In that day there shall be a sprout of Jehovah for beauty and glory, and the fruit of the earth for excellency and for ornament for those that are escaped of Israel.
The phrase that opens this verse is not vague. It reaches past Isaiah's own century to the moment when Christ returns.
The words "in that day" open verse 2 as well as verse 1. The "day" in question is plainly the period that introduces the age to come, the time of Christ's second coming. The Old Testament uses the word translated "Branch" of our Lord five times, and it means a sprout — "a Sprout of Jehovah for glory and beauty" (New Trans). Here, though it is veiled, we see a hint of the Deity of the promised Messiah. The picture is of a living tree putting out a sprout that shows the tree's own nature and character. And the living tree here is Jehovah Himself.
Four other passages give Christ the same name, and each stresses something different.
Jeremiah speaks of the Lord Jesus twice as the Branch, or Sprout (Jer. 23:5; Jer. 33:15). There the stress falls on righteousness. It is the character He displays, not the Source He springs from. Zechariah uses the word twice as well (Zech. 3:8; Zech. 6:12). There the stress is different: though He springs from Jehovah, He takes the place of the Servant and enters Manhood to serve. Read the five occurrences in the fuller light of the New Testament, and you see how full these early predictions were about our blessed Lord. The one in our chapter is the first and deepest of them all.
Taken together, these passages describe a reign still ahead — the millennium, when Christ rules on earth.
A title of the Lord Jesus, which He will bear in connection with Israel in the future… He will be a "righteous Branch and a King." He will "build [or advance in honour] the temple of Jehovah; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; and He shall be a priest on His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." It is a description of the Lord Jesus in the millennium.
The same prophet also said Israel would see nothing in Him to desire.
When the Lord came the first time, the nation rejected Him. The prophet foresaw this in Isaiah 53. God's tender plant, the root out of dry ground, held no attraction for the people He came to. As Isaiah wrote, He had "no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him" (Isa. 53:2). It will be completely different when the Lord returns in His glory to save the godly remnant from the dreadful conflicts of the last days. They will truly see the excellence and beauty of the One whom the leaders and nation of Israel once rejected and crucified.
The glory of verse 2 follows a period of slaughter, and the survivors are what is left of a nation under judgment.
Scripture everywhere ties this time of tribulation to the Jews in the last days, before God delivers them. After it comes an outshining of beauty and glory, and abundant mercy for the saved and holy remnant… The Branch is a familiar picture of the Messiah. He will be there in His beauty and glory, and everything will be in harmony for the escaped of Israel. However many are slain, this one Man will repair every breach. Holiness in Jerusalem will be a reality, not a mere name. Yet this does not come by the gospel of grace as now. It comes, in the prophet's own words, "by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning."
Kelly rules out two popular explanations of how this blessing comes.
It is to be a real work of God. No Christian should entertain the idea of a merely worldly restoration, or of anything that political upheaval could achieve. Nor, on the other hand, is it the effect of preaching the gospel as now. "That nation" will once more come into prominence, and in their own land — at least the escaped of Israel. These will be souls blessed by God, but blessed at the same time as the seed of Jacob on the earth.
The second half of the verse describes what the Branch yields, and for whom.
The Lord Jesus as the BRANCH will give infinite delight to God, just as He brought unbroken pleasure to His Father when He was here as the TRUE VINE. For men there will be peace and joy — the fruit of His work on the cross, flowing from His good and generous reign.
- Day. "In that day" is not Isaiah's day or ours. It is the period that opens the age to come, when Christ returns.
- Sprout. "Branch" means a sprout, and the tree it grows from is Jehovah Himself. That is a veiled hint of Messiah's Deity, and the first and deepest of the five Branch passages.
- Beauty. At His first coming Israel saw no beauty in Him to desire. At His return the rescued remnant will see the excellence of the One they crucified.
- Escaped. The blessing reaches only those left after judgment. It comes by a spirit of judgment and burning — a real work of God, not political change and not gospel preaching as now.
- Fruit. The Branch delights God as the true Vine once did. For men He yields peace and joy, flowing from His work on the cross and His reign.
And it shall come to pass that he who remaineth in Zion, and he that is left in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, -- every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem;
Isaiah 4 ends a long stretch of warning with a promise. After the fire, the people left in Zion will be called holy, and God will have their names recorded — which raises three questions: who survives, what that record means, and how such holiness is produced.
The verse speaks of those who are left and who remain. That wording assumes many were not. Writers tie those who escape to a coming time of trouble centred on Judah.
In that day Christ will be revealed, and a godly remnant will be there too, spoken of as those of Israel who have escaped. This shows how fierce and destructive of life the great tribulation foretold elsewhere will be. Verse 3 makes the same point. From our Lord's prophetic discourse, recorded in three of the Gospels, we learn that Judah and Jerusalem will be the very centre of that time of trial and persecution. It will only end when the Lord intervenes in power at His second coming. Those who remain will be alive spiritually and holy, and will enjoy the excellent fruits produced by His presence.
