Isaiah 4:1-6
Q.1. How dire was the plight of Israel? How and when would their circumstances change? Through whom would this change be ushered in? – (Isa.4:1-2 c.f. Jer.3:5; 33:15; Zech.3:8; 6:12)
In the previous chapter and spilling over to verse 1, Isaiah described the desperate lengths to which the remaining women would go to survive (Isa.4:1). However, God described the transformed circumstances of the nation, at what could only be a future time. Israel’s survivors will enjoy – the fruit of the earth (Isa.4:2). These changes will be ushered in by the Messiah – In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel (Isa.4:2 c.f. Isa.11:1; 53:2; Jer.23:5-6; 33:15-16; Zech.3:8; 6:12). This is a recurring message of the Old Testament, promised by God, that has not yet happened.
Q.2. Who will take part in the blessing of Jerusalem? What will precede this reversal? What conditions will God create in these days? – (Isa.4:3-6 c.f. Zech.12:10; 13:1,8-9; 14:9; Rev.17:14)
This blessing will be enjoyed by the survivors of Israel, who have been chosen, and are recorded to be among those living in Jerusalem – It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy–EVERYONE WHO IS RECORDED FOR LIFE in Jerusalem (Isa.4:3 c.f. Acts 13:47-48). In line with other prophecies, those chosen will be those who believe – when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem … (Isa.4:4 c.f. Zech.12:10; 13:1). God promised – I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day (Zech.3:9). The Branch also – will build the temple of the Lord and He will bear the honour and sit and rule on His throne (Zech.6:12-13). Christ, the Branch will completely transform Mount Zion as the place from which He will reign after His second coming – 5 then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. 6 There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain (Isa.4:5-6 c.f. Gen.1:7). This has not yet happened. It appears that after the Great Tribulation, Planet Earth will return to its Pre-Flood and Edenic conditions.