Scriptures for the Whole House of Israel
CHAPTER 51
1. Listen to me, you who ardently pursue what is right, who seek after YHWH! Look back to the rock from which you were quarried, and to the excavation of the pit out of which you have been dug.
2. Pay attention to Avraham your father, and to Sarah, who was writhing in anguish to give you birth, because I called him [when he was only] one, and began to bless him and cause him to increase,
This tells us that those who pursue what is right are children of Avraham. And to take the next step into further righteousness, we need to live as Hebrews ("crossers-over") as he was.
3. because YHWH has comforted Tzion; He has comforted all the parts of her that were laid waste, and will make her wilderness like Eden, and her [barren] steppes like the enclosed garden of YHWH. Joy and merriment will be found in her--thanksgiving and the voice of melodious singing!
4. "Listen to Me, My nation, and bend your ear toward Me, My [gathered] people! Because instruction will go forth from Me, and I will make My legal procedure bring about settledness as a light to nations.
5. "My vindication is near; My deliverance has gone forth, and My Arm will judge nations. Coastlands will direct their eager hope toward Me, and place their expectation on My Arm.
6. "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and take into consideration the earth beneath, because skies wil [certainly] be dissipated like smoke, and the earth will be completely worn out like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in the same way. Yet My deliverance will last forever, and My vindication will never be checked.
7. "Listen to Me, you who know righteousness [by experience]--the people [who have] My Torah on their hearts! Do not be afraid of men's scorn, or go to pieces because of their taunts,
Those with readiest access to the Torah in those days were the priests and kings, who had to write their own copies of the Torah. (Deut. 17:18) But now many more of us have access to it, and the way to become intimately familiar with righteousness is to have the Torah on our hearts. (cf. Yirmiyahu 31:33) This certainly means that they understand the spirit behind the letter, but they must therefore not forsake the letter, the very vehicle which brought them to understand what was behind it. If something is "on our hearts", it means we are all but obsessed with it. Taunts: Aramaic, "self-exaltation"; it is unrealistic. (v. 13)
8. "because a [mere] moth will devour them like [it does] the garment, and the moth-larva will eat them like wool, but My righteousness will last forever, and My deliverance to a generation of generations."
9. Rouse yourself! Wake up! Clothe yourself with prevailing strength, O Arm of YHWH! Rouse yourself as [in] the days of old, in the ages long ago! Wasn't it you who were cutting Rahav, the profane sea-serpent, into pieces?
Rahav: often considered a symbol of Egypt. (Compare Y'hezq'el 29:3.) The context (v. 10) makes it clear that that is the reference.
10. Wasn't it you who were making the sea--the waters of the great abyss--dry up, who transformed the depths of the sea into a pathway for the ransomed to cross over [by]?
11. And those ransomed by YHWH will return and come to Tzion with loud songs of joy, and everlasting cheer upon their heads. Gladness and rejoicing will overtake them, and grief and moaning will disappear.
This verse is an exact repetition of 35:10, suggesting that this prophecy, like many if not most, is in the form of a song with a repeated pattern. It also argues for there being only one author of the book of Yeshayahu (a fact much disputed in the last century), since chapter 35 is in the earlier portion of the book, before the "break" some posit between the two segments. Return: or repent. Cheer: part of our repentance is choosing to be joyful instead of fearful…
12. "I Myself am the one who is consoling you; who are you, that you should be afraid of frail man [who is] is mortal, or the son of humanity, [who is] given over [to be] grass,
Consoling: comfort that calms and settles us and makes us sigh with relief—i.e., that brings relaxation from all of our worries. Grass: something that can wither quickly, because it has shallow roots. This makes us think twice about “grass-roots” movements that really accomplish little to drive the course of history, because they usually stem from the whims of persons driven more by immediate gratification or unconfirmed rumors; in Israel, ideally the orders come from the top down—from the One who knows best:
13. "and forget YHWH your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth firmly? Yet you are always in such dread of the fury of the oppressor, all day long, as if he were prepared to bring destruction! Yet where is the oppressor's fury now?
Dread: or alarm, which causes us to pull back in hesitation. It is normally in regard to something sudden; it should not be constant. Not that we should never fear man, but here the choice is between consideration of someone who is just as mortal as we, or respect of Someone much bigger who is on your side. As if he were prepared: but in reality he is not. (14:16) The truer perspective is the one Elisha asked that his servant be allowed to see, in which the heavenly hosts are mightier. (2 Kings 6:17)
14. "[The] captive exile will soon be set free, so that he might not die for the pit, nor be lacking for bread.
Part of the comfort in v. 12 includes the relief from oppression and hunger.
15. "But I am YHWH your Elohim, who stirs up the sea so that its waves may rage; YHWH of Armies is His Name.
He is the one in control of the changes that have to come about in order to set things straight.
16. "And I will put My words in your mouth, and with the shadow of My hand I have covered you, in order to establish the heavens and lay the foundation of the earth, and tell Tzion, 'You are My people!'
What kind of things might we forget (v. 13) that would bring us such dread? (Compare 4:19) His promises, the times He has covered us even when we were about to be attacked, and the things He has allowed us to be part of that form a covering for us—whether family, community, or Israel as a whole. While He sets things back in order, there will be upheavals, but if we are shielded by His hand, there is nothing to fear.
17. "Rouse yourself to triumphant excitement! Rise up, O Yerushalayim, who has drunk the cup of fury from YHWH's hand. You have drunk the dregs of the cup of reeling; you have [completely] drained it.
In the context of v. 16, which reminds us of creation, this command to rouse oneself is an allusion to Yom Teruah, the day associated with creation and the awakening blast of trumpets or excited shouting. So another thing He is telling us not to forget is that, when things look hopeless, YHWH can forge a new creation.
18. "She has no one to guide [her] from among all the sons to whom she has given birth, and from all the sons she has raised, not one takes her by the hand.
No one…from all her sons: Yerushalayim is called the mother of those who, like Yitzhaq, are born according to the promise rather than the flesh. (Gal. 4:26) But those who emphasize this "grace" are not willing to go the full distance of what it means to be her children. Instead, they have ignored the holiness that she stands for, and abandoned her, making their own way instead.
19. "Both of those things are [now] befalling you; who can be sorry for you? Havoc and destruction, the famine and the sword! [By] whom can I console you?
By whom: i.e., who is left through whom I can console you? You have rejected what I had given you as provision for such a time.
20. "Your sons have been covered up; they have been lain down at the head of every street. Like an antelope in a snare, they are full of the rage of YHWH, the reproof of your Elohim.
Been covered up: by this hunter's snare. Antelope: an animal that knows how to climb hills--to ascend, as to the holy city--but we are stuck, wrapped up in the snares of our own ways, and thus held back from going the full distance.
21. "So now, listen to this, you who are humiliated and drunken, but not with wine!
22. "Thus says your Master YHWH and your Elohim, who will plead the case for His people: 'See? I have taken the cup of reeling out of your hand, the dregs of the cup of My fury; there will never again be [occasion] for you to drink it.
23. "Rather, I will put it into the hand of those who are causing you grief, who have said to your soul, 'Lie flat so that we can cross over, and make your back like the ground and like the street for those who cross over.'"
YHWH says He will make Yerusahalyim herself a cup of reeling to all who besiege it. (Zkh. 12:2) Who say…: I.e., those who "walk all over you." And Israel "went the second mile", yet these opportunists simply used them and left them behind.
CHAPTER 52
1. Rouse yourself, wake up! Clothe yourself with prevailing strength, O Tzion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Yerushalayim, the set-apart city, for never again will the uncircumcised or [ritually] unclean enter you.
Garments of splendor: or gleaming garments—fit for celebration. The New Yerushalayim's walls and gates gleam, and that is what we are being built into. Alt., garments [worthy] of your splendor. Unclean: There is parallelism here: We need garments that are undefiled. (Rev. 3:4) A parallel passage to this is Yirmiyahu 31:18-25, in which Efrayim realizes the condition he is in, but then accepts YHWH's assessment that he can be cleansed and used again as YHWH's vessel, rather than continuing to wallow in the mud.
2. Shake the dust off yourself; get up and be seated, O Yerushalayim. Free yourself from the bands on [the back of] your neck, O captive [of the] daughter of Tzion!
Dust: a reference back to the state the City is in (51:20-23); the Sabbath liturgy continues, "Too long have you dwelt in the valley of tears; He will show you abounding mercy!" Tzion has been walked over, but the there was value in learning from those who struck us, now she is called to take the offensive. (v. 1) This attitude adjustment needs to take place every day, as YHWH's mercies are new every morning. (Lam. 3:22-23) Be seated: take your rightful position; be established on your throne. Captive: or exile; if we are exiles we are indeed captives, even in "free countries". YHWH will grant us another exodus; we need to refuse to be re-enslaved this time.
3. For this is what YHWH says: "You have been sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money."
Been sold for nothing: or, sold yourselves for no reason. It was not with gold or silver that we were redeemed, but with Y’shua's life as our blood relative. (1 Kefa 1:18-19) YHWH did not sell us; He was never paid, so we do not belong to another. He has no creditors (50:1)
4. Because this is what the Master YHWH says: "First My people went down [to] Egypt to sojourn, but Ashur exploited them without cause.
Exploiting them: They had gone into Egypt out of necessity; that was understandable. But Ashur (Assyria) took our ancestors captive because we had already sold ourselves. Even in Egypt, the book of Yasher says that little by little the Israelites had sold themselves into slavery by buying into the Egyptian system rather than remaining a separate people. We do the same in many ways today. Y’shua's "called-out" congregation let ourselves be lured in by feeling that we could be "part of things", when in fact we are not meant to be counted among the nations of the world. "Ashur" does not care about us; they only want our resources to be used toward their own ends.
