Isaiah · chapter 4 of 66
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Isaiah 4 begins with seven women clinging to one man, a picture of the devastation caused by war. It then promises that on that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious for Israel's survivors, who will be called holy. The Lord cleanses Zion and covers Jerusalem with his presence, like a cloud by day and fire by night, and as a shelter.
Chapters 2 and 3 announced judgment on Jerusalem's pride and injustice. Chapter 4, very short, closes that section with hope: judgment purifies, and God preserves a remnant. It is a kind of bridge between the condemnation and the vineyard song of chapter 5.
The chapter opens with a harsh image. On that day, because of the war deaths mentioned at the end of chapter 3, seven women will take hold of one man and say they will eat their own bread and wear their own clothes, if only they may bear his name and remove their disgrace. The shortage of men shows how deep the damage is.
Then the tone changes. On that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. Those left in Zion and Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone recorded for life in Jerusalem. This will happen when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
Then the Lord will create over the whole of Mount Zion and its assemblies a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night, for over all the glory there will be a canopy. There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat of day and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
On that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will bring honor to Israel's survivors. Christian interpreters often see here a picture of the Messiah whom Isaiah will develop later.
Those left in Zion will be called holy, everyone recorded for life in Jerusalem. God does not destroy completely but keeps a remnant that belongs to him.
The Lord washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleanses the blood of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and of fire. Judgment here serves as purification, answering the vanity and violence of chapter 3.
Over Zion there will be a cloud by day and fire by night, plus a canopy of protection from heat and storm. The image recalls how God accompanied Israel in the wilderness and shows that his presence will be his people's refuge.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Seven women. — Isaiah 4:1
Answer: Beautiful and glorious, while the fruit of the land will be an honor to Israel's survivors. — Isaiah 4:2
Answer: Holy, that is, everyone recorded for life in Jerusalem. — Isaiah 4:3
Answer: He will wash it away and cleanse the bloodstains of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. — Isaiah 4:4
Answer: A cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. — Isaiah 4:5
Answer: To give shade from the heat of day and to be a refuge from storm and rain. — Isaiah 4:6
Isaiah 4 reminds us that God's judgment is not the last word for those who belong to him. When we go through loss or discipline, this chapter encourages us to see that the Lord cleanses and also protects. In a small group, people can talk about how God has purified them through trials.
The image of the cloud and fire also encourages trust in the Lord's constant presence. We do not depend on everything going well but on the fact that he covers us as a shelter. That presence calls us to live as a holy people who honor the name they bear.
Isaiah 4 closes the first section of warnings with a promise of cleansing and protection for Zion's remnant. Chapter 5 returns to the charge through the song of the vineyard, where God looks for fruits of justice and finds violence.
The text does not name him, but the word branch is used in the prophets for the descendant of David who will bring justice. Many Christians read it as a reference to the Messiah, Jesus. Others think it speaks of the fruit God will cause to grow in the land after judgment. Both readings agree that it is the glory God gives his people.
Verse 1 describes the consequences of the war mentioned in 3:25. With so many men dead, women in a culture where marriage gave protection and honor would be willing to provide for themselves, if only they could bear a husband's name.
They recall the pillar of cloud and fire that guided Israel in the wilderness and the tabernacle where God dwelt. Isaiah promises that God will again be with his purified people, giving them shade and shelter.