Isaiah 4

Notes

Ver. 2-4. Not only shall the fields yield abundant increase, but Jesus Christ shall shine forth in his glory; bring forth for, and communicate to, his chosen people, whom he has reserved for himself, the precious fruits of spiritual and eternal blessings:—while they, refined in the furnace of his judgments, justified by his blood, and sanctified by his Spirit, shall be remarkably sound in their principles, and holy in their hearts and conversations. 5, 6. And as the Lord by his pillar of cloud and fire protected, refreshed, and guided the Israelites in the wilderness, so shall he by his blood, his power, his care, his glory displayed, protect his church.

Ver. 1. In that day. What is meant by 'that day?' Looking backward in the prophecy, ch. 2. 2 introduces 'the last days' (see note), within which period again and again recurs 'that day.' It occurs ch. 2. 11, 12, 17, 20, characterized as 'the day of the Lord of hosts,' comp. ch. 6. 1, 3, with Jn. 12. 41, as the time 'when the Lord shall shake terribly the earth,' which generally signifies the land of Judea—'when the Lord alone shall be exalted,' the day when 'a man shall cast his idols to the moles and to the bats'—and in ch. 3. 7, 18, 25, when a man, on account of the universal poverty, shall refuse to become a ruler—and the 'bravery' of female apparel shall be utterly taken away. Farther, it is characterized, ch. 3. 25; 4. 1-3, by the destruction of men and unprotected state of women—and by blessings to them that are 'escaped'—and by the terrible judgments inflicted by the Gentiles on account of the unfruitfulness of Israel. Now, does it not hence appear, that 'that day' is not any one day or period in which all these events meet (for that is impossible), but any day or period within the 'last days,' marked by its own specific event, whether past or future? C.——This verse should be connected with the previous chapter. The social result of the great slaughter of the men of Israel recorded in ver. 25 above is here indicated by a bold figure. In that day, when the males of the nation would be almost exterminated, seven women would solicit one man in marriage, and that under the most humiliating conditions. They would provide for themselves; they would not ask of him either food or clothing, only his name, and the honourable position of wives. It is a sad and graphic picture of the misery the Israelites were entailing upon themselves by their sins. P.

Ver. 2. Branch of the Lord. The word 'branch' is one of the epithets applied to the Messiah in the Old Testament. See Je. 23. 5; 33. 15; Zec. 3. 8; 6. 12. The figure is beautiful and appropriate. Christ was a noble shoot from a royal though decayed family. 'The branch of the Lord' is Christ; and the joys and blessings of his future kingdom are here described. P.

Reflections.—How often women's high decking, to procure themselves marriages, issues in contempt and impudence! But let the much-despised Jesus and his fulness be ever precious to my soul.—Let his gracious election of me to everlasting life be manifested in the sanctification of my nature and practice. Amidst manifold pollutions of my heart and nature, let me depend for effectual purification on his power and blood. And amidst every danger let him, and Jehovah as reconciled in him, be our protection and comfort.