5. "So now, what is there for Me here? For," declares YHWH, "My nation is taken captive for no reason. Those who exercise dominion over it will howl," declares YHWH, "and constantly, all day long, My Name is being spurned.
Spurned: despised, treated contemptibly, as when Pharaoh said, "Who is YHWH, that I should obey His voice and set Israel free?" (Ex. 5:2) But He hints at another way His name is made ineffective:
6. "Therefore, My people will know My Name; this being so, in that Day they will know that I am the one making the promise. Behold, here I am!"
The one making the promise: or "the one speaking" (in intensive form). I.e., Israel's coming out of Assyria, redemption from the slavery we have entangled ourselves with, and return to the Land are inextricably tied to knowing His actual Name—not just substitutes for it (whether they be valid generic titles like “the Lord” or the names of actual pagan deities like “God”). And by His Name, YHWH, we will be able to tell that it is really He who is delivering us, not some other that might be called by the same generic term.
7. How fitting upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news, who proclaims peace, who gladdens [us] with tidings of [what is truly] good, who causes "deliverance" to be heard, who tells Tzion, "Your Elohim has begun to reign!"
Fitting: appropriate, beautiful, "at home". The Greek word used to translate this in the Septuagint (LXX) means "in season" or "on the hour", i.e., right on schedule. Feet: or footsteps, also an idiom in Scripture for the pilgrimage festivals. (Ex. 23:14) Peace: i.e., reconciliation with YHWH, total well-being, and also national unity (the reunification of the two houses of Israel). Begun to reign: an announcement of His coronation. Yet even now we are on the threshold of His Kingdom and thus need to begin to live according to the sanctity of the age to come (Heb. 6:5), just as the gate to each inner court in the Temple bore the same level of holiness as the court it led into.
8. The voice of those keeping watch! They have lifted up their voice; in unison they will give a ringing cry, because they will see eye to eye when YHWH restores Tzion.
Keeping watch: includes leaning forward or looking around a corner, seeing what is coming but is not visible to those still behind the wall whom you are protecting. This person is most exposed of all, so he must have excellent vision! I.e., together they must all focus on what YHWH finds most important, and where He is headed in making us a selfless people characterized by mutual respect and fair treatment of one another.
9. Break out together into intense songs of joy, O ruins of Yerushalayim, because YHWH has consoled His people; He has redeemed [and avenged] Yerushalayim!
Break out: They will cry out in joy (v. 8), but YHWH tells us to, in faith, consider it done and start living in it and singing of our deliverance and unity even before we see the full results. Ruins of Yerushalayim: possibly some that are yet to come, as described in Zkh. 14:2.
10. YHWH has uncovered His set-apart Arm for the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the deliverance of our Elohim.
Uncovered: or laid bare. That it is set apart suggests something we do not normally see Him use—and it will astonish the nations, which are not used to seeing Him act so overly.
11. Turn away! Leave! Get out of there! Don't touch anything ritually impure! Get out from her midst; purify yourselves, you who bear YHWH's vessels,
There are three steps to our redemption: repenting, coming out, and then “taking the Egypt out of ourselves”. It was Israel’s outcry of dissatisfaction with Egypt that led YHWH to begin to act. Anything ritually impure: the dead bodies, or “the unclean thing” in particular: the Abomination of Desolation (Dan. 11:31), which will have to be removed from the Temple before the holy vessels can be brought back in. Babylon stole YHWH’s holy vessels from the Temple, but was not conquered until she appropriated them for her own feast. The spirit of Babylon has done so again, and there will come a “last straw” for it as well. Too many vessels that are prepared for His Temple have been filled with pride instead and become useless to Him. We need to remove the contents of the vessels that are in His way so that He can fill us with what He wishes to use them for. There is never room in His vessels for our own agendas. In every other case, this phrase “who carry vessels” can also refer to armor-bearers for a king or important military official. How can we use YHWH’s weapons for another army? Dare we use them to advance the cause of Babylon?
12. for you will not proceed with hurried trepidation; you will not walk [as] when fleeing, because YHWH will go before you; the Elohim of Israel will be your rear guard.
Not…with hurried trepidation: alt., in haste, but not as a fugitive. Rear guard: literally, one who gathers, as when driving a flock from behind.
13. "Behold, My Servant will bring correct understanding; He will be raised up. He has been supported and lifted to an exceedingly great height.
My servant: the Aramaic adds, "the Messiah". Bring correct understanding: or act wisely, teach [others] to act prudently. Because He was faithful (53:12; Rev. 5:9-12), He was raised up by YHWH and "highly exalted, given a name above every name". (Phil. 2:5-11)
14. "To the same extent that many were appalled over you (His appearance was so disfigured more than any man, and His shape more than any of the sons of Adam),
Appalled: stunned, horrified, awestruck. Disfigured more than any man: or "His appearance was so changed from looking like a man", including having his cheeks made bald (like a woman's) when his beard was torn out (50:6), gouged by a crown of thorns that was pounded into his head. His shape: his skin would have been torn to shreds and his organs exposed by the scourging whip. Psalm 22:6 describes him as a "scarlet-worm and not a man", i.e., so bloodied that He did not look human. Rev.5:6 describes him, even in the heavenlies, as looking like a lamb that had been butchered--that is, cut open, with his inward parts exposed, though, like the Passover lamb, not a bone was to be broken. (Ex. 12:46; Yochanan 19:36) Instead, he is depicted as looking like Antiochus Epiphanes, who put his face on the statues of Zeus made in his day and who has 39 points of congruency with the image on the Shroud of Turin, much more than are needed to establish legal identity. The Sunday School pictures of "Jesus" bear the same image.
15. "even so He will startle many Gentiles. Over Him, kings will stop their mouths, because they will see [something] that had never been recounted to them, and what they had never heard of, they have begun to diligently consider.
Startle: While many of "his own" looked on in scorn, the Gentile centurion who crucified Y’shua marveled at who he was when he saw the earthquake and how Y’shua died. (Mat. 27:54) These nations and kings had never imagined anything like what they saw in Y’shua's death, and it left an indelible impression on them. Even though they did not get the context straight, still they could not ignore him. Yet Yehudah tried to! So Paul turned to the "Gentiles"--chiefly the Northern Kingdom who had decided they would rather be Gentiles than Hebrews, and generations later had forgotten who they were and had not heard of YHWH or His covenant that their ancestors had left. Yet Y’shua made it possible for them to return, and YHWH was already drawing them back to the synagogues, which is where Paul went to declare the message in each Gentile city. But "kings" are also those who seek out what YHWH has hidden (Prov. 25:2). So seek it out without prejudice.
CHAPTER 53
1. Who has stood [his ground] on our report? And upon whom has the Arm of YHWH been uncovered?
Uncovered: or revealed. It was meant to have been to all nations. (52:10) Yet while Gentiles marveled at it, many in Yehudah itself faltered over whether it was trustworthy. (Yochn 12:38-39)
2. Indeed, he will spring up before His face like a tender sapling, like a root out of dry ground. He has no [particular] appearance nor anything special about him that would make us gaze on him, nor anything spectacular that would lead us to find him desirable.
3. He is held in contempt and rejected by men--a Man of sorrows and familiar with grief. It was as if we were hiding our faces from him. He is despised, and we did not take him into consideration.
LXX: "His form was ignoble and inferior to that of the children of men." Grief: or weakness, sickness.
4. But indeed it was our sickness that he carried [away]; it was our sorrows with which he was burdened, while we thought he was being struck [down] by Elohim, and put down.
5. Yet it was on account of our rebellious acts that he was pierced through; it was because of our crookednesses that he was [so harshly] beaten. The discipline [that would bring] our welfare [came] upon him, and by his bruises we were healed!
Rebellious acts: or transgressions, going "out of bounds". Aramaic, "He will [re]build the sanctuary which was profaned for our sins, handed over for our iniquities." What iniquities? Specifically those by which we violated the first covenant, rendering its renewal necessary. The context (ch. 52) is that of the restoration of Israel. Though it has many other "side benefits", at the most basic level, what constitutes our salvation is a return to the covenant and the rebuilding of a dwelling place for YHWH in Yerushalayim. His bruises (detailed in Yochanan 19): specifically in relation to the sins of the royal line of David (Psalm 89:30ff), in order to restore that covenant, which does benefit all of Israel.
6. All of us had wandered off like the animals of the flock; we had each turned away toward his own direction, so YHWH let the punishment for all of our guilt fall on Him.
YHWH…on Him: LXX, "YHWH gave him up for our sins." Each turned…toward his own direction: the condition when there is no king in Israel. (Judges 21:25) This is why he needed to be bruised--so that there could again be a king in Israel. (See note on v. 5.) It was not enough to be merely King of the Jews. (Yoch. 18:33); He had to restore the Kingdom to Israel as well. (Acts 1:6, based on 49:6 above)
7. He was driven hard and he [of all people] is bowed down, yet he will not open his mouth. He was conducted along like a lamb to the slaughter, and just as a ewe is put to silence before her shearers, he too will not open His mouth.
Though Y’shua constantly spoke in ways that made people upset, there is a time for everything to be a delight to Heaven. (Eccles. 3) This was the time to remain silent. (3:7)
8. He was taken away from restraint and from due process, and who can ponder his generation? Because he was severed from the land of life; the striking [came] to him because of the rebellion of My people.
