Isaiah 4:1-6--The Branch of the LORD Glorified

Isaiah 4
​English Standard Version
4 And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”

The Branch of the LORD Glorified
2 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. 3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. 5 Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. 6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

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There's a strange division of chapters here where the first verse points back to our previous chapter and the judgment that was declared on all of Judah and Jerusalem.  There will be so few men left that seven women will desire to be married to the same man to one man.  They promise they will provide for themselves for food and clothing (something the man was usually responsible for), but they could not stand the thought of being unmarried and childless as a consequence--things that were shameful in the eyes of their neighbors.  This is why they would be willing to ask the man to be able to wear his name (change their name legally by marriage) and for him to take away their reproach.  This is exactly what the LORD wants to do for His people though that He considers to be His Bride.  There is room enough in His house for Him to be married to all of His people who are willing to be called by His Name, and He alone will provide for all of our needs, as it is impossible for us to provide for ourselves.  These women were concerned about the reproach on them in this life, but there is an even greater reproach they should have been concerned about, and that was being a people whose identity was in anyone or anything other than the LORD.

In the midst of the darkest of times, a promise is given--hope and the gospel are revealed against the backdrop of judgment and condemnation.  In that day when things are darkest, the LORD will preserve a remnant of His people that He will cleanse and wash their sins away.  They will be glorified and called holy (see Exodus 19 where this was always the LORD's intent for His people) The shame of the city of Jerusalem would be removed as the old would be cleansed by fire and judged and purified, making room for the LORD to make something new and beautiful where there was only brokenness and shame.

Once again, the LORD's Presence would return to Jerusalem, and not just in the Most Holy Place in the Temple, but the Promise is that the pillar of cloud and column of smoke that signified the LORD's presence would cover all of Mount Zion.  This tells us that the is probably a mixture of "near" and "far off" prophecy going on here and we are not just talking about the people returning from Babylonian Exile, and something even greater than the people returning to Israel after the Great Dispersion.  We are almost certainly talking about the coming Day of the LORD when the LORD will once again dwell with His people and reign from Jerusalem.  His people will no longer need to keep their distance from His holy presence as He will have made them holy, and He will be a canopy over them.  He will provide them shelter and shade from the heat by day (the fulfillment of the Festival of Booths or Tabernacles) and protection from storm and rain.  Notice there is no need for mention for providing heat or light in the darkness as it will always be day, and there is no need to mention protection from enemies or wild beasts as all the enemies of the LORD and His people will have been destroyed and all the wild animals will be tame and peaceful.

The Idea of this "branch" is something we will come back to prophetically as we think at this moment that it might refer to a group of people from Judah and Jerusalem, but we will see later that really the Righteous Branch is Christ who is the True Israel.  He was faithful where all of God's people in the past were unfaithful (and all of God's people today continue to sin, though Christ has paid for our sins and given us victory over sin and death).  It is only by His victory over sin and death that these promises can be made, and it is only because we can be married to Him that we can receive the blessings of the covenant that only belong to Him.  We look forward to a day when our identify will be fully found in Christ and the Father and the Son will dwell with their people in a place, they have prepared for them forever and ever.