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Isaiah 61:1-9 ~ Promises of the Redeemer-Messiah for a Glorious Future
There is a new dimension added to Isaiah's description of Israel/Jacob's promised golden future. The promise is that God's spirit-led anointed Redeemer will arise to fulfill God's divine plan for Zion. In Isaiah 59:20 Isaiah promised a Redeemer will come to Zion for those "who stop rebelling in Jacob." The verses in this passage are in the first person, suggesting that the same Redeemer is speaking for Himself to the people. The poem echoes some the same themes as those found in the "Servant Songs" (see 42:1; 42:7; 49:9; 50:4-11).
Bringing God's glory is the ultimate purpose of the Redeemer's mission, and he will bring about great blessings to Zion (61:3). The Redeemer-Messiah comes as one possessing the fullness of the Holy Spirit in himself and at the same time sharing the Spirit with others: for the renewed Zion, for all the nations, for all humanity. The fullness of the Spirit of God is accompanied by many different spiritual gifts. Notice that God's favor will especially be given to the underprivileged in society. The Redeemer will restore balance to society by righting injustices most particularly to the poor.
Isaiah 61:10-11 ~ Thanksgiving
Isaiah gives thanks for the promise of his eternal salvation. The joy in worshiping Yahweh for the renewed Zion is compared to that of bridegroom and bride on their wedding day and to a farmer and his rich harvest (verses 10-11). Notice the significance of the bridegroom and bride imagery. The marriage imagery includes the clothing of a bridegroom and bride in a wedding celebration:
- A bridegroom's ceremonial cloak that is "saving justice."
- A bride crowned with a garland and jewels.
Marriage is one of the reoccurring images of the prophets depicting the people in covenant union with Yahweh: Symbolic Images of the Old Testament Prophets.
Once again the theme of universal salvation is implied in the marriage imagery of covenant and will be carried over into chapter 62. The theme of universal salvation is expressed in God's gift of salvation and praise that will be available to all nations who will become God's Bride, the Church, and the rich harvest of souls into God's "storehouse" that is Heaven.
Isaiah 62:1-5 ~ The Splendor of God's Bride
The new city of Jerusalem is the restored "Zion" (verse 1). It will be praised in this hymn placed on the lips of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah introduced the symbolic imagery of God's relationship with the renewed Zion/Jerusalem as bride and bridegroom in Isaiah 61:10. Now he continues the imagery. Yahweh will join Himself to Zion (a symbolic name for the redeemed of the Church) as His Bride forever. As mentioned previously, marriage is one of the reoccurring symbolic images of the Old Testament prophets in describing the relationship between Yahweh and His covenant people. The prophets longed for this day when God was to take back His Bride (see Hos 2:16-19:21-25). It is to be a day when God's redeemed people will see their final salvation.
Isaiah uses three aspects to describe Zion's marriage to Yahweh:
- God's determination to bring it about.
- Zion's spiritual splendor.
- The glory of the wedding celebration.
These "watchmen" probably refer to God's holy prophets who admonish the people to repent their sins, encourage the people to live in righteousness, and pray constantly for their salvation. These "watchmen" who never fall silent are in contrast to the dumb and blind "watchmen" of 56:9-11 where "watchmen" is used for failed prophets. Jeremiah 6:17 and Ezekiel 3:17 and 33:1-9 also refer to prophets as "watchmen." However, these "watchmen" might also be angels who are the guardians of the Church or members of the faithful who have been given the mission to be in constant prayer for the Church "the prayer warriors.
Isaiah 62:10-12 ~ God's Redeemed
This short poem is a conclusion to the oracles in Isaiah chapters 60-62 and repeats several themes in the Book of Consolation.
Ezekiel 20:1-3 ~ The Elders in Exile's Second Attempt to Consult Yahweh
It is the tenth of July/August 591. Some scholars calculate the date in relation to our calendar as August 14th. It is five years before the destruction of Jerusalem. The date coincides with the exact month and day of the burning of the Temple recorded in Jeremiah 52:12-13,
In 20:1, the elders in exile came again to consult Yahweh through His prophet Ezekiel.
Question: When did the elders in exile first attempt to consult Yahweh through Ezekiel? What was God's answer? Is this answer the same or different? See Ez 14:1-11.
Answer: Yahweh gave the same answer that He gave previously: He does not answer the petitions of sinners, but in 14:7 God did promise that He would answer them if they repent their sins and return to Him in obedience.
Ezekiel 20:4-7 ~ Yahweh Orders Ezekiel to Confront the Elders
As God's prosecuting attorney (one of the duties of a prophet), Yahweh asks Ezekiel if he is ready to judge the false-hearted elders. The first step is to lay out the charges against them that include the sins of their ancestors that they continue to practice.
Ezekiel 20:8-13 ~ The Indictment Against the Israelites
Question: What are Israel's failures that began even before leaving Egypt? How did they add to their rebellion after agreeing to the covenant with Yahweh?
