THE TAKING AWAY OF ZION S DISGRACE THE BRANCH OF THE LORD ISAIAH 4:1-6

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 Commentary by Ron Thomas Questions by John C. Sewell THE TAKING AWAY OF ZION S DISGRACE THE BRANCH OF THE LORD ISAIAH 4:1-6

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 2 Text: Isaiah 4:1-6, The Taking Away of Zion s Disgrace The Branch of the Lord Commentary by Ron Thomas 1. In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, "We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!" 2. In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. 3. Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4. The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. 5. Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. 6. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. (NIV)

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 3 I. This verse (4:1) is better understood in light of the previous chapter. A. In verse 1, In that day clearly refers to the women of the previous chapter, but in that day (verse 2) has a new reference the Branch of the Lord. 1. This, by itself, suggests something different than 4:1, but is this the best translation of the Hebrew word(s)? 2. Note the varied translations: a. The JSB translates the Hebrew word as radiance. b. The NET translates and the vegetation of the Lord will become beauty and honor. c. YLT translates shoot of Jehovah. d. The GNB reads, The time is coming when the LORD will make every plant and tree in the land grow large and beautiful. e. The NKJV reads, the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious. II. The variety of translations indicates the differences of understanding about the meaning of this passage. A. The IB (volume 5, p. 194) does not help when it looks at these verses as probably the work of a writer later than Isaiah... and that this passage has been inserted in a

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 4 context where it stands in contrast to what is before it and after it. 1. There is no help in this because there is absolutely no evidence of such, just an opinion of one who does not want to believe in the integrity of Isaiah. B. The NET has a footnote that suggests the verse is best understood in an agricultural context, not messianic. 1. Rawlinson said the cumulative evidence seems to make clear this is messianic (p. 68). 2. However, noted scholars, Keil & Delitzsch, are not convinced the best understanding is agriculturally based. a. After some discussion of how best to understand branch in this context, they offer this: But if the sprout of Jehovah is neither the redeemed remnant itself, nor the fruit of the field, it must be the name of the Messiah (E-Sword). b. When an objection is offered that it does not fit within the context of what Isaiah says, they reply: It is undoubtedly strange that this epithet should be introduced so entirely without preparation even by Isaiah, who coined it first. i. In fact, the whole passage relating to the Messiah stands quite alone in this cycle of prophecies in chapters 1-6. III. But the book of Isaiah is a complete and connected work.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 5 A. What the prophet indicates merely in outline here, he carries out more fully in the cycle of prophecies which follows in chapters 7-12; and there the enigma, which he leaves as an enigma in the passage before us, receives the fullest solution (E-Sword). 1. Even the Jewish Study bible indicates that some have interpreted this word Branch as a reference to the Messiah (p. 792). 2. Barnes notes the varied interpretations of this, and concludes as do Rawlinson and Keil & Delitzsch. B. But, if we understand 4:12 as messianic, how about verses 2b through 6? 1. Are they, exclusively, messianic or is there a dual application? 2. Willis goes to great length attempting to make the case that 4:12 is not messianic, but that it is best understood in the context of chapters 2 and 3 (pp. 123-128; McGuiggan and Watt agree). 3. The fact that unanimity is lacking makes for a difficult interpretation. IV. How is the word Branch (NKJV) best understood? A. The word is not always to be understood in a singular (literal) way.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 6 B. For instance, it has its natural tree understanding in Isaiah 9:14; 14:19; 19:15; but in 11:1 it has a different sense, most surely messianic; similar to Jeremiah 23:5 (33:15). 1. Isaiah 9:14, So the LORD will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; (NIV) 2. Isaiah 14:19, But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, (NIV) 3. Isaiah 19:15, There is nothing Egypt can do head or tail, palm branch or reed. (NIV) 4. Isaiah 11:1, A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (NIV) 5. Jeremiah 23:5, "The days are coming," declares the LORD, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. (NIV) 6. Jeremiah 33:15, " 'In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land. (NIV) C. West thinks the word branch might have come from the words communicated to David in 2 Samuel 23:5.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 7 1. 2 Samuel 23:5, "Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire? (NIV) 2. He also suggests that the tree of David would fall and the stump remaining would bring forth a branch even more glorious than the kingdom of David (notebook, volume 2, pp. 105-106). V. The phrase it shall come to pass is not time specific, but the association with verse 2 could suggest a connection to the time of the Messiah. A. However, it may be that judgment is pending (as spoken by Isaiah in chapters 1-3) and will be overwhelming; there will be those who escape (the remnant) and, perhaps, this is a type/anti-type situation. 1. Those who have escaped (4:2) are those who remain (left in Zion; 4:3). a. Isaiah 4:3, Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. (NIV) 2. Those who have escaped and remain will be considered holy because the Lord will wash away the filth of the daughters of Jerusalem. B. An interesting remark by Rawlinson was that this was fulfilled by the early Christians, as they were called holy.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 8 1. Also, he notes that even Gibbon places the innocent lives of the early Christians among the causes of the conversion of the Roman Empire (p. 69). 2. None else but Christians are called holy in the Christian age (HCB, McClish, p. 84). Isaiah 4:3, Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. (NIV) I. If the events of Isaiah 4:3 are not messianic, when would they have taken place? A. Willis gives no answer except to say that those under consideration are simply the physically saved, and that it does not refer to anything messianic. 1. The text has nothing to do with God s book containing the names of those who will obtain eternal life in heaven after life on earth has ended (p. 127). 2. In the NKJV we read,...everyone, who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 3. In the NET it reads, will be called holy, all in Jerusalem who are destined to live. 4. In the marginal note, however, we read: TN Heb all who are written down for life in Jerusalem. B. A city register is envisioned; everyone whose name appears on the roll will be spared.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 9 1. This group comprises the remnant of the city referred to earlier in the verse (E-Sword). a. This has a different sense to it. b. What might be in view is difficult to determine. c. Perhaps Watts is correct when he says, The idea is that of a book containing names of persons to remain alive. d. If a name is removed, he must die. e. But the meaning is more than simply being alive. f. It implies God s protection and blessing. g. The remnant is the group chosen to participate in the life of God s city (p. 50). 2. Of course, we understand 4:3 best in connection to 4:4-5. Isaiah 4:4-6, The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. (NIV)

