There is a certain ambiguity in the phrase translated, "in that day." As with all Hebrew writing, context is everything. At its root, the phrase refers to the Day of Lord in the generic sense of God acting in judgment and wrath. However, it is clearly understood when sin is punished, righteousness flourishes. Where sinners are destroyed, the righteous reign. Thus, we see either aspect emphasized in different places. All of them share one thing: Each of them is at least symbolic of that Final Day of the Lord, when we would properly write it, "That Day." For those who walk in faith, any "that day" is a good thing, regardless of the sorrow it might bring on this earth, for a taste of Heaven has surely come down.
Isaiah makes a distinct connection between both senses of the phrase by first associating it with the wrath which he has been describing already. When the judging hand of Jehovah falls on Israel in her sin, the result will be devastation. So many men would be killed in battle, there would be widows aplenty begging to marry any man. Never mind whether he was able to support them; they would gladly take care of themselves independently, if only they could bear the name of a living man. A surviving male could have his pick of women, but would be too busy just trying to eke out a bare living to think about enjoying such a thing.
However, we note there will be some survivors. Isaiah explores who they might be, by offering the same phrase again -- "in that day." Those few who are left in Israel will form a sprout from the root of what Israel was meant to be. Eventually, the term "Branch" would refer to the Messiah, the surviving branch of the House of David. Isaiah is intentionally ambiguous here, because of the fundamental spiritual principle: The Lord will not allow His witness to die, even if He has to destroy Israel. In a certain sense, he lays here the foundation for the image of Jesus as Israel. After He comes, to "be Israel" means to be in Christ. Not in the sense of a silly Replacement Theology model, but in a mystical sense -- what Israel was meant to accomplish. The People of God had one primary purpose: to reveal God, to be a kingdom of priests to bridge the gap between God and fallen man. Israel rejected that role repeatedly, ending up fiercely racist and rejoicing in the notion Gentiles would go to Hell. That nation could not survive, because they were dead outside the purpose for which God called them.
The Nation of Israel physically carried off to Babylon was simply the manifestation of the spiritual principle they had long since allowed sin to carry them away from that redemptive purpose. The bare few of Israel the Nation who did not join in that rush to sin would form a tiny sprout, growing into a living tree of grace, an olive tree bearing the oil of the Holy Spirit to light the lamp of witness to the world. God would remove the mass of diseased growth, and those who managed to be left behind, typically those so unimportant they served no purpose for the Babylonian conquerors, these would be the ones in a proper position to become the New Israel. It matters not at all their DNA, but the image is of a people who know they have nothing, and are nothing, and fall at the feet of God Almighty.
All the sinners, who were so sure of their importance in the world, would be gone. That tiny remnant of true believers would once again bring life back to Jerusalem. Zion becomes a symbol, because of what Zion ought to have been. Rather than a city of urbane and pretentious fools, of blood and oppression, of unrestrained sexual impurity, it would become the City of Light, of holiness and devotion to something far above this world. It would be as if tents strung among the ruin and rubble would be the new dwelling places of God, where His presence could be seen as a Pillar of Cloud by day and Pillar of Fire by night. What more clearly exemplifies the hearts of individuals who have cast aside all the cares and concerns of this world, and live simply in purity of commitment to God? There would no longer be One Temple of God on earth, but a few hardy souls where God would be pleased to make His presence known.
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By Ed Hurst
17 June 2008
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