Answer: From the very beginning of their relationship with Yahweh:
- They rebelled against Yahweh and would not listen to His prophet Moses.
- They refused to give up pagan idols.
They added to their offenses after the Sinai Covenant:
- They refused to keep His laws.
- They scorned His judgments.
- They profaned His Sabbaths.
Ezekiel 20:14-20 ~ God Keeps His Promises Even When His People do not Keep Theirs
Yahweh repeats what He said in verse 9 concerning withholding His divine wrath from utterly destroying the people. The Israelites were to be a witness of Yahweh, the One True God, to the Gentile, pagan nations of the world. If He destroyed a people He had set aside from other nations as His personal possession (Ex 19:5), He would have destroyed the value of His Divine Name among the other nations. God did not destroy them, but He did punish the Exodus generation with forty years of desert wandering while raising up a new generation on His Laws to take possession of the Promised Land (Num 14:26-35).
Ezekiel 20:21-26 ~ The Rebellious Nature of the Children of the Wilderness Generation
Question: What was the threefold rebellion of the Israelites of the wilderness generation repeated in 20:8, 13, and 21?
Answer:
- They refused to keep God's laws.
- They did not respect or practice His divine judgments.
- They profaned (did not keep) God's Sabbath.
God demanded that they forsake the conduct of their fathers and accept Him as their only God. When they refuse, God refrains from destroying them for "His name's sake," but He swears he will scatter them among the nations (verse 23).
Ezekiel 20:27-33 ~ The Sins of the Israelites After the Conquest
Bamah means "high place" and refers to the sites of pagan worship. In verse 31, Yahweh answers the elders who have come to consult Him, giving the same answer He gave previously in Chapter 14: 31 for by offering your gifts and by burning your children as sacrifices, you have been polluting yourselves with all your foul idols to this very day, shall I let myself be consulted by you, House of Israel? As I live, declares Lord Yahweh, I shall not let myself be consulted by you.
Ezekiel 20:32-39 ~ Judgment, Repentance, and Redemption
As usually after pronouncements of divine judgment, Yahweh softens the terrible warnings of judgment with promises of redemption and restoration.
Ezekiel 20:40-44 ~ Yahweh's Promise of a Future Restoration
As we have seen in the study of the Book of Jeremiah, the fierce prophecies of divine judgment are followed by promises of forgiveness and restoration (Jer 3:11-4:4; 7:1-7; 16:14-15, 19-21; 23:5-8; 31:1-14; 23-34; 32:37-44; 33:14-22; 50:6-20; in Ezekiel thus far see 11:17-21; 17:23-24). For those counted as belonging to Yahweh, they will return from exile to worship Him on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. The covenant people will reestablish liturgical worship in offering Yahweh gifts, sacrifice, and incense. The fulfillment of Yahweh's judgments and promises are the proof they will need to "know that I am Yahweh."
DAY 220 “Give Us Barabbas!”
CHALLENGE: “The Gospels’ claim that Pilate customarily released a criminal at Passover is fiction. We have no records of this ever happening.”
DEFENSE: We do have records: the four Gospels.
We don’t have an extrabiblical record that says, “Pilate customarily released a prisoner at Passover,” but that’s hardly surprising. Releasing a prisoner at the Jewish capital on a Jewish feast would be a purely local custom, and we don’t have detailed records of the Roman administration in Judaea. The surviving sources are too patchy for that.
However, leaders often pardon popular prisoners to curry favor with their subjects. That happens today, even with political prisoners considered a danger to the established regime (e.g., Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr.).
Further, we have records of ancient rulers in Judaea releasing prisoners to win favor. Both Herod Archelaus (4 B.C.–A.D. 6) and the Roman governor Albinus (A.D. 62–64) did so (Josephus, Antiquities 17:8:4[204–205], 20:9:5[215]).
Also, the Jewish Mishnah contains provisions for slaughtering the Passover lamb for prisoners to be released at Passover (m. Pesahim 8:6).
Passover was a time when Jewish religious and national feeling ran high, and riots were known to break out in Jerusalem then (Antiquities 17:9:3[213–218], 20:5:3[106–112]), so releasing a prisoner to pacify the populace could be quite reasonable. (In fact, Matthew records a riot began to break out when Pilate dithered about releasing Barabbas; Matt. 27:24).
Even if we didn’t know all that, the Gospels are historical records in their own right, and if even one of them mentioned the custom, it would need to be taken seriously. But the custom is mentioned in all four Gospels (Matt. 27:15; Mark 15:6; Luke 23:18; John 18:39), which adds weight in several ways:
• If, as many think, John wrote independently of the synoptics (not my view), we would have a second and clearly independent source attesting the custom.
• Even if John knew the synoptics (my view), he was an eyewitness, as was Matthew, meaning we have two eyewitnesses reporting it.
• If the custom didn’t exist, this would subject the evangelists to criticism. The first evangelist to write wouldn’t be inclined to invent the custom, and later evangelists wouldn’t be inclined to repeat it. The fact that it appears in all four makes the report especially credible.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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