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 10 I. The blessings received are the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning; this results in filth and blood being removed (compare chapters 2 and 3). A. When this occurs, going back to the imagery of the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the Lord s presence will be visible; it will be a cloud to protect and a fire to light. 1. Numbers 9:15-23, On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 11 obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses. (NIV) 2. The tabernacle that is present is the Lord s shade to the remnant. Author s Note: I (Ron Thomas) have given much thought to what Willis offers, and I do not see his point of contention. Though it is true that one does not have to explicitly give detailed, historical account for all that Isaiah says before it is understood in a nonmessianic way, still, in light of its connection to the messianic view of 4:2 which I think is the best interpretation of the verse it seems best to understand the remaining verses the same.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 12 Questions on Isaiah 4:1-6 by John C. Sewell 1. Why would seven women want to enter a polygamous marital relationship with the same man? 2. Why did these unmarried women consider themselves disgraced? 3. The women said they would bring their own and. The husband would incur no financial obligations by marrying these seven women. Was that a deal or what for the husband?

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 13 4. What day is referenced by the phrase, In that day, in verse 2? 5. What is meant by the Branch? Who or what is the Branch? 6. In that day the Branch of the LORD will be and, and the of the will be the and of the in. 7. Identify the survivors in Israel. 8. Who are those left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem?

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 14 9. Where are/were the names of the living in Jerusalem recorded? 10. The will the of the of ; will the from by a of and a of. (NIV) 11. When did or will the things mentioned in question 10 above come to pass? 12. To what do a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night refer? What is its significance in Isaiah 4:5?

http://www.biblestudyworkshop. org 15 13. What is meant by canopy in verse 5? What was to be its function, purpose? 14. Define heat of the day and storm and rain as used in verse 6. 15. If Isaiah 4:1-6 is not messianic, to what could it otherwise refer?