This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 8: Whoever Remains in Zion: Isaiah 4:3.

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In the previous post, we were introduced to Isaiah’s reference to the book of life in Isaiah 4:3: “Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy ​— ​all in Jerusalem written in the book of life.” Here, we continue our exploration of this passage.

Branch

Isaiah’s reference to “the Branch of the LORD” reinforces this view (4:2). The “Branch” foreshadows the coming Messiah, who brings marvelous fertility to the land and reverses the dire situation described in previous chapters. The Lord is going to replace Judah’s proud leaders with the Branch, a “beautiful and glorious” monarch who takes away sin and restores the land’s abundance. This Branch is of David’s lineage, yet also, in an unexplained way, he bears divine ancestry.

Other Old Testament passages give us insight into the person and work of the Branch. For example:

Isaiah 11:1-5 – Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight will be in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, he will not execute justice by what he hears with his ears, but he will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with a scepter from his mouth, and he will kill the wicked  with a command from his lips. Righteousness will be a belt around his hips; faithfulness will be a belt around his waist. 

Jeremiah 23:5-6 – “Look, the days are coming” ​— ​this is the LORD’s declaration — “when I will raise up a Righteous Branch for David. He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. This is the name he will be called: The LORD Is Our Righteousness” (cf. Jer. 33:14-16).

Zechariah 3:8 – “Listen High Priest Joshua, you and your colleagues sitting before you; indeed, these men are a sign that I am about to bring my servant, the Branch” (cf. Zech. 6:11-13; the high priest Joshua is a type of the coming Messiah).

Isaiah’s frequent use of the term “on that day” in chapters 2-4 illustrates that God’s work of punishing his people for their sins and establishing his kingdom for his glory are complementary acts of carrying out his covenant promise to Israel. Purification involves intense heat and pressure to burn off the dross and perfect the precious metal. In the end, the purged metal radiates beauty and testifies to the skillful hand of the refiner. 

God cleanses those left in Zion of their sin and transforms them into a holy people. The word “holy” (Heb. qados) is a reminder of God’s original plan to make Israel his “own possession,” a “kingdom of priests,” and a “holy nation” (Exod. 19:6). The emphasis here is on what God does, not on anything people may do to merit God’s favor. Holiness means being set apart for God alone. The holiness God gives this remnant makes the people fit for his kingdom. It stands in stark contrast to the sinfulness of the present generation in Zion (2:6 – 4:1). 

In Isaiah 4:4, the prophet describes the purifying work of God. Instead of purification through smelting, God washes away filth and cleanses bloodguilt. This hints at the atoning work of sacrificial animals, all pointing to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). 

The prophet also refers to “a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning” as the means by which cleansing is accomplished. This describes God’s purification of Zion by destroying the remaining wicked people of the city. But it also depicts the work of the Holy Spirit in cleansing human hearts. The same Spirit who convicts the unbelieving world of sin, righteousness, and judgment also draws sinners to Christ and sets them apart as belonging to the Father (John 16:7-11; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2).

Something new

After Zion is purified, God promises to create something new. The word “create” (bara) is a divine activity of fashioning something new, either by transforming what already exists or by starting from scratch. What is God going to create? A “cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night” (Isa. 4:5). This appears to be a reference to God’s special act of creating new heavens and a new earth (cf. Isa. 65:17; 66:22). 

The New Testament provides further details about the final purging of sin and its stain from the fallen world in which we live. For example, John begins Revelation 21 with these words: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth ….” (Rev. 21:1). The Greek word translated “new” here is kainos, which means “different from the usual, impressive, better than the old, superior in value or attraction.”

In effect, kainos refers to quality, not chronology. It suggests fresh life arising from the decay of the old world. This should help us understand that God does not annihilate the old order of things and start again from scratch. Rather, he purges the sinful and fallen cosmos and restores it to its pristine beauty. Jesus calls this work “the renewal of all things,” or “the Messianic Age” (Matt. 19:28). Peter explains it as a cleansing and renewing by fire; he employs kainos, as John does, to describe the world to come (2 Pet. 3:10-13).

God’s glorious presence is the central feature of this new kingdom: 

Then the LORD will create a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory, and there will be a shelter for shade from heat by day and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain (Isa. 4:5-6).

The cloud by day and fire by night are drawn from the Exodus tradition, in which God’s presence in the cloud and fire leads the Israelites out of Egypt. Ultimately, his presence resides in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle (Exod. 13:21-22; 14:19, 24; 40:34; Deut. 1:33; 31:15; 1 Kings 8:10-11). This divine presence demonstrates God’s acceptance of his holy people. 

In The New American Commentary, Gary Smith writes, “The surprising difference is that God’s presence will not be limited to a temple building; it will be like a canopy over the whole of Zion (cf. 60:1-2; 62:2; Ezek. 39:25-29), because all of Zion and its people will be holy.”

Isaiah’s reference to a canopy (Heb. chupah) brings two thoughts to mind. First, the Hebrew word is similar to caporeth, the lid on the ark of the covenant, also known as the mercy seat. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest sprinkles blood over the mercy seat, securing atonement for the sins of the people for another year. This prefigures the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away our sin through his sacrificial and substitutionary death on the cross.

The second thought Isaiah’s reference to a canopy evokes is that of a Jewish wedding. The chupah is the marriage chamber (see Ps. 19:5; Joel 2:16), providing intimacy as the bridegroom and his bride consummate their union. This, too, prefigures the work of Jesus, the bridegroom, who today is in heaven preparing a place for us, and who comes again for us one day (John 14:2-3). To the Israelites of Isaiah’s day, the promise of a canopy over all Zion signifies acceptance, protection, and intimacy with God.

Next: Whoever Remains in Zion: Isaiah 4:3 (Part 3)