Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Pre-exilic Prophets 2 (3)
Pray Psalm 9.1, 2.
I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
Sing Psalm 9.1, 2.
(Diademata: Crown Him with Many Crowns)
I will give praise, O LORD, with all my heart to You!
I’ll tell the wonders of Your works, so many and so true!
With joy to You I cry; Your glory I will raise;
Your matchless Name, O LORD Most High, will I forever praise!
Read and meditate on Isaiah 4.2-6.
Preparation
1. What follows the coming of the Branch?
2. When does all this occur?
Meditation
We must back-up a bit to get the setting of this text, which is the subjugation of Judah and Jerusalem “in that day” (cf. 2.17, 20), that is, the “day of the LORD of hosts” (2.12). In that day the LORD will be exalted and all who are proud and high and haughty will be brought low, together with their idols (2. 17, 18). The glory of the majesty of the LORD will be revealed then (2.19) and men will flee before it. God will put the economy and wealth of Judah and Jerusalem into the hands of others in that day (3.1ff), and corruption will spread throughout the land. All this will happen because the people have set themselves against the LORD and provoked “the eyes of His glory” (2.8). He enters into judgment against His people by this subjugation (3.14ff).
Then, “in that day” “the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious” (4.2), and He will begin to bring healing to creation and restoration to the people of God. He will wash away the filth of the remnant of Judah and Jerusalem by the Spirit of judgment and of burning, and His glory will descend on Mount Zion, “For over all the glory there will be a covering (4.5). And Mt. Zion will be for a refuge and a shelter for all who come to the beauty of the Branch.
Our passage thus joins with Isaiah 2.1-6 to explain why Mt. Zion is so attractive to the world. It is the beauty of the Branch there, the holiness and cleansing and renewing and glory that accompany His coming (vv. 2-5). The Branch of the Lord will begin spreading the vine of God’s grace in every direction, bearing excellent and appealing fruit throughout the earth (v. 2).
It’s not hard to see Jesus here. He was born while Israel was subjugated and humiliated by the Roman Empire. Yet His coming brought new glory to the world, and His death and resurrection washed away the sins of all who believe.
And God’s beautiful Branch has become a tabernacle of rest and safety to all who come to Him.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162“…then the LORD will create above every dwelling place…a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering” (Is. 4.5).
Sometimes I wonder about the spiritual activity over and around our home as we are having our individual Bible reading and prayer time in the morning; or praying and fellowshipping with family and other believers during the day; or praying and rejoicing in the LORD over food; or praying at night before sleep takes hold.
What is happening that I cannot see? Is it what is described in Isaiah 4? I like to believe it is.
“O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed.
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [elsewhere].
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD will give grace and glory;
no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (Ps. 84.9-12).
The same God Who put “the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees” and subsequently conquered David’s enemies, is the same God Who watches over us (2 Sam. 5.24, 25).
The same God Who protected Elisha is the same God Who protects us.
“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
And Elisha prayed that his helper would also be able to see the hand of God surrounding them.
“LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” When his eyes were opened “he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kgs. 6.16, 17).
The same God Who carried Stephen through to the end, is the same God Who carries us through.
“But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’… ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’” (Acts 7.55, 56, 59).
“But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in Your hand…Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You…Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD” (Ps. 31.14, 15, 19, 23, 24).
“In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious…” (Is. 4.2). Jesus.
When filled with Him, our homes can be places where His beauty and love will grow as we live our lives, in our Personal Mission Field, under the “covering” of His glory and care… “cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night” (Is. 4.5).
Can you see it?
Reflection
1. How do you think of the Lord protecting and hovering over you day by day?
2. How do you experience Jesus as a refuge and shelter? How can you help others know this, too?
3. Whom will encourage today to seek more of our beautiful Branch?
When the daughters of Zion will have destroyed every adornment on account of pride, her gates will also be mourning and weeping, she herself will die alone, and so many of her soldiers will be killed in war that a number of women will hardly be able to find one man. At that time the branch that bears the Christian name will arise, and the earth will give its fruit, and there will be exultation for those from Israel who will be saved, concerning whom it was also said above: “If the Lord of Hosts had not left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah.” Jerome (347-420), Commentary on Isaiah 2.4.2-4
Pray Psalm 9.7-12.
Praise our King and Lord! Give thanks for His forgiveness and salvation, and for the shelter of rest and safety He provides as we trust in Him. Pray for grace and strength to serve Him throughout this day.
Sing Psalm 9.7-12.
(Diademata: Crown Him with Many Crowns)
LORD, You forever reign in judgment on Your throne.
The world in bitter wrath and pain Your righteousness will own.
All those who know Your Name, though in this life oppressed,
You shelter from the storms of shame and keep them ever blessed.
Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion fair.
Tell of His deeds ’til all have heard; His faithfulness declare.
When He avenges blood, He will remember all
who honor Him as all men should and on Him humbly call.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
