Isaiah 61: 1- 11
Sound Familiar?
1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” 4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. 5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast. 7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. 8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed.” 10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations
As we begin this to read this chapter, your ears should be ringing. This is the Scripture passage that our Lord Jesus selected to read when He visited His hometown Nazareth. So let us take a look at this and see the significance of what our Holy Master did. Turn to the Gospel of Luke chapter 4 beginning with verse 16, “16So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:18“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” 20Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” 23He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” 24Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath,fn in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. 30Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.”
Please notice again as we look at chapter 51 of the prophet Isaiah his words
1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
Do you see something not said when He read the passage in Nazareth? Yes, He left off the last part - , ‘and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,’
The One described here is God’s Anointed – The Messiah! This can be contrasted with Cyrus in chapter 45 verse 1. There Cyrus was the anointed of Yahweh, Father God, because Yahweh had set him aside for a certain task, but there is no mention of the Spirit there, for in Isaiah the Spirit only ever comes in a good sense on those Who are truly His and have a central task to perform in the final course of the salvation history.
Here the Majesty of the Spirit Is brought out. He Is the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord Yahweh, and It Is The Sovereign Lord Yahweh Who will act directly and personally through Him. And the Spirit-endowed One Is so endowed because Yahweh has anointed Him for a special task, to be a preacher (50.4-9), a healer of the spirit (42.7), a deliverer (11.1-4; 42.1-6; 49.1-6) and One proclaiming God’s final purposes, not final in respect of what some call ‘the end times’, but final in the sense that once God begins to act mightily through His Spirit nothing can stop the purposes that then begin from going onwards until God’s purposes are complete (55.10-11), (though it may take a thousand years and more). Thus He is both Servant and King.
The task He has been set is manifold. As a Teacher He is to be a preacher of good tidings to the poor and meek, those too weak to help themselves (50.4-5; 52.7), as a spiritual Counselor (9.6) He is to bind up the broken-hearted (57.15; Psalm 51.9), as a Redeemer (59.20-21)
He also Is to proclaim freedom to those who are captive (42), We learn from the prophet Jeremiah in his book at chapter 34.8-10 where it is related to the Year of Jubilee, that year when all who were oppressed or in bondage were released, and the opening of the prison gates to those who are bound (42.7), and will proclaim Yahweh’s year of deliverance (59.20-21) “8 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them: 9 that every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—that no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. 10 Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go.”
So, can you see now why the people were so upset? Here our Lord Jesus Christ announced that He Is the Messiah, God’s Anointed. The people who knew Him as He grew up in their town could not come to terms with His declaration. The people were so fired up that they wanted to throw Him off a cliff to His death but He merely just walked away. ,
In God’s Mercy and Grace our Lord just announced the good things that God has just done by fulfilling scripture of the Promised Holy Messiah. He withheld the portion of bringing down the hammer on those who refused His Precious Gift. For as the Mighty Warrior He will come with vengeance on those who rebel against God (59.17-19; 63.1-6). And while He exacts His vengeance He will comfort all who mourn over their sins as a Wonderful Counselor (9.6).
Please take note of the process of restoration. The poor and meek were those whom men disregarded, but it is they whom He will lift up (Matthew 5.3, 5). Broken-heartedness covers a variety of attitudes and situations for the heart was considered to be the very root of a man’s life. It covers grief, despair, misery, hopelessness, man without a future. But he will receive his future from God through the Anointed One.
For the captive and the prisoner life was over. They were no longer free to enjoy all that life had to offer. They were in subjection. But for them would come deliverance through Him. Those who mourned were those who were aware of loss and despair. They will be comforted (Matthew 5.4). It is to man in his weakness and helplessness that the Anointed One has come.
It is also significant that when our Holy Lord Jesus quoted these words He closed the book after the words, ‘the acceptable year of Yahweh’. By this He made clear that the prophecy was to be fulfilled in stages. The work of deliverance and restoration had begun. The completion of His task would come later. Not all would occur at once.
