the fall of Babylon occurs in Jeremiah 51. Babylon’s negative influence on other nations will cause God to judge her according to Jeremiah 51:7-9, and judgment will be especially severe due to Babylon’s persecution of the people of Isra’el. Because Babylon led the world to ruin, Messiah will now ruin her (Jer 51:25-26). This will bring about rejoicing from the faithful remnant and will be viewed as God’s vengeance against Babylon for her abuse of the Jews in Jeremiah 51:48-49. Jeremiah’s destruction of Babylon closes with a summary of the obliteration of Babylon.

There are two indications, both in Jeremiah, that the antichrist will not be present in Babylon when it is destroyed (Jeremiah 50:43 and 51:32). The very fact that he will have to be told that Babylon is destroyed, points to the conclusion that he will not be there when it falls. Otherwise, he would not need to be told. Then, where is he? While he was gathering with the armies of the world in the Valley of Jezreel, his enemies took the opportunity to destroy his capital city.

Before Babylon is destroyed, ADONAI will give five warnings to the Jews still living in Babylon to flee the city before it is too late. All the warnings are in the book of Jeremiah. The first is in Jeremiah 50:6-8, and the second is in Jeremiah 50:28. Those Jews who escape from Babylon will run away to Bozrah. The destruction of Babylon will be God’s vengeance on Babylon for their abuse of His people and His Temple. As the fugitives and refugees arrive from Babylon, they announce the destruction to the Jews living there (Jer 50:10 and Jer 51:45). These are the third and fourth warnings. The fifth and last warning is Jeremiah 51:50. Therefore, the Jews living in Babylon will be given warning to flee. They will fervently make their way to Bozrah.

The unexpected devastation of the world’s political, economic, and religious capital of the world will cause great anguish on the earth, but not in heaven (Rev 18:9-24). For when Babylon is destroyed, it means that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is close at hand, and along with it, the regeneration and restoration of Isra’el.

3. The Fall of Jerusalem: Although his entire army is intact when he receives the news that Babylon has fallen, the antichrist does not move east to demolish his enemies. At this point Satan controls him, and he is fixated on the annihilation of the Jews; the final solution that Hitler was unable to accomplish. So, instead of moving east, the antichrist and his army move south against Jerusalem from the Valley of Jezreel (Zechariah 12:2-3, 14:1-2). All the armies of the world will converge against the Jews in Jerusalem. Once again the City will fall into the hands of Gentiles. Half of the Jews will be made slaves and the other half will remain in the city to await their fate (Zechariah 14:2-4).

Because the LORD will greatly energize the Jews, the antichrist and his army will not have an easy time of it. They will suffer heavy losses. God will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves (Zechariah 12:3). The temporary empowerment of the Jews is described in Zechariah 12:4-9 and the battle is further described in Micah 4:11-5:1. Although the Jewish forces prove very formidable, the antichrist, his army, and the armies of the world prevail. After their victory, his soldiers will ransack the houses and rape the women of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2). With this, the third stage ends.

4. The Armies of the Antichrist Descend on Bozrah: The main concentration of Jews will be in Bozrah, in the land of Edom, in what today is Jordan. Satan continues to control the antichrist and as far as he is concerned, the main objective of the Campaign of Armageddon is to eradicate the Jews; the armies of the world move from Jerusalem to Bozrah as recorded in Jeremiah 49:13-14. “I swear by Myself,” declares the LORD, “that Bozrah will become a ruin and an object of horror, of reproach and of cursing; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.” I have heard a message from ADONAI: An envoy was sent to the nations to say, “Assemble yourselves to attack it! Rise up for battle!” So the nations of the world gather at Bozrah to destroy the remnant of Isra’el that will be gathered there (Micah 2:12). With the completion of the fourth stage, the last three days of the Campaign of Armageddon, begin the ending of the Great Tribulation.

5. The Regeneration of Isra’el: Because of the rejection of the messiahship of Yeshua by the nation of Isra’el, there is a condition that must be met before Messiah will return to establish His Kingdom. The Jews and the Jewish leaders must ask Him to come back. There must be a national regeneration and acceptance of the Messiahship of Jesus Christ. For this to happen, two conditions must be met. First, there must be a confession of Isra’el’s national sin (Leviticus 26:40-42; Isaiah 53:1-9; Jeremiah 3:11-18; Hosea 5:15), and secondly, a pleading for Messiah to return (Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 23:37-39).

First, there must be a confession of Isra’el’s national sin. With the armies of the antichrist surrounding the city of Bozrah, the Campaign of Armageddon will begin its last three days according to Hosea the prophet: Come, and let us return to the LORD; He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us, that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun arises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth (Hosea 6:1-3). It is at that time that the leaders of Isra’el will finally recognize the reason why the Great Tribulation had come upon them. Whether this will be done by the study of the Scriptures, or by the preaching of the 144,000 (Revelation 7:1-8), or by the two witnesses (Revelation 11:1-13) is not clearly stated. In reality, it will probably be a combination of these things. But the leaders will come to a realization of the national sin in some way. Just as the Jewish leaders once led the nation to the rejection of the messiahship of Jesus, they will then lead the nation to the acceptance of His messiahship by issuing the call of Hosea 6:1-3.

The second facet leading to the Second Coming is the pleading of Isra’el for the Messiah to return and save them from their predicament of having the world’s armies, intent on their destruction, gathered outside of Bozrah. The pleading of the Jews for their Messiah to save them is described in Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1. This pleading will not be confined to the Jews of Bozrah but will include the Jews still in Jerusalem. It will begin with the confession of the national sin, and then they will plead for His return to save them from their plight. They plead for the One they have pierced. This will be the result of the outpouring of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Joel 2:28-32). Regeneration is the work of the Spirit of God, and here the nation of Isra’el still alive at that time will be regenerated, creating some dramatic manifestations in their midst (Joel 2:28-29). This will be accompanied by wonders in the heavens as well (Joel 2:30-32). The result of all this is that the Jews of Jerusalem will be delivered and escape as well as the remnant of Bozrah (Isa 64:1-12; Ps 79:1-13 and 80:1-19). In conclusion, during the fifth stage, Isra’el, as a nation, will be regenerated and saved after two days of national confession of sin. On the third day (Hosea 6:1-3) they will plead for the Second Coming of Yeshua Messiah (see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ).

6. The Second Coming of Christ to Bozrah: Yeshua will return at the Jewish request for Him to do so. The initial place of His return will not be the Mount of Olives as is traditionally thought, but the place known as Bozrah (Isa 34:1-7, 63:1-6; Hab 3:3; Micah 2:12-13). Zechariah declares that: ADONAI will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah (Zec 12:7). With His return to the remnant of Isra’el at Bozrah, Jesus will indeed save the tents of Judah first before saving the Jews of Jerusalem. The term tents points to temporary dwelling places rather than permanent housing. The fact that Judah is living in tents shows that her home is temporarily elsewhere. The elsewhere is Bozrah. Revelation 19:11-16 describes the manner of His return.

7. The End of the Fighting at the Valley of Jehoshaphat: Today the world is uncomfortable with Jesus Christ being a righteous warrior. That is why Christmas is more popular than Easter. At Christmas we see a little helpless baby in a manger, but at Easter we are forced to look at the God-man dying for our sins. Before the fall of Jericho, Joshua had an encounter with a theophany, or the preincarnate Yeshua Messiah. Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of Him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua went up to Him and asked, “Are you for us or our enemies?” “Neither,” He replied, “but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked Him, “What message does my lord have for His servant. The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so (Joshua 5:13-15). The fact is that Jesus is the Commander of the army of the LORD. He had the Israelites walk around Jericho seven times, while ADONAI fought the battle alone. The same will be true when the Arm of the LORD (51:9, 52:10, 53:1 and 59:1), Jesus Christ Himself, will defeat the armies of the world alone.

Revelation 19:17-20 deals with Christ as the righteous warrior, for we see Him defeating Satan’s armies in what is often called “the Battle of Armageddon,” but in reality is the War of the Great Day of the LORD of heaven’s angelic armies (Revelation 16:14 CJB). Armageddon means Mount of Slaughter. This war will take place in a single day, and the battle of Armageddon will be just one of the battles of that war. Actually, this war will encompass more than just the Valley of Megiddo (Jezreel), but as we shall see, it will cover practically all of the land of Palestine. The battle starts at Bozrah and will continue all the way back to the eastern walls of Jerusalem which overlook the Kidron Valley, also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

Among the very first casualties of the battle will be the antichrist himself. Having ruled the world with great power and spoken against the true Son of God, the counterfeit son will be powerless before Messiah (Habakkuk 3:13b). The ease with which Christ will slay the antichrist is described by Paul in Second Thessalonians 2:8, And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The one who has claimed to be God, the one who has been able to perform all kinds of miracles, signs and wonders, the one who exercised all authority of Satan as he ruled the world, will be quickly dispensed with by the word of the Righteous Warrior. The arrival of the antichrist into hell is described in 14:3-11. And later Isaiah describes the fate of his dead body on the earth in 14:16-21. The antichrist and the false prophet will spend a thousand years in the lake of fire (Rev 20:14-15) together before the end of the Millennium. The unsaved that die prior to this time are cast into Hades, a place of torment, but not into the lake of fire, which is reserved for those who have rejected Jesus Christ. The rest of the wicked dead will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment (see the commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment) and follow the antichrist, the false prophet, and Satan into this eternal torment.

After the death of the antichrist, the slaughter of his army will continue. The Commander of the LORD’s army will continue marching through the Land in indignation, as if treading the winepress of His wrath, causing blood to be sprinkled on His garments. Zechariah 14:12-15 describes the manner in which this massive army will be destroyed. This carnage will continue all the way back to Jerusalem, coming to an end in the Valley of Jehoshaphat as Joel 3:12-13 states. The nations that have gathered against the Jews (Joel 3:9-11) will now find themselves being slaughtered by the King of the Jews. The blood from this encounter with the living God will run about one mile wide and one hundred and eighty miles long, from the Valley of Jezreel in the north of Isra’el, to Bozrah in the south and will literally reach to the horses’ bridles (Revelation 14:20). A sea of humanity will become a sea of blood. Because they did not accept the sacrifice of Messiah’s blood on the cross, they became the sacrifice. Their blood will practically cover the length of Isra’el, and when this battle comes to an end in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, so does the seventh stage of the Campaign of Armageddon.

8. The Victory Ascent Upon the Mount of Olives: After the actual fighting is completed, there will be a victory ascent upon the Mount of Olives described in Zechariah 14:3-4a. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. Here the Lord is seen fighting against the nations that had gathered against the Jews. It is only after the fighting that His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.

Along with this victory ascent, a number of cataclysmic events will occur as the Great Tribulation comes to an end. These cataclysmic events will be a result of the seventh bowl of judgment described in Revelation 16:17-21, and the fact that Christ will physically place His feet upon the Mount of Olives. With the seventh bowl, a voice cries out, It has happened, because the seventh bowl brings the Great Tribulation to a definite end. This declaration will be followed by convulsions of nature including the greatest earthquake ever to occur in the history of the earth (Zec 14:4b-5). This will cause the city of Jerusalem to split into three divisions, while the city of Babylon will suffer the full wrath of God. Many geographical changes will take place and hail will fall weighing about 100 pounds each. Not only will Zion be split in three divisions, but also the Mount of Olives will be split into two parts creating a valley running east and west. This newly formed valley will provide a way of escape for the Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem from the earthquake that will destroy the City. In this way the Jews of Zion will be rescued following the deliverance of the Jews in Bozrah.

Another cataclysmic event that will take place at this time is the blackout described in Matthew 24:29. The earthquake and the blackout are both described in Joel 3:14-17. All this will happen on the same day, the multitudes slaughtered in the Day of the LORD in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the blackout, and the earthquake. But a refuge will be provided for the Jews to escape, by means of the valley cutting through the Mount of Olives spoken of by Zechariah. With these cataclysmic events, the Great Tribulation and the Campaign of Armageddon will come to an end.

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah
63: 1-6

The second coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah DIG: Edom (symbolic for God’s enemies) means red. What might the symbols here mean? Whose blood is it? How is this the opposite of the salvation coming to Jerusalem? What does this picture of God as warrior add to the other images of Him in 62:1-12? How does the divine Warrior here in 63:1-6 parallel the divine Warrior in 59:15b-21? What does He mean when He says: The year of My redemption has come?

REFLECT: Does this scene seem harsh or righteous to you? Does it worry you or give you comfort? Why? Where do you think you will be when this scene plays itself out? Why do you think the world rejects this message? How do you feel about Jesus as a divine Warrior (Joshua 5:1315; Numbers 21:14)? Isaiah 60:1 to 63:6 portrays what the coming Kingdom of God will be like. It will include judgment of those who rebelled against Him. Is this comforting or disturbing to you? Why?

Heaven connects with earth.

This passage forms an independent oracle on the final triumph of God over Isra’el’s enemies, which is preliminary to the redemption. The image presented is one of the most impressive and awe-inspiring in the TaNaKh and it is difficult to say which is most to be admired, the dramatic vividness of the vision, or the discretion which conceals the actual work of slaughter and concentrates the attention on the Divine Hero as He emerges victorious from the conflict. A solitary and majestic figure, in blood-red clothing, is seen approaching from the direction of Edom. A question of surprise escapes from the prophet’s lips as he sees the singular and startling apparition; and a brief reply comes from afar. The Hero is none other than the God of Isra’el.

Once again the single-handed aspect of the Messiah’s Second Coming is shown (59:15b-29). A watchman (see 62:6) is standing at some high point in Jerusalem looking to the southeast to Bozrah (the modern-day Buseirah). It is located about 25 miles southeast of the southern end on the Dead Sea in what is today Jordan. It was an important city in Edom and was a sheep-herding center. The name means grape-gathering.

The watchman sees a very graphic figure coming toward him from the land of Edom and the city of Bozrah (in Hebrew) or Petra (in Greek). The origin of the Second Coming is Bozrah (34:1-7). Habakkuk also brings this point out. God came from Teman (Ta-MAUN), The Holy One from Mount Paran (Habakkuk 3:3). Teman is just north of Bozrah towards Jerusalem. So for Jesus to get to Jerusalem, God would have to come from Teman. Teman and Mount Paran are both in the vicinity of Bozrah and are located in the same Mount Seir. The watchman asks: Who is this coming from Bozrah, from Edom (63:1a)?

The Bible clearly pinpoints the beginning of the Second Coming at the city of Bozrah. But why Bozrah? Because that is where the believing remnant will be hiding in the last days (Micah 2:12-13), which is why the antichrist and the armies of the world are drawn to Bozrah. Satan knows that Isra’el is the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:10) and he knows Scripture (Matthew 4:1-11). So he and his armies are drawn, like a fish with a hook in their mouths to Bozrah to destroy the Jews once and for all (Jeremiah 49:12-13). But this would not be a permanent home for the believing remnant; it was a temporary home. That is why Zechariah 12:7 to 13:1 says that the LORD will save the tents of Judah first. In other words, when Jesus Christ comes back a second time, He will come to Bozrah first, saving the believing remnant, before going to Jerusalem through Teman.

The watchman enters into a discussion with this fast approaching figure. He asks: Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with His garments stained crimson. The Hebrew word for red is of the same root as Edom, therefore red (adom) is a wordplay on Edom (edom). A winepress was usually a shallow pit with a hole on the side leading out to a container. As individuals trampled on grapes in the press, the juice flowed through the hole into the container. Obviously some juice would also splatter on the workers’ clothes. The watchman continues to ask: Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of His strength (63:1b-c)?

