Isaiah 4:2
2 In that day [yowm] shall the
branch [tsemach] of the LORD [Yahovah] be beautiful [tsabiy] and
glorious, [kabowd] and the fruit [pariy] of the earth ['erets] shall
be excellent [ga'own] and comely for [tiph'arah] them that are escaped [paleytah] of Israel. [Yisra'el] KJV-Interlinear
2 In
that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit
of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. NASB
In that day, is again
repeated, because it is the same time frame as in verse one as well as the
previous chapter, the end of human rule on this earth and the end of the
Tribulation.
On the one hand, the
worlds population will have been devastated, with no rescue and no solution in
sight.
On the other hand
however, there is God the Son, the Savior, whom we now call Jesus Christ, but
is herein referred to by His personal deity, the Lord.
He has a branch which He
raises up.
A branch here, ‘tsemach,’
refers to a sprout or bud that springs up out of a root. The Messiah or Savior is said to be the
branch or root of Jesse, the offspring of David. This refers to the Savior as being the
descendant of Jesse.
Jesse is the tree that is
fallen and then out of that fallen tree, springs up a new sprout, namely the
Lord or Savior, born to Mary.
Both Joseph and Mary are
descendants of David. David was the King
and through His descendants the royal line had fallen from power into
poverty. Thus the symbolism of the death
of the line. Joseph was a poor
carpenter.
But out of that line,
that most had forgotten and thought lost, arises the birth of the Savior, who
would return to the glory of royalty and better than that, to the glory of God,
and thus reclaiming the thrown for all of eternity.
Thus the root or branch
is set in most cases as a reference to the Messiah, Rom 11:12; Isa 11:1, 11:10,
53:2, Rev 22:16, Jere. 23:5, 33:15, Zech 3:8, 6:12, Job 8:16; 14:7; 15:30; Ezek
17:22.
Beautiful and glorious,
refers to the chief or main ornament, the object of desire, that which portrays
the main honor or distinction. God is
the ornament of note.
In the previous chapter,
the ornaments that people wore, were of gold and silver and stones. They twinkled and tinkled and were used to
draw attention to the external person.
The people wore various clothes made of the finest of materials. And when the end finally came, none of these
things had any value whatsoever, as most of the people had died and the
remainder were in deep mourning, destitute of any self-worth. People had placed their worth and trust in
the many accessories, and still looked to these things even when life had
ceased.
The Lord is the
alternative to things. The Lord is the
unique and permanent alternative to ‘things,’ which are only temporary and have
no value per se.
Fruit of the earth, is a
reference to the production of that which is good. The earth is often used in this context as
the productive farm or vineyard or garden, from agricultural terminology.
Just as the first
reference, the branch, is a reference to the Messiah, so too, this second symbolism
is a reference to the Messiah, who grew up out of the fallen dynasty of David,
and will produce far greater good, as a result of His existence, namely the
family of God who are saved by means of faith in Him. This too is a result of His work on the
Cross. So this is also a reference to
all of Gods work, individually and collectively, within His divine plan.
Excellent, and comely,
both refer respectively to the exaltation or honor, and the ornament of highest
value or honor or status.
For the escaped of
Israel, refers to the remnant who God has saved or delivered, out of the
turmoil and trouble of the world.
Wicked people place their
priorities and values in things, and they will lose out in life.
Believers who are
advancing to maturity, place their value and priorities in Christ and
doctrine. Both Christ and doctrine are
one and the same, for both refer to each other respectively.
To have doctrine in your
soul through learning, is to have Christ.
And to have Christ is to have value and honor and meaning and purpose,
beyond measure, permanent and forever.
So, in that day, when the
end of human history finally occurs, there will be great mourning and death,
but too, there will be great celebration, for there will be a remnant that will
not have succumbed to the ways of the world.
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