Restraint: or prison, but there is a record only of Y’shua's arrest, not incarceration. Due process: or rights, justice, judgment. Generation: he would have no children to speak of--by all appearances. Aramaic, "From bonds and retribution he will bring our exiles near; the wonders which will be done for us in his days, who will be able to recount?" Rebellion: or transgression. My people: those of the House of Israel who had left the Covenant.
9. And He began to appoint his burial to be with the criminals, and with the violent in his death, although he had done nothing wrong, nor was there [any] deceit in his mouth.
Began to appoint: though he was expected to be buried perhaps in a common grave with the others crucified beside him, this was changed at the last minute by an influential man. Criminals: thieves, and possibly revolutionaries against the Romans. Violent: proud; alt., wealthy or influential, but this seems backwards, since it was his burial that was with the wealthy. Some manuscripts, however, including the Dead Sea Isaiah Scroll, have one additional letter that changes "wealthy" (ashir) to "evildoers" (osey-ra), and this seems to fit the parallelism better. Nothing wrong: i.e., nothing deserving of the death sentence.
10. Yet YHWH chose to crush him; He made him sore [with wounds]. If his soul will render [herself] a guilt offering, he will see posterity; he will lengthen days, and that which YHWH delights in will advance in his hand.
Chose: or "was inclined to", as in a difficult choice in which the scales were tilted by one factor--the results this pain would have for others. Crush: as there are shouts of joy when crushing grapes. Though there is no record of Y’shua's being physically crushed, in the place known indeed as Gat Shmaney (wine press for oils), Y’shua's soul was crushed to the point of his blood vessels bursting by the weight of the prospect of being forsaken by his Father. (Luk. 22:44) See posterity: have descendants. Lengthen days: not just his own, but through his influence he would keep the world from having to be destroyed again as soon. Advance: be brought successfully, prosper, progress.
11. He will see [light that comes] from the struggle of his soul; he will be fully satisfied. By his know-how will a righteous one, My servant, bring justice for the many, and bear the brunt of the punishment for their guilt.
Struggle: wearisome labor, trouble, grief. Fully satisfied: or fulfilled. For the many: the same term refers to the people of Israel in Daniel 9:27, and indeed Yeshua would "justify" or "bring righteousness" for the many, setting them straight again and making them what they were meant to be. Light: in the Dead Sea Isaiah Scroll, not in Masoretic text.
12. Therefore I will allot him a share among the great, and he will divide the plunder with the strong, whereas he had emptied himself out to death, and was considered to be among the rebels. He also carried away the sin of many, and will interpose for the rebels.
Emptied out: or exposed. The song of "kenosis" in Philippians 2:7 was probably alluding to this phrase. Rebels: revolters or transgressors; those who cross a line. Considered to be among the rebels: by telling his disciples to take swords along into Gat Shmaney (Luk. 22:36-37) and also by the fact that He was crucified with two revolutionaries (Mk. 15:28), probably on the same post where they could all speak with one another while very short of breath, due to the position crucifixion put one in.
CHAPTER 54
1. "Be overcome with joy, O sterile woman, who could not bear children; burst out into praise and squeals [of delight], you who were never in the anguish of childbirth, because the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the children of the married woman," says YHWH.
Sterile woman: Here, a specific allegory for Yerushalayim. A catastrophe is coming for the city, but on the other side, it will not only recover but come back even stronger.
2. "Broaden the place of your tent, and extend the drapes of your dwelling places! Don't hold back! Continue to make your cords longer, and make your stakes firm!
I.e., you are going to have many more children (and therefore more help to get your special work done, and a more enduring name); make room for them--not to mention the many more visitors you will receive to be hospitable to! Drapes: Tent curtain “walls”, in those days, were often made of goats’ hair, which would close up when wet to keep the rain out and open back up when dry to let air flow through the tent. Extended drapes would be heavier and therefore require longer ropes and firmer stakes. At this point Israelites mainly lived in tents only when pasturing their livestock or when they had to spend days on end in their fields to harvest ripe crops that would be eaten by animals if not watched constantly.
3. "Because to the right and to the left you will exceed the boundaries, and your offspring will dispossess the nations and cause the ravaged cities to be inhabited.
Exceed the boundaries: spread out beyond your former limits. This is part of the liturgy welcoming the Sabbath as a “bride”, calling us toleave behind the sorrows of the rest of the week and open ourselves to the pure joy that YHWH offers us at this time:
4. "Do not be afraid, because you will not be disappointed. And do not become disconcerted, because you will not be ashamed, for you will forget the embarrassment of your youthful vigor, and you will no longer bring to mind the reproach of your widowhood.
Youthful vigor: from a root meaning "concealed"; i.e., her "sowing of wild oats".
5. "Because your Husband is your Maker: YHWH of Armies is His Name. Also, your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called Elohim of all the earth--
Husband: Heb., ba'al, giving the sense of "master" or "owner" as well. Being in His camp, with Him as our protector, what could ever threaten us? But at one point, we will no longer see Him as an overlord, but only as our beloved. (Hos. 2:16ff)
6. "because YHWH has invited you as a woman abandoned and tortured in spirit, like a wife from [one's] youth when she had been rejected," says your Elohim.
Rejected: or loosened, a legal term meaning "let go". This rejection was not for no reason like that seen in Deut. 21:14. Because of our unfaithfulness, YHWH divorced Israel, the Northern Kingdom, but not Yehudah. (50:8; Yirmiyahu 3:8) Yet here we see Him take her back. The Torah allows a divorced woman to be married again by the same husband only if she has not married someone else in the meantime. (Deut. 24:1-4) Hoshea's wife is the picture of what actually occurred: the Northern Kingdom left her husband and went after many lovers (who abandoned and rejected her), but never married them, and she could thus be taken back when she finally felt the pain of her true condition, of which she had been in denial while young and beautiful, but now found herself abandoned by everyone for which she abandoned her less sensational but stable Husband. (Hos. 13:4-10) But for a time she was not lived with as a wife again until much later. Y’shua brought us back into the household, but one day YHWH will woo us when we are out in the wilderness again (Rev. 12; Hosea 2:14) and there finalize the new/renewed covenant that Y’shua initiated at his last Passover.
7. "For an insignificantly short moment did I leave you behind, but with intense compassion will I gather you [back] out.
Even 2,730 years (the 390 years of Y'hezq'el 4 multiplied seven times, Lev. 26:28) is a mere drop in the bucket to YHWH! Compassion: Heb., Ruhamah, a reversal of YHWH's declaration that for a time He would have no mercy. (Hos. 1:6; 2:1) He assures us that He is no longer upset with us, and that we can move on. Since He has given us this measure of compassion, how much more should we extend it to one another? But there has been a price to pay, and we must remember that aspect of it and never again attribute power to things that should not be empowered (Hos. 14:2-8), when He, not they, has been our true provider all along. (Hos. 11:1-4) If we want to rebuild trust, we need to be even more responsible than the minimum requirement and work hard to restore all that we broke.
8. "In an overflow of anger I caused My face to be hidden from you for a moment, but with lovingkindness that lasts forever will I love you deeply," says YHWH, your Kinsman Redeemer,
Compare Psalm 102:2. Love you deeply: the word is one of intense, gut-felt emotion full of compassion, affection, and tenderness.
9. "because this is the waters of Noach to Me: just as I foreswore the waters of Noach from crossing over [their limit] onto the land, in the same way I have foresworn [Myself] from being furious at you and from scolding you.
This alludes to Gen. 8:21; 9:11.
10. "Because though the mountains may be pushed away or the hills be dislodged, still My lovingkindness will never be pushed away from being with you, nor will the covenant of My peace be dislodged," says YHWH, the one who has pity on you.
“THE mountains”—an idiom in Scripture for Tzion and Mt. Moryah, the Mountain of the House of YHWH, especially in the context of the flood (v. 9; see note on Gen. 7:18-20)—have been “pushed away” for a time, but the city herself remains loved, and has been brought back already. And the prophets say the mountains, too, will be restored one day.
11. "O [woman who is] afflicted, storm-tossed, and never comforted, behold! I Myself am laying your stones amid the antimony, and establish your foundations among sapphires.
This is a chapter designed to bring consolation. Compare the precious stones that embellish the bride, the holy city of Renewed Yerushalayim (Rev. 21:9ff); all of these stones are also on the high priest's breastplate. We feel “tossed about by every wind of doctrine”, but YHWH offers us a strong, stable foundation that does not shift with the wind. Antimony: or stibium, a black stone ground for mortar (used as a border between building stones), but also made into pigment and used by women as eye-liner to enlarge the appearance of their eyes. Sapphires: from a root word meaning counting, recounting, or taking into account. Such careful analysis can also give us a firm foundation.
12. "I have also constituted your battlements of ruby, your gates of glowing stones, and all your borders of pleasant stones,
Battlements: crenellated walls between which arrows could be shot but with higher sections behind which one could duck or keep the sun out of his eyes for better sightings of targets below. Ruby: or agate. Glowing stones: or carbuncle; LXX, crystal; Rev. 21:21 says each gate of the Renewed Yerushalayim is a pearl. All your borders: taken by some to mean "your whole wall". These precious stones would make the sunlight reflect in their besiegers' eyes.
13. "and all your children are taught by YHWH, and abundant is the prosperity of your children.
