Isaiah 4 - Printer Friendly

Isaiah 4 begins with the end of Isaiah's prophecy from the previous chapter. He described how the proud and wealthy women of Jerusalem and Judah would be brought terribly low (Isaiah 3:16–24). This would include having their men killed and all their adornments taken from them. In fact, they would be left in reproach: as widows with no status in their community.

He concludes this thought by noting that when all the men of Judah have been killed or exiled, very few will remain in the land. Those that do remain will receive offers from seven women at a time to become their wives with no strings attached (Isaiah 4:1). In that era, men were expected to provide wives with food, resources, and other necessities. The situation Isaiah describes is so desperate that women want nothing more than a name and family and permanent place in the community.

Isaiah then turns back to where this section began in Isaiah 2. In Isaiah 2:1–5, he described the glorious time in Israel's far future when the Messiah would rule over Israel and the world from the mountain of the Lord in Jerusalem. Now Isaiah returns to that setting in this chapter to describe the Messiah as "the branch of the LORD" who is also the fruit of the land (Isaiah 4:2). This shall be the honor of the people of Israel.

Pictured now is a nation of Israelites dramatically changed from the unfaithful people he has been describing in the previous chapters. All those who have survived and remain in Jerusalem will be called holy, recorded for life. This will happen after the Lord has washed away all the sin of the people of Israel and Jerusalem has been cleansed. He will do this by a "spirit of judgment and spirit of burning", perhaps describing the judgment poured out on the Messiah on the cross for the sins of the world (Isaiah 4:2–4).

At that time, the Lord will create a canopy over Mount Zion, with a cloud for the day and smoke and fire for the night. This canopy of cloud and fire will serve as protection for God's people once and for all, so that neither sun or rain and storm can ever hurt them (Isaiah 4:5–6).

Isaiah 3:16–4:1 describes the wealthy women of Jerusalem and Judah from the Lord's perspective. He describes them as conceited, casting seductive looks all around. Because of their open rebellion, the Lord will take away all their adornments, from their moon-god crescent ornaments to their veils. When the judgment comes, their perfume will be replaced by stench and their styled hair with baldness. They will wear sackcloth with rope belts. They will be destitute and lonely enough to beg any living man to simply say he is their husband. Jerusalem's men will fall in battle, leaving the city exposed. Jerusalem will sit empty and in mourning.

Isaiah 4:2–6 finds Isaiah returning to depict the end-times version of Israel he began to describe in Isaiah 2:1–5. The "branch of the Lord" will reign over the survivors of Israel and the world. Those Israelites left in Zion will be called a holy people with their names recorded for life. By then, the Lord will have purged their sin and the bloodstains of Jerusalem . A cloud by day and fire by night will serve to protect Israel from any harm the natural world can produce.

After concluding his words about the desperate situation following the Lord's judgment for the formerly wealthy women of Judah, Isaiah returns to picturing a time in Israel's distant future: when the branch of the Lord, the Messiah, will reside in the land as the pride of Israel's survivors. Unlike now, Israel will be a holy people cleansed of all sin and the bloodstains of Jerusalem. This will be done by a "spirit of judgment and burning", perhaps endured by the Messiah on the cross. Then a cloud by day and fire by night will rest over the glory of the Lord on Mount Zion.

Isaiah 4 begins with a phrase which is meant to end the previous chapter. Isaiah describes the desperate situation for the formerly arrogant and rich women of Judah. Isaiah then describes the time in Israel's far future when the fruit of the land, the Messiah, is among them. Then the people will have been made holy by the Lord, cleansed of their filth by a "spirit of judgment and burning". Cloud and fire will hang over the glory of the Lord at Mount Zion. Later chapters will give more details about this future time.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).