Isaiah 61:1-11--The Year of the LORD's Favor

Isaiah 61
English Standard Version

The Year of the LORD's Favor
61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion--
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
6 but you shall be called the priests of the LORD;
    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
    and in their glory you shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
    they shall have everlasting joy.

8 For I the LORD love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;
    my soul shall exult 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 like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations.

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Jesus quotes the beginning of this passage in Luke 4:18-19 at the beginning of His ministry.  He returns to Nazareth after being baptized and tempted and He declares to the people of His hometown who He is and why He has come, yet they rejected Him (just as the Scriptures said they would).  Interestingly, He stops halfway through verse 2 with "to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor."  They wanted Him to continue and to say, "And the day of the vengeance of our God."  They wanted their enemies to be destroyed by a conquering king, but that is not why Jesus came in the First Advent.  However, there is much that comes after that verse that does speak of why He came--to give comfort to the lowly and to change our mourning into joy.  He came to give us His beauty when we had none of our own (the way that God sees us when He sees either the righteousness of Christ or our sin).  He came to give strength to those who were weary and needed Him so that they could finish the race set before them.

He brought restoration where there had only been ruins and destruction.  He broth strength and assurance of our position before God--like an oak with deep roots or an immovable, unshakeable mountain--because of the certainty of who He is and what He has done and that His work is both perfect and complete.  Nothing will be added to or subtracted from it.

Again, the people of the LORD will become His royal priesthood--not just one tribe like Levi, but all of us will be the kingdom of priests ministering before the LORD spoken of in Exodus 19.  Our work will be to minister before the LORD and there will be others that do that menial work of taking care of the fields and flocks and herds, and they will provide all that is needed to the priests.  The riches of the nations will be poured out on Israel so that they will eat and live like kings.  They will be glorified because they receive a portion of God's glory.  They will receive a double blessing like the firstborn son did (like what belongs rightfully to Jesus).

They will not fear thief nor robber.  There will be no wickedness among them.  The LORD will have an everlasting covenant with them--the Covenant of Redemption.  It will be an unconditional covenant based solely on the person and work of Jesus.  Because the nations will be made of those who love God, they will also love God's people.

Everyone will see what the LORD has done and bless Him for it.  He will be praised for the way in which He clothes His people in salvation and dresses them with righteousness that comes through Christ alone.   All of Israel will be a beautiful Bride adorned to meet her Bridegroom, and blessed will be all those who are invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.