This is the key to achieving the stability offered in verse 11. Taught: literally, prodded. Sadly, very few people respond to a mere “word to the wise”. Those who are taught how to approach Torah, which makes us think about things others do not pay attention to (like which animals have split hooves or chew the cud), will value learning and be more observant (55:5) and able to see from multiple angles, and therefore have an advantage over those who do not. They will have a better sense of well-being, able to put all problems in perspective, remembering that "this, too, shall pass". So what does it mean to be taught by YHWH? In Scripture, all names have meanings, often related to one’s calling in life, especially when the name is changed. So why should YHWH’s name be any different? The word “YHWH” is a compilation of all the tenses of the word “to be”, i.e., the One who was, is, and always will be. Moshe is introduced to YHWH as “I will be what I will be” or “what I need to be”. It is not the complicated details of theology but the simple things that everyone needs. When we break Torah down, it is bigger than religion or politics; it is a person-to-person matter. We just have to see how all the components of are meant to work together. Look closely, and we will gain a more complete explanation—for “prosperity” here is shalom in Hebrew, which means not just “peace” but completeness—having no area of life unfulfilled, a sense that “everything is okay”. Look deeply enough into Torah, and you will be a more complete person, not only in yourself, but in relation to those you are attached to, for YHWH ties all aspects of the universe together into something that works together properly. All our actions and words have repercussions, and looking closely enough to anticipate them is a principle that applies everywhere. If we study the causes of our conflicts, we may find the remedy.
14. "By righteousness you will establish yourself. Distance yourself from gain by extortion, because [then] you will not be in dread, and from [the] fear [of having your possessions snatched away], because [this terror] will not come near you.
LXX, "abstain from injustice, and you will not be afraid."
15. "Oh, they will indeed remain for a time, but it will no longer be from Me. Whoever stirs up trouble for you will [meet their] downfall on your account.
16. "Indeed, I Myself have created the craftsman who blows on the coals in the fire, and who brings out a tool for his work; I have also created the spoiler to bring destruction.
Both building up and tearing down are in His hands.
17. "Every weapon that will be fashioned against you will be unsuccessful, and every tongue that will rise against you for litigation, you will bring to condemnation. This is the portion the servants of YHWH [will] inherit, and their vindication comes from Me," declares YHWH.
In context, this is speaking of Yerusahalayim and those who obediently go there to meet YHWH at His appointed times. If applied too broadly, we may be guilty of promising what YHWH did not. Vindication: Part of the righteousness He supplies is the gift of being able to prove wrong those who bring accusations against us.
CHAPTER 55
1. Attention, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the water, and whoever has no money, come, buy and eat wine and milk! Indeed, come, buy grain without money and without price!
I.e., you are hungry, but what you are paying for is not feeding you. You are paying for soft drinks that will not quench thirst or give your body what it needs, when water is free! Without price: Do not commercialize the message of truth, making it part of and subservient to Babylon's system. When that system reaches its critical mass, it will not allow anyone who is not part of it to buy or sell, but Israel is not to be counted among the nations of the world. (Numbers 23:9) YHWH will provide for those who obey and trust Him.
2. Why do you spend money on what is not bread, and your hard work for what does not satisfy? Listen to Me carefully, and eat what is beneficial, and your soul will take exquisite delight in how robust it is!
If you are still hungry after reading Torah, it means you are not listening to what it is really saying. We need to teach our children not just how to listen, but what to hunger for. Tell them not only what it is, but what its components are, so they will be able to investigate further rather than hitting a dead end. Ask them questions, so they will learn to think more lucidly—or at least recognize what they do not know and what they need the wisdom of more experienced people to understand—so they will listen. No one can listen when they are the ones talking. To listen, you must be still and focus—and that is where shalom is found. How robust: literally, “its fatness”—i.e., the very best stuff. You cannot get this without listening.
3. Incline your ear and come to Me! Obey, and your soul will thrive, and I will cut an eternal covenant with you, the kindnesses of David being upheld.
Incline: or bend, extend, turn, spread, or stretch out—i.e., do whatever it takes to get into the right position to really hear. Before we can receive the covenant, we have to get the listening part right.
4. Look! I have set him forth as evidence for nations; I appointed him as a ruler and one who gives orders to peoples.
Him: David, and by extension, the Messiah, his descendant, who is the continuation of David.
5. Indeed, you will call for a nation that you are not familiar with, and a nation that is not familiar to you will rush to you for the sake of YHWH your Elohim, and to the Holy One of Israel.
6. Consult YHWH while He may be found; call to Him while He is [still] nearby!
There is an open window now for us to return to YHWH and repent. But a grace period, by definition, does not last forever.
7. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the mischievous man his schemes, and let him turn back toward YHWH, so that He may have mercy on him, and toward our Elohim, because He will cause forgiveness to abound,
8. for YHWH has let it be declared: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,
9. "because as the skies are higher than the land, even so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thought than your thoughts.
Things are rarely what they seem, so we have no excuse not to listen. But if we do, His ways will no longer be higher, because His ways will become our ways. We will see our place in the big picture, and our children’s place too. Where we magnify religion, YHWH magnifies kinship. We are part of something bigger that has to all work together to function properly. If we have community, a microcosm where we can learn the pattern, we have an even bigger advantage at learning how to look beyond our own emotions to what is best for everyone. Where there is proper order, where there are wise people to help us look closely, we can solve the problems before they become serious. But if we cannot listen ourselves, how will we teach our children to?
10. "For just as the rain or snow comes down from the sky, and does not return there unless it has watered the earth, made it bring forth and grow, and given seed to the sower and bread to the one who eats,
11. "it will be the same [with] My word that goes forth from My mouth: it will not return to Me empty--without having accomplished what I have intended and brought success [in] that for which I have sent it.
Will not return: Aramaic, "it is not possible for it to return".
12. "When you go out with cheerfulness and are given safe conduct, the mountains and the hills will break out before you [into] shouts of joy, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands!
Go out: depart from the lands of our exile again. Safe conduct: or peace. The Aramaic targum adds, "to your land". As cosmic-scale cataclysmic changes take place in the earth's topography, possibly brought about by the gravitation of another heavenly body as in the deluge, S'dom and 'Amorah overthrow, Exodus, etc., those who are following YHWH and the leaders He appoints like Moshe will find that these radical ruptures even in mountain ranges will be for their benefit, not for their harm.
13. "In place of the thornbush, the cypress tree will grow; and the myrtle tree instead of the brier, and it will give YHWH a reputation and serve as a distinguishing mark that will not be cut off forever."
Cypress and myrtle: especially beautiful or fragrant trees. Thorns and briers: Again, this is a prime example of the reversal of the curse which Adam's sin brought on creation. Compare 3:24, which gives the opposite picture when they entered into captivity.
CHAPTER 56
1. This is what YHWH says: "Guard just legal procedures and carry out righteousness, because My deliverance is about to arrive, and My righteousness [is about] to be revealed."
As special preparations had to be made before receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:15), a foundation must be laid in advance for the coming King to take over. (Psalm 2:6-12) Guard just legal procedures: or "enforce legal standards". Without this, there can be no such thing as mercy. We cannot fully do what is right until there is a framework for doing so. How could we uphold the seven-year agricultural cycles or the Levitical administration of charity for the needy unless the infrastructure is back in place? Deut. 16:18-20 tells us what constitutes such justice: a hierarchy of judges, tribe by tribe. Having men set over us is a risky way to operate, as history has shown, but it is the Israelite way. It failed before, but we have to start again if we want the restoration of the previous chapter to last, and there is no way around these rulings if we want it to begin in our day. Israelite leaders lead by example rather than from a safe distance, nor do they "lord it over" the flocks, but are true "public servants" instead. (Luk. 22:25ff)
2. "The mortal one who does this is on the right track, and [so is] the son of Adam who holds onto it, who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and restrains his hand from carrying out anything evil.
Notice how evildoing and profaning the Sabbath are given equal weight. In Christian terms this would be considered an unfair comparison, but here it is in YHWH's word.
3. "The son of a foreigner who has joined himself to YHWH should not say, 'I'm sure YHWH makes a distinction between His people and me', nor should the eunuch say, 'Look, I am a dried-up stick!'
Foreigner: Aramaic, a son of the Gentiles who has been added to the people of YHWH. A eunuch is nfot normally allowed into YHWH's congregation. (Deut. 23:1) Had our ancestors been obedient, these not-quite-ideal allowances would not have had to be made, but since those who were invited to the banquet turned out to be far less trustworthy than we had thought, the outcasts are invited in to fill their places. (Mat. 22:10; Luk. 14:23) These others are now Israel rather than the first. A dried-up stick: i.e., fruitless.
4. "Because this is what YHWH says to the eunuchs who will keep My Sabbaths, choose that which I have delighted in, and uphold My covenant:
Uphold: take hold of, support, or strengthen.
5. "'I will even grant them in My house and within My walls a hand and the Name better than sons and daughters: an eternal name will I give to him which will not be cut off.
Hand: symbolic of a memorial. A hand and the name: renown; LXX, "an honorable place"; Heb., Yad vashem, the name of the holocaust memorial in Yerushalayim. Him: the plural "them" becomes singular, because it is "the" name now, not "names". "They" have become part of the "one new man" spoken of in Ephesians 2:15. A name could also mean progeny who carry on one's name.
6. "'And [to] the children of the foreigner who join themselves to YHWH in order to wait on Him, and who love the Name of YHWH, to become bondservants to Him--everyone who keeps from defiling My Sabbath and who upholds My covenant:
Notice how important YHWH's name and the Sabbath are to foreigners being joined to Him. Join here means "be twined together" and become dependent upon. Upholding His covenant means not only having standards, but enforcing them rather than loosening them.
7. "'I have even brought them to the Mountain of My holiness and made them intensely joyful in My house of prayer. Their ascendings and their slaughter-offerings are accepted on My altar, because My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples',
Accepted: literally, for favor. Called: or appointed, proclaimed.