The verse ends with names recorded for life. Commentators count more than one such record in Scripture.
A registry of people's names as living. One (also simply called God's book) may be a book of those who only have a name to live, and God may therefore blot out their names: Exodus 32:32-33; Revelation 3:5. Another is a book of the saved, and no one will be erased from it: Philippians 4:3; Revelation 20:12, 15; Revelation 21:27. A third, called simply "the book," contains the names of the remnant of Israel: Daniel 12:1.
Being on that list means more than surviving as a nation. Those who come through are changed people.
Whether they are in the land, or come out of the dust of the earth, or come from among the Gentiles, God will deliver none but those who are the objects of His counsels — those "found written in the book." Some of them may awake, as the figure puts it, to take part in the great struggle at the close. But their names are not registered in God's book, so they will be given up to shame and everlasting contempt. For the rest it is not a mere national deliverance, but much more. Those who are delivered will be truly born of God. A spiritual character will attach to their rise, as well as a national one.
Isaiah promises a Jerusalem where holiness is fact and not just a name. The next verse names the means.
However many the slain, this one Man will be the restorer of all breaches, and holiness will be a reality, and not a mere name, in Jerusalem. Yet it is not by the gospel of grace as now, but "by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning." It is not the church but Israel that is in question here, and her purification by judgment. Then the Lord's open presence will be her security as much as her glory.
Another writer puts the same result in a phrase drawn from Israel's own history: what the nation was always meant to be, it will at last be.
The separation is dwelt on in the next verse, and in plain words, Israel becomes what it never yet has been, an "assembly of the righteous."
The holiness of verse 3 rests on the washing described in verse 4. That washing is not the work of evangelism but of fire.
Before this happy state of things can come, there must be the work of cleansing that verse 4 speaks of. It is "a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning" — that is, fire. We may remember that John the Baptist said of our Lord, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). He also showed that the fire burns the chaff, while the wheat goes into His barn. Burning the chaff will purge and wash away the filth. God will cleanse Jerusalem, indeed the whole earth, by a work of judgment and not by the preaching of grace.
Has any of this happened already? One writer answers from what the chapter says next.
There is no room to say that this was fulfilled at any time in their past history. The prophet goes straight on to what is still future.
Why tell Israel this so long in advance?
We see in Isaiah 4:3 that all who escape in Jerusalem will be written to life... Prophecy always assumes a state of displeasure on God's part, but blessing and glory after judgment. God gave it to be believed and understood before it happened. If someone only understands it once it has happened, the moral effect is lost. When God makes His mind known to us about what does not touch us directly, we have great proof of His love and enjoy communion with Him. That communion always separates us more from a world about to be judged.
- Fire first. Verse 3's blessing rests on verse 4's washing. God cleanses Jerusalem by judgment and burning, not by the preaching of grace.
- A remnant, not a nation. Those left are the ones who escape. The wording shows how destructive that tribulation centred on Judah will be.
- A name on a list. Names recorded for life point to a register God keeps. Commentators link it to "the book" of Daniel 12:1, holding the names of Israel's remnant.
- Born, not just spared. Deliverance for those in the book is more than national rescue. They will be truly born of God, with a spiritual character to match.
- Holy in fact. Holiness in Jerusalem stops being a name and becomes real — and God says so in advance, so faith can hold it before the day comes.
when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have scoured out the blood of Jerusalem from its midst, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
The chapter turns from Jerusalem's ruin to Jerusalem's restoration. Verse 4 is the hinge: the city is not repaired but cleansed, and the cleansing sounds nothing like mercy. Two questions press: what exactly is being washed away, and whose "spirit" does the burning?
Verse 4 names what must happen before the good things of verses 2 and 3 can come. One writer sets that work against the way God works now:
But this happy state of things cannot come before the work of cleansing that verse 4 speaks of. Verse 4 describes it as "a spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning" — that is, by fire. We may remember that John the Baptist said of our Lord, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matt. 3:11). He also showed that the fire would burn the chaff, while He gathered the wheat into His barn. In our chapter, verses 2 and 3 describe the wheat. The burning of the chaff will purge and wash away the filth. The cleansing of Jerusalem, indeed of the whole earth, will be by a work of judgment and not by the preaching of grace.
Verse 3 calls the survivors in Zion holy. That holiness is no mere title — verse 4 says what makes it real.
He will be there in His beauty and glory, and all will be in unison for the escaped of Israel. No matter how many are killed, this one Man will repair every breach. Holiness will be real in Jerusalem, not just a name. Yet this does not come by the gospel of grace as it does now, but expressly "by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." … It is not the church but Israel that is in question, and her purification by judgment. Then the manifested presence of the Lord will follow, and will be her security as well as her glory.
