Isaiah 61:1-63:6 "The Year of the LORD's Favor"

I. The Year of the LORD's Favor Proclaimed in the Coming of the Anointed One (61:1-9)

As in Isaiah 59, we once again see the Anointed Conqueror

being given the Word and Spirit of God. (Cf Is 59)

"The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon me because Yahweh has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor"

Isaiah 60:15-22 spoke of how Zion's sorrows would be replaced with joy.

Now we hear that it is the Anointed Conqueror who will do this.

His dual ministry of vengeance and comfort fits nicely with Is 59 as well

The Anointed One has been both anointed and sent.

What is he anointed to do?

To bring good news (1)

What is he sent to do?

To proclaim liberty

To proclaim the year of favor and the day of vengeance

To comfort those who mourn

To grant new clothes and oil to those who mourn

And all this to the end that God might display his glory/beauty in them

The Year of the LORD's Favor.

Liberty to the captives.

Does this remind you of anything?

A few months ago when we were finishing up Leviticus,

we came to Lev 25:10-the discussion of the Sabbatical year,

and the great Jubilee year, every fiftieth year.

At the beginning of the fiftieth year, on the day of atonement,

"you shall consecrate the fiftieth year,

and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.

It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property

and each of you shall return to his clan."

The jubilee was a once-per generation reminder

of the great restoration that God promised-the eschatological jubilee-

the final year of the LORD's favor.

And Isaiah utilizes this image of the fiftieth year-

that ultimate eighth year-the year when God's people enter his rest-

in order to speak of the great deliverance

that the Anointed One will bring.

And of course, this is where Jesus starts his ministry (Lk 4:16-22)

the year of favor

the day of wrath and vengeance comes later (John 5:22-29)

Year vs. day is quite intentional.

God's favor comes for a year-but his wrath passes in a day.

Instead of mourning, the people of God will rejoice and give praise to God,

to the end that he may be glorified/beautified (v3)

And then, in this great year of the LORD's favor,

they will rebuild the ancient ruins.

"Building up the ancient ruins" uses the language of return from exile

to point forward to the great restoration brought by the Anointed One.

Isaiah even uses four different ways of saying the same thing to draw attention to this.

Ancient ruins, former devastations, ruined cities, the devastations of many generations-

all this shall be rebuilt.

All that was once thought lost will be regained and restored.

The Kingdom of God will be more glorious than ever before!

Verses 5-9 then insert a couple of different voices:

Verses 5-6 speak to "You" plural who will join in the glory of the Anointed One

While strangers and foreigners take over the menial tasks,

you will be called priests of Yahweh.

The glory of the nations will be brought into Zion.

Verse 7 then turns to the third person plural-"they shall possess a double portion"

This switch from the second to the third person serves to highlight the statement.

Verse 8 turns to the first person singular,

as God himself speaks of his covenant faithfulness,

and verse 9 then returns to the third person plural,

speaking of how God's blessing will be known among the nations.

Verses 5-9 serve as divine confirmation of what the Messiah has just said.

The focus in verses 5-9 is upon how the nations will recognize and acknowledge Zion.

and how Israel will inherit the double portion (cf. ch 40)

The pivot verse is v7

(Notice all the different "inheritance" words of v7-

"double portion; lot; possess; double portion")

Verses 5-6 lead up to it, reminding us of the influx of the Gentiles.

Yahweh speaks in verse 8 of the "everlasting covenant"

that will result in the blessing of their offspring (v9),

concluding chiastically with the same emphasis on the recognition of the nations

that we see in verses 5-6.

II. The Year of the LORD's Favor as the Wedding Feast of the Anointed One (61:10-62:7)

Verse 10 then returns to the voice of the Anointed one,

and we hear the call to a wedding feast.

There are three parts to the Messiah's call:

a) The Joy of the Messiah in the Work of Salvation (61:10-11)

I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh; my soul shall exult in my God.

Why?

He has two reasons. (Two "ki's")

1) for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation

the robe of righteousness

as a bridegroom with a priestly headdress

as a bride with her jewels

This is not the armor of God (ch 59)

That would be clothing for battle.

This is what you wear after the battle,

as you come to the wedding feast!

2) for God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout

(Read v11)

The Messiah rejoices because of the fruit of his work.

God will bring righteousness and praise throughout the earth.

And indeed, look at the results of Pentecost!

This is the "joy set before him" (Heb 12:2)

Jesus knew from the scriptures that this was what was in store for him

He read Isaiah 61 in hope,

God gave this passage to Jesus,

so that he might know the reason

for his suffering and humiliation.

b) The Messiah's Zealous Love for Zion (62:1-5)

It is for Zion's sake that he utters two "I wills"

I will not be silent

I will not be quiet

until righteousness and salvation come.

until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,

and her salvation as a burning torch.

Until the light of salvation dawns upon Jerusalem,

the Anointed One will proclaim his tidings.

And then the nations shall see your righteousness,

and all the kings your glory.

And as a result of this there are four "you shalls"

You shall be called by a new name.

