It is not easy to imagine a place that you have not been to. This section in Isaiah 62 speaks of a promised future still to come, that many of us will find difficult to imagine.
This desire to look for a renewed city here on earth or a new life has always been with us. This is why places in the US are called “New York” or “New Hampshire” etc, as people moved from their original homes to start a new life in a new place, with hopes to start afresh.
As writer C.S. Lewis puts it, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” (z
This desire for something else beyond this world is one that we all have. As we look at Isaiah 62, let’s consider what the text says for its original hearers, as well as for us today.
(A) The resplendent city (Isa 62:1-5)
In this section of Isaiah, God’s people had been taken out of their land and the city was in a state of ruin. God’s temple was destroyed and their king was also no longer in power. Yet when we read Isaiah 62:1, we see that God will restore them, but not in the way that we expect. It does not speak of the restoration of the city or the kingdom. Instead God is concerned about the spiritual condition of His people (and the world).
God is interested in the kind of righteousness that cannot come from their striving and work. What is going to shine out is their salvation (Isa 62:1), a righteousness that is not their own.
The speaker declares that he will keep speaking until Zion and Jerusalem’s righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch (Isa 62:1).
But, who is the speaker? One option is the Servant of the Lord. From Isaiah 42-61, we have been reading about this Servant of the Lord. Through the 5 Servant Songs, he comes to do God’s will and achieve God’s will through his suffering. He works God’s salvation through suffering as a substitute. In Isaiah 61:1, we read of how the Spirit of the Lord God is upon this speaker. The Spirit, the Lord God and this Servant are three different persons, and this has led theologians to also develop the doctrine of the Trinity. In Isaiah 61, we see the work of the Servant, and this could flow into this chapter.
What this also means is that God’s word of salvation, given through the Servant, is still going out now, in our day. Do you believe it?
A change will also take place in this city. The nations shall see their righteousness and the kings will see their glory (Isa 62:2a). They will also have a new name that God gives (Isa 62:2b).
They will be crown of beauty and a royal diadem (Isa 62:3). Now, jewelry is not inherently useful, but is used to beautify and glorify! They will bring Him glory and praise by being beautiful. They exalt Him by being desirable.
The central metaphor here is one of a royal marriage. The occasion is more resplendent because of who they are — and adds more joy! Isaiah 62:5 is a picture of great joy and is more than just two people in love finding each other. It is about God keeping His promises and restoring His people. He gives them a new identity, a fulfilment of His promises. These new names are to also make visible and obvious the fact that God loves these people. God’s delight is clear in Isaiah 62:4c and Isaiah 62:5c.
Do you wonder if God loves you? Do you think your failures define who you are and that you are the product of every mistake you have made? Do you think that God loves you reluctantly and also because He has no choice?
See the God who is written about here. He sees the people that He calls Desolate and Forsaken and He says that His delight is on them and delights in them. He rejoices over His broken people. This is how God feels towards the sinner!
This is the gospel — that God does not treat us the way our sins deserve, but He sees us through the righteousness of another. When He looks at us, He does not see our failures, but the victory of Christ. Perhaps tonigiht, we need to stop looking at ourselves through our own failures and success and to remember that the God who loves the Desolate and Forsaken has given them a new name — Married and His Delight Is In Her. Friends, Isaiah reminds us that we are not defined by our own feelings, but by God Himself.
(B) The repopulated city (Isa 62:6-9)
God has also established watchmen (Isa 62:6). In Psalm 132:1-5, we see how David speaks of his commitment to God’s agenda and will not sleep until he finds a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob. Isaiah borrows this picture here. The watchmen here is committed like David, and is full of the zeal of the Lord.
God promises that their grain and wine will be secure, but more than just a promise of abundance, they will be a people that enjoy it in His presence (Isa 62:8-9). There will be no half-hearted, lukewarm, distracted Christians there. It will be full of people who want to be in the city because they want the King of the city. This is the city God will bring about and He will repopulate it.
And Isaiah 62:8 assures us that God will bring this to pass. (c.f. Heb 6:13-16) There is other way for God to tell us more decisively that He will bring it to pass.
As we read Matthew 23:37-39, hear the anguish in the heart of Christ as He looks to the city. What He desires is for them to be under His wings.
What would you say is God’s desire for His people? God’s will is that the people who live in His city would turn to Him, that the repopulated city will be filled with people who have bowed the knee and come under the wing of the Messiah. There is no safety and security apart from Him!
(C) The redeemed city (Isa 62:10-12)
God promises to act on their behalf, but He also calls them to act. Salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ alone still requires a response from us! God acts with our response (Isa 62:10).
They are to go through the gates, i.e. we must go in! They are to prepare the way for the people and prepare a highway by clearing stones (Isa 62:10). This is language that we hear later used by John the Baptist. Isaiah speaks of spiritual response and preparation that needs to take place. We need to come to Him and enter the city.
God will lift up a signal over the peoples (Isa 62:2c).God all proclaimed to the end of the earth, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him” (Isa 62:11).
Friends, if you are a Christian today, you have responded to this signal that has been lifted up. Christ was lifted, not to a throne, but on to the cross.
Let us also use Isaiah 62:11-12 to shape our identity. This is who we are, and we are to walk in the light of this identity. We should not let our sense of self be defined by the world. We are God’s people named by His holiness and redemption. Is this how you see yourself? If so, what anxiety would you leave behind? What concerns, nightmares and worst case scenarios could be left behind? What is the worst thing that a person called Not Forsaken lose? If in Christ we have God, we have everything we need. Would you consider all that you have in Christ, who was lifted up as a signal for us? Also, pray that more and more would enter in and know Christ, to join the city of God!
What have you learnt about this resplendent, repopulated and redeemed city? What has God said to you tonight about His Son?