Commentators differ over the words "a spirit of judgment"; the older wording behind these quotes reads "the spirit of judgment." Some apply it to the Holy Spirit guiding church leaders. Kelly rejects that, but still holds that the Spirit is meant:
Vitringa applied the spirit of judgment and the spirit of destruction to the Holy Spirit guiding the ruler and ministers of the church in discernment. That is the old source of endless error — it turns Jewish scripture aside to a Christian purpose. This is plainly the day of righteous judgment on earth, above all in its chief city, Jerusalem. Yet the action of the Spirit is certainly meant here, but in judicial power. First comes purity, then glory shines brightly on Zion.
The same Spirit works in grace across the world today. Here He works in one place, and in a different character:
He does not come as the Spirit of grace in an arena as wide as the world. He comes in Israel, especially in Jerusalem, as the Spirit of judgment (Isa. 4:4).
The burning is not the end in itself. One writer illustrates it from an ordinary sight in the street:
I was watching a man painting a gate. He had a lamp with the flame directed forward. He held this against the old, dirty paint, scorching and blistering it. Then with the sharp edge of a tool he scraped it off. All this had a final purpose in view. He was preparing the gate, by flame and burning, for the new paint. … In the same way the Spirit of judgment will work by "burning," removing all that is evil. This prepares the way for the Kingdom of Christ to be set up in glory.
Read with the chapters before it, verse 4 shows God dealing with a specific people in a specific place:
In these four chapters one can see the importance God attaches to the land. He takes account of the iniquity of His earthly people, cleansing them by His judgment. He washes away the filth of the nations also.
One writer sees the Spirit pictured together with the fire of judgment, and draws a warning for today:
Here, surely, we have a symbolic picture of the Spirit of God in His fullness. But the picture ties Him to the fire of judgment. That reminds us that, as with Israel so with the world, God is going to purge away all filth "by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning" (Isa. 4:4). Some today refuse the One who speaks in grace from heaven. In the day to come they will find that "our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29).
- Filth — the verse names two stains: the filth of the daughters of Zion and the blood of Jerusalem. God washes both away.
- Fire — the cleansing comes by burning, not by preaching. The fire takes the chaff so the wheat can remain.
- Spirit — the Spirit is at work, but in judicial power, not as the Spirit of grace He is across the world today.
- Glory — the burning prepares the surface. Purity comes first, and only then does glory shine on Zion.
- Today — grace speaks from heaven now. Those who refuse it will meet the same God later as a consuming fire.
And Jehovah will create over every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and over its convocations, a cloud by day and a smoke, and the brightness of a flame of fire by night for over all the glory shall be a covering.
Isaiah 4 closes three chapters that expose the rot in Jerusalem. Now the same city has a cloud over it by day and fire by night — the signs that marked God's presence over Israel in the desert. When does this happen? Who is it for? And how is a cover of smoke and flame good news?
The order in the chapter matters. Verse 4 speaks of filth washed away and bloodguilt purged; only then does the cloud appear. One writer places all this in the day of God's judgment on the earth, and ties the image back to the desert:
This is clearly the day of righteous judgment on earth, and above all in its capital city, Jerusalem... God first makes Zion pure, and then glory shines brightly on her. Just as the cloudy pillar once covered the tabernacle of God's presence, so Jehovah will now create that same cloud and fire over every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies.
The cloud is not a picture of an inward mood. It is something people can see, and it lasts:
It will be a visible glory. It will be a permanent glory. He will now dwell gloriously among the children of Israel. People will see this glory over Jerusalem, as they did long ago — a cloud by day, and a shining, flaming fire by night.
Solomon's temple held the glory in a single place. Isaiah spreads it over every house and every gathering in the city:
Once judgment has done its cleansing work, God's presence can return to Jerusalem. It will not rest on one special building, like the temple in Solomon's day, but on every dwelling-place and convocation.
The word behind "assemblies" is not vague. It is the same Hebrew word used for Israel's appointed sacred gatherings:
It means "a calling together," and it is always called "holy." Leviticus 23 lists the occasions called "holy convocations," in the chapter that records the Feasts. They included the Sabbath and ended with the Feast of Tabernacles. The same Hebrew word is translated "assemblies" in Isaiah 1:13 and Isaiah 4:5.
Here fire and smoke form a roof. The next verse fills out the picture: shade from heat, cover from storm. One writer draws the wilderness parallel, and its scale:
Long ago God spread His tabernacle over the tent of meeting. That tent then became the centre and resting place of the thousands of Israel. It covered them in the desert. The huge canopy God spread over them sheltered two and a half million people — the redeemed host of Jehovah pictured in type — from scorching sun and winter storms. It was the nation's glory and defence. In the eternal state the tabernacle of God is with men (Revelation 21:3); in the days of Christ's coming reign God's tabernacle will be over them (Revelation 7:15). What security that white-robed crowd will enjoy as they rest under the glorious canopy spread over them, each one equally sheltered!