The divine Warrior answers: It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save (63:1d). Who is this Person? The One whose constant characteristic is speaking what is righteous. The idols cannot do this for they do not know either the past or the future (43:9). Only One has the power that is mighty to save. This is an important point. These verses are ultimately not about judgment or destruction – they are about salvation. Because the enemy is destroyed, His people are delivered (52:7-12). What did the watchman see? He saw the arm of the LORD (59:1), Yeshua Messiah marching toward Jerusalem. The salvation that was announced in 62:11 will then be seen.

But now the divine Warrior has approached close enough for the watchman to see more details. He noticed that His clothing, though brilliantly shining with the Sh’khinah glory, is nevertheless stained with blood. That raises the second question. Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress (63:2)? In Isaiah’s day, people would get into the winepress barefooted and trample out the grapes. The red juice would spurt out the ripe grapes and stain their garments. The Hebrew actually reads: Why is there such redness in your garments? In Revelation 19:13 we are also told that He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood. Several commentaries say that the blood Christ is stained with is His own blood that had been shed for the believing remnant. But this is not His own blood, but that of the enemy.

Next, we learn that He has come from the trampling of the nations, or defeating the antichrist and the armies of the world. He did it all by Himself. The Warrior’s answer to the question above begins here and continues through verse 6. There was no one to help Him in His awful task. Earlier He had said: I saw that there was no one, I was appalled that there was no one to intervene but Me; so My own arm worked salvation for Me and My own righteousness sustained Me (59:16). So Jesus declared again: I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one in the whole world was with Me (63:3a). Yeshua Messiah was alone on the cross, and He will be alone in His judgment. How would it be possible for the millennial Jerusalem to exist? Only because Messiah made it possible.

The watchman sees that there is blood on His beautiful garments just as if He had trampled the winepress. The word blood here is nesah, meaning squirting blood. We are told clearly that two armies will return with Him. One is an angelic army (Matthew 16:24), the other is the army of believers (Jude 14-15; Revelation 19:14a). But neither the angles nor believers participate in any of the fighting. The image used here is the treading of the winepress. Jesus Christ declared: I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My wrath; their blood spattered My garments and I stained all My clothing (63:3b).

God’s wrath is also pictured as being like a winepress. He attacked the enemies of His people and trampled them under foot like grapes, so that their lifeblood has spurted out and spattered His garments. This imagery is used in Haggai 2:16, and also in Revelation 14:19-20 where the final treading of the nations is viewed as the treading of the grapes in the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the City, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia or about 180 miles or 300 kilometers (see my commentary on Revelation, to see link click Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armgeddon).

Now comes the explanation: For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption has come (63:4). But doesn’t all this carnage merely suggest a heavenly tyrant out of control? Is this not blood lust? No! But what about the word vengeance? Doesn’t that convey a mean spirit of revenge and bitterness? It might if it were by itself, but the parallelism in the context of the verse speaks volumes. What is the vengeance about? Payback? No, its about redemption, about breaking the power of sin and evil so that those who are held captive can go free. The very thing that Isaiah prayed for in 62:12 is now being fulfilled when Messiah says: The year of My redemption has come.

I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so My own arm worked salvation for Me, and My own wrath sustained Me (63:5). This verse reemphasizes that Christ will fight alone. There was no one else in the world that could help. There is no one else in the world that can save Jerusalem from the invading armies of the antichrist. Therefore, God’s own arm worked salvation for the Jews. This is the ninth and last of nine references to the arm of the LORD in Isaiah (30:30 and 32, 40:10, 50:2, 51:5 and 9, 52:10, 53:1, 59:1 and 16, 62:8). His own wrath sustained Him during this campaign.

The results are seen. Messiah says: I trampled the nations in My anger (63:6a). Paul records a similar thought: and then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet (First Corinthians 15:24-25). After capturing five Amorite kings, Joshua summoned all the men of Isra’el, and he said to the army commanders who had come with him, Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings. So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.

This is a form of public humiliation of defeated enemy leaders and was usually the climax of warfare in the ancient Near East. When the statue of Sadam Hussein was brought down in front of an international audience, the people trampled it and hit it with their shoes to show their contempt for him. The monuments of ancient Egypt, Assyria, and Persia give numerous illustrations of the custom of conquerors trampling on the vanquished. In the cave at Beit el Walley in Nubia is a hieroglyphic description of Ramses II trampling on his enemies. It reads, “Kol, the strange land, is beneath your sandals.” At the foot of a wooden mummy case in the British Museum are painted the soles of two shoes, and on each is the figure of a man with his arms and hands tied behind him, and his feet tied at the ankles. In this helpless state he is supposed to be trampled on by the wearer of the shoes. It was a very expressive illustration of mingled triumph and contempt. These customs strikingly illustrate the text and numerous parallel passages (Ps 8:6, 110:1, 119:118; Isaiah 14:19, 25:10, 28:3 and 18; Lam 1:15, 3:34; Dan 8:13; Micah 7:10; Malachi 4:3; Luke 21:24; Rom 16:20 and Hebrews 10:29).251

The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed (Revelation 5:5). Here Ha’Shem says: In My wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground (63:6b). The lifeblood shed and therefore His wrath was decisively finished. To those who do not fully understand the true nature of ADONAI, verses like this seem contrary to the character of ADONAI. They believe that the LORD is love, and that is true. The LORD is love. But if a person rejects Christ, the sacrifice, he or she becomes the sacrifice. On the cross, God the Father poured out His wrath on God the Son as a punishment for sin (53:5). So anyone who rejects His sacrifice is cursed. This is what we see in the Second Coming, a world who has rejected Messiah being held accountable. Those who reject this truth only want to see the LORD as love because they want to be able to sin with no accountability. The truth does not set them free, they choose to believe a lie, and in the end they will spend eternity apart from Christ and His love. Then He will say to those on His left: Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Mattityahu 25:41). Their death is only the result of refusing to avail themselves of His death.

Therefore, Isaiah has given a vision of how his prayer and the angels’ prayer of Chapter 62 is going to be fulfilled. These verses describe how salvation will come, how His reward is with Him, how His judgment is with Him, and how He will save His redeemed ones. However, it is a clear teaching of Scripture that the Second Coming cannot occur until the Jewish people ask for it. That is what Isaiah describes next.

You Will Be Called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted
62: 10-12

You will be called sought after, the city no longer deserted DIG: What time period is the prophet writing about here? How is the concept of a highway used in the book? What does Isaiah mean when he says that exiles of Israel from the four corners of the earth? How are the people prepared? Why is a proclamation necessary? What will be the reward for faithfulness? What will be the judgment for rebellion? How will Zion be different? What words are used to picture a restored relationship?

REFLECT: Some people think God’s wrath is an idea only seen in the TaNaKh. How would you respond to that idea in light of Revelation 19:11-16? How do you feel about this as a description of Jesus Christ (also see Romans 2:5-9 and Second Thessalonians 1:6-10)? Do you have a personal relationship with Yeshua Messiah (to see link click Jd – Yet It Was the LORD’s Will to Crush Him and Cause Him to Suffer).

Given the certainty of the promises of ADONAI in 62:1-9, what should the people do? They needed to act on their faith and get ready. The prophet calls for preparation to be made for the return of the King at the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom. This has been the theme of the book, especially from 40:1 onward. The image of the highway serves this point very well (11:16, 35:8, 49:11). It has been the means by which the Israelites return home from the four corners of the earth. In 11:11-12, the Hebrew word for corners in this phrase is kanaph. It is translated in a variety of ways; however, it generally means extremity. It is translated borders in Numbers 15:38. In Ezeki’el 7:2 it is translated four corners, while in Job 37:3 and 38:13 it is translated ends. There are many ways in which the Ruach Ha’Kodesh could have said corner: pinoh is used in reference to the cornerstones; paioh means a geometric corner; ziovyoh means right angle; krnouth refers to a projecting corner; if the LORD wanted to convey the idea of a square, four-cornered earth, the Hebrew word paamouth could have been used.

It is doubtful than any observant Jew would ever have misunderstood the true meaning of kanaph. For about 2,000 years, religious Jews have faced the city of Jerusalem three times daily and chanted the following prayer: Sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the banner for gathering our exiles, and gather us together from the four corners of the earth in our own Land.

First, there is a preparation for the return of the people. And whenever Isaiah gets excited about something he uses the doubling because it conveys a sense of urgency. Pass through, pass through the gates (62:10a)! Isaiah has used this literary device several times from Chapter 40 on (40:1, 51:9 and 17, 52:1 and 11, 57:14, and here in 62:10 and 65:1). Quickly the people are to prepare themselves for His coming. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones or any other hindrances. Raise the banner, for the Gentile nations are to be informed that King Messiah is coming to Zion (62:10b). Isaiah has used the concept of the banner before in Chapter 11. There Isaiah dealt with Messiah’s relationship with the Gentile nations during the Messianic Kingdom (see the commentary on Revelation Fk – Gentiles in the Messianic Kingdom). The prophet said that Jesus will be the center of Gentile attraction: In that day, the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the Gentile nations . . . and gather the exiles of Isra’el from the four corners of the earth (11:10 and 12).

Secondly, a proclamation is given. When the Lord arrives a proclamation will be given throughout the ends of the earth that He is Isra’el’s Savior (63:11a). They are to hear of what God has done for Zion so they can send her children back to her. As they were once called to raise a banner to attack Isra’el (5:26), so at the end of the age the coming of Jesus Christ will again be a banner. See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up My banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders (49:22). But during the Millennial Kingdom, instead of hostility they will bring gifts (see Jv – The Attraction of the Gentiles).

Thirdly, salvation comes. Say to the Daughter of Zion, “See, your salvation comes! The salvation pledged in 56:1 is imminent. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense or the fruit of work accompanies Him” (63:11b). The Hebrew word for salvation is Yeshua. He is salvation itself, and when He comes the Gentile nations must know that the Messiah is present in Zion. Therefore, God the Father is announcing the coming of God the Son. For the believers there will be reward, the garments of salvation (61:10), but for the unbelievers there will be only judgment (see the commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment). At that time, the Daughter of Zion will no longer have to pretend to be something great (3:16-23), for ADONAI will give her His beauty as a gift in the sight of all the Gentile nations.

Fourthly, the results will be a restored relationship. The Israelites will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted (62:12). All four of the terms used here – Holy People, Redeemed of the LORD, Sought After and the City No Longer Deserted – are terms pointing to a relationship. He will have a restored relationship with the people of Zion first, and consequently, a restored relationship with the Gentile nations because the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jews, then for the Gentile (Romans 1:16).

The people of Isra’el cannot be called holy today. Only a small believing remnant is redeemed. Jerusalem is a secular, forsaken city right now, but a day will come when things are different. The experience of God’s salvation will transform Isra’el spiritually and the Promised Land physically. At that time the people will be called holy and the Land will be greatly desired. What a glorious future it will be.

I Have Posted Watchmen on Your Walls
They Will Never Be Silent Day or Night
62: 6-9

I have posted watchmen on your walls they will never be silent day or night DIG: Normally, watchmen were guards who kept a lookout for enemies approaching their city, but what is the purpose of the watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem? What are these watchmen unlike those seen in 56:10? What are they calling out for the LORD to do? Why will they have no rest?

REFLECT: Is there anything you want so much that you will neither rest, nor give God a rest, until you see it come to pass? What does this mean for your prayer life? How might the prayer to establish Jerusalem relate to the request in the Lord’s prayer, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done (Matthew 6:10)? If you prayed that prayer consistently and sincerely, how might that begin to affect your priorities? Your perspective on life? How might it lead you to prepare the way for God’s Kingdom?

I, ADONAI, have posted watchman on your walls, O Jerusalem (62:6a). God has set watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem to remind Him constantly of His promises to the City; for He has sworn that never again shall it be plundered by enemies or strangers, but it will enjoy the fruits of its labor in security and peace. Here we have a second group praying for Isra’el’s restoration (the first being the believing remnant) in light of God’s promises in Chapters 60 and 61. These watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem pray for that same goal.

We learn that they will never be silent day or night (62:6b). The fact that they have been praying since the days of Isaiah and will continue to pray until the Messianic Kingdom is established must mean they cannot be human. They can only be angels and are God’s remembrances. The Hebrew word is mazkir meaning, one who reminds. During the days of Isaiah, there were officials whose duty it was to keep records and to bring to the attention of the king anything that needed to be accomplished (Second Samuel 18:6; First Kings 4:3 and Isaiah 36:3). In Second Kings 18:18 the noun is actually translated recorder. Here then ADONAI, the heavenly King, is reassuring His people with imagery familiar to them that He will not forget what He has promised to do. This is the modern Hebrew word for secretary. So the LORD Himself has set up a special group of angels that function in the same way. They have the duty of keeping God’s attention on the fact that He has made a commitment to the final restoration of Isra’el and they are to continually remind Him of His commitment until it has been accomplished.

One might ask why God would need to be reminded of His promises, but that is to read the imagery in an overly literal way. ADONAI is asserting that He will never forget what He has promised, no matter how dark the days may become between the hour the prophet speaks it and the day of its fulfillment. To make that point again (he had made it earlier in 49:15-16), Isaiah uses the imagery of the court. God will not forget, but just to be sure we have that same confidence, He lets us know through Isaiah that He has appointed angelic remembrances whose sole duty is to say, “Sir, don’t forget what you have said about Jerusalem.” Will He forget? Obviously not. Not only will He not allow Himself to rest, for He who watches over Isra’el will neither slumber or sleep (Psalm 121:4), neither will He allow those angels to rest until the day when His vision for a redeemed Isra’el is fully accomplished.²⁵⁰ So in a sense these angelic remembrances are more for our comfort than for His memory. To that end they who call on the LORD, will get no rest, and give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth (62:6c-7).

Lastly, we see the results of their prayer. When God restores Isra’el and Jerusalem, her produce will no longer be given to her enemies. ADONAI has sworn by His right hand symbolizing personal intervention, and by His mighty arm symbolizing the power to be employed in the deliverance of Isra’el from her captors (62:8a). This is the eighth of nine references to the arm of the LORD in Isaiah (30:30 and 32, 40:10, 50:2, 51:5 and 9, 52:10, 53:1, 59:1 and 16, 63:5). It is not surprising that God confirms what He is saying with an oath that only depends on one thing alone, His own strength and faithfulness represented by His mighty arm. As a result, it is on the Messiah Himself that ADONAI stakes the validity of His promises.

How secure will the City be when God’s promises are fulfilled during the Messianic Kingdom? So secure that the curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) will never apply again. Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine from which you have toiled; but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather grapes will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary during the Millennial Kingdom (62:8b-9a). These verses confirm all that has been promised or implied from 61:10 to 62:7.

Those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of the LORD’s Millennial Temple (62:9b). So in 62:1-5 it was the prophet who was praying for Isra’el’s restoration in light of God’s promises, in 62:6-9 we see that angels are praying for that goal, and in Romans 10, Rabbi Shaul was praying for that goal. And we should be praying towards that goal as well. This longing is contagious. The thirsty soul longs to drink of the peace of Jerusalem. Therefore, pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure (Psalm 122:6). ADONAI places great importance on praying for the peace of Jerusalem. The prophets do it, apostles do it, angels do it, certainly we should do it as well! Part of the model prayer that Yeshua taught us to pray was, Your Kingdom come. So we should be praying for His Kingdom to come, and part of that would be to make Yerushalayim the praise of the earth.