3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
His task is to transform the lives and experiences of God’s own true people. He will bring about their transformation from mourning and weeping to total joy. The ashes of mourning smeared on the head will be replaced by the garland crown of rejoicing. Men put ashes on themselves when they wished to demonstrate their total misery and despair. They put garland crowns on themselves or others when they wished to express happiness and rejoicing. The Anointed One will remove the ashes of mourning and replace them with a garland crown of rejoicing.
Mourning will be replaced by the application of the oil of joy. When in mourning men had no regard for their appearance, but once their balance was restored they would anoint themselves with oil so that they could appear before the world in full respectability.
For the spirit of heaviness and dullness we may compare the use of the same root in the ‘dimly burning wick’ (42.3). It is man at his lowest. It will be replaced by the garment of praise. They will be lifted from their state of misery and dejection, in which they are spiritually naked, to being fully clothed as expressed in praise and worship and contentment. We might see in the background the dejected Adam and Eve, bowed down by being caught in sin and found naked before God, and then being clothed by God so that they were once more acceptable to Him and gave Him glad praise (Genesis 3.21).
His people will become mighty trees of righteousness, those who have been planted by Yahweh to represent Him and fulfill His work and do His will, and to bring glory to His name. Large trees were seen as the product of many decades. They took a long time to grow. As such they were much treasured and carefully protected. Even the enemy, apart from the unconcerned and uncaring, the vindictive nations like Assyria, would seek not to harm the trees, for they were the future for whoever dwelt in the land. Thus God’s own are to be like mighty trees, planted by Him, firmly established, permanent, a testimony to the glory of God.
The ‘naming’ of them as ‘trees of righteousness’, indicates a new beginning. A new name was regularly given to depict a new beginning. The ‘large trees of righteousness’ are probably to be contrasted with the large trees in the gardens of idolatry, the latter replaced by those of God’s planting. The world will finally not to look to false religion but to His people.
4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.
The picture is one of total restoration. Nothing will be left waste, nothing will remain desolate. Centuries of devastation will be restored. All will be made perfect. All man’s destructive work will be put right. The thought is of much work to be done in order to establish God’s righteous kingdom, put here in physical terms because it was the only way in which his hearers could conceive of it. It is not without significance that the New Testament regularly depicts God’s people as builders. And they have continued building through the ages and will continue to do so until the final brick is in place.
5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast.
The picture switches from building to ministry. It is now a picture of God’s people, released from the mundane that they might serve Yahweh. That this includes some from among the nations who have united themselves with Israel comes out in chapter 66. God’s true people are to be priests to the nations (Exodus 19.5-6). As a result of the work of the Anointed One, other peoples will look after mundane things, the feeding of flocks, the plowing of fields, the dressing of vines, but His people will concentrate their efforts on ministering to all men in His name. It is the attitude of mind that is primary. The whole of the efforts of God’s people are to be concentrated on serving Him in worship and praise and in ministering to the nations.
And from the nations they will receive their tithes, their portion from the wealth of the nations. And they will take great pride in the progress of the nations towards glory.
The ministry of the Good News of the Gospel is here very much in mind as you know that our Lord Jesus Is The True Vine (John 15.1), built on the foundation of the Apostles, went out to the world with the news of God’s salvation, receiving help and support from those who were not themselves the people of God, but were potentially so. And some becoming so, would also bring their wealth with them. So God will even make nations that are not His own, assist with the work of the people of God. The contrast is with the nations who in the past had come for the sole reason of bringing God’s people into subjection.
As Isaiah looked into the future under God’s inspiration he foresaw many things which he sought to put in understandable terms to the people of his day. As we have seen in past chapters he foresaw God’s judgment on those who saw themselves as His people, a judgment because of their sins, he foresaw a purified remnant who would come through as His true people, he foresaw many from the nations who would join themselves with, and become one with, the people of God, and he foresaw that God would use even the unconverted of the nations to bring about His purposes for His people. Many of these ideas are being expressed here from the perspective of Israel’s way of thinking.