8. "declares the Master YHWH, who is causing the outcasts of Israel to be gathered together. Yet again will I gather over [and above] those of his who are assembled."
Is causing: Aramaic, is about to gather. LXX, "I will gather to Him a congregation." He will gather the rest of the tribes to Yehudah, but also add more of the dispersed than are already gathered.
9. All [you] living beings of the field! Come [here] to eat, all [you] living beings of the forest!
The field represents the world (Mat. 13:38), the undomesticated area outside of what is holy. The forest is a gathering of trees, which represent people, and Israel in particular. (e.g., 9:13ff) Living beings, i.e., those who have not died to themselves, are abundant in Israel also.
10. His watchmen are blind; they are all ignorant. They are all muted dogs; they cannot bark. Dozing off, lying down, they love to slumber.
Blind: they cannot see the true danger or sound a warning. In some cases, it is because they are considering the wrong people to be enemies, and missing the real ones, having been kept ignorant by those who hired them. Exodus 23:8 tells us that it is bribes that blind them.
11. And the dogs are strong of appetite, and do not know [what it means to be] satisfied, yet they [of all people] are shepherds! They do not know how to provide understanding. They are all turning their faces toward their own direction, each for his own profit from his own separate quarter:
As shepherds, they are supposed to be the best-informed, but they have no clue how to teach others to discern or make distinctions (as in Lev. 10:10) But, like Esau, they are unqualified for the task, serving their bellies instead of the flock, and subordinating the kingdom to Mammon.
12. "Come [here], let me get some wine, and we will guzzle intoxicating liquor, and tomorrow will be like this day--loud [and] overflowing with abundance!"
They assume they remain in power indefinitely.
CHAPTER 57
1. "The righteous one has vanished, and no one is laying it on [his] heart; men of lovingkindness are gathered [away], with no one discerning that it is from the presence of evil that the righteous one has been gathered away.
Since the watchmen are blind (56:10), they hardly notice if those who are truly merciful--those who love their neighbors enough to warn them of impending judgment--are removed from them. They can't worry about that; they have their own Easter pageants to prepare for. They cannot accept the fact that it is because of their own wickedness that the righteous are taken out from among them. They only protest when they lose the ear-ticklers. But the wicked and righteous will be separated. (Mat. 13:40ff; Luk. 17:30ff) Vanished: LXX, perished; the Aramaic targum also interprets it as the righteous dying before an evil time comes on the earth, and thus escape it. Evil: LXX, injustice.
2. "He will enter into peace; those who walk straight will have rest when they lie down.
LXX, His burial shall be in peace; he has been removed out of the way.
3. "But you, O sons of the conjurer, offspring of the adulterer and the whore, approach this place.
Adulterer: the Beast's system, Babylon, or Egypt, which is eclectic in its worship. Whore: The church that compromises with Babylon. (Rev. 17) These are the ones who are gathered for destruction. As at S'dom, the armies of the wicked will be drawn out by the prospect of doing battle against Israel, but will actually be being lured to a place where they can be conveniently done away with all at once. But this group he addresses may be those who were once Israel, for the Aramaic targum adds, "whose plant was from a holy plant". The rest of the chapter seems to bear this out.
4. "At whose [expense] are you gaining your pleasure? About whom are you widening your mouth, sticking out the tongue? Aren't you the children of rebellion, the seed of fraudulent dealings,
I.e., what right do you--illegitimate children, no less--have to make fun of My people?
5. "who arouse yourselves [to passion] with gods under every flourishing tree, slaughtering the children in the wadis beneath the branches on the cliffs?
This is similar to the practice of passing babies through the fire to Molekh. Clay pots have been found in the Hinnom Valley with babies' skeletons in them, marked "to Molekh". Abortion is the modern equivalent of what went on literally back then. Flourishing tree: LXX, leafy tree, or green tree. This suggests the evergreen trees used in the pagan rites carried on as Christmas. When the righteous have been taken away, those who are left will try every form of religion except lovingkindness and obedience to YHWH because that would require dying to self.
6. "Among the slippery smooth [stones] of the stream is your share; they--they [indeed]--are your allotted reward, since you have, after all, poured out drink offerings to them, and caused offerings to ascend. Shouldn't I be compensated for these?
I.e., any children they would have had to care for them, they have killed; they have dedicated themselves to idols, so since that was their choice, that is all they will be left with. But YHWH also deserves to be avenged for the blood of those they destroyed.
7. "You have set your bed on a high and lofty mountain; you also went up there to slaughter a sacrifice,
8. "and behind the door and the gateposts you have set up your memorial, because, [departing] from being with Me, you have revealed your nakedness and gone up, widened your bedroom, and cut [a covenant] for yourself from them. You had an appetite for their bed, where with ecstasy you beheld a stretched-out body member.
Set up your memorial: or perhaps, left a reminder (of your deeds). From being with Me: or, to someone other than Me. Stretched-out member: i.e., someone ready for a promiscuous act; literally, a hand, but it can have a wider reference. Aramaic, you have chosen a place. Figuratively, this is the church opening itself up to whatever religious practices gain more tithing members, rather than sticking with YHWH's commands.
9. "Then you sauntered on to the king with ointment, perfumed yourself lavishly, and sent your envoys far away, and caused yourself to be debased all the way to the grave.
Sent your envoys: or flung your door hinges wide open. All the way to the grave: or to the lowest levels (of degradation).
10. "You grew weary from the length of your journey, [yet] you did not say, "It is hopeless!" You found a revival of your power; therefore, you did not feel weak.
I.e., you "caught a second wind".
11. "But whom have you dreaded or feared, that you have been so deceitful and not remembered Me or laid it on your heart? Haven't I remained still for the longest time, while you have shown Me no respect?
Still: inactive, not reacting in haste, but waiting patiently for her to return.
12. "I will make your righteous acts and achievements public, but they will not get you anywhere.
Aramaic, "I have told you that right deeds are virtues for you, but you increased for yourself evil deeds that will not profit you."
13. "When you cry for help, let your collection rescue you! But the wind will carry them all off; a mere puff will take them away, while those who run to Me for refuge will inherit the Land and take possession of My holy Mountain.
Your collection: of idols. He leaves them to their own resources against the cataclysms that are coming upon the earth. The wind will carry them all off, like chaff; the useful part of the grain falls back to the earth. When we "meet the Master in the air", the righteous will be brought back to earth to participate in the kingdom. Run to Me for refuge: perhaps when we see the Abomination of Desolation set up in the Temple. (Mark 13:14)
14. "Then [they] will say, 'Raise up, raise up [a highway]! Clear the path! Take out of the way anything that would make My people stumble!'
The idols mentioned above are one obstacle; the lack of a system of justice set up the way Israel's is meant to work (56:1) is another. YHWH will come back only when He sees that all things are ready for Him.
15. "Because thus says the Exalted and Lofty One, who inhabits eternity, and whose Name is in a class of its own: 'I will inhabit the elevated and the set-apart, that is, with the contrite and humble of spirit, in order to revive the spirit of the humble ones, and to bring to life the the heart of the contrite ones.
Contrite: from a word for "crushed". Humble: or lowered. He identifies them with those who are elevated, because those who choose to humble themselves will be exalted. (Luk. 14:11; 18:14) He does not intend for us to stay in the place of crushing, but to have the oil pressed out of us like an olive so we can be useful; an olive eaten directly from the tree is only bitter. Olive oil is used for anointing (and Messiah means "anointed one", so it is all for Him that our flesh is crushed).
16. "'Because I will not always scold, because the spirit and the souls that I have made would faint in My presence.
I.e., if He kept scolding us for our wrongdoing, we might lose all hope of ever attaining the heights for which we were created. The crushing is only so that our iniquities will be subdued and we will be brought to repentance. At a certain point YHWH will cast our sins into the sea and give mercy to Yaaqov. (Micha 7) This point seems to be close, because He is now giving us the realization that we are Israel and are meant to again be a people. Souls: or breaths, but this term has a special meaning of being the "higher soul" which is given to the faithful on the Sabbath, but to which he can aspire all the time. Aramaic, "I am about to restore the spirits of the dead…"
17. "'I was angry with the perversity of his unjust gain, so I struck him; I hid and was in a rage, but he kept turning back into the way of his [own] heart.
Unjust gain: or crooked profit: perverting the truth by using what belongs to Him to serve our desire for Mammon, and enslaving those who belong to Him in order to gain wealth for ourselves. I hid...heart: Aramaic, "I removed My dwelling presence from them and cast them out; I scattered their exiles because they went astray after the fantasy of their heart."
18. "'I have seen his ways, but I will heal him, and will guide him and restore compassions to him and his mourners,
19. "'creating the fruitfulness of his lips. Peace [upon] peace, to [those who are] far away and [those who are] near'", says YHWH, "'and I will heal him.'
Creating the fruit of his lips: LXX, "giving him true comfort". Far away: Daniel (9:7ff) defines "those who are far off" as the House of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and "those who are near" as Yehudah (the Jews). Aramaic, "the righteous, who have kept My law from the beginning, and … the penitent, who have repented to My law only recently." (Compare Mat. 20:6-9) In Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 11:14ff we see Yehudah telling Israel to get away, but YHWH says He will be a sanctuary to those who are cast far away, then He will regather us and give us a new, unified heart. Paul was certainly thinking of this passage when He wrote Ephesians 2, where he says, "You who were once far off have been made near [and given access to Yahweh's presence] through the blood of Messiah", for there he also speaks of us having been called Gentiles by "those who were near". Y’shua abolished not the Torah, but the ordinances (of the rabbis) that were against us, one of which stated that the Northern Kingdom could no longer be considered part of Israel, but had to be counted as Gentiles. But YHWH says we are no longer Gentiles.