You Will be a Crown of Splendor in the LORD’s Hand,
a Royal Diadem in the Hand of Your God
62: 1-5

You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God DIG: What is ADONAI’s intent for the Israelites? What does each new name indicate about God’s new relationship with His people (62:4, 12; also see 60:14, 18)? Why is a new name so important for Zion? What names and words have been associated with her in the past? Why? Why will they no longer be appropriate? What does the picture of marriage communicate about God’s relationship to His people Isra’el (compare 62:5 with 61:10)? How does Jerusalem, the Wife of the LORD (60:1-22) parallel to Jerusalem, the Wife of the LORD here?

REFLECT: Of the new names ADONAI gives to the people He saves, which one means the most to you right now? Why? Do you normally tend to think of God’s relationship with you as that of a bride to her waiting bridegroom? Or a judge to a criminal? Why? How does each picture affect your view of Him? Of yourself? What does it mean to you personally that the LORD keeps His promises to Isra’el?

Isaiah will not be silent until Zion’s cause is vindicated, her fame and glory are universally acknowledged, she and her children are reunited, and God rejoices over her as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. The reason Jerusalem can’t have peace today is because her Messiah is not there; there will be no peace until the Prince of Peace comes (9:6b).

For Zion’s sake I, ADONAI, will not keep silent; for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet until her righteousness shines out like the dawn and her salvation is like a burning torch (62:1). Isaiah’s prayer is based on God’s promises in Chapters 60 and 61. In those chapters the LORD clearly spells out what He intends to do on behalf of Isra’el as a nation and Jerusalem in particular. And He has spelled out the exaltation of Jerusalem in the Millennial Kingdom. But knowing all that ADONAI intends to do for Isra’el and Jerusalem does not keep Isaiah from praying to that end. In Romans 9 we learn that although God is sovereign and in control of the events that come to pass according to His will, He not only ordains the end but also the means. And among the means are the prayers of believers. So on the basis of God’s promises, Isaiah prays for the fulfillment of the LORD’s promises in Chapters 60 and 61. The result of the prayer, in 62:2-5, is the restoration of the abandoned and desolate City.

Next, Isaiah emphasizes Jerusalem’s righteousness when that day comes. He says: The nations will see your righteousness and all kings your glory (61:2a). How will her glory be seen? Her new name will reflect her new character. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow (61:2b). A new heart, a new position, a new earth and a new righteousness demand a new name. In the ancient Near East names often signified one’s anticipated or present character. So Jerusalem’s having a new name means it will have a new righteous character. This will solely be the work of God because the very mouth of ADONAI will have spoken it. Isaiah does not tell us this new name in his day. But the prophet Ezeki’el revealed it over one hundred years later when he prophesied about Jerusalem during the millennial Kingdom saying: And the name of the City from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE (Ezeki’el 48:35).

The uniqueness of Isra’el was the fact that ADONAI dwelt in her midst. His continued presence, however, was her obedience to the Covenant by which she promised to be a holy people to her holy God. This was in striking contrast to the surrounding nations whose worship was as cruel and immoral as their gods. The LORD had promised His presence among His people from the beginning (Exodus 3:2, 14-14, 23:20, 33:14-16). First, the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-38), and then the Temple (Second Chronicles 7:1-3) were both places where His Sh’khinah glory dwelt among His people. The presence of God was, and is, the hope and end of all prophecy. Consequently, the fullest meaning of this prophecy will be realized during the millennial Kingdom when Messiah rules and reigns from Jerusalem, and she is called the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Isra’el (60:14b).

ADONAI Shammah means THE LORD IS THERE (Deuteronomy 7:21; Isaiah 48:16; Zephaniah 3:5 and 15). Wherever I go, ADONAI is there. Whatever sticky situation I get myself into, God is there. Whenever I am afraid, the LORD of heaven’s angelic armies is there to protect me. I am never, ever alone because my faithful Savior is always there with me.

Isaiah moves from the aspect of righteousness to the aspect of beauty. You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God (62:3). Only ADONAI can be Jerusalem’s glorious crown. Here Yerushalayim is viewed as wearing the royal diadem on the turban of the high priest (see my commentary on Exodus, to see link click Gc – Make a Plate and Engrave On It: Holy to the LORD), and fulfilling her function as the capital City of a nation of priests. Zion will display His splendor and at that time His character will be displayed through her.

Back in Chapter 54 Isaiah pointed out that there would be a remarriage between the LORD and the deserted wife, Jerusalem, who had been divorced from God and punished for her spiritual adultery. But now we are told there will be a restoration and a remarriage. Isra’el is also going to have a new position. And that remarriage is emphasized in 62:4-5.

You will no longer be spoken of as ‘Azuvah (Abandoned), or your Land be spoken of as ‘Sh’mamah (Desolate) the previous characteristics of the city (62:4a CJB). Back in 1:7, God had said to Isra’el: Your Land is desolate. He called on them to recognize that fact and change it. The rest of the book between Chapter 1 and 62 is about how the desolate can become married. The message is that it is only possible when the Israelites surrender their foolish desire to exalt themselves, with all the human destruction that this desire entails, entrust themselves to God, receive His free grace, made available to them through the Servant, and accept His commission to become His witnesses (servants) in the world.²⁴⁸ No, these two names would no longer be valid, but two other names would take their place.

Rather, you will be called Heftzi-Vah (My delight is in her, which was also the name of Manasseh in Second Kings 21:1) and your Land Be’ulah (married). For ADONAI delights in you, and your land will be married (62:4b CJB). Instead of Abandoned, God said they would be called My delight is in her. And in place of the name Desolate, God would then call the Land married. The emptied City and the wasted Land will become objects of His delight, devotion and joy. The new names My delight is in her and Married are explained as the wedding and the honeymoon respectively.

As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you (62:5). We see that as a young man marries a virgin, so will ADONAI view this remarriage (Jeremiah 3:8). Isra’el will be so thoroughly cleansed and purified of her sins that she will be looked upon as a virgin again. As a bridegroom rejoices over His bride so the LORD will rejoice over Isra’el. He does not see Himself as Zion’s Destroyer, but as her Husband, who will care for her, nourish her, and protect her.²⁴⁹

Have you ever noticed the way a groom looks at his bride during the wedding? If the light is right, you can see a tiny reflection in his eyes. Her reflection. And the sight of her reminds him why he is there. His jaw relaxes and his forced smile softens. He forgets he’s wearing a tux. He forgets his sweat-soaked shirt . . . When he sees her, any thought of escape becomes a joke again. For it’s written all over his face, “Who could bear to live without this bride?” And such are precisely the feelings of the Messiah. Look long enough into the eyes of our Savior and, there, too, you will see the bride. Dressed in fine linen. Clothed in pure grace . . . She is the bride . . . walking toward Him . . . And who is this bride for whom Jesus longs? . . . You are. For you have captured the heart of ADONAI.

The Redemption of Jerusalem and Isra’el
62:1 to 63:6

Chapter 62 continues the thoughts of Chapters 60 and 61, particularly 61:10-11. The themes of light, revelation of ADONAI’s righteousness and salvation to the nations, the joy of marriage, relief from oppression, and restoration of the land are all prominent. The chapter seems to be particularly concerned with the question raised in 61:11. How sure can one be that these glorious promises will actually come true? Chapter 60, in particular, represents the redemption of Jerusalem as an accomplished fact. But that was still in the future from the hearers’ point of view. Will it really happen? Yes, and not only will Yerushalayim be redeemed, but so will her people Isra’el be redeemed. To be sure, the enemies of the LORD must be destroyed if the people of God are to know His blessing.²⁴⁷

It is not unusual for Isaiah to alternate between different time periods. Normally he alternates between near historical and far eschatological prophecies. But here, Isaiah alternates between two far eschatological prophecies and a prophecy about the Suffering Servant. The way you can distinguish between the two is the context.

Far Eschatological Prophecy (58:1 to 60:1-22)

The Suffering Servant (61:1-11)

Far Eschatological Prophecy (62:1 to 66:24)

All Who See Them Will Acknowledge
that They are a People the LORD Has Blessed
61: 4-11

All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed DIG: Are the promises in these verses primarily material or spiritual? Why? Priests were supported by the gifts of the worshipers, so what is the implication in 61:6? How expensive is this priesthood? Who are the worshipers? Why is God going to do this for the people? Here we see the response to the LORD’s promises. In what way are they like a bride? A garden? What emotions are these images meant to convey?

REFLECT: If you are a Gentile, how do you feel about theses verses? Even though it is Scripture, does any of it rub you the wrong way? If you are Jewish, how do you feel about these verses? Is it payback time? In your response to God’s promises, are you like a woman preparing for marriage, or one wondering whether to go out on a second date? Why?

After Messiah’s Second Coming Isra’el will rebuild her ruined cities and restore the places devastated long ago; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations (61:4). In 54:3 and 58:12, the promise was made that no matter how devastated the ruins, nor how desolate the Land, God will make sure it is rebuilt. Isaiah has already said that Babylon (to see link click Dk – Babylon, the Jewel of Kingdoms, will be Overthrown), and Edom (see Gi – Edom’s Streams Will Be Turned into Pitch), would be destroyed, never to be rebuilt. But the opposite is true for Isra’el. No matter how terrible her ruin, new life for Isra’el will spring up again (see Kp – My Chosen People Will Inherit My Mountains).

What will happen when Isra’el is restored? Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards (61:5). Two extremes are ruled out. On the one hand, aliens and foreigners will no longer oppress Isra’el, and Isra’el will no longer bow down to them and their gods. A day is coming when she will fear the Gentile nations no more. Although history may seem to suggest that the gods of the Gentiles are greater than the God of Isra’el, in the end, it will be crystal clear that they are not.

And you will be called cohanin of ADONAI, or priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God (61:6a). Isra’el will, at long last, become a nation of priests. God said that He called and redeemed Isra’el from Egypt so that they would become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19: 5-6). Because of their sin this has never been attained. Isra’el has totally failed to keep God’s Covenant with them. But success will ultimately come in the Millennium when Isra’el will be called priests of the LORD, and will also be named ministers of our God.

Isra’el is not the ruler of the world, but priests of the world. It is not that the gods of the nations are discredited and that Isra’el, having been chosen the winner as it were, is then to be in a position of power and privilege. Rather, the gods are discredited in order that the nations may come, through Isra’el, to a knowledge of the one true God and Savior (45:14-15). Isra’el’s exalted position is to be one not of privilege but of responsibility. A priest is to be a mediator between humans and God, assisting humans in their worship of God and the ways of God, as did the Levitical priests (see the commentary on Exodus Ft – The Levitical Priesthood). Isra’el is to be a priest to the nations. This understanding of Isra’el’s calling and function has been explicit from the call of Abram, All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3b).²⁴⁵ When Isra’el fulfills her calling, instead of receiving grief, heartache, and persecution, she will receive the wealth of the Gentile nations (60:10-14), and in their riches she will boast (61:6b).

Instead of their shame My people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance (61:7a). Isra’el will receive a double blessing following double punishment. Remember in this section God is dealing with the third part of 40:2, his three-fold message: that she had received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. So double punishment will give way to double blessing when all Isra’el will be saved (Romans 11:26). Instead of shame and disgrace, the disgrace of defeat and captivity, of having seemingly been deserted by, or worse, failed by, one’s God, there will be the honor of a double portion.

And so they will inherit a double portion in their Land, and everlasting joy will be theirs (61:7b). The double portion refers to the inheritance that the eldest son in a family would receive from the father’s estate (Deuteronomy 21:17). The eldest son was given special honor. Similarly, Isra’el, the Lord’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22) will be honored. As a result, instead of dishonor, there will be honor; instead of dispossession, there will be possession of twice what had been before. We have seen throughout this study of Isaiah, and throughout the Scriptures in general, that God is a promise keeper. He will fulfill His promises to His people Isra’el for all eternity. Everlasting joy will be their double portion. It will be fullness of joy! What a day that will be.

For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In My faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting Covenant with them (61:8). The culmination of these blessings is that God will make a New Covenant with the house of Isra’el and the house of Jacob (Jeremiah 31:31-34). God loves justice, and He hates robbery and iniquity. Therefore, God promises this reward to the faithful remnant. Not to keep His everlasting Covenant with them would be an injustice and robbery.

Their descendants will be known among the Gentile nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people of the LORD, whom He has blessed (61:9). At that time Isra’el’s standing will be that she will be known among the nations, and the entire Gentile world will confess and acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed. All those who say that the Church has replaced Isra’el in Scripture and that because of Isra’el’s sin, all the promises that God made to Isra’el will now be conferred upon the Church will have to confess and acknowledge that Isra’el is a people the LORD has blessed. They will have to admit that replacement theology (that the Church has replaced Isra’el) is a false teaching. All amillennialists will have to admit that there really will be a thousand year reign of Christ ruling and reigning from Jerusalem. They will realize that His word is true and that He is the Promise Keeper.

In the next two verses the prophet seems to be speaking for the redeemed remnant who will rejoice in response to ADONAI’s blessing in 61:1-9. I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God (61:10a). Salvation and righteousness are pictured as clothes worn by the holy ones (Deuteronomy 33:2-3). In other words, the Israelites will be characterized by salvation (God’s redeemed people) and righteousness (God’s own righteousness being transferred to their spiritual account).

For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness (61:10b). The chapter ends with a description of Isra’el’s righteousness. Salvation and righteousness are pictured as clothes worn by the people of Isra’el. The LORD will clothe her with the garments of salvation and in a robe of righteousness. Those to whom He wraps in His robe of righteousness, not only experience salvation, but are empowered by the Ruach ha-Kodesh to live righteously. ADONAI commands righteousness, and by His power alone, He provides it.

As a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels (61:10c). The simile used here is that of the bride and the bridegroom. To picture their joy and blessing the bridegroom adorns his head like a priest (Exodus 39:28 and Ezeki’el 44:18). Again the emphasis is that Isra’el will become a nation of priests. And the bride adorns herself with her jewels. The adornment of the head of the bridegroom with a linen turban was a Jewish custom until the destruction of the second Temple by the Romans. As a result of the destruction of the Temple and as a symbol of mourning the rabbis forbid the bridegrooms from wearing linen turbans on their heads. For a similar reason the bride also was not allowed to wear a wedding crown. Isaiah is saying that will be restored some day. And not only will Isra’el be righteous, she will produce righteousness before the Gentile nations.

Where in the past Israel’s sins caused God’s name to be profaned among the nations, in the future Israel’s righteousness will produce righteousness among the nations. There will be material benefits and physical improvements to the Land, but the true blessings will be spiritual in that day. For just as the earth brings forth its plants, or a garden makes its plants spring up, so ADONAI will cause victory and glory to spring up, or be known by, before all the Gentile nations (61:11 CJB). If nature is reliable, how much more so is the Creator of nature! He will plant righteousness in the garden of Isra’el, and it will spring up like flowers in a garden (see 45:8 for the same promise). Faithfulness springs up from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven, the LORD will indeed give what is good, and our Land will yield its harvest (Psalm 85:11-12).

For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness (61:10b) has significance today to observant Jews, or Jews who practice their faith, in that they believe that a deceased man or woman is made ready to meet God by a physical ritual purification or teharah. They make an incredible effort to come before God in a physically “clean” state, even if there are no guarantees that it will make them acceptable to God. Religious Jews believe that mankind is composed of body and soul, and the soul is the essence of each person contained within the living body. They also believe that when a person dies, the neshama, or the soul, maintains consciousness and remains near the body until it is buried. Because of this they comfort the soul by reciting Psalms and providing a shomer for the body of the deceased. A shomer is an honor guard, a Sabbath-observant Jew, who will accompany the body (and soul according to their belief) from the moment the teharah is completed until the time of the funeral.