A cloud is a strange defence — until you ask who is inside it. One writer answers with a question:
When that happens, who will be able to strike a blow at Jerusalem? The presence of God and the glory that comes with it will be protection. Who can strike through a defence like that?
Some read this as a picture of the church, or of heaven. One writer rejects that on the strength of the imagery itself:
Clearly the images used do not fit heaven. They fit the earth, and above all the land and people of Israel. So this is not about eternity, when all distinctions of land and race have passed away. It is also wide of the mark to treat the history of the early church as the fulfilment of this prophecy. It is really a vision of future divine glory for Israel on the earth, after judgments, under the Messiah.
Commentators differ in how far they press the verse into present use. Kelly warns against turning Israel's promise into a church promise. Another writer still finds a picture for believers today: rest in Christ, "whose glory God spreads as a covering over His redeemed" (Samuel Ridout).
- Purged — glory does not settle on a filthy city. Judgment cleanses first; the cloud follows.
- Created — no human effort produces this glory. God creates it, visible and permanent.
- Spread — it does not settle on one sacred building but reaches every home and every gathering in Zion.
- Canopy — the glory is also a roof. It shelters from heat and storm, as the desert cloud sheltered Israel.
- Safe — because the defence is God's own presence, no blow can get through it.
And there shall be a tabernacle for shade by day from the heat, and for a shelter and for a covert from storm and from rain.
Isaiah's fourth chapter ends not with a throne but with a shelter — a small booth against heat and storm. What is this covering, who sits under it, and when?
The shelter is not offered to Jerusalem as she stands. It follows the cleansing described just before, and one commentator insists on that order:
It is clearly the day of righteous judgment on earth, and especially in its chief city, Jerusalem. No one denies for a moment that the Spirit acts here, but He acts in judicial power. First purity is brought about, then glory shines brightly on Zion.
Another writer sees Isaiah's opening chapters moving toward this close:
There will be a display of glory in this world, as in a small measure there was in the wilderness… Here we have the judgment of Israel and the glory displayed. The first four chapters give us the end of everything as far as Israel is concerned — but glory at last.
The English word "tabernacle" covers two different words in the original, and the difference matters:
The word translated "tabernacle" in verse 6 is not the one used for the tabernacle in the wilderness, but the one used for the feast of tabernacles, or booths. Any extreme, either of heat or of rain, will be so slight that nothing more than a booth will be needed. Everything necessary will come with the presence of God among His people, redeemed by judgment.
That feast itself points forward:
A foreshadowing of the rest that remains, and of the rejoicing that will take place when all their earthly troubles are ended, and Messiah is reigning over them.
Verse 6 tells us what the covering over Zion is. It is God's own presence, no longer tied to one building:
Once judgment has done its cleansing work, God's presence can return to Jerusalem. It will rest not merely on a special building, like the temple in Solomon's day, but on every dwelling place and gathering. As of old, a cloud in the daytime and a flame by night will mark His presence. When that happens, who will be able to strike a blow at Jerusalem? The presence of God and the glory that goes with it will be the protection. Who can strike through a defence like that?
Some read this verse as a picture of the church, or of the eternal state. One commentator answers that reading directly:
Clearly the images used do not suit heaven but the earth, especially the land and people of Israel. This again shows that eternity is not in question here, for in eternity all distinctions of land and race have passed away… It is really a vision of future divine glory for Israel on the earth, after judgments, under the Messiah.
One writer traces the same covering from Israel's desert camp to two future scenes:
God spread His tabernacle over the tent of meeting long ago, which became the centre and rest of the thousands of Israel. It covered them in the desert. The huge canopy God spread over them sheltered them from scorching suns and winter blasts. It was the nation's glory and defence… In the eternal state the tabernacle of God is with men (Rev. 21:3); in millennial times God's tabernacle will be over them (Rev. 7:15). What a sense of security the white-robed crowd will enjoy as they rest under that glorious canopy — each one equally sheltered, equally protected!
- Cleansed — God never offers the booth to a guilty city. Judgment purifies first, then the glory shines.
- Covered — the canopy is God's own presence. It rests on every home and gathering, not on one temple, and no blow can get through.
- Sheltered — the word means "booth," the light hut of the harvest feast. Heat and rain will be so slight that a booth is enough.
- Located — the promise belongs to the earth, to the land and people of Israel, not to the church and not to eternity.
- Coming — the same canopy covers the crowd in Revelation. It is how Isaiah's first four chapters end: judgment throughout, but glory at last.