Isaiah 4:1

Isaiah chapter 4 gives a great revelation of the future that God has planned for Israel. Judgment must come, but after the judgment will come blessing. The Bible says in Isaiah 4:1-6, “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”

To emphasize the prosperity that God will eventually bring to the Israelites God uses the symbolism of marriage in that ancient society. During the Old Testament days women lived in a society in which they were very dependent upon the men. Therefore, most women needed to get married in order to insure that their material needs were met. However, in a time of great prosperity this would not be the case. Because in a time of great prosperity a woman would be free to marry whomever she wished, since she would have her own “bread” and her own “apparel.”

God has a wonderful future planned for His children, for those who survived the curse of sin and who have found salvation through faith in the Savior. “In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.” The theme related to a “branch” and to “fruit” will be used even further in the next chapter of Isaiah.

In the Kingdom of God those who were once sinful will be made “holy.” It is interesting to notice in Isaiah 4:3 that it says about those who enter into the kingdom that they are “written among the living in Jerusalem.” Something very similar is said in the New Testament. It says in Revelation 20:15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” To say that a name is written in a book implies that it has a permanency to it. Jesus said in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you.”

Those who are invited into this future kingdom are “called holy.” That is the wonderful benefit of receiving salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Your sins are washed away because of the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross of Calvary. Sins must be forgiven or they must be judged. Blessed are those who have their sins forgiven, because they will not enter into condemnation. God must deal with the sin problem because God is holy. There must be judgment, and there must be cleansing from sin. The sins of the women of Israel needed to be done away with. God took it upon Himself to do what needed to be done. The Lord “washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion” and He “purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.”

We live in a dangerous world. Life is short and death is sure. No one knows what will happen on any given day. There are enemies. There are those who hate the believers. “The devil walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may destroy.” We need the Lord to protect us, and to guide us, and to help us. And it requires faith and some effort on our part to make sure that we trust in the Lord each day. In the wonderful kingdom to come there will be no evil and thus our protection from harm will be automatic. “And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 5:1-6, “Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.” The nation of Israel is compared to a vineyard. It was God’s vineyard. The main point being made here is that God did everything that needed to be done to make Israel a great vineyard that would be very fruitful. But it did not happen because of mankind’s sins. They did not bear the fruit that they could have borne. God said to Israel, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?”

God does the same for every believer. He works in our life in just the right way to give us opportunity. He brings blessings so that we see how much He loves us. He brings adversity so that we can be made stronger by it. He gives us the Word of God and reveals its truths to us so that we will be thoroughly furnished to endure hardships and do every good work. He opens doors. He gives us spiritual gifts. How sad when a believer does not fulfill his calling, and wastes the work that God had done in his life. The Apostle Paul warned if Christians are not careful that the terrible fate that happened to the Israelites could happen to them. Paul wrote in Romans 11:19-23, “Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 5:7-12, “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.” There are several things mentioned in these verses that show that the efforts of man are in vain without help from God. It says, “Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field.” In other words, when human beings join forces for the purpose of increasing their strength and accomplishments, they will fail when they leave out God. Humanism does not work because all people are incomplete without the Lord Jesus in their lives.

Isaiah 5:11-12 spoke of a judgment that would come against the Israelites because of their use of alcoholic beverages. It says, “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts.” This is just one of many, many warnings in the Bible against the use of alcoholic beverages. It says in Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” And it says in Ephesians 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

Of course, as with the use of alcohol, many destructive and negative consequences occur with the use of drugs. Alcohol inside the system of a human being has many bad and harmful effects. There are very serious physical afflictions that are directly due to the use of alcohol. Liver disease, heart disease, ulcers, and neurological diseases are just a few of the serious physical problems that the abuse of alcohol can cause. Of course, the sorrows and negative results of alcohol are well-known to those who enter into or have loved ones that are alcoholics. Statistics have proven that much of the violence in the home and elsewhere in society can be traced to the use of alcohol. Broken marriages, children growing up without fathers, loss of productivity in the workplace, and many more ills of society owe much of their cause to the abuse of alcohol. In the modern world one of the most terrible consequences of the abuse of alcohol has to do with thousands of car accidents that happen each year that are caused by those who are under the influence. Because of alcohol thousands are killed each year and thousands more suffer terrible injuries.

If only people would put into practice the teachings of the Bible, the world would be a much better place. The Israelites during the time of Isaiah were not practicing the teachings of God’s Word, and thus it says in Isaiah 5:13-14, “Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.” The worst thing possible happened to Israel: they went “into captivity.” This great country that had been built by God because of promises made to Abraham had to face captivity in a heathen nation! How and why did such a terrible fate befall them? What failure on their part resulted in such disastrous consequences? The answer is found in the second phrase of verse 13. It says, “because they have no knowledge.” No one should be without “knowledge.” That is, no one should be without the knowledge of God. God is everywhere in the person of Jesus Christ, and He has given us His precious Word. Human beings are responsible to learn the Word of God, to believe it, and to put it into practice. That is why Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

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