The deceased is washed and dressed by members of the Chevra Kadisha, which means the holy brotherhood. The body is carefully washed and dried, in a specific order, by members of the same gender; fingernails and toenails are cleaned. All jewelry and other objects are removed. After this, the deceased is “made pure” through immersion in running water. If the location where the taharah takes place does not have a mikvah (body of water used only for ritual immersion to achieve a state of ritual purity), a cascade of water must be poured over the body. The body must be completely clean and bare, with nothing foreign on it, before being immersed in the mikvah. Once the deceased is declared pure, the body is gently dried and dressed in shrouds of white linen. All throughout the taharah, particular prayers and portions of the TaNaKh are recited, Isaiah 61:10 being one of them.²⁴⁶

But sadly, all these preparations cannot produce a right standing before God. It is only through faith, trust, and belief in Yeshua Messiah, Jesus Christ, that we can present ourselves dressed in fine linen, white and clean (Revelation 3:4-5. 4:4, 19:14), and knowing that it is He who dresses us in His righteousness.

And the Day of Vengeance of Our God
61: 2b-3

And the day of vengeance of our God DIG: During times of grief, people would put on sackcloth and cover themselves with ashes as a sign of their mourning. What will God clothe the Jews with?

REFLECT: How do these verses relate to your experience of the Good News? Do you feel as though you are “wearing ashes?” Or are you “trying on new clothes?” Why? In what way do you especially want to see God being this freedom to you?

The Second Coming (Revelation 19), and the many lesser events leading up to and following it, is primarily what prophecy is all about. It is without a doubt the greatest story of the future to be found anywhere in our world. No religion, no culture, and no literature offers anything comparable. In fact, the Bible’s teachings about the future have inspired many to turn from their sins to find Messiah as their Lord and Savior.

Where is the bride of Christ, the Church, at the time of the Second Coming? At the Rapture (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click By – The Rapture of the Church) Jesus will come for His holy ones (Psalm 16:3). Before the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ, the Church will be caught up together in the clouds (First Thessalonians 5:17). The Church is not appointed to suffer the wrath of the Tribulation (First Thessalonians 5:9 and Revelation 3:10). Therefore, at the end of the Tribulation and at the Second Coming, Yeshua comes with His Church made up of Jewish and Gentile believers (Ephesians 2:14). Believers, or the armies of heaven, will be following Christ, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean (Revelation 19:14).

While the purpose of the First Coming was to preach the gospel, to conquer sin, and to bring a spiritual redemption, the purpose of His Second Coming was to bring physical redemption to a restored Isra’el. So when He comes a second time it will be the day of vengeance of our God (61:2b). This phrase is one of the many names in the Bible for the Great Tribulation and follows His First Coming, or the year of ADONAI’s favor (61:2a). The “day” of vengeance, a sharp, quick, day of judgment, contrasts the “year” of ADONAI’s favor.

He will comfort all Jews who mourn at the end of the Great Tribulation. Those who mourn for their own sin and for the sin of the devastated condition of Jerusalem will hear words of comfort from God. This theme goes all the way back to the song of praise in 12:1-6, where its clear that their grief is over the fear they had committed unpardonable sins that would banish them from the LORD’s presence forever (also see 40:1-2 and 49:13). But here, ADONAI declares a time of favor, where He will accept them despite their sin. That is the Good News! But how can a holy God accomplish this fact? It is the ministry of the Servant (see Iy – The Death of the Suffering Servant). But the LORD has reconciled His people on the cross and they didn’t need to mourn any longer.

More specifically, He was anointed to provide for those who grieve in Zion (61:2c-3a). So Messiah was anointed to accomplish three things for the Jews in His Second Coming. Note the downward movement of heavenly outpouring (psalm 133); from the crown (Exodus 39:28; Isaiah 3:20, 61:10), to the head of oil, to the garment on the body.

First, He will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes (61:3b). In 60:17 Isaiah promised the best (gold) for the better (bronze), but here the Servant promises the best for the worst. Mourners, like others in distress, sprinkled ashes on their heads (Second Samuel 13:19 and Jeremiah 6:26). But the crown of beauty will replace the symbols of mourning and misery. Isaiah makes a play on words with beauty and ashes. It would be like saying in English that God will exchange a song for a sigh. After the sighing and mourning there will be joy and singing.

Secondly, the oil of gladness instead of mourning (61:3c). This wording is used in Psalm 45:7, the Messianic Psalm where the Messiah is anointed with the oil of joy. Thus, the Anointed One replaces mourning with new life.

Thirdly, instead of a spirit of despair, He will bestow on them a garment of praise, another sign of joy (Ecclesiastes 9:7-8). And the reason for it all is that Isra’el will be called the oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor (61:3d). Isra’el will be righteous (54:14, 58:8, 60:21, 62:1-2) and like stalwart oak trees will display God’s splendor (35:2, 46:13, 49:3, 55:5, 60:9 and 21, 62:3). In other words, God will replace the spirit of despair with the garment of praise so that He may be glorified, so that Isra’el’s establishment in the Kingdom and all that God said would happen in Chapter 60 will come to pass in Chapter 61 by means of the Servant of the LORD, the Messiah.

Speaking earlier of Isra’el during the Messianic Kingdom, God had said:: Then your people will be righteous and they will possess the Promised Land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of My hands for the display of My splendor (60:21). So here ADONAI says that the reason Isra’el will be called the oaks of righteousness, symbolizing stability, permanence and abundance, is precisely for the display of His splendor (61:3e).

But what are the oaks of righteousness? When we look back at the beginning of the book, Isaiah chastised Isra’el for her spiritual adultery: You will be ashamed because of your sacred oaks in which you delighted; you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water. The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together with no one to quench the fire (1:29-31). There, the sin and rebellion of glorifying idols over God would cause the oaks to burn up like tinder. The idols would be nothing more than seared leaves. Only faith, trust and belief in Jesus Christ produces righteousness (First Corinthians 15:3-4). This is one of the great paradoxes of Isaiah and the Bible. If we try to glorify anyone but ADONAI, we are doomed. But if we admit our helplessness and dependence upon Him, God gives us His righteousness.

So Chapter 61:1-3 tells us the means by which Chapter 60 is to find its fulfillment. It will be by the means of the ministry of the Messiah, both in His First and Second Coming.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is On Me
61: 1-2a

The Spirit of the sovereign LORD is on Me DIG: Why did ADONAI anoint Jesus Christ? What does it mean to bind up the brokenhearted? To proclaim freedom for the captives? To release the prisoners from darkness? To proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor? What is the Good News?

REFLECT: Who does Me refer to in 61:1? Why? How do these verses relate to your experience of the Good News? Do you have to have the gift of evangelism to preach the Good News? Saint Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the Good News at all times – and if necessary, use words.” Are you good news to others?

On the timeline of human history, there are four pivotal events that stand out and shine above everything else because of the tremendous impact they have had or will have on the world. Each of these most significant events in history has marked or will mark the end of an age or era of time. The first three events are the Creation, the Flood, and the First Coming of Messiah, including His death and resurrection. The fourth event is Yeshua’s Second Coming. While many important events have taken place in history, none are of equal significance to these four.

Much of what we read in the Bible has to do with the history of man on earth. The Bible says very little about ages past or the ages to come. Nearly 50 percent of the Bible’s 66 books cover man’s history, about 25 percent of the Scriptures contain instructions on how ADONAI wants us to live, and about 25 percent of the Bible is prophecy, some of which has already been fulfilled. It’s interesting to note that each of the four pivotal events is part of a titanic conflict between God and Satan for the devotion of mankind. The first three events made a significant impact on the generations that followed. The fourth event, Christ’s return, will do the same.

The first two chapters of Genesis highlight the Creation of Adam and Eve, who were composed not only of a body and mind but also an eternal soul. Right after creation, we have the fall, or the sin of Adam and Eve. They were created holy but were given a free will with which to choose to obey or disobey the LORD. Their disobedience plunged the world into sin and corruption, and over the next thousand years, the world became so corrupt that God used the Flood to destroy everyone except Noah and his family, a total of eight souls.

The third pivotal event was Christ’s First Coming and His death on the cross. The cross, which is easily the most famous and recognized symbol in the world, speaks of more than just Christ’s death. It also points to His sinless life and more importantly His resurrection, which has made our salvation possible. When Jesus gave Himself to die on the cross for the sin of the whole world He ended the Dispensation of the Torah (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Da – The Dispensation of the Torah), and introduced the Dispensation of Grace (see the commentary on Hebrews Bp – The Dispensation of Grace). That age will end with the next pivotal event, the Second Coming of the Messiah.²⁴⁴

It is also important to know that the TaNaKh contains four types of messianic prophecies. The first type deals with the First Coming only (7:14). The second type deals with the Second Coming only (63:1-6). The third type combines the First and Second Coming into one picture without indicating any gap of time in between (here in Isaiah 61:1-3 and Zechariah 9:9-10). A fourth type spells out the entire redemptive ministry of the Messiah. It includes the First Coming, the gap, or the Church Age (which the Bible says was a mystery to the righteous of the TaNaKh in Ephesians 3:1-10); the Second Coming, and the messianic Kingdom (Psalm 110). Here, in 63:1-3 we have the third category that blends the First and Second Coming into one picture.

The Spirit of Adonai ELOHIM is upon Me because ADONAI has anointed Me (61:1a CJB). Here, the entire Trinity is evident (also see 42:1, 48:12-16 and 63:7-14). This is the fourth example of the Trinity in Isaiah: The Spirit (God the Spirit) of Adonai ELOHIM is on Me because ADONAI (God the Father) has anointed Me (God the Son). Again, there are three Persons and no more. Here He combines statements that He made earlier in the book (11:2, 42:1, 49:8 and 50:4-5). Thoughts in all those segments are united into this verse. The Servant of the LORD has been anointed for five reasons.

The first reason is to preach good news to the poor (40:9, 42:1, 49:2, 50:4 and 61:1b). The Hebrew word basser, to preach the good news corresponds to the Greek word for Gospel. This verb occurs at critical places in this part of the book (49:9, 41:27, 52:7, 60:6), dealing with the hope of the nation. But here, Christ Himself brings the good news that only He is able to do. The poor are the downtrodden and disadvantaged, helpless in themselves and at the mercy of powerful people and adverse circumstances. But also in a larger sense, it describes all those in trouble for any reason, including sin (Psalm 25:16-21). As Yeshua would say later, He had not come to preach good news to those who were comfortable and in control, but to those who were lost (Matthew 9:12-13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31-32). To such persons, ADONAI’s victory over all those that is holding them in bondage is good news indeed.

The second reason is to bind up the brokenhearted (61:1c). To bind up means to bandage. The reason He came was to deal with the sin issue in our lives. Brokenhearted covers any and every human breakdown, emotional prostration, or conviction of sin (57:15). Messiah would gather the brokenhearted and bandage them together. The same word, habas, figuratively speaking of Isra’el’s sick and injured condition earlier in the book, Isaiah said: From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness – only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil (1:6).

Thirdly, to proclaim freedom to the captives (61:1d).  The word translated freedom (Hebrew: deror) is the same word that characterized the Year of Jubilee (see the commentary on Leviticus Em – The Year of Jubilee). The captivity is that of sin. Now while Jewish slaves were to be set free, this was one of the areas of the Torah that Isra’el was found to be in disobedience (Jeremiah 34:8-11). Only a King greater than all the other kings who hold their subjects captive could make such a proclamation.

The fourth reason was to release the prisoners from darkness (61:1e). The verb release, paqah, means to open the eyes. The repeated form here, (peqah-qoah), would mean wide-opening of the eyes, the bringing of spiritual prisoners out of the dark dungeon of sin into the light (42:7). Speaking of the Messianic Kingdom, earlier Isaiah had said: In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see (29:18, 35:5). Therefore, before the Messianic Kingdom starts, all Isra’el will be saved (Romans 11:26), and during the Millennium He will free millions of Gentile prisoners from their sin.

And fifthly, to proclaim the year of ADONAI’s favor (61:2a). The repetition of to proclaim indicates that Isaiah is dealing with the same subject from a different point of view. In 61:1 the declaration touched on the human side – freedom, release – but now it has implications on the divine side. The Hebrew word to proclaim means to announce beforehand. This is what we see in Matthew 13 and the parables of the Kingdom. When Yeshua read this passage to His hometown synagogue in Nazareth, He stopped in the middle of the sentence after the word favor (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ch – The Spirit of the Lord is On Me). He said: The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19).

By doing this, Yeshua was showing that His ministry would be divided into two advents, or two comings. In His First Coming He did the things mentioned in Isaiah 61:1-2a and John 3:17. In His Second Coming He will do the things mentioned in Isaiah 61:2b-3, John 5:22-29 and First Thessalonians 1:7-10. When He returns as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5), He will bring judgment on unbelievers (Micah 5:15; Revelation 19:15-20). It will be the day of vengeance (Isaiah 34:8, 35:4, 61:2b, 63:4). But Jesus Christ will also comfort Isra’el, for she will have undergone great persecution during the Great Tribulation in the preceding years (Dani’el 7:21, 24-25; Revelation 12:13-17).

The Year of the LORD’s Favor,
and the Day of Vengeance of Our God
61: 1-11

Two starkly contrasting realities are seen in these verses: the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our Lord, and both arise from the truth on which the previous chapter ended. Things will not go on as they are forever. One day God will bring them to a sudden end. The intervening period, however long or short, is a time of opportunity but should not be taken lightly for terrible judgment awaits those who carelessly let it pass by.²⁴³

This is the last of the Servant passages. The prophet Isaiah, under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Second Peter 1:21), impersonated the Messiah in the first three verses. This is evidenced by his use of the personal pronouns I and me within a prediction that describes things no human could accomplish. As we will see, Jesus fulfilled all of the predicted events in His First Coming and will fulfill the rest in His Second Coming. We need to keep in mind that the First Coming of Messiah did not fulfill the entirety of God’s wonderful plan. Instead, it accomplished the work of providing salvation to mankind through Yeshua’s death and resurrection. The Second Coming will finish God’s plan, which is to bring His people into His Kingdom and populate His eternal heaven.

During Jesus’ First Coming, the Spirit of God was to come upon Jesus after His baptism by John. Afterward, the Lord would preach, heal, and proclaim freedom (Hebrew: deror) for the captives (61:1). Messiah is still considered the greatest teacher and preacher who ever lived, and He is the greatest healer in the history of the world. His works were a testimony that He had been sent by God (John 5:36). Just before His ascension to heaven, He descended into sh’ol to set the captives free (Ephesians 4:9-10).

The phrase to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor refers to the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 16:18-19 to build His church, which would be victorious over the gates of Hades. The church age began on the festival of Shavu’ot (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Al – The Ruach Ha’Kodesh Comes at Shavu’ot) and will extend until the Rapture of the Church from the earth (see the commentary on Revelation By – The Rapture of the Church).

Proclaiming freedom for the captives (61:1) refers to the righteous of the TaNaKh delivered from sh’ol, for the blood of animals had only covered their sins. They were not yet “cleansed” and thus eligible for heaven until Messiah finished the work of salvation by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross. From the time of the cross onward, spiritual captives in bondage to sin have been delivered by repenting of their sins and receiving Him, by faith, as their personal Lord and Savior. Thus they are eligible for heaven at death. In the first three verses of Chapter 61 Isaiah shows us the outline of Messiah’s ministry.

It is not unusual for Isaiah to alternate between different time periods. Normally he alternates between near historical and far eschatological prophecies. But here, Isaiah alternates between two far eschatological prophecies and a prophecy about the Suffering Servant. The way you can distinguish between the two is the context.

A far eschatological prophecy of the end of the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming and the Messianic Kingdom (58:1 to 60:1-22).

A summary of the Suffering Servant’s First Coming, Second Coming and the restoration of Israel (61:1-11, also see Jj), and the Coming of the Messiah and His Kingdom (61:1-11).

