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.