1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
6 On your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have set watchmen;
all the day and all the night
they shall never be silent.
You who put the Lord in remembrance,
take no rest,
7 and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it a praise in the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“I will not again give your grain
to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink your wine
for which you have labored;
9 but those who garner it shall eat it
and praise the Lord,
and those who gather it shall drink it
in the courts of my sanctuary.”
10 Go through, go through the gates;
prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway;
clear it of stones;
lift up a signal over the peoples.
11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed
to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion,
“Behold, your salvation comes;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.”
12 And they shall be called The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
and you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken. – Isaiah 62:1-12 ESV
From forsaken to becoming God’s delight. From desolate to becoming God’s bride. That is how this passage describes the remarkable transformation that awaits God’s people in “that day” – the eschatological day when He redeems the nation of Israel from their seemingly endless period of spiritual exile. What is outlined in these verses is nothing short of a total transformation of the corporate character of God’s people. What we see promised here is not just a physical return to the land of Judah, but a spiritual reformation of the hearts of those who had grown callous and cold toward God. The prophet Ezekiel spoke of this God-ordained and orchestrated metamorphosis of God’s people, and he provided God’s explanation for making it happen.
“I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations.” – Ezekiel 36:22 NLT
But again, this is not just about the return of the people to the land. Yes, God clearly promises to restore His scattered people to the land of Judah.
“I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.” – Ezekiel 36:24 NLT
But there is more. In the very next line, God tells what else He is going to do.
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” – Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT
Their physical return to the land will be accompanied by the spiritual restoration of their hearts. God will transform His unfaithful and unrepentant people into obedient children who long to do His will. And their transformation will be so complete and so readily apparent that God promises, “The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory” (Isaiah 62:2 ESV).
Back in the book of Ezekiel, we have recorded God’s stinging words of indictment against His people, charging them with bringing shame to His name among the nations because of their unrighteousness and unfaithfulness. But God also reveals that He is going to rectify that situation by showcasing His holiness through His miraculous transformation of their character.
“I will show how holy my great name is – the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord.” –Ezekiel 36:23 NLT
God’s restoration of Israel will be for His own glory, not theirs. When He gathers His dispersed and disobedient children from the four corners of the earth, and returns them to the land of Canaan, it will be nothing short of a miracle. But when He completely and radically transforms their inner natures, that will be something at which all the world will notice and marvel. Even the pagan nations of the earth will recognize the divine nature of Israel’s conversion.
And, according to verse 2, their change in character will be accompanied by a change in name. Actually, they will receive two new names: Hephzibah and Beulah. The first means, “My delight is in her” and the second means, “Married.” These two names would have carried a great deal of significance to the people of Judah because of all was about to happen to them in the years ahead. God had already told them that He was going to bring about their destruction.
“I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever.” – Jeremiah 25:9 NLT
That last sentence is repeated throughout the book of Jeremiah, as a stark reminder to the people of Judah that their status as God’s chosen people was about to radically change. And, later on in the book of Jeremiah, God would convey a message to all those who eventually ended up as exiles in the land of Babylon.
“In every nation where I send them, I will make them an object of damnation, horror, contempt, and mockery. For they refuse to listen to me, though I have spoken to them repeatedly through the prophets I sent.” – Jeremiah 29:18-19 NLT
The once proud nation of Judah would become a laughing stock to the nations. They would be ridiculed and their God would be declared impotent and irrelevant. But God is going to change all that. He will one day restore His people and reestablish the integrity of His own reputation among the nations. It will be a joyous occasion, like a groom gathering his bride for their wedding.
And with this promise of future restoration in mind, God encourages His people to stay faithful and eagerly expectant, regardless of what may happen in the days ahead.
Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.
Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work,
until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. – Isaiah 62:6-7 NLT
God had established watchmen on the walls, a remnant of men and women who remained faithful to God and who anxiously waiting to see His deliverance. And they were basing their hopes on the promise of God.
“I will never again hand you over to your enemies.
Never again will foreign warriors come
and take away your grain and new wine.” – Isaiah 62:8 NLT
And God tells them to prepare for the inevitable. They were to get ready for the eventual fulfillment of His promises. It was going to happen and they were to live as if it could happen any day.
Go out through the gates!
Prepare the highway for my people to return!
Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders;
raise a flag for all the nations to see. – Isaiah 62:10 NLT
This is a call for the people of God to live with their eyes focused on the future. While their immediate circumstances may leave them feeling as if God has abandoned them, they were to place their hope in the character of God and the trustworthiness of His word. Which is why God charges them to: “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes’” (Isaiah 62:11 NLT). And, just to drive home the incredible nature of the transformation awaiting them, God reveals the new names that will accompany their future state: The Holy People. The Redeemed of the Lord. Sought Out. A City Not Forsaken.
As bad as things appeared, their future was secure. While their immediate fate was going to be characterized by judgment and the loving discipline of God, their future would be characterized by God’s gracious and miraculous restoration and transformation.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