Far Eschatological Prophecy (62:1 to 66:24)

You Will Call Your Walls Salvation
and Your Gates Praise
60: 15-22

You will call your walls salvation and your gates praise DIG: How long does the Lord say that the Jews will possess the land of Isra’el? Why is that so? How does this relate to world events today? How does this song (60:1-22) parallel the whole movement of the believer’s experience from conversion, to spiritual growth, to eternity with Yeshua Messiah?

REFLECT: What is the relationship between peace and righteousness? What would be different if those qualities were seen in your family today? Your neighborhood? Your world? The world? How can these verses encourage you at a time when it seems that peace and righteousness are absent from your life? How has the LORD kept His promises to you?

Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations (60:15). Here Isaiah contrasts the former condition of the nation as exemplified by the city of Jerusalem, with its latter condition. The emphasis is on the changed condition. Once the City was forsaken and hated. Now it will be the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations. We can learn a valuable lesson from this. If we abandon all attempts to pay tribute to ourselves and allow God to be God, then He will delight in lifting us up with Him (57:15). To some degree or another, the entire book of Isaiah from Chapter 2 on has been about this truth. The same can be said of joy. The only true joy comes from ADONAI, and any attempt to produce it on our own terms can only be doomed to failure. There is only one place of true joy, submission to Jesus Christ.

You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Much as a nursing child gets sustenance from its mother, so Isra’el will be sustained by the wealth of the nations (60:5, 11 16 and 61:6). Kings will bestow their wealth upon Isra’el and they will know He is their God, their Savior, their Redeemer because He has been willing to act as Next-of-Kin and shoulder the needs of His people. Then you will know that I, the LORD, the Mighty One of Jacob, am your Savior and your Redeemer (60:16). This is the point that God has been trying to drive home to Isra’el and to the world at least since Chapter 40. Throughout Isra’el’s history, God’s purpose was that they should know Him. Why? Because only through the knowledge of Him is there any hope of our reaching the possibilities for which we were created. Thus, God says the exodus was all in order that they may know Him. And so it was also in the establishment of Isra’el in the Promised Land, in the return from exile in Babylon, in the coming of the Messiah, and now, here, in the culmination of all things.²⁴²

In language reminiscent of First Kings 10:21 and 17, Isaiah speaks of the glory that God will give to the City as He replaces the good with the best. As a result, Jerusalem will be exalted and precious metals will become commonplace. Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones (60:17a). These are simply poetic ways of talking about the wonder of living under the blessing of God as opposed to every other way of life. Spiritually speaking, it is to know the best, to know a permanence that cannot fade away, to know a security that no enemy can break through.

The social transformation will match the material well-being. I will make shalom, peace, your governor and righteousness your ruler (60:17). In Hebrew, peace and governor are in apposition, meaning each is the same definition of the other. To say peace is to say governor and to say governor is to say peace. The word ruler is the exact word used in Exodus 3:7 for slave drivers. The very worst of their past exemplified by the oppressive rule of Pharaoh, will become the very best that ADONAI has to offer. During this time of blessing, righteousness will be evident throughout the Land.

Jerusalem during the Messianic Kingdom will be a place of permanency and security. No longer will violence be heard in your Land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise (60:18). These two words balance each other. Salvation is what God offers; praise is how we respond. Peace (26:1-3), righteousness, and joy will permeate the Kingdom. There will no longer be violence, nor ruin or destruction within the borders of Isra’el because every knee will have bowed to Him (Philippians 2:10-11). The salvation of the LORD will be the walls, protecting all from the greatest enemy of all: sin.

Why will Jerusalem be a place of permanency and security during the Messianic Kingdom? Because Yeshua Messiah, the light of the world (John 8:12), will be there (to see link click Db – The Nine Missing Articles in the Messiah’s Coming Temple). These verses climax the references to the light of God in Chapter 60. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your Sh’khinah glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more for ADONAI will be your everlasting light (60:19-20a). In the old order of creation, life was rigidly controlled by day and night, by the ever-changing orbit of the sun and the moon. But in the new order of salvation the guiding principle will be the unchanging presence of His Sh’khinah glory. Consequently, there will be no need for the sun by day, or the moon at night.

And then Isaiah adds: Your days of sorrow will end (60:20b). Earlier in 40:2 God had instructed Isaiah to speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her warfare had been completed, that her sin had been pardoned, and that she had received from the Lord double for all her sin. The Psalmist wrote that weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Although different words are used, the same thought also appears in 40:2. It often seemed to Isra’el that the night of mourning for its sins and its broken Covenant would never end. Calamity and despair seemed to follow without end (3:26, 24:4, 33:9). But more troubling was her inability to learn from her mistakes and change her behavior (59:10-11). Nonetheless, Isaiah prophesied that daylight would indeed come. The night of mourning would come to an end; more than that – it had been completed. Why? Because Messiah will come in His grace and power (63:1-6). He is the Sun that does not set, and the Moon that will not disappear. Truly, rejoicing comes in the morning.

The last two verses turn from the description of the City to the discussion about the condition of the people in it. Four things are said about them. They are all righteous; they are promised eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer); they are established by ADONAI for His splendor; and they will be great in number. The prophet writes that at that time, all of your people will be tzaddikim, or righteous, and because they will be righteous they will possess the Land forever (60:21a). Her people will be righteous, displaying God’s splendor. The rabbis of the Mishnah teach from this verse that all Isra’el will have a share in the world to come. However, what the rabbis ignored was that when the prophet said all of your people will be righteous (see 61:3d), he was referring to all of the Jews living at the end of the Messianic Kingdom. He was not referring to every Jew who ever lived, as the sages teach, because the context will not allow it. In addition to that, the Bible teaches that Jesus was no respecter of persons (Matthew 22:16).

In 60:21b the LORD tells us that the Israelites are the shoot I have planted (see 61:3d), the work of My hands, for the display of My splendor (see 61:3d). The phrase the shoot I have planted refers to Isra’el and not the Messiah because of the context. Earlier in 57:13 Isaiah said that those who take refuge in God would possess the Land. That promise is confirmed here. ADONAI will nurture His people like a tender shoot in a vineyard (5:1-7, 27:2-6). They are the work of His hands, and He will weed around them and prune them carefully. Why? So their essential splendor might be known to the world. This is why the character of His people is so important: if the LORD’s true splendor is to be seen through His people, they must reflect His righteousness.

This is why we can depend on Him until the end of time. He is the one constant in the universe. We are in Christ and He is in us (Ephesians 1:1-14). The Ruach Ha’Kodesh takes this imagery even further by making Yeshua the vine and His people the branches. To belong to Him is not only to be planted and tended by Him, but to have His very life flowing through us: I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5). This is exactly what Isaiah is speaking of when he promises that by the grace of God we can share in the righteousness of Christ.

Lastly, the nation will also be great in number. The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation (60:22a). This is precisely opposite of 30:17, which states that one of the enemy was able to chase a thousand of Isra’el because she trusted in her military might instead of ADONAI. Now Isaiah sees a day in which that situation is reversed, when out of the tattered remnants of the nation of Isra’el will come a King who would rule the world from a throne made from two crossed pieces of wood, where a handful of His frightened apostles, empowered by the Spirit of God, could shake the world. This is the climax of a theme that runs through the TaNaKh, and the B’rit Chadashah picks up on (First Corinthians 1:26-31). That is the power of the weak, the triumph of the unlikely and the fruitfulness of the barren. The kingdom of God is not built with human strength; it is built by human weakness. It is only through our weakness that the LORD can move. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be Ruler over Isra’el, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times (Micah 5:2).

I Am the LORD; in this time I will do this swiftly (60:22b). In addition, the Lord says that in its time I will do this swiftly. But the Jews would ask, “Why has the Messiah been so long in coming when Isaiah says the LORD will do this swiftly? The rabbis teach that if all Isra’el was righteous, God would swiftly usher in the Messianic Kingdom. But if Isra’el were not righteous, it would come in its destined time. However, 60:21 indicates that when the messianic Kingdom is ushered in, then all of the Jews will be righteous and possess the land forever. So the rabbinical interpretation of 60:22 seems to contradict their interpretation of 60:21 but somehow the rabbis do not see the inconsistency of it all. But as believers, we know that when the appointed time arrived, God sent forth His Son. He was born from a woman, born into a culture in which legalistic perversion of the Torah was the norm, so that He might redeem those in subjection to this legalism and thus enable us to become the children of God (Galatians 4:4; John 1:12b CJB).

As we come to the end of Chapter 60, we can confirm once again that ADONAI is the Promise Keeper. The Good News for us is that because the LORD has kept, and will keep, His promises to Isra’el, He will also keep His promises to you.

Foreigners Will Rebuild Your Walls,
and Their Kings Will Serve You
60: 10-14

Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you DIG: What is the difference between the sheep Gentiles and the goat Gentiles? What will the Gentiles bring to Jerusalem? Why? Since a city’s gates were normally closed at night as a defense against enemies, why are Yerushalayim’s gates always open? What will Messiah’s reign be like during the Millennium?

REFLECT: Are you merely going through the motions of faith in Jesus Christ today, or is He your Lord and Savior? Have you ever sought honor for yourself, only to get dishonor? How did you react? When was the last time you sought the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, only to find out that later you had been honored? Did you give God the glory? Why or why not? What did it teach you?

This section shows the relationship between Isra’el, the sheep Gentiles, and the goat Gentiles (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Fc – The Sheep and the Goats). The sheep Gentiles will come to Isra’el to worship the LORD, but the goat Gentiles will come to bring the wealth of the world to her feet. Israel, who had grown accustomed to being abused or trampled underfoot by the Gentile nations, will find the situation reversed. As we have seen earlier, there is no doubt for the reason why this will take place. The Gentiles will come to worship the LORD their God, the Holy One of Isra’el either voluntarily or involuntarily.

It is interesting that the Gentile nations still have a choice of sorts. The sheep Gentiles of Matthew 25:31-46 who survive the judgment for their favorable treatment of Isra’el will enter and populate the nations during the Messianic Kingdom. In addition, millions of goat Gentiles who managed to survive the Great Tribulation will go directly into the Millennium in their earthly bodies after the Second Coming. These two groups will reproduce and repopulate the earth. After Christ’s Second Coming when He comes to annihilate His enemies and then sets up his Millennial Kingdom, there will be millions of children from these believing sheep Gentiles whose children do not choose to believe.

In the Millennium, every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Many will want to bow and confess Yeshua as their Lord and Savior. But in their hearts there will be those who do not want to bow the knee or confess. They will merely go through the motions. Those who do not accept Christ by the age of one hundred will die (65:20). Therefore, sin and death will be present in the Messianic Kingdom, and it will be Jesus and His righteous ones that keep sin in check. At the Second Coming, we know that out of the mouth of Christ comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations (Revelation 19:15a). This stern swift judgment that marks the onset of Christ’s Kingdom will be the pattern of His rule throughout the Millennium, where He will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Rev 12:5 and 19:15b). And Jesus promised that believers would rule under Him. To him who overcomes and does My will to the end, I will give authority over the nations; he will rule them with a rod of iron (Rev 2:26-27; Psalm 2:8-9). Jesus will swiftly judge all sin and instantly put down any rebellion. All people will be required to conform to His commands or face immediate judgment. It’s like the Dennis the Menace cartoon where his mom has sat him down on a stool in the corner. And he thinks to himself, “I may be sitting down, but on the inside, I’m standing up!” That’s how it will be. Some will want to sin outwardly, but they will not be able to act on it.²⁴¹

Those living at the end of the thousand years, however, will rebel (Revelation 20:1-6). When Satan is released, those with rebellious hearts will naturally gravitate toward him, which will lead to one final rebellion that will be crushed (Revelation 20:7-10). This will set off a chain reaction of final events: the second resurrection of the wicked (Revelation 20:13), the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-12), the eternal punishment of the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15), then the Eternal State will be introduced (see the commentary on Revelation Fq – The Eternal State).

But getting back to the Messianic Kingdom, how will the wealth of the nations be used? Jerusalem, as symbolized by its walls, will be rebuilt in the Kingdom by the means of Gentile assistance. Foreigners, literally sons of your opposition (see 60:14a) will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you (60:10a). The Gentiles will aid in the rebuilding of the ruined city represented by its walls. Those who helped to destroy them would now build them back up again. Everything will once again be restored to balance. The reason that God will do this is clear, speaking to Isra’el, He says: Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion (60:10b). Since it was God’s rule of history that brought the walls down, it will be in His rule of history that they will be rebuilt again. They are two sides of the same coin.

Then, Isaiah’s attention shifts from the walls of Jerusalem to the gates within. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that the people may bring you the wealth of the Gentile nations – their kings will lead (see the commentary on Revelation Fi – The Government of the Messianic Kingdom) as Zion’s willing subjects in triumphal procession (60:11). Later, in 61:6b, we are told that Isra’el will feed on the wealth of the Gentile nations, and in their riches you will boast. Foreign nations and their kings will be Isra’el’s servants and the wealth of the nations will flow through those walls. So the Gentile nations will make pilgrimages to the City to give their offerings. Isra’el will finally be the head of the world, instead of its tail.

For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined (60:12). The opening word for, shows that the Ruach Ha’Kodesh intends a connection between this verse and the proceeding one. Why will the wealth of the Gentile nations come to Zion with their kings leading the way? Will this be a result of Israelite chauvinism, which looks forward to the day when downtrodden Jews can put their feet on the necks of their oppressors? No, it will not. These Gentiles will be obeying the Lord Jesus Christ; gladly on the part of some, forcibly on the part of others, especially during the yearly celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be mandatory for all Gentile nations and any that refuse to do so will be severely punished. In Zechariah 14:16-19 we learn that punishment also includes the withholding of rain or a plague.

The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of My sanctuary. ADONAI will call the Temple His sanctuary and the place of His feet (60:13). As a result of the Temple being rebuilt, the Lord Himself will rule and reign from it (see Db – The Nine Missing Articles in Messiah’s Coming Temple). The Gentiles nations will not only aid in the regathering, but also in the rebuilding of the Temple. It will be rebuilt with Gentile wealth. Like the first and second Temple, the fourth Temple, the millennial Temple, will be built with cedars of Lebanon. The trees that made Lebanon famous shall be brought to beautify the Temple, by being used either as building materials for its structure or as ornamental groves in its surrounding courts. The phrase the glory of Lebanon is an idiomatic expression for the Jewish Temple (Isaiah 35:2; Zechariah 11:1-3).

People from the Gentile nations that formerly despised Isra’el will recognize that Jerusalem, or Zion, is the LORD’s chosen city, the place where He will dwell. The sons of your oppressors will come bowing down before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet (60:14a). Isaiah had told Hezekiah that some of his sons would be carried off to Babylon to serve them (39:6-7), but now Isaiah says that some of their distant relatives, or sons, will come in a worshipful attitude to Jerusalem. Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I Am the LORD; those who hope in Me will not be disappointed (49:23). Only a triumph of grace could achieve this, for it will not be Zion that produces this submissiveness, but the recognition that Yeshua Messiah is in His City as the Holy One of Isra’el.

This is the grace and trustworthiness of our God. When we have brought destruction on ourselves through our own foolishness, He is not content to leave us there. If we are willing, He can turn the situation completely around and make our enemies come to us in repentance. This is the spiritual principle: if we seek honor for ourselves, we will get dishonor; but if we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), then God can see to it that even our enemies will honor us. But notice the nature of the honor: it is reflected. And your oppressors will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Isra’el (60:14b). The honor is God’s alone and the wonder is that He delights in sharing it with us.