20. " But the wicked are like the turbulent sea when it cannot be quieted; its waters cast up mud and mire.
Mire: a "sticky mess", needing to be swept away; this water also provides nothing to drink.
21. "There is no peace", says My Elohim, "for the wicked."
CHAPTER 58
1. Call out; do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a shofar, and show my people their rebellion, and the house of Yaaqov (Jacob) their sins.
Call out: clearly, for if we only drop hints, people may not get the message. If we see someone about to walk off a cliff, we use whatever force our voice needs to get their attention, so they will stop and recognize the danger they are in. Like a shofar: Yom T’ruah, the Day of the Alarm (awakening trumpet-blast) lets us know that the Day of Coverings is fast approaching, and it is high time to repent. Rebellion: or treason, not necessarily malice, but thinking only of what is best for the individual, not the people as a whole. One of the transgressions that was common in ancient Israel was offering their children to Molekh in a ceremony that caused the painful death of infants, and YHWH said this was disgusting to Him. But to bring it home in a closer way to us today is that Molekh means “ruling” or “royalty”, and we can turn our children over to Molekh by letting them rule and be spoiled, rather than building character in them by having high expectations of them, so that they will become useful citizens.
2. Yet they consult me daily, and delight to know my ways, as [if they were] a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their Elohim: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in “approaching Elohim”.
They keep the fast strictly on Yom Kippur. Yet there is something wrong:
3. "Why have we fasted", they say, “and You do not see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and You take no knowledge?" Here [is why]: In the day of your fast you find personal gain, and make heavy demands on all your laborers.
Here fasting is linked to afflicting one's soul, which explains the current Jewish interpretation of Lev. 23:27. Yet here the fasting is a farce, because they are not truly acting as a nation (v. 3), but are trying to get an upper hand with YHWH at someone else’s expense. They feel that if they fast, YHWH has no choice but to do what they want. By not letting your laborers have a holy day also, you exploit them. And they compare their piety with that of others. Y’shua says that those who fast to be noticed by men have all the reward they will ever receive. (Mat. 6:16ff; Luke 18)
4. Look, you fast to compete and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness: you shall not fast as [you do this] day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
The way they practice the fast ends up becoming a contest between those who should all be participating in the day together. Different sects are trying to outdo each other by “keeping” the commands regarding Yom haKippurim more dramatically than others. In reality they are doing it more to be “heard” by those around them than by YHWH.
5. [Do you think] I can accept this kind of fast? [Isn't it supposed to be] a day for a man to afflict his soul? [Isn't it] to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to YHWH?
The Stone edition Tanakh clarifies this verse by prefacing these activities with “merely”. These actions are prescribed in Lev. 23, but they are symbolic of a much deeper attitude. Is the fast really about looking sad and pitiful in order to bring more attention to yourselves?
6. Isn't this the [kind of] fast that I have selected--that you loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke?
We can even hide from YHWH behind our own routines, but this complete fast gives us the time we need to focus on Him and on the changes we need to make toward one another. It is not so much that we cannot feed our bodily appetites on this day, but that we do not have to. A yoke forces us to walk in step with whatever we are yoked to, and that can be a positive thing if it is Torah or our fellow Israelites. But being “unequally yoked” to other kinds of obligations can hold us back from serving those who matter most. Others’ expectations of us—which on other days are generally acceptable because we do have responsibilities toward them—have to be set aside, for YHWH’s expectations are all that count on this day. Yom haKippurim is a day to repent (turn around 180 degrees) and break free from the bondages to which we have enslaved ourselves, and then to bring the same freedom to others.
7. Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are refugees into your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh [and blood]?
One might fast so he has something left to give to the needy. But we are not actually commanded to fast in Torah. In a deeper way, bread is symbolic of the community which is meant to be one loaf (1 Cor. 10:17). "Share" here literally means "divide", so it is meant to offer the needy a piece of the true solution. When we start sharing our limited bread, Y’shua multiplies it and makes it enough for all—and more. If we do fast, how can we get the fast back to what it was meant to be? By learning from the hunger we feel that as long as there is anyone hungry in Israel, the whole nation is still truly hungry. We are all in the same boat, and YHWH sees us as a whole, just like a body. We are meant to feel what others are feeling, and then respond by sharing what we have. We depend on each other. Learning to live as a single community overcomes our treason against our “own flesh”. In short, it is about hospitality—letting others invade our space and taking care of them. If we do not come out on the other side of it being more like Avraham, who not only was ready to be hospitable but looking for people to show hospitality to, YHWH says we are just wasting our time. He called Avraham His friend. We could nickname this “the Festival of Hospitality”. The Biblical name is not Yom Kippur—the day of a covering—but Yom haKippurim, the day of the coverings, because right here we see that it is about providing a covering for those who are exposed, whether to hunger, the elements, or other kinds of threats. It is not just a covering for ourselves. The aim is to get us back into the kind of relationship with YHWH in which we take care of our brothers as well. Poor: the needy, but it can also mean the busy and preoccupied, like Martha was (Luke 10:41ff). He gives us rest. Many in the church are kept so busy with activities that they never get an occasion to rest and sit at his feet, as Martha's sister Miryam did. They are not even given a sabbath, let alone a Yom haKippurim, which is even more of a ceasing from activity than the sabbath is. They are like refugees (wandering from place to place), but He wants to bring them into His sheepfold.
8. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your health will spring forth speedily: and your righteousness will precede you; the weightiness of YHWH shall be your rearguard.
Then: and not until then. This sounds like “being the head and not the tail”. (Deut. 28:13)
9. Then when you call, YHWH will answer; when you cry out for help, He will say, "Here I am." If you take away the yoke from among yourselves, the pointing of the finger, and mischievous conversation,
“Here I am.” This is the way Avraham responded even when YHWH was giving him his greatest test, and is the exact opposite of what Adam and Chawwah did, hiding when He called, as in verse 7. YHWH does not really hear our words unless they are combined with actions. When we attach the “we” to our prayers, He will take care of our personal needs as well. It may not be in the way you expect, because you may become busier than ever. Many people pray, assuming that YHWH is listening, but if we are not doing what He expects us to, why should He even listen to us at all? If we are doing things our own way when He has given clear instructions on how He wants things done, why should He stand up for us when we inevitably fail? And if you do not intend to do what He says when He answers, why should you even ask? The real test is not how righteous you look on this day as what you will be doing tomorrow. The results must be real. We must do what we need to do to make the lessons stick for more than just a few days,and really make a change, or it will prove to have only been the game that verse 4 suggests. The day is about fixing patterns that are broken and faulty, with more than a band-aid. Pointing of the finger: Compare Mat. 7:1-5.
10. and if you extend your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will be as the noonday:
Each of us is hungry in one way or another, and He has put in each community those capable of meeting each other's needs. Taking care of one another is what He is trying to teach us through His Torah and His festivals.
11. And YHWH will guide you continually, and cause your soul to be satisfied during a drought, and invigorate your bones: and you shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
Invigorate your bones: brace them up, make them strong, "arm" them. This holds a clear connection to Yom Kippur as a "day of bones" (Lev. 23:30) and the bones of Yosef that assemble into a mighty army (Y'chezqel 37) before the restoration that the next verse speaks of:
12. Then [some] from [among] you will rebuild the ancient ruins: you shall raise up the foundations of generation upon generation; and you will be called the one who closes up the breach, the one who brings back well-worn pathways [and causes them] to remain.
Ancient ruins: or waster places, not only physically, but also ancient ways of interpreting and living according to the Torah. Closes up the breach: in a wall, hedging it about or enclosing the city, so that we can be set-apart again, and the unclean cannot freely trample His courts with no price to pay for doing so. This is the task of the house of Yosef, the northern kingdom that is being recalled in this day to our previously-forgotten heritage of "the ancient paths". (Micha 7:18-20; Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 6:16) But these instructions in regard to Yom haKippurim are a critical step in making that day a reality. We cannot skip to Sukkoth without going through Yom haKippurim.
13. If you restrain your foot because [it is] the Sabbath (turn away from doing whatever you please on my set-apart day) and call the Sabbath a delight, YHWH’s holiness something to be honored, and shall honor him, not engaging your own affairs, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,
Even when repairing the breach, we must still pause when He says to pause. Your foot: the three pilgrim festivals are literally called "feet" in Hebrew (shalosh regalim, Ex. 23:14). But our choice of festivals (most of which were borrowed and adapted from pagan sources) has obscured His. Man-made festivals claimed to replace the Sabbath, but He wants us to turn back (repent) to the calendar He Himself set up. To be honored: or important. Your own: We can only receive when we give back to Him what He has given us by turning it over to the welfare of all Israel.
14. then you will take exquisite delight in YHWH; and I will cause you to [mount and] ride upon the Land's ridges, and feed you with the heritage of Yaaqov [Jacob] your father: for the mouth of YHWH has spoken it.
The Land’s ridges: the areas claimed by the Palestinians now, but which actually belong to the northern Kingdom and Yehudah. (Yehezqel 36:2) The high ground is a place of safety and having the upper hand, and from which we can see an enemy coming. After the fast, if we receive its lessons properly, we can move on to the feasting of Sukkoth. He Himself will feed us with the words of His mouth. This provides a link to Psalm 81, which was written most particularly for the season of repentance prior to Yom haKippurim.
