Isaiah 4 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes
Isaiah 4 Short Summary:
Isaiah described a day of refreshing that would follow God’s judgement. God would wash away the filth and a holy remnant would be left. Isaiah wrote, “In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.”
Isaiah 4 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
Isaiah prophesied in the 8th and 7th Century BC, roughly 740-680 BC.
KEY CHARACTERS:
Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.
The Branch – A reference to a messiah figure.
The Citizens of Judah – Isaiah’s words in this chapter are directed towards the people of Judah, especially towards the citizens of Jerusalem.
DEFINITIONS:
Messiah – The term means “anointed one.” While many people were anointed in Jewish culture (kings, priests, etc), the term came to refer to a special anointed one, the prophesied Savior of the people of Judah (see John 1:41 and John 4:25).
OUTLINE:
JUDGEMENT COMING FOR EVIL MEN AND WOMEN IN JUDAH CONTINUED (4:1):
The first verse of Isaiah 4 is connected to the last verse of chapter 3.
God was going to punish the men of Judah, and many would be killed in war. This would leave a surplus of women.
The women would be so desperate for husbands they would offer themselves to a man who already had 6 wives, and they would promise to provide for themselves as long as he helped them escape singleness and childlessness.
THE BRANCH OF THE LORD (4:2-6):
Isaiah prophesied that around the time of God’s judgement, the “branch of the Lord” would be beautiful and glorious.
This branch refers to the messiah figure, the one who God was sending to save the nation from their sins.
He was referred to as a branch in the sense that he was to be a descendant of David’s. On the Tribe of Judah’s family tree, one branch belonged to the linage of David, and the Messiah was to be found on that branch.
This “branch” terminology was used by other prophets (see application section, Isa 11:1, Jer 23:5, Zec 3:8, Zec 6:12).
The righteous who remained in Judah would be blessed by the branch and would enjoy its fruit.
These things would occur when God “washed away the filth” of Judah with a spirit of judgement and a spirit of burning (4:4).
Isaiah prophetically described God creating a cloud by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night to cover His holy people and protect them.
He wrote, there will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.
Like in the days of the Exodus, when God’s guidance was observable through the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, in the days of the Branch, God would be a guide and a source of shelter for the people He distinguished as holy (4:3).
BIBLE COMPREHENSION:
Let’s take a look at the other verses in the Bible that describe the Messiah as a branch.
Isa 11:1-2 - There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:5 - “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Zec 3:8 - Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.
Zec 6:12 - And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.