The Attraction of the Gentiles
60: 4-9

The attraction of the Gentiles DIG: What is the context, the time period in view here? What will be the reaction of the Jews to the call to bring them home? Who are the sheep Gentiles and what will they do? From what directions will the people come to Jerusalem? How will they come? Why will they do so? What is missing from the gifts the magi brought the baby Jesus? How are the sheep and rams used as offerings?

REFLECT: Is this something to look forward to, or to dread in your eyes? Is your giving as joyful as these Gentiles? Why do you think their giving is so great? What was the reason for their giving? How do you honor the LORD with your giving?

Throughout her long history, the nations, or the Gentiles of the world have continually attacked the Jews of Isra’el. But during the Messianic Kingdom, the Jews will find that they are an attraction to the Gentiles. But this will not be to gain favor with them, or repay them for their suffering. Nor will it be to recognize them as a superior race. It will be to share with them in the worship of the LORD. And when the Gentiles come, they will bring two things with them, Isra’el’s sons and daughters and the wealth of the world (60:11, 61:6; Haggai 2:7-8; Zechariah 14:14). Lift up your eyes and look about you is the same phrase as in 49:18, and with the same meaning. All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters carried on the arm (60:4). The gathered nation of Isra’el will be literally coming home to ADONAI.

Then God said: You will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come (60:5). Isra’el will also rejoice because the sheep Gentiles (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Fc – The Sheep and the Goats) will also desire to worship the LORD in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:16-19). The riches that they will bring are an expression of thanks to God, proclaiming the praise of ADONAI. The Gentiles will not bring the riches of the world so that the Jews can finally enjoy that which is their due. If they expect it, however, they will lose their covenant blessings (Malachi 2:1-9). No, the Gentiles will bring the riches of the world out of a grateful heart, and because the Jews will receive them as a gift from God, they may enjoy them forever.

There are six examples of the nations that will bring the wealth of the world to Isra’el. Herds of camels will cover your Land, young camels of Midian and Ephah (60:6a). First, Isaiah mentions Midian, south of the Dead Sea, which has its origin in Genesis 25:2. In fact, Midian was one of the other sons of Abraham from Keturah, his third wife after the death of Sarah. He also mentions Ephah who was the son of Midian and the grandson of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:3-4; First Chronicles 1:33).

And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of ADONAI (60:6b). When the magi came to worship the child King in Bethlehem, they brought gifts with them (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Av – The Visit of the Magi). What gift is left out at Messiah’s Second Coming we see in this passage? Myrrh! They do not bring myrrh because it speaks of death. When He comes again, nothing will speak of death. Gold speaks of His Kingship and incense points to His deity. But there will be no myrrh because He will not come to die upon a cross for the sins of the world again. He will come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS to rule and reign forever (Revelation 5:5 and 19:16).

Here two sons of Ishmael, Kedar and Nebaioth, are mentioned (Midian is also linked to the Ishmaelites in Genesis 37:28 and Judges 8:24). The prophet’s eye moves to another source of wealth to be brought to the Israelites during the messianic Kingdom: All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you (60:7a). The next one he talks about is Kedar in northern Arabia. He was the second son of Ishmael. This is one of the Arab tribes mentioned in Genesis 25:13. The Nebaioth (Neb-bi-OATH) are today called the Nabeteons. Nabaioth was the first of twelve sons of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13, 28:9; First Chronicles 1:29). They were a branch of the Edomites. It was the Nabeteons who settled and built the city of Bozrah, which will play a significant role when we get to Chapter 63. So not only were there twelve sons and twelve tribes of the sons of Isaac, but there were twelve sons and twelve tribes of the sons of Ishmael (see the commentary on Genesis Gi – The Twelve Sons of Ishmael).

The LORD says that those sheep and rams will be accepted as offerings on His altar. The flocks will minister to ADONAI. This is the verb (srt) used to describe the honored and voluntary ministry of the priests in the Temple. Here, the sheep and the rams are pictured as ministering to Messiah, who declares that He will adorn His glorious Millennial Temple as sacrifices (60:7). Ezeki’el 40-48 describes Messiah’s Temple where offerings will be made on the bronze altar there (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gs – God Shows a Vision of the Millennial Temple). These will not be offered for sins, but as a memorial. During the dispensation of Grace believers are instructed to participate in a physical observance, or communion, in remembrance of the death of Messiah. But for Isra’el in the Kingdom there will be a different memorial: the sacrificial system in the Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom will serve the same purpose as communion in the Dispensation of Grace. It will be the, do this in remembrance of Me, for Jewish believers.

There will be an abundance of wealth brought to worship Jesus Christ from the descendants of Ishmael. Whether the gifts from Sheba will be gold, silver or incense, we do not know. But what we do know, is that descendants of Ishmael will bring their wealth to the millennial Temple in Jerusalem to honor the LORD, the Holy One of Isra’el (see the commentary on Revelation Fk – Gentiles in the Messianic Kingdom).

Who are these that fly along like clouds on the horizon, like doves to their nests (60:8). The clouds are a picture of speed and the nests represent safety (Psalm 84:3). Next the prophet’s eyes turn to the west, where he sees a fleet of ships whose sails seem like clouds on the horizon of the Mediterranean Sea. The speed of the ships is compared with the swiftness of doves when returning to their nests. They fly more swiftly when they return with food to their young than when they depart in search of it (Hosea 11:11).

This is the God for whom the Gentile nations have been waiting (24:14-16, 51:5), and as soon as they receive word of His triumph (see the commentary on Revelation Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon) they are off, with the great seagoing ships of Tarshish (23:1). Evidently the way Tarshish is used here refers to all seagoing nations whose ships will be used to return Isra’el to the Land of Promise. Now Isaiah sums up what he has said before. The cargo of these ships will be twofold: Zion’s children and the offerings of the Gentile nations. They will come because God has shown His beauty through His people (also see 55:5).²⁴⁰ Surely the islands look to Me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish (60:9a). Tarshish was a name given to colonies of the Phoenicians. There was more than one Tarshish, but they all originate with the Phoenicians.

Consciously or unconsciously, the world’s longings can only find their fulfillment in the Holy One of Isra’el. So the colonies of Phoenicia, which include North Africa, Spain, England and the coast of Africa, will all be involved in this world-wide regathering. Isaiah says that they will bring no insights, but will carry Isra’el’s sons and daughters from afar, with their silver and gold. Instead of the Gentiles demanding payment, they will send the Jews off with gifts just as the Egyptians did (Exodus 12:35-36). They do this to honor YHVH, the Holy One of Isra’el. They will recognize that He has endowed Isra’el with splendor (60:9b).

The Glory of the LORD Rises Upon You
60: 1-3

The glory of the LORD rises upon you DIG: What does the glory of the LORD refer to? Do you know another place in the Bible where the glory of the LORD is mentioned? How many of the manifestations of God’s presence will be seen in the messianic Kingdom? When will all Isra’el be saved? What has to happen first?

REFLECT: Is the Sh’khinah glory a future hope, a present reality, or both? Why do you think so? What would it be like if Jesus returned today and set up His throne in Zion? What would life be like? Would you like to see Jesus in person? Why? Why not?

Any time you see the phrase, the glory of the LORD, the Bible is referring to what is known as the Sh’khinah glory, or the visible manifestation of God’s presence. The light, of which Malachi had spoken, will have come: But for you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings . . . (Malachi 4:2). The Lord Jesus Christ is the light of the world (John 8:12), that was one of His claims when He came as the Lamb of God (John 1:29); when He comes back to the earth as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5), He will be that Light. Chapters 60-62 form the centerpiece of Chapters 56-66. They show Isra’el’s final destiny as the restored people of the LORD in whom the reality of ADONAI’s salvation is displayed to all the earth. In the last chapter the Redeemer was coming; in this chapter He is here.

The Sh’khinah glory of the LORD is seen in both the TaNaKh and the B’rit Chadashah. His glory settled on Mount Sinai for six days before Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain and stayed for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 24:15-18). God’s glory was seen as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night when crossing the Rea Sea (Exodus 13:21-22). Because of the sin of the nation, the glory of the LORD is seen departing from the Temple in Ezeki’el Chapters 10 and 11. In the New Covenant the glory of the LORD was seen announcing the birth of Jesus to the shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night (Luke 2:8-10), and at the transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36). But most importantly for our study of Isaiah, earlier in 40:5 Isaiah prophesied that the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. When will all mankind be able to see His Sh’khinah glory simultaneously? It will be during the Messianic Kingdom.

The greatest manifestation of the Sh’khinah glory is to come in the Millennial Kingdom. There will be five visual manifestations of God’s presence. First, Ezeki’el tells us that the Sh’khinah glory will be in the Most Holy Place in the millennial Temple as it was in Solomon’s Temple (Ezeki’el 43:2-5). Secondly, the Sh’khinah glory will be a wall around Yerushalayim. Jerusalem will be a city without walls . . . and I Myself will be a wall of fire around it (Zechariah 2:4). A third manifestation is that it will be over the millennial Mount Zion (4:5-6). A fourth manifestation is that the Sh’khinah glory will be over all the land of Isra’el (60:1-3). And fifthly, because the Messiah Himself will be visible, He will be the visible manifestation of God’s presence as well. So the Sh’khinah glory will also be evident in the Messiah Himself (Isaiah 66:18-19; Ezeki’el 43:7). Even though these manifestations will center on the land of Isra’el, all mankind will see it, just as all mankind will see the Lord when He returns (Revelation 1:7).

ADONAI announces through His prophet: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you (60:1). This announcement is in the prophetic perfect, meaning the prophecy being made is so assured, that it is viewed as already taken place. This is an answer to promises He made earlier. Then your light will break forth like dawn . . . and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard (Isaiah 58:8). The promise was that if Isra’el truly repented, the Sh’khinah glory would return. So in Chapter 58, Isra’el was told of the problem, in Chapter 59 they admitted the problem, their national confession and regeneration solved the problem, and here in 60:1-3 the promise is fulfilled with the return of the Sh’khinah glory. The light will come when darkness has reached its greatest point of blackness.

The coming of the light will be necessary because of the spiritual darkness that will cover the earth – and still covers the earth today (Isaiah 29:18; John 12:35; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:19; Colossians1:13; First Peter 2:9). In spite of the preaching of the Gospel, there is more darkness today than ever before in history. Things are not getting better and better as the covenant theologians would have us believe. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but ADONAI rises upon you and His glory appears to you (60:2). These are words used by prophets like in Matthew 24:29-31, and in Joel 2:10 and 31, to describe the Great Tribulation. At the time when this thick darkness covers the entire earth there will be a total of five blackouts during the end times (Joel 2:31, Revelation 6:12, 9:2, 16:10-11; Matthew 24:29-30). Yeshua Messiah will come back and His Sh’khinah glory will appear in such a way that the entire earth will see Him when He returns: Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him (Revelation 1:7). At that time Isra’el will become the center of Gentile attention.

The Gentile nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn (60:3). The greatest revival in the history of the world will take place during the millennial Kingdom. All the Jews entering the Messianic Kingdom will be saved; none of the Gentiles entering the Millennial Kingdom will be saved. However over the period of a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-6), millions and millions of Gentiles will be saved. I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery (Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:5-7), brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Isra’el has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:25).

The partial hardening of Isra’el will continue until the full number of the Gentiles have come to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 6:9-11). The hardening began when Isra’el rejected Yeshua as her Messiah on the grounds of demon possession (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ek – It is only by Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons, That This Fellow Drives Out Demons), and will end when the complete number of Gentiles have come in. When Christ returns as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, all Isra’el still alive at that time will be saved (Romans 11:26a). Then, His Sh’khinah glory will be seen by all mankind.

Isra’el in the Messianic Kingdom
60: 1-22

It is not unusual for Isaiah to alternate between different time periods. Normally he alternates between near historical and far eschatological prophecies. But here, Isaiah begins to alternate between far eschatological prophecies and prophecies about the Suffering Servant. The context determines which one is in view. Chapters 58 and 59 dealt with Israel’s sin, confession, and regeneration. That will bring about the Second Coming. And we noted in 59:20-21 that Paul used that text to prove that all Isra’el will be saved (see the commentary on Romans, to see link click Da – The Redemption of Isra’el). Following the regeneration of Isra’el and the Second Coming there will be the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom. Here and in subsequent chapters Isaiah will have a number of things to say about the Sh’khinah glory.

A far eschatological prophecy of the end of the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming and the Messianic Kingdom. In the section: Rebuke for the Wicked and Promises for the Faithful (58:1 to 60:1-22).

A summary of the Suffering Servant’s First Coming, Second Coming and the restoration of Isra’el (61:1-11).

Far Eschatological Prophecy (62:1 to 66:24).

Today Islam teaches that Muhammad is pictured in the Bible. And more specifically, they claim that Chapter 60:1-11 describes Muhammad and not Isra’el in the Messianic Kingdom. The following is taken from a pamphlet entitled Christian and Muslim Dialogue, by Muhammad Nubee. It is commonly used to aid Muslims when they witness to Christians and try to convert them. The current teachings of Islam distort the teaching of the Sh’khinah glory in these passages from Isaiah.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you (60:1). Compare with Surah 74:1-3: “O, you [Muhammad], wrapped up in garments! Arise and warn! And your Lord magnify!”

See, darkness cover the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you (60:2). The advent of the Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] was at a time of darkness when the world forgot the Oneness of God as taught by Abraham and all other Prophets including Jesus.

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn (60:3).

Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm (60:4). Within less than twenty-three years the whole of Arabia was united.

Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come (60:5). Within less than a century Islam spread out of Arabia to other countries.

Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD (60:6).

All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on My altar, and I will glorify the house of My glory (60:7). The tribes of Kedar (Arabia) who were divided were then united. The house of my glory referred to the house of Allah in Mecca and not the Church of Christ as thought by Christian commentators. It is a fact that the villages of Kedar (now all of Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that remains impenetrable to any influence of the Church).

Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations – their kings lead in triumphal procession (60:11). It is a fact that the mosque surrounding the Holy Ka’bah in Mecca has remained open day and night since it was cleared by the Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] from the idols of fourteen hundred years ago. Rulers as well as subjects came for Pilgrimage.

Therefore, in light of this false teaching it is important for us to remember the words of John: I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book (Revelation 22:18-19).

According to What They Had Done,
He Will Repay Wrath to His Enemies
59: 15b-21

According to what they had done, He will repay wrath to His enemies DIG: How do you reconcile the picture of God as a warrior in 59:15b-19 with that of Redeemer in 59:20? What will be the effects of ADONAI’s action on those who have opposed Him? On those who repent? On the nations of the world? What is the covenant Isaiah speaks of in verse 21? What is required of the people?

REFLECT: How do you feel about Jesus’ role as the Redeemer and the judge in Isaiah’s prophecy (See John 3:16-21 and Romans 11:22-27)? What determines which way he will relate to you? Paul exhorts believers to wear the armor that God wears. How might this help you to face evil and injustice?

When Isra’el confesses her sins at the end of the Great Tribulation, God intervenes. The reason for God’s intervention is His displeasure, which is then described. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice for His people (59:15b). ADONAI is neither blind nor insensitive to their plight. His destiny and hers are inseparable. He has promises to keep. He saw that there was no one, He was appalled that there was no one to intervene on her behalf (59:16a). Isaiah was not saying that the LORD did not want to get involved, but that Isra’el was totally incapable of helping herself. Only God could help her. This is true of salvation in any era. People are not capable of saving themselves. Only God can forgive sin.