7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
I do not know about you but this surely applies to me. I have experienced this type of oppression all my days of ministry. I have like what we read here experienced shame and confusion. But in the future those who are His true people will, instead of shame, have a double portion of blessing. Instead of confusion they will rejoice in what God has allotted to them. Yes, in the land of their inheritance they will have ‘double’ what was theirs before, that is an abundant excess, and they will have everlasting joy. The idea is one of a perfect future arising out of their suffering when God will triumph. This is my hope for my labor of love.
8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed.”
All that has been described must be so because God Is determined to produce a world in accordance with His desires, a world of justice, honesty and truth. He Is the One Who loves true justice, both official and personal, and will therefore bring it about. ‘Robbery’ here is contrasted with compensation and would thus seem to indicate robbery of blessings from those who deserve them. It sees all injustice and unjust gain as robbery.
This directly contrasts with ‘recompense in truth’. It may be speaking of the hypocrisy of those who rob God’s true people, or even are generally deceitful and dishonest, and then blatantly and hypocritically offer tongue-in-cheek offerings to God thinking that it will make everything right. They have a mechanical view of the process of forgiveness which is not valid, forgetting that no religious rite can benefit a man if his heart is wrong, for when a man offers an offering God first looks at his heart. Or it may simply signify that God hates those who blatantly sin and at the same time pretend to be genuinely godly. They thus live a lie, and their offering is a lie, for it purports to be a whole offering of the person while they are in fact withholding themselves from God. As our Lord Jesus Himself said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6.46).
But to His true people, who reveal what they are by their righteous living, He gives ‘recompense in truth’. ‘Recompense’ means reward for work and then the giving of what is due. This may be translated as either ‘true recompense’, a full and satisfactory recompense, or ‘recompense because they come in truth’, i.e. because they come with true hearts in contrast with those who offer offerings while engaging in dishonesty. Those who love justice as He loves it will receive their due reward.
‘And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and their seed will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Yahweh has blessed.’ God’s promise to His own continues. With those who come in truth He will make His everlasting covenant which will guarantee their recognition as the people of God in the eyes of the nations. Their seed will be known among the nations as the seed which Yahweh has blessed In the end all will see their quality of life and being and have to recognize them for what they are and admit that they are truly God’s people.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations
We see here a response from our Master and King Lord Jesus - The Anointed One. He now describes His joy in God The Father. The thought of Yahweh takes over His heart. And this is because of the glorious task that He has had assigned to Him. We learned in chapter 59.17-18 the Mighty Warrior Who Is our Lord Jesus put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head, but now He does not go forward to do battle, but in order to produce fruitfulness. For this He clothes Himself with priestly garments of salvation, including the priest’s head-dress, and covers Himself with a robe of righteousness like a bride decking herself with jewels. They are the same basic attributes but worn in a totally different situation, a time of priestly activity and celebration instead of in a time of battle. He is at the equivalent of a wedding feast, clothed ready for the final sealing of the everlasting covenant at the covenant ceremony, accomplished through His priestly ministration
The Anointed One – Adoni Yeshua, our Lord Jesus Christ likens Himself to a priestly bridegroom. He Is priest to His people, and loves them. He also likens Himself to the bride wearing her jewels. He is suitably clothed for His purpose. It is salvation that is represented by His priestly head-dress, and righteousness that is represented by His jewels. It is clear that as a Priest the salvation is blood bought, tying in with chapter 53 and that as a bride it is based on righteousness.
So the Anointed One knows that salvation for His own is still a necessity and righteousness must be at the root of it all, but now both have been accomplished and made available. Being clothed in salvation and righteousness indicates that He has been given both to dispense as He wills. Rights in them are now provided to Him for Him to pass on. The righteous Servant can as a result of His own sacrifice of Himself make many to be accounted righteous (53.11) and can finalize His deliverance to His seed (53.10) in accordance with Yahweh’s will.
It is to be like a new beginning, the buds breaking forth, the garden vegetation blooming, as the sovereign Lord Yahweh causes righteousness and praise to spring forth before the nations.
