June 29
Isaiah 61: What a Glorious Future . . . And Present
Joshua 1; Psalms 120–122; Isaiah 61; Matthew 9
When we read Isaiah 61 (and really, the chapter division should be ignored and chapter 62 read as well) and ask if this has been fulfilled, we come away with mixed emotions. Go ahead and read both chapters then return.
God is the speaker, and He clearly addresses His words to the city of Jerusalem, which represents the Jews. And really, Jerusalem is the physical “capital” of the God Yahweh in the world, in opposition to Mecca (Islam) or Varanasi (Hinduism), or whatever other opposing idol.
The prophecy describes a glorious future for the city and its people, when foreigners will gladly be their servants, its people will serve as priests to the rest of the nations, and in return the nations will give her their treasure. God will do a great turnabout: all those who have stolen from His people, He will exact a “recompense.” The city will be rebuilt, and even the lowest person will flourish and prosper and become his own clan.
In short, they will be a living parable among the nations that those who trust in this God Yahweh are blessed. The city will sparkle with righteousness and praise. In short, see 62:11-12.
It’s this last bit that should stop us. All this blessing will come through a “him” - the one who spoke 61:1-2a. He who spoke this is Jesus, who said it was fulfilled in his reading (Luke 4:18-19). And he proved it by being raised from the dead - after Jerusalem’s inhabitants killed him. Yet some repented (Acts 2:38-41).
And today, given what has happened in the last hundred years, with the modern nation-state of Israel’s military victories, it seems God has indeed installed watchmen on the walls to protect Jerusalem. Yet its inhabitants by and large reject Jesus, the one through whom these blessings come. And Israel is anything but righteous: the largest homosexual community in the world is in that nation’s capital, Tel Aviv.
What then? We must realize that God’s timescales are not like ours. We must also note what God seems to be fulfilling and what He has not yet: God has certainly blessed the Jews - yet by the hand of Christian nations. Yet righteousness does not yet reign in her. By and large its inhabitants are in no position to serve as “priests” to the nations.
That glorious future will only come when the One Who speaks “redeems” this people. See Romans 11.