These words are going to be elaborated on by Isaiah in 63:1-6 (to see link click Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ at Bozrah). Here ADONAI looks over the condition of the Remnant that is confessing their sins, and sees that there is no one else to rescue them because having turned away from evil, they have become a prey themselves. So God’s own arm will bring salvation and righteousness (59:16b). Who is God’s arm? The Messiah, the Servant of ADONAI, Jesus Christ. Here in 59:1 and 19, is the seventh of nine chapters which reference the arm of the LORD (30:30 and 32, 40:10, 50:2, 51:5 and 9, 52:10, 53:1, 62:8, 63:5).

He put on righteousness as His breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; He put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak (59:17). This pictures Jesus getting ready to intervene. Paul would later take this verse and use it when describing the full armor of God. Because many people are more familiar with the B’rit Chadashah than the TaNaKh they believe that Paul was describing a Roman soldier. But Isaiah had written this long before there were any Roman soldiers. The full armor of God in Ephesians 6 is either direct quotes or paraphrases from the TaNaKh. His point is that we should resist Satan as Christ did in the wilderness, with Scripture (Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12-13, and Lk 4:1-13). It is the knowledge of Scripture that is the full armor of God, and the means of resisting Satan. Thus, Isaiah says that Jesus will put on the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation as He prepares for war.

In the course of this campaign (see Kh – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon), Yeshua Messiah will punish the wicked. According to what they have done, so He will repay wrath to His enemies and retribution to His foes; He will repay the islands their due (59:18). The word repay is from the verb salam (the same root as shalom or peace) with the sense of settling an account. It is hard not to escape the irony in the choice of words here. ADONAI will give shalom, peace, to those who love Him (57:19), but He will settle all accounts with those who oppose Him. It will not matter if they are close at hand or in the islands (at the far reaches of the earth). All the damage that sin, the LORD’s enemy, has done to creation since the Garden of Eden (see the commentary on Genesis Ba – The Woman Saw the Fruit of the Tree and Ate It), will be repaid in full. The Hebrew word for what they have done, gemulot, and gemul, meaning retribution, are from the same root, gml, or to give retribution.

From the west, men will fear the name of ADONAI, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere His Sh’khinah glory. For He will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along (59:19). All these words have references surrounding the Second Coming of Christ and will be repeated with more detail in 63:1-6. In the previous verse God comes as a warrior, as a soldier, and in these two verses He inflicts wrath to His enemies and retribution to His foes. He will destroy the invading army of the antichrist that will come like a pent-up flood. Whenever the word flood is used symbolically it is always a symbol of a military invasion. While it is true that the Bible uses many symbols, it uses them consistently. For example, whenever the word stone is used symbolically, it is a symbol of God the Son. Whenever the word mountain is used symbolically, it is a symbol of a king, kingdom, or throne. Whenever the word star is used symbolically, it is always the symbol of an angel. And whenever the word flood is used symbolically, it is always a symbol of a military invasion. This invasion will lead to Isra’el’s national regeneration.

But Isra’el’s regeneration is preceded by her national confession (see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). We have seen this movement in the last couple of chapters. In Chapters 58 and 59 we see Isra’el’s sinfulness, then Isra’el’s national confession, which brings about God’s preparation for war. Finally, when the invading army of the antichrist reaches its final solution against the Jews, the Ruach ha-Kodesh will lift up a standard against him by Isra’el’s national regeneration. A standard was a sign that identified a group of tribes of Isra’el (Numbers 1:52). What will be the Spirit of God’s sign of the antichrist’s defeat in this final battle? The sign will be Isra’el, but not her death, as he desired, but her national regeneration!

And when Isra’el’s national regeneration comes, then, and only then, comes the Redeemer. The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, declares the LORD (59:20). This pictures the Second Coming. The Redeemer is the warrior back in 59:16-17. He will come to Zion and fulfill His New Covenant with the nation of Isra’el that He spoke of to the prophet Jeremiah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el).

As for Me, this is My New Covenant with them, says the LORD (59:21a). This New Covenant will be marked by the activity of the Spirit of God. Both Joel 2:28 and Zechariah 12:10 emphasize a great outpouring of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh on all the Jews still living at the end of the Great Tribulation (Zechariah 13:8). Why? Because all Isra’el will be saved (Romans 11:26). ADONAI continued to speak through His prophet, saying: My Spirit, who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever (59:21b). Jeremiah emphasized this when he wrote no longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest (Jeremiah 31:34). So while there will be Gentile unbelievers in the Messianic Kingdom, there will not be any Jewish unbelievers in the Kingdom. We are going to see the same connection between Isra’el’s national confession of her sin, Isra’el’s national regeneration, the Second Coming, and the destruction of the invading army in Chapters 58 and 59 continuing in Chapters 62, 63 and 64.

Our Offenses are Ever with Us, and
We Acknowledge Turning Our Backs on God
59: 1-15a

Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge turning our backs on God DIG: Isra’el had been blind to her own sins. Of what sins does God accuse them? What would life in this community be like? What does the image of the snake eggs and spider’s web say about the effect of all their sin? What are the signs that Isra’el will see to convince her that she is in ruin? What characterizes her? Who was her sin against? What has to happen before the LORD returns?

REFLECT: How did you feel as you read the description of sin in these verses? Do your feelings change after reading Romans 3:9-17? Why? What does it mean to you that this is the situation within the heart of all people, including you? Think over this past month. Is what Isaiah and the apostle Paul writes true in your life? Have you ever experienced spiritual blindness like that described in 59:10? What aided you as you groped through life’s darkness? Did God break through to you in that time? How?

Here, we have Isra’el confessing her sins at the end of the Great Tribulation. The actual words of this prayer are found in four key passages of Scripture, first, in Psalm 79, secondly in Psalm 80, thirdly in 53:1-9, and lastly in 63:7 to 64:12. The Jews will have been hunted down and slaughtered by the antichrist and his armies by that time. Only a third of them that entered the Great Tribulation will remain (Zechariah 13:8). As Jerusalem is defeated (Zechariah 14:1-2) and Bozrah is surrounded (34:6), the spiritual scales fall from their eyes and as a nation, they confess their sins.

Repentance does not come easily to any of us, and it is hardest of all for people who have become accustomed to using religion as a cover for their sin. When their prayers go unanswered, they find it easier to blame God than to take a long, hard look at themselves (chances are you know somebody like that). But Isaiah will have none of it. It was as if he was saying to his fellow countrymen, “It is not God who has the problem, but you.”²³⁸

The flagrant sins of the nation had formed a barrier between God and them, and consequently they were plunged into misery. When, however, their plight is at its worst and their position seems hopeless, ADONAI will intervene and deliver them. Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear (59:1). Here, and in verse 19, is the seventh of nine references to the arm of the LORD (30:30 and 32, 40:10, 50:2, 51:5 and 9, 52:10, 53:1, 62:8, 63:5). Remember that the arm was a symbol of power, so shortness of arm signifies diminished power. It was not ADONAI’s inability or indifference, but the sin of the people that is the cause of Israel’s sorrow and suffering. This is not a pretty sight! Could these actually be the people of God? And yet which of us who has had the courage to look into the depths of our own hearts has not found such things hidden there? The mirror that Isaiah holds up shows us ourselves as well.

But your iniquities have separated you from your God (59:2a). Those sins will be a barrier between the people and ADONAI. The fact that this phrase occurs elsewhere only in Genesis makes it likely that Isaiah is alluding to it here. Just as expanse separated the water that remained on the earth from the water above (Genesis 1:6), preventing them from coming together, so sin and iniquity will prevent any union between the LORD and the Jews during the Great Tribulation. A similar point is made by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 5:25), and Habakkuk observes that the LORD is too pure to look upon evil (Habakkuk 1:13). ADONAI is neither powerless nor insensitive. But He is holy. What can keep Him from us? Only sin.

John says the same thing: If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies or cleanses us from all sin (First John 1:6-7).

Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear (59:2b). Sin always takes you farther than you want to go, and costs you more than you want to pay (Psalm 66:18). That was true of Isra’el and that is true of us. Sin had totally corrupted them. Not only that, their sins were premeditated and were not done in ignorance. Their sin lays the ground for their own self-destruction. This is one of the verses that Paul quotes to prove the sinfulness of man. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways (Romans 3:15-16). Their actions were like those of deadly poisonous snakes. Their plots are so deadly that whether one falls victim to them, or one attempts to counteract them, the effects are equally fatal. Even if their acts appear helpful, they are in reality useless, if not dangerous.

For your hands are stained with sin, leaving a mark that remains visible to God, with blood because of the violence done to others, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things (59:3). The heart of the wicked sinner bubbles out of the mouth. Throughout the prophets, violence and murder are symptoms of a society where the self runs rampant. There could be no greater example of anarchy than during the Great Tribulation where the restraining influence of the Church is gone from the world as a result of the Rapture (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click By – The Rapture of the Church).

There will be no “justice system” per se, because the world will be under the control of the counterfeit trinity of Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet. No one calls for justice; no one pleads their case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments (tohu), meaning to lack stability or sense, and speak lies (58:4). We see the same thing in Genesis 1:2: Now the earth was formless (tohu) and (waw) empty (bohu). The Jews will be spiritually lost and the entire world wants to kill them. At that point they will do anything or say anything to survive. There will no longer be any rules except for the self-imposed anarchy of the unholy trinity. When the standard is wickedness, the law of the jungle prevails. This is the society that the Jews will be living in during the Great Tribulation.

They hatch the eggs of snakes and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. Their spider webs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. God could see through their evil deeds and He judged them. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands (59:5-6). These two verses are the perfect example of a sinful society controlled by the man of lawlessness (Second Thessalonians 2:3). What type of society produces serpent eggs and spider webs? Whether you try to eat the eggs or crush them, the results are just as deadly. The baby snakes, whose poison is already as potent as a mature snake’s, can kill you. Normally eggs are good to eat, but not these eggs! They are the very opposite. Like a beautiful spider’s web seen with its glittering dew, it seems so beautiful. Yet, getting involved in the sinful society of the Great Tribulation will be like getting all tangled up in spider webs.

In a hurry to do evil deeds, they were bringing ruin to others. Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts and schemes are evil; ruin and destruction mark their ways (59:7). When the society is so wicked that all restraints are removed, the most powerful move quickly to reap the apparent rewards, even if those rewards are only snake eggs and spider webs. In a picture of total depravity, we are told that violence will be in their hands (59:6b) and their feet rush into sin.

Sometime before the beginning of the Great Tribulation, Isra’el will sign a seven-year covenant with the antichrist (see the commentary on Revelation Bz – The Signing of the Seven Year Covenant with the Antichrist). This charismatic leader will seemingly sway the whole world with his ability to bring about world peace. For the first half of the Great Tribulation the Jews will be allowed to worship in a rebuilt tribulation temple (Revelation 11:1-2). But in the middle of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), the antichrist, who will be the epitome of Satan, will have his image set up in the Most Holy Place in the tribulation temple by the false prophet. There, the counterfeit son will claim to be God (Second Thessalonians 2:4), and the persecution of the Jews will begin.²³⁹

Of the Jews that were living when the Great Tribulation began, two-thirds will be struck down and perish either as a result of the seven seal judgments (Revelation 6:1-12), the seven trumpet judgments (Revelation 8:2 to 9:21), or persecution for not taking the mark of the beast (see the commentary on Revelation Dp – The Mark is the Name of the Beast or the Number of His Name). By the end of the Seventieth Week of Dani’el (Dani’el 9:27), one third will be left (Zechariah 13:8). This will be the believing remnant, purged by tribulation, but still lost. As a result, they will have no peace. The way of shalom, or peace they do not know. This verse is quoted by Paul to emphasize the sinfulness of man (Romans 3:17). There will be no justice in their paths. They will have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know shalom (59:8).

In verses 9 through 11 Isra’el recognizes the calamity she is in. So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness (59:9). Isaiah now uses first-person plural pronouns (us, we, our), to identify himself with his people. Up to this point, except for the believing remnant, Isra’el, will be corrupt and without justice (59:4, 11, 14-15) or righteousness. Spiritually they will be in darkness, blind and dead. At that point Isra’el then will confess the truth of what she has been accused of in the first eight verses. The situation is that preceding the Second Coming of Christ and the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom; therefore, Isra’el must make a national confession of her sin of rejecting Yeshua Messiah and asking Him to return (see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). The actual words of this prayer are found in four key passages of Scripture, first, in Psalm 79, secondly in Psalm 80, thirdly Isaiah 53:1-9, and lastly in Isaiah 63:7 to 64:12.

As the spiritual scales fall from their collective eyes, they begin to acknowledge how Isra’el had turned her back on their Messiah. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midway we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead (59:10). Up until that time spiritual blindness and death had characterized them. What a picture of the person who does not have a personal relationship with the LORD. We growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away (59:11). They will recognize that not only has there been no justice, but even worse, there has been no deliverance or salvation.

In verses 12 through 15a Isra’el recognizes her sin. For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us and we acknowledge our iniquities (59:12). The very sins of Isra’el will testify against Isra’el. There is a recognition that as religious as they thought they had been, in reality, their sin had separated them from ADONAI. Rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived (59:13). These sins were not merely against other men, they were against God (Psalm 51:4).

As the army of the antichrist tighten its noose around the neck of the Jews left at Bozrah, they finally realize the results of their denial. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, and honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey (59:14-15). The believing remnant, the righteous of the TaNaKh, finally recognize their sin.

True Fasting
58: 1-14

True fasting DIG: In what ways did God’s people seem to do the right thing? How did they spoil it? How did their view of fastings differ from the LORD’s? If their fasting were sincere, what would be different about their relationships with others? Their concern for the poor? What did ADONAI bless instead? What separated the two time periods? Why the change when the faithful remnant came back to the Land?

REFLECT: Do you ever find yourself just going through the motions with your faith? How can you know that you are in such a rut? What can you do about it? When should God’s people fast today? Who should observe the Sabbath today (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Dn – Remember the Sabbath by Keeping It Holy)? How do you get through the dry places in your spiritual journey?

In this section Isaiah gives two near-historical prophecies. Before the Babylonian Captivity (58:1-8), the prophet warned the Jews that their abuse of fasting had exposed their wicked hearts and spiritual adultery. After the Babylonian Captivity (58:9-14), he directs their attention to the true fast of the Sabbath rest.

With a heavy irony, Isaiah declared publicly that although the Israelites thought their behavior should win them special favor with the LORD, its real purpose was to gain ground in the merciless struggle for power, position and possessions. Why did ADONAI establish the outward forms of Temple worship? As ends in themselves? No, but as symbols of an attitude of submission, surrender and trust that would reveal itself in changed behavior. Without that attitude, however, those outward forms of worship did not please God, but disgusted Him. We can see a slow gradual decay in the religious fabric of the nation from the ministry of Isaiah down to the ministry of Jeremiah. While it is true that many of the contemporaries of Isaiah brought sacrifices that were unacceptable to the LORD because of an unseen condition of the heart (see Aj – Stop Bringing Meaningless Offerings), nonetheless, they still brought sacrifices ordained by ADONAI. However, over a hundred years later, the nation had descended into the pit of more extreme forms of idolatry even in the Temple itself (Ezekiel 8). In reality, they were playing God and making stuff up. It had gotten so bad that Jeremiah could not find a single righteous person in all of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 5:1-9).

First, Isaiah depicts the false fast of those Jews living in Jerusalem before the Babylonian Captivity. The prophet is commanded to shout aloud a message that is always unpopular; that is, to point out the sins of people who think they are very religious. Sin is a fatal disease if not treated and the LORD wanted the Israelites to know that unless something changed, it would lead to spiritual death and eternal separation from Him. Therefore, Isaiah declared: Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet or shofar (58:1a). Isaiah begins his commission by declaring a specific sin in the southern kingdom of Judah. Shout out loud in Hebrew means to cry or call out loud with the throat; to cry or to call out loud at the top of one’s lungs with a loud and clear voice. The shofar was the primary means used to gain attention in ancient Isra’el (18:3, 27:3). Its piercing blast was a sign to stop everything and pay attention. And that which they were to pay attention to was to Judah’s sins.