CHAPTER 59
1. Though YHWH's hand is not too short to deliver, nor is His ear too heavy to hear,
2. still your crooked ways have caused a rift between you and your Elohim, and your sins have caused His face to be concealed from you, so that He no longer hears.
How can we see Him if we are not in a direct line with where He is? This is a direct answer to 58:3.
3. Because the palms of your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with perversity. Your lips have made deceitful promises, and your tongue has muttered injustice.
4. There is no one calling for righteousness, nor anyone firmly rendering judgment. [Rather, they are] trusting in what is unreal, and, making worthless promises, they conceive mischief and give birth to trouble.
Firmly rendering judgment: as Paul did in 1 Corinthians when someone was deliberately violating YHWH's standards. He put the man outside the camp, where, as in the wilderness, he would be a sitting duck for Amaleq, who attacks the stragglers of Israel. (This does not mean the weak, who cannot keep up, for we need to give special consideration to the truly weak, but rather those who choose not to, waiting until it is convenient for them to try to catch up. By that time the camp is too far ahead.) Trusting in what is unreal: misinterpretations, empty clichés, or even such a throwback to paganism as depending on an equinox to tell us when YHWH's festivals are, when it is not a visible sign like the phases of the moon or the ripening of the barley, as He prescribed.
5. They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake, and weave the web of a spider. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and [the one] that is crushed hatches into a hissing snake.
No matter which course of action they take, the consequences of their deeds will catch up with them.
6. Their webs will not serve as clothing, nor will they [be able to] cover themselves up with their deeds; their deeds are works of perversity, and an act of violence is on their palms.
Their deeds: Spiders do not weave the white linen garments that bespeak works of righteousness. (Rev. 19:8)
7. Their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed innocent blood. Their plans are unjust inventions; havoc and destruction are [left] in their tracks.
8. They have not become acquainted with the peaceful lifestyle, so there is no due process in their entrenchments. They have made crooked pathways for themselves; anyone who walks it has not become familiar with complete soundness.
Peaceful lifestyle: the true peace is brought about by justice and the firmness in judgment mentioned in v. 4. We cannot do justice if we do not understand what it is all about. If one knew what really brought peace, he would know better than to search down that road, knowing where it leads to. Entrenchments: or circular tracks--going around in circles, like the 40 years in the wilderness, when most fought against proper authority instead of following the straight "path of peace" directly into the Promised Land by obeying YHWH through Moshe, His appointed.
9. On account of this, due process is far from us, and righteousness cannot catch up with us. We eagerly hope for light, but behold [only] darkness [instead]; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
Many use the excuse that they do not wish to judge lest judgment also be turned back on them. (Mat. 7:1ff) But we are meant to judge both ourselves and others, because no one, especially the community as a whole, needs either the plank or the speck of dust in one's eyes. Because we avoid this, we are the blind leading the blind…
10. We grope for a wall like a blind man, and we feel for it as if we had no eyes. We stumble [as much] at noontime as at twilight in desolate places like the dead.
Grope: trusting what one feels. Ninety percent of the time this is wrong!
11. We all growl like bears and groan mournfully like doves. We eagerly hope for justice, but there is none, and for deliverance; it is far from us,
12. because we have conspicuously crossed the line on multiple [occasions] right in front of You, and our missteps testify against us when our trespassings are with us and we recognize our faults:
13. crossing the line, acting deceptively against YHWH, and no longer following after our Elohim, threatening extortion and defection, devising and having fraudulent words uttered from the heart.
14. So due process is driven back and justice stands afar off, because truth has stumbled in the public square and straightness is not able to enter.
15. It has turned out that reliability is lacking, and the one who avoids evil makes himself a prey. But YHWH notices, and it grieves Him that there is no justice.
Makes himself a prey: or makes himself seem foolish. Both are true, for once we turn away from partaking of the Babylon system, we become targets.
16. When He sees that there is no man, and is appalled that there is no one interposing, then His arm will bring deliverance for Him, and His righteousness is what has upheld Him,
Appalled: or stunned. Interposing: interceding, standing as a mediator; LXX, helping. After all He has done for us, no one is standing up for Him. No one is "pestering" Him for this peace and justice. His arm: one title for the Messiah, whose name means, "YHWH delivers".
17. because He will put on righteousness as body armor, and a helmet of salvation on His head. He will also put on garments of vengeance as [His] clothing and will wrap Himself in ardent jealousy as a cloak.
Ardent jealousy: or zeal (for His Father's house, Yochanan 2:17). Body armor: LXX, a breastplate, reminding us of the high priest's garment. Paul was thinking of this passage when He wrote about "the whole armor of Elohim". (Eph. 6) Since this has been provided for us, too, we must be willing to lay down our lives for Israel, and not "stun" YHWH again (v. 16).
18. According to their dealings, so He will repay: burning rage to those who cramp Him, recompense to His enemies; He will repay the dealings of the coastlands.
Repay the dealings: or make good on the reward. How can anyone cramp YHWH? By doing it to the least of our brothers. (Mat. 25:40)
19. Then from the setting of the sun they will revere YHWH's Name, and His authority from the rising of the sun. "When the oppressor comes in like a flood, a wind [from] YHWH will drive against it,
Flood: Aramaic, the overflowing of the Ferath [Euphrates] River. Wind: or spirit.
20. "and the Kinsman-Redeemer has come to Tzion and to those among Yaaqov who turn away [from] rebellion", declares YHWH.
To those who turn: Aramaic, to return the rebels of the House of Yehudah to the Torah. In order to be redeemed, we must turn from the way of our ancestors who rebelled and left the covenant.
21. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says YHWH. "My Spirit which is upon you and My words which I have put in your mouth will not be removed from your mouth or from the mouth of your descendants, or from the mouth of the descendants of your descendants", says YHWH, "from now on into eternity."
My words: the Torah, which is to be continually in our mouths (Ex. 13:9; Deut. 30:14; Yehoshua 1:8).
CHAPTER 60
1. Rise up! Brighten up, because your light has come, and the honor of YHWH has broken out over you!
Brighten up: I.e., cheer up, though YHWH has just highlighted your sins, because if you deal with them properly, what follows can be the amazing results. LXX and Aramaic targum both add, "O Yerushalayim" (implied by the context per 59:20 and v. 14 below). Your light: Aramaic, “the time of your deliverance”.
2. Indeed, the darkness will cover the earth, and thick, dark clouds [will cover] the nations, but over you, YHWH will break forth, and His dignity will be seen upon you.
This parallels the exemption of the land of Goshen from the plagues (especially the thick darkness) that came over Egypt just before the Exodus, and the pillar of fire that appeared over the camp of Israel, and again it harbingers YHWH's deliverance, which will overshadow even that Exodus. (Yirmiyahu 16:14-15)
3. Then Gentiles will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
The Queen of Sheva's fascination with King Shlomo's wisdom was a foreshadowing of this.
4. Lift up your eyes and see: they have all gathered together! They have come to you! Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be supported on the side.
5. When you see [it], you will perk up; your innermost being will be afraid, but [then] be relieved, because the [bustling] wealth of the sea will be turned over to you, and the power of the nations will come to you.
Fear: Think about how this would appear. It would be very scary; usually when nations gather around Israel it is not for positive reasons. What kind of demands might such a crowd make? This is in the context of chapter 58, which is for the season leading up to Yom haKippurim. It starts out hopeful—the King is in the field. But as we search our hearts, we may find stubborn habits in our lives and ways of dealing with others that need to be changed; they may crowd in on us & seem hopeless, even insurmountable. Choices we have made may seem to be coming back to haunt us. We may find that we owe a lot to YHWH and each other. It can be a suspenseful time. Be relieved: literally, broadened: have more room, thus being at ease—no longer in dire straits. The suspense has ended. (See v. 17.) When we see what YHWH can do, it is meant to give us a wider perspective on the next obstacle we encounter. We won’t be limited to how we thought it had to be; it is not always as bad as it looks, so we can be more confident and less worried. It turns out that the crowds gathered at our door are not coming to make demands, after all. They are returning Yerushalayim’s children—our relatives—to those of us who are there to see them coming. (v. 4, v. 9; compare 49:9-23) Power: capacity, ability, efficiency, wealth, or armies (often a military term). I.e., Israel will be able to accomplish what we could not accomplish previously. With the new desalinization plants, the sea is providing Israel with plenty of water now, and a huge quantity of natural gas within Israeli waters is also beginning to bring Israel its share of the Middle Eastern oil wealth and making it less dependent on other nations for fuel.
6. An abundance of camels will overrun you--the dromedaries of Midyan and Eyfah; all of the ones from Sheva will come. They will be carrying gold and frankincense, and they will [gladly] proclaim the praises of YHWH.
Abundance: some render this “caravan”. Camels: from a root word meaning to be mature or deal bountifully, so He will grant us many mature, generous people as well as mere camels. The word also means to pay back, and Midyan has been identified with Medina, one of the strongholds of Islam since its beginning, so this could also mean Muslims will admit their errors in dealing wrongly with Israel, and, with remorse, bring compensation and a new way of relating to us. Proclaim: the tense carries the sense of intensity and being intentional, so this is not something they do reluctantly. Does it indicate that they will receive the corrective in regard to how their religion twisted the previous revelations that Islam gives lip service to, yet still despises in practicality? Dromedaries: or firstfruits—the best of their produce. Gold and frankincense: some of the specific items used for the worship and dwelling place of YHWH, which at present they are trying hard to obstruct.
7. All the flocks of Qedar will be gathered to you; rams of N'vayoth will serve you. Upon being accepted, they will ascend My altar, and I will beautify the House of My renown.
