Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 4

Verses 1-6

Isa 4:1-6

Isaiah 4:1-6

"And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name; take thou away our reproach.

"In that day shall the branch of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of justice, and by the spirit of burning. And Jehovah will create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flame of fire by night; for over all the glory shall be spread a covering. And there shall be a pavilion for a shade in the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain."

Isaiah 4:1 is joined to Isaiah 3 in most versions of the Bible, because it is further prophecy of the ruin of the chosen people. What is meant is that at the time of fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, men shall be so scarce, having been slain in war, that seven women desiring to have children to take away their reproach would offer to eat their own bread and provide their own clothing, if only the available man would have children by them and thus take their reproach away. Every Jewish woman considered childlessness the most terrible earthly reproach.

"The general tenor of this chapter, in its context, is that salvation lies on the far side of judgment. Israel’s glory must be that of new growth after destruction, and of holiness after a fiery cleansing, and of God’s `Shekinah’ - His manifested presence, as in the Exodus days.”

Isaiah 4:5 here recalls the days during Israel’s wilderness wanderings when the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night were constant witnesses of the presence and power of God to protect his people.

Isaiah 4:2 in this chapter mentions "the Branch of Jehovah," using exactly the same word that is found in Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; and Zechariah 6:12, where in every instance the plain reference is to the Messiah; and it is our firm conviction that there is no reason to drop the capital letter and downgrade this reference to the fertility of the land or to anything else. We are aware, of course, of the radically conflicting views of commentators on this; and we shall note each position.

Kidner has this:

"Branch is a misleading term for `the shoot of new growth’ which is paralleled by `the fruit of the land.’ The point is that Israel must be reborn: from her roots a new crop must spring up when judgment has removed all her present glory and all but a few survivors. It is the renewed community that is in mind at this point; later, it will emerge that One Man will be this new growth.”

We acknowledge that many commentators follow this line, thus editing out of the sacred Old Testament another plain reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is what is wrong with the viewpoint: (1) We do not allow that Kidner, or any other scholar, has the right to belittle the words of the sacred prophets as "misleading." It is the inaccurate opinion of alleged scholars that is misleading. (2) The Branch is here represented as springing up out of the ground, whereas, Isaiah noted this Branch was to be a "Branch of Jehovah," not a branch of the roots in the Old Israel, nor a branch out of the ground, but a "Branch of Jehovah!" Furthermore, in all the history of the human family, who else? pray tell, was ever a legitimate "Branch of Jehovah" except the Lord Jesus Christ? (3) Also, note the ridiculous postulation here that "Israel is to be reborn from her roots!" Contrast that impossible proposition with the statement of Jesus Christ that men must be born "from above" (John 3:3 ASV).

We are delighted that Gleason L. Archer has properly discerned the true meaning of the word "Branch" in Isaiah 4:2 -

"`The Branch of Jehovah’ (American Standard Version) refers to Christ himself, as the descendant of the promised line of David. The same word, literally sprout is used with reference to Messiah in Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; and Zechariah 6:12...Note that the ultimate prosperity is promised only to the escaped of Israel, although the nation as a whole must be rejected for disobedience. Only those who have been sanctified by the new birth, and inwardly transformed to mirror forth Christ’s holiness will be enrolled as citizens in the spiritual Jerusalem.”

That this is indeed the true meaning of the passage is indicated in what immediately follows in Isaiah 5, where it is revealed that the Old Israel, the vineyard of the Lord, is no true vine at all, but a corrupt or degenerate vine, carrying the simple meaning that no "sprout" from that evil vine could be the Branch spoken of here. All of this becomes crystal clear in the light of Jesus’ teaching in John 15:1 ff. Jesus alone is the "true vine," the new sprout, not off the old vine, but from God Himself as given to men in the person of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

There is also a contrast in this short chapter (Isaiah 4) between the "filth of the daughters of Zion" and the glorious beauty that shall pertain to the glorified remnant of Israel in the new kingdom of Messiah.