Declare to My people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins (58:1b). Their self-serving religion had become nothing short of rebellion. The sad commentary on their spiritual condition was that Jeremiah would search all over Jerusalem and could not find one honest person who would seek after justice and truth (see the commentary on Jeremiah Ba – Not One Is Upright). That call to acknowledge their sin looked back to 57:18-19, where the LORD said that He would comfort, guide and restore them back to a relationship with Him if they would only turn from their wicked ways, and it looks forward to 59:1-13, where they acknowledge their national wickedness.

Who were those rebels? They were people who sought after God! They were meticulous in following the forms of worship; yet their lives bore no resemblance to those of believers. The clearest example of this contradiction would be the Pharisees during the life of Messiah, who even tithed the spices in their cupboards, and yet had no qualms about throwing a widow who could not pay her debts out onto the street (Matthew 23:23; Luke 20:47), or ignoring the fifth commandment (see the commentary on Exodus Do – Honor Your Father and Your Mother) by refusing to help their parents by declaring their property Corban, that is, a gift devoted to God (Mark 7:9-13).

For day after day they seek Me out (in public worship); they seem eager to know My ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and have not forsaken the commands of their God (58:2a). Me is in the emphatic position and could be translated, “Me they seek. Of all things, they seek Me!” Basically, they were hypocrites, and this sin called for the most dramatic action (Matthew 21:12-13). They seem like they want a relationship with ADONAI, it is as if they want to know His ways. But they really didn’t. Actions always speak louder than words.

They ask Me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them (58:2b). He points out what hypocrites they were. Isra’el was acting as if they had not forsaken the commandments of the LORD. They kept the letter of the Torah and loved the ritual of Temple worship. But like the Oral Law (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law) that their descendants would invent after coming back from the Babylonian Captivity, those religious rulers of Jeremiah’s day also made up fasts that were supposedly ordained by ADONAI. And just as Rabbi Sha’ul said that he was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers (Galatians 1:14), those Jews during the ministry of Jeremiah were extremely zealous for their fasts. But they had no substance, and like the Oral Law, they elevated the importance of fasting to a position that God never intended.

They were merely observing the outward forms of their religion (Luke 18:12), but dared to question the LORD’s actions towards them. They sat in judgment of ADONAI and His methods. Complaining, they said: Why have we fasted if You have not seen it (58:3a)?. They had kept the letter of the Torah. They had been very conscientious in their Temple worship. They loved the ritual of it all. They had even fasted “religiously.” But they begin to notice that none of it was doing anything for them. It wasn’t fair! The LORD needed to honor their sacrifices. In other words, their manipulation of God wasn’t working! So they started to grumble.

Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed (58:3b)? They criticized the LORD for not blessing them, and it was as if they were saying, “Can you not see, look how religious we are!” They dutifully went up to the Temple and made their sacrifices. But the veneer of godliness was, and is, nauseating to ADONAI. The only reason they wanted an answer to their fasting was for their own personal gain. Without realizing it, they were playing God.

Fasting had become the centerpiece of their “religion.” The only problem was that the LORD never gave them fasting days. The TaNaKh commanded only one fast – the annual Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-31, 23:27 and 32). Only after the fall of Jerusalem were additional fast days added (Zechariah 7:3 and 5, 8:19). But He did give them feast days (Leviticus 23:1-44). Fasting is supposed to be an outward expression of the soul, but they had turned it into something that only ministered to their ego. They probably boasted of the fact that they fasted, and made a private matter public. About seven hundred years later Yeshua would say: When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:16-18).

ADONAI’s evaluation of their self-serving motives was confirmed in His response: Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers (58:3c). In spite of their outward observance of religion they indulged in their own wicked ways. How could they? Because they had no real relationship with the LORD. And the hearers of this prophecy by Isaiah were probably offended by this accusation. A lot of people still do this today.

Then God gave a practical example of the bad fruit their counterfeit religion produced. He said: Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife and in striking each other with wicked fists (58:4a). Every fast day ended in a fight. Fasting was intended to bring people closer to ADONAI, but unfortunately for them it brought out the worst – not surprising really, when a godless family was forced to spend a hungry day together! However, they kept expecting spiritual favors from unspiritual behavior. So the LORD let them in on some spiritual reality: You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high (58:4b). They didn’t realize that all their pious acts were for nothing because of their wicked hearts and evil actions. As far as ADONAI was concerned, their mistreatment of others revealed so much about them that it blotted out all of their phony fasting.

Therefore, the prophet explained why the LORD could not accept their phony fasting. They thought it gained them special favor with God, but He asked: Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day on the Sabbath for a man to humble himself. They had only been focusing on their external behavior rather than internal change, so ADONAI asked them if the Sabbath was really only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes (58:5a)? The very act of their fasting was exposed as meaningless as a reed nodding in the wind. Is this what you call a day of fasting acceptable to the LORD (58:5b)? If they were fasting for the wrong reasons, ADONAI didn’t want their fasting at all (Revelation 3:16). King David said it like this: You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise (Psalm 58:16-17).

In 58:6-7 there is a change from the infinitive absolute that answers the question, to the second person verbs of command. It is difficult to see the dramatic effect this has in the English, but its forcefulness in the Hebrew needs to be recognized. The LORD was not merely offering suggestions here. The Ten Commandments were not the Ten Suggestions, and neither were these.

What kind of fast did God want to see? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke (58:6)? ADONAI’s nature is to give Himself away to those who can never repay Him; there is no clearer evidence of His presence in a person’s life than the duplication of that same behavior. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t there in Jeremiah’s day. It’s as if the LORD was saying, “Do you really want to fast? Instead of going around with distorted faces, stop your sinning. Stop your gossiping. The kind of fast I am looking for is to fast from doing evil, to fast from oppressing, to fast from afflicting the poor.” Later, James would say it this way: Get rid of all the moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent . . . do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:21-22).

Continuing with the kind of fast ADONAI wanted to see, Isaiah said: Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood (58:7)? They were turning their backs on the poor. But more than that, the Israelites were to consider themselves members of one family who at one time had been slaves in Egypt. As a result, they were not to neglect each other. Those who know the compassion of God in their own lives will be unable to deny it to others. However, they even refused to show kindness and love to their own flesh and blood. They didn’t have a heart for the LORD because they didn’t have a heart for others. It was the same concept in the Torah: Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18).

Had they really exercised pure worship instead of mundane ritual, then 58:8 would have spoken of their healing. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you (Exodus 13:21-22, 14:19-20), and the Sh’khinah glory of the LORD will be your rear guard (58:8). They would have been declared righteous. They would have experienced God’s glory, and ADONAI would have answered their every call. Those would have been the results of true worship. These were the results Isra’el was looking for. But because the motivation behind the rituals of the Temple and fasting was improper, they did not experience the results of true worship. If only they would have abandoned their sin and returned to Him, they could have been forgiven.

This is the same for us today as it was in Jeremiah’s day. We are still just as tempted to use religious behavior as a way of manipulating the LORD for our selfish ends as our Israelite forebears were. It is interesting that Isaiah points to fasting, because that continues to be a practice of believers today who seek a more disciplined life. Other activities, however, have replaced Israelite religious activities, such as church or messianic synagogue attendance, daily devotions, prayer, tithing and so on. These are all susceptible to the same danger.

The risk for us, is that we might engage in merely outward religious behavior in order to receive blessings from God, who we feel is not inclined to give us blessings unless we manipulate Him in some way. Insofar as these attitudes, either consciously or unconsciously, govern our behavior, then our religion is nothing more than idolatry. By contrast, to the extent that our religious life is characterized by selfless service, freely given with no return expected, to that extent it is mirroring the life of ADONAI. And for those who are in the flow of God’s life, His blessing is a natural and abundant by-product. In this kind of behavior we show that we know the LORD and are not in a relationship with Him for what we can get out of it, but because we love Him.²³⁶

In the second near historical prophecy, Isaiah then gives a description of the true fast of Sabbath rest practiced by those Jews returning from the Babylonian Captivity. God desperately wanted to hear the prayers of His people so He could bless them, but their hearts weren’t open to receive it because of their spiritual adultery. Divine discipline was in order. Therefore, in 587 BC the LORD allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem and take the best and the brightest back to Babylon (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule). It was an extremely difficult and painful period of time for the nation. They would later remember: By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion (Psalm 137:1). Many times in life it seems like we have to undergo our own “Babylon Captivity” to really learn our lesson, and that was true of the Israelites.

The faithful remnant who returned to the Land after the decree of Cyrus (see Ia – The Deliverance of Cyrus the Great) were noticeably different than the generation that preceded them there. It is not that they were perfect, but they were teachable. Their hearts had changed. They repented, sought after the LORD and their spiritual adultery had ended.

Then you will call, and ADONAI will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I (58:9a). ADONAI is emphatic, ADONAI Himself will answer! Here am I is the response of a waiting, obedient servant (Genesis 22:1 and 11, Second Samuel 3:4). Answered prayer is not like sending a care box, it is like a home visit by the doctor. Then God emphasizes the rewards for repentance in both its negative and positive aspects. The negative aspect was to do away with the yoke [of oppression], stop doing evil, or pointing the finger of scorn against the poor and the weak with malicious talk, and if they spent themselves in behalf of, or literally grant your soul to, the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then there would be external evidence of an internal transformation (58:9b-10a). The positive aspect was a change of heart. They had to turn from their sin and bring their hearts back toward God. And if they truly repented and sought after the LORD, three specific results would follow:

The first result was divine reflection. Then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday (58:10b). The first blessing is clarity in life’s darkness. In those situations where we don’t know what to do, or which way to go when troubles close in around us. Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you (Psalm 139:12). ADONAI promises that even the gloom of His people will be as light. Why? John says: God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all (First John 1:5) and we reflect the Lord’s glory (Second Corinthians 3:18). As children of God, we reflect our Father’s likeness to the world. We walk in His light when we help others, not hiding our light under a bucket (Matthew 5:15).

The second result was divine guidance and provision. The Ruach ha-Kodesh says: The LORD will guide you always (58:11a). Our experience may well continue into the darkness, and we step hesitatingly into it as best we know how. But the reality is that the Spirit of God guides us. He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber (Psalm 212:3).

You’ve been there. You’ve escaped the sandy foundations of the valley and ascended His grand outcropping of granite. You’ve turned your back on the noise and sought His voice. You’ve stepped away from the masses and followed the Master as He led you up the winding path to the summit . . . Gently your Guide invites you to sit on the rock above the tree line and look out with Him at the ancient peaks that will never erode. “What is necessary is still what is sure,” He confides. “Just remember that you’ll go no where tomorrow that I haven’t already been.” The truth is still triumph . . . the victory is yours. The sacred summit. A place of permanence in a world of transition.

The LORD will lead you continually, and in the dry places He will satisfy your soul and make your bones strong (58:11b).We all hit dry places in our spiritual journey. But the Good News is that ADONAI will be there to meet us, and to satisfy our souls. He will strengthen us spiritually. The Jews in Dachau, Auschwitz and Treblinka could not be protected physically. But God was in those Nazi concentration camps with them, strengthening their souls. We do not have to be a spiritual thornbush in the desert, all of our energy consumed with mere survival, but will have the fruits and flowers to give from the overflow of their abundance. The idea of making bones strong is in contrast to all those places in the Bible where terror makes the bones tremble and shake (Job 4:14; Psalm 6:2; Jeremiah 23:9 and Habakkuk 3:16). This is the truth that all doctors know, when the spirit is healthy the body has a better chance of being healthy also.

You will be like a well-watered garden (Jeremiah 31:12), like a spring whose waters never fail (58:11c). Yeshua referred to the Holy Spirit when he said: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this He meant the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive (John 7:37-39). In the TaNaKh, the Ruach ha-Kodesh would come and go. After his affair with Bathsheba, King David would plead with God, saying: Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51:11). As a result of conversion, we have the permanent indwelling of the Ruach ha-Kodesh to guide and teach us into all truth. He is like a fountain that will not stop pouring out of us.

A third result was divine restoration. ADONAI promises that we do not have to live in the mess that we have made of our lives. It is true that we are deeply sinful, and our sin destroys everything that it touches. Nevertheless, God is stronger than our sin. He is able to give us the power to restore and renew that which was destroyed. Isaiah said that one day your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations when they return from the Babylonian Captivity; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets and Dwellings (58:12). Haggai, Zechariah, Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra, Nehemiah and Malachi led the way, but they were just the tip of the ice-burg. If it was the people’s sin that destroyed the City, it will be their righteousness, through the grace of God that will rebuild it. The LORD always allows us the dignity of being involved in putting back together what we have broken. We cannot do it apart from Him, but He will not do it apart from us.²³⁷

Sabbath observance was one barometer of one’s faithfulness to the Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Dn – Remember the Sabbath by Keeping It Holy). If a man, for example, followed the Sabbath commands and thereby acknowledged the importance of worshiping ADONAI, and showed that he depended upon the LORD to bless him materially for that time he took off from work by putting God first and not seeking to do as he pleased, then he would have joy, not only in a spiritual sense (ride on the heights), but also in a material sense (feast on the inheritance).

The Sabbath is the feast with a blessing (58:13-14a), which is antithetical to the fast without a blessing (28:2-5). ADONAI said: If you keep your feet from breaking, literally turn back your foot from, the equivalent in today’s vernacular would be to watch your step. So we could translate this, “If you watch your step on the Sabbath,” and keep from doing as you please on My holy day . . . (58:13a). The Sabbath is viewed as holy ground that should not be desecrated. The phrase doing as you please means doing business on the Sabbath. There was a lot of business going on during the worship service. Their place of business was officially closed, but business was still conducted verbally.

If you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then the blessings of the next verse would be theirs (58:13b). The phrase speaking idle words is also seen in Hosea 10:4, where the prophet says: They make many promises and take false oaths to God. He is speaking of using words that are empty and have no meaning to anyone. Three things were spelled out negatively concerning Sabbath observance; do not desecrate the Sabbath, do not do business on the Sabbath, and do not speak idle words on the Sabbath.

Opposed to the phony feasts, they should have a positive attitude toward the Sabbath. In the concept of the prophets, keeping the Sabbath was symbolic of keeping the whole Torah (Ezeki’el 20:10-17 and Ezeki’el 22:8 and 26). They would only experience the results of true worship by Sabbath observance. That’s what it was designed for. Then ADONAI said: You will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the Land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob (58:14a). The phrase to ride on the heights of the Land is a figure of speech used by the prophets in reference to reaching spiritual heights in one’s relationship to God. And those who have this positive attitude will inherit and possess the Land that was promised to their father Jacob. This is a wonderful promise to the people of Isra’el. But Isra’el did not even attempt to pursue it. In the next section we will see how Isra’el retained her separation from the LORD and deals with the sin that caused that separation.

Shabbat observance was one barometer of faithfulness to the Torah. By following the rules for the Sabbath a man, for example, acknowledged the importance of worshiping God and showed that he depended upon ADONAI to bless him materially for that time he took off from work. By putting the LORD first and not seeking to do as he pleased, he would have joy, not only in a spiritual sense (ride on the heights), but also in a material sense (feast on the inheritance). The holy Sabbath was God’s answer to the so-called fasting feasts made up by wicked men.

All this was certain because the mouth of the LORD had spoken it (58:14b). Here is the golden key to understanding the Bible: those who give themselves away find themselves; and those who surrender the throne receive a crown of righteousness.