Midyan…Eyfah…Sheva…Qedar…N'vayoth: all descendants of Avraham's other children. He gave them all gifts (Gen. 25:5-6), but he also said he had given everything he owned to Yitzhaq, so at this time some of those gifts will be returned to Yitzhaq's house from the other children's households. But they themselves appear to be at least part of the gift. The Temple in Yerushalayim will be a "house of prayer for all peoples"; their offerings will be accepted.
8. Who are these? Like a cloud-mass they will fly, and among the doves, to [alight] in their cotes,
In their cotes: i.e., the place where they belong, as homing pigeons. This may refer to YHWH returning all of Israel to our homeland from every corner of the earth by planeloads. If there is such a thing as the “Rapture” (which some base on 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18), it will not take anyone to “heaven”, but back to our homeland, YHWH’s Promised Land.
9. because the coastlands will wait for Me with eager expectation, with the shipmen of Tarshish at their lead, to bring your children from far away--their silver and gold with them--for the renown of YHWH their Elohim, and for the Holy One of Israel, because He has made you something to boast about!
Coastlands: One of the places from which YHWH will recover His exiled people. (11:11) Tarshish: one of the westernmost Phoenician colonies; some identify it with Britain, and indeed the first wave of Jews to resettle Israel (“at their lead”) came in ships under British auspices. Renown: literally, Name, but by implication, His reputation.
10. Then the sons of the foreigner will rebuild your walls, and their kings will wait on you, because in My severe anger I caused you to be attacked, but with great delight I have had deep compassion on you.
Rebuild: after the events of Z'kharyah 12-14, after attacks and major topographical changes, the present-day walls will not suffice, even if they remain intact. They will also need to surround a larger area. (54:2) Wait on you: i.e., hand and foot; the form of the word in Hebrew is intensive. Compare 54:7.
11. So your gates will always be kept open; they will not be shut either day or night, so that [they may] bring the wealth of the Gentiles to you, and their kings may be led in,
City gates are normally shut at night or any time the cith needs to be defended, so this indicates that at this point there are no threats to Yerushalayim’s security either. Led in: like captives taken as plunder.
12. because the nation or the realm that will not serve you will be broken; indeed, the nations will be completely drained dry.
Drained dry: both by being plundered, and by receiving no rain (if they refuse to come up to Yerushalayim for YHWH's feasts, Zkh. 14:16-17).
13. The glory of Levanon will come to you: the stately tree, the hardwood, and the tree that stands straight alike will adorn the place of My sanctuary; indeed, I will make the place where My feet [will stand] honorable.
Glory: literally, weightiness or importance. Levanon: cedars the size of Redwoods may grow there again after the earth's axis shifts back to where it was prior to 701 B.C. and Israel's climate is restored so it again becomes a "land flowing with milk and honey". No grove of trees of any kind is to be planted near an altar to YHWH (Deut. 16:21), but like the first time, wood from these trees can be used to help build His Temple. Only about 100 years ago, those original cedar beams were still in secondary use in the Al-Aqsa mosque on the same site, so the “weightiness” spoken of here may be intended to include the meaning of durability. In the context of the Temple, "feet" is also an idiom for His pilgrimage festivals, to which many always came on foot. (Ex. 23:14)
14. The sons of those who afflict you will approach you bowing, and all those who treat you with contempt will prostrate themselves around the soles of your feet. Then they will call you, "City of YHWH", "Tzion of the Unique One of Israel".
Afflict: or humble. We already see this to some extent in the leadership of Germany today. Bowing: as Yosef's brothers did when he was exalted and they were humbled. It is His people who make up His city. Though at one time Yerushalayim refused to be gathered together under Y’shua's "wings" (the corners of his garments, where there is healing), and the Temple that had leprous stones had to be torn down, he said he would rebuild it in three days. After three "days" (3,000 years), after his Kingdom is complete, a new Yerushayalim is seen coming down from the heavens. (Rev. 21-22) Note that the haters of "Zionism" concede their position.
15. Instead of being forsaken and hated, with no one passing through you, I will appoint you to everlasting majesty [and to] rejoicing [for] generation upon generation.
16. And you will nurse on the milk of Gentiles, and suck the breast of kings. Then you will know that I am YHWH, who gives you victory and redeems you--the Mighty One of Yaaqov.
Suck the breast: partake of their richest, most nourishing resources, for they will see themselves as responsible to care for you as a mother does her infant.
17. In place of the brass, I will cause gold to come; in place of the iron, I will bring silver. In place of wood, bronze, and in place of the stones, iron. And I will arrange for those who come seeking what they have charged you to declare it fully paid off, and those who exact payment from you to clear [your name].
Wouldn’t this indeed make us brighten up? But it is not just that YHWH gives us financial leverage or somehow provides us with a way to pay the bills from an unexpected source (so we will trust Him, not the means He uses); this also refers to the debts we owe one another, highlighted at Yom haKippurim, which can be cleared if we make the right choices at this season. Iron: the strongest material known in his day, especially in regard to the citys walls, which were usually built of stones. This clearing of debts is in the context of the corruption that had made it so difficult to find a just judge (59:2-15).
18. Never again will violence be heard of within your Land, [nor] devastation or destruction within your borders; rather, you will name your walls "Deliverance" and your gates, "Adoration".
Violence: Hebrew, hamas, the acronym for a terrorist organization today as well. It will be eradicated. Deliverance: Heb., yeshuah. Adoration: LXX, sculptured work.
19. You will no longer have the sun for light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon give you light; rather, YHWH will be a light for you forever, and your Elohim will be your finery.
The moon is especially appreciated in places where there are no electric lights. The prophets employ such vivid imagery that we cannot forget their message. But YHWH says that if the sun ceases to give light by day and the moon by night, then Israel would cease to be a nation before Him (Jer. 31:35-36), so this very promise is tied to the opposite of this verse holding true. According to Gen. 8:22, day and night will not cease as long as the earth remains. In such poetic visions, the same symbolism can be used in different contexts and not be contradictory.
20. Your sun will never again set, nor will your moon ever be gathered away, because YHWH will become for you an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be over.
Your sun: the Aramaic takes it as figurative for "your kingdom". Unlike the British Empire, on which "the sun never set" because (as some joked) "YHWH did not trust them", this Kingdom itself will never "set". Gathered away: i.e., removed little by little (waning) as it is now. Over: brought to completion; also includes the idea of being repaid in full.
21. Then every one of your people will be righteous; they will possess the Land forever--a green shoot that I have planted, a product of My hands, so that I may bring Myself glory.
Everyone righteous? That doesn’t sound realistic. But this is a flag that reminds us it’s a prophecy. The idea is not that events will turn out exactly this way no matter what. If someone sees you walking on the edge of a cliff and says, “You’re going to fall off!”, is it a prophecy? Only if we don’t listen! On Yom haKippurim, we read Jonah, we see that it doesn’t have to turn out that way; in fact we hope it won’t! It’s a projection of where our current path is leading us if we continue. It is designed to motivate us to make corrections. It is a glimpse of what things could be—but only if we accept and implement the terms of the covenant. (59:21) Like the blessings and curses in the Torah portion this accompanies (Ki Thavo’), it could go either way. Only if we turn away from our errors (as enumerated in the preceding chapter) can we expect such great results. So the prophecy is not a guarantee, but a call to form an environment where this could take place. Hope motivates us to get through the tough parts of what it takes to get to the goal. So, if you are on the right track, brighten up! (v. 1) Be an optimist! But there is more. Remember all those nations being drawn to our light? (v. 3) All the more reason to clear away the worthless clutter and get it right, because then the light can burn cleanly. Another meaning of “brighten up” is to shine, i.e., stand out. The Torah, of which we are custodians, is the most balanced way of getting back in order; don’t be a dim example. Aim at being 100% righteous, so that what the nations glean is at least decent or acceptable.
22. The smallest will come to be a thousand, and the least significant, a great nation. I, YHWH, will bring it speedily in its proper season.
Thousand: or clan. Speedily: also eagerly. Until that time the fulfillment will seem to be creeping toward us if moving at all, but when it begins (as it already has), the "rapid succession" (Rev. 1:1) with which it comes will make our heads spin. So start "dwelling in tents" now, for His camp is moving. Things will change too fast to live in a settled place, and those who try will only lag behind, encumbered by baggage, and be vulnerable to attacks from Amaleq.
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
Yeshayahu
(Isaiah)
Introduction:
Yeshayahu means "YHWH is salvation"--the same meaning as Yehoshua, but with the phrasing in the reverse order. Yeshayahu was probably from the tribe of Yehudah. A contemporary of Micha and Hoshea, he prophesied more than 200 years after the division of Israel, beginning c. 740 B.C.E. (Just prior to King Uzziyahu's death in 739), or about 18 years prior to the fall of the Northern Kingdom. But he mainly addresses the southern kingdom of Yehudah, which was now in decline as well, following the same pattern of apostasy that Israel had taken. Since he records the death of Sennakheriv, it is estimated that he continued to prophesy for some 60 years, until about 680B.C.E., when by tradition he was executed by being sawn in two. As with all the prophets, his main theme is, "Come back to the Torah!"
PART 6: Chapters 51-60
54:1 - 55:5 is a haftarah (companion passage) to
Torah Portion Noakh
54:11 - 55:5 is a haftarah (companion passage) to Torah Portion Re'eh
51:12-52:12 is a haftarah (companion passage) to
Torah Portion Shoftim.
54:1-10 is a haftarah (companion to Torah Portion Ki-Theytze'.