Isaiah 4:2 THE MESSIAH: “In that day,” is a flashback to chapter Isaiah 2:2, “. . . in the latter days.” Israel and Judah have been punished Isaiah 2:6 to Isaiah 4:1; a remnant has escaped; out of that remnant another day (far in the future) a better day, has come. This “branch” has to be The Branch, The Messiah (Cf. Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:12) if the context is to be taken into account. The Branch, Jesus Christ, is to come and demonstrate the true beauty and glory of Israel. The “fruit of the land” probably refers to the Messiah’s humanity having its connection to the nation of Israel (Cf. Numbers 13 for “the land of Canaan,” which God gave to Israel). The writer of Hebrews probably had this prophecy in mind when he wrote, “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah . . .” (Hebrews 7:14). Edward J. Young points to four reasons “the fruit of the land” refers to the Messiah: (a) The parallelism between branch and fruit (Cf. John 12:24); (b) In many passages of Scripture there is reference to the fruitfulness of the Messianic age; (c) The text provides no contrast between fruitfulness and barrenness; (d) Only when the phrase “fruit of the land” refers to the Messiah is there a satisfactory connection with what follows. It might be, however, that the “fruit of the land” is the product of the Branch, and not the Branch Himself. In this case it would be the redeemed community, the church, Christians.

Isaiah 4:3 MESSIANIC PEOPLE: In those “latter days” the people who have escaped the wrath of God and have had their names recorded in God’s book of life will have done so because they have been washed and cleansed (Isaiah 4:4). An important parallel to this whole context is the passage in Joel 2:28 to Joel 3:3 where practically the same figurative language is used to describe the Messianic age. Those “left in Zion” will be truly called holy in contrast with those of Jerusalem of Isaiah’s day who were claiming to be holy but were filthy. The apostle Paul leaves no doubt that the “Zion” of prophecy is the New Testament church (Cf. Hebrews 12:22 ff).

Isaiah 4:4 THE MESSIANIC CLEANSING: The Lord Himself will take action to cleanse “Zion” of the filth of sin such as the women of Jerusalem were guilty. The only point at which God could have brought about cleansing, in any ultimate sense, through perfect justice was at the cross of Christ (Cf. Romans 3:21-26). God punished man’s sins in Christ and was perfectly just in keeping His word of judgment upon sin, while at the same time He was perfectly merciful in imputing to man the righteousness of Christ (Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21). Zechariah proclaims this great cleansing (Zechariah 12:10 to Zechariah 13:9). This spirit of “burning” is portrayed in Malachi as taking place when the Messiah came to purge “the sons of Levi” (Cf. Malachi 3:1-4). All this cleansing began to take place when Jesus came and offered Himself as both the divine agent to satisfy God’s demands and the divine power to meet man’s needs for purification. It is still taking place through the work of the Holy Spirit as His message of conviction (John 16) is preached and men respond in faith. But it will find its consummation in God’s great and final Day of Judgment and Salvation.

Isaiah 4:5-6 THE MESSIANIC PRESENCE: It is significant that the word “create” is from the same Hebrew word, bara, used in Genesis 1! That which is to come to pass will be brought into being exclusively by the personal and direct power of God. When the future glory of Zion comes, God is going to “create” a new Jerusalem (Cf. Isaiah 65:17-25; Isaiah 66:22-23, etc.). The “cloud” and the “flaming fire” are figures borrowed from the wilderness wandering of the covenant people. They depict Divine guidance, protection and access to God’s presence. Over the whole redeemed community of the new “Zion” God is going to spread a canopy. Just as over the Jewish wedding ceremony there was a protective canopy, so here there will also be one to protect God’s bride, the church. There will also be a “booth” (pavilion) for refreshing shelter and rest and a refuge from the storms. The booth was a small, protective structure, such as was used by Israel in the wilderness at the Feast of Booths. The “covert” is a hiding place. There are so many New Testament figures brought to our mind here—Jesus speaks of the man who builds his house upon the rock for protection from the storms; our life is said to be hid with Christ in God, etc.

It is reassuring to listen to these sweet words of hope from the prophet squarely in the midst of his thundering of the judgment? of God upon sin. It reminds us that the message of God is always two-fold; judgment upon sin, but salvation for faith and repentance.