God will give you a new name.

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD.

Jerusalem?

You have to remember all of Isaiah's woes and imprecations

against Jerusalem!

Jerusalem has been condemned as the city of man!

It is no better than the pagan cities of the nations!

And yet God will give to her a new name.

He will make her a crown of beauty in the hand of Yahweh.

You shall no more be called forsaken

Your land shall no more be desolate.

But you shall be called "My delight is in her,

and your land "married" (again 2 reasons)-two ki's!

1) for the LORD delights in you

Yahweh delights in you!

He rejoices to be your God.

2) for you shall be married

Indeed, this is just the result of the first.

It is perhaps somewhat odd that "your sons marry you,"

until you consider the fact that the Anointed One

is both a son of Zion and her husband!

And yet God rejoices over you as a bridegroom over his bride.

Of course, the Anointed One is both the son of Zion, and the Son of God.

Isaiah may not have realized it (though he would have had to have been pretty dense!)

but the Messiah had to be a divine person.

c) The Messiah's Call to Prayer (62:6-7)

He sets watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem to look for the coming of the LORD.

Give Yahweh no rest until he makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

III. The Year of the LORD's Favor as the Redemption of Zion (62:8-12)

The answer to the prayer of the saints is found here.

Having heard the voice of the Messiah calling us to prayer in giving God no rest until he establishes his holy city, we now hear the oath of God himself.

Never again will the food and wine of the people of God be given to their enemies.

It will be brought into the courts of God, and the feast of Tabernacles will be glorious!

The doubled verbs of v10 are a familiar Isianic motif:

go through, go through

build up, build up

Restoration from exile and building the Highway of the LORD (cf. 57:14 and 40ff)

with three beholds in verse 11

behold, the LORD has proclaimed two more beholds!

behold, your salvation comes

behold, his reward is with him

Judgment is coming.

The Anointed One will come, bringing the year of the LORD's favor.

But the day of vengeance has not yet come.

But it will.

The day of reckoning will come.

"And they shall be called The Holy People,

The Redeemed of the LORD;

and you shall be called Sought Out-A City Not Forsaken.

IV. The Year of the LORD's Favor as the Victory of the Anointed One (63:1-6)

The watchman is ready (62:6)

The people of God have prepared for the coming of salvation.

And yet they are somewhat startled at what they see.

A single figure marching with strength from Edom,

covered in blood.

There is a parallel here with chapter 52.

There the watchmen were proclaiming the salvation of our God,

and the great joy over redemption.

And then "behold" the suffering servant.

Likewise here, expectations of glory and majesty are somewhat puzzled by this

"striking figure who comes alone from Edom"

Why from Edom?

Recall that Edom means "red".

In Hebrew it reads, "who is this who comes from Edom?"

And verse 2, "why is your apparel adom?" (red)

The garments of the Messiah are dripping with the blood of Edom.

And why from Bozrah?

Bozrah sounds like the Hebrew for "vintage"--

fitting for one who has come from treading the winepress!

We heard in 61:10-12 that the Messiah is clothed with the garments of salvation.

We now hear that these are crimsoned garments-splendid in his apparel.

Who is this?

"It is I" the Anointed One replies, "speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."

He was first identified in 59:20-21 as one who would bring righteousness and truth,

one who would be endowed with the Word and Spirit of God.

And here he declares that he is the one who speaks righteousness-

the one who is mighty to save.

How can you say this?

And why is your apparel red?

It looks like you have been treading in the winepress!

Indeed, "I have trodden in the winepress alone"

The language here echoes the language of Is 59, where it was God who did this

Is 59 makes it clear that God is the one who alone brings salvation.

And yet here in 62-63 it is equally clear that this same one

is the Anointed One.

The reason why he is mighty to save is because he has waged war

single-handedly with the enemies of Israel

(Edom, and its capital, Bozrah, serve as types of the whole hosts of the evil one)

and he has triumphed.

Isaiah makes it clear that the day of salvation is also the day of wrath.

Indeed, there is no salvation without judgment.

The salvation of the people of God is impossible without the destruction of the wicked.

The day of vengeance must accompany the year of redemption.

(Literally, the "year of my redeemed ones")

There is a verbal parallel between "my redeemed ones" (ge-ulay)

and "stained" garments (eg-al-ti)

Both verbs have an identical root: ga-al

And this parallel is important.

Because his garments are stained (ga-al)

They are redeemed (ga-al)

And just as we saw that the suffering servant must do his work alone,

so also must the Anointed Conqueror.

There was none to help.

He must do the work of salvation alone.

And that includes both the year of the redeemed ones

as well as the day of vengeance.

Because there is no salvation without judgment.

And while Jesus brought the year of salvation in his first coming,

he will bring the day of vengeance in his second.

Revelation speaks of the fulfillment of this:

Rev. 6:15-17

"The wrath of the Lamb"-the great day of their wrath

Rev. 14:17-20

the angel with the sickle, gathering the grapes of the earth

and the winepress of the wrath of God

Rev. 19:15

"He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty"