Isaiah continues to describe some future Day of judgment and restoration. Motyer sees Isaiah 63:7- 64:12, as a prayer by an intercessor for Israel. The last chapter ends with a cry for YHWH to respond to the ruins of Jerusalem and to not be silent. A response to that prayer is given in these two final chapters, in the future appearance of a new Jerusalem.
Isaiah 65:1-5, Here I am
“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
All day long I have held out my hands
to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
pursuing their own imaginations—
a people who continually provoke me
to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
and burning incense on altars of brick;
who sit among the graves
and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
for I am too sacred for you!’
Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that keeps burning all day.
The passage begins with a remarkable statement -- God is not passively watching but is actively holding out His arms to people, including Gentiles. It is natural that the first two verses of this chapter are quoted in the New Testament by Paul in Romans 10:21-22.
The people of Israel routinely flout God's laws, telling Him to stay away, even though He holds out His arms to them.
Isaiah 65:6-7, Full payment coming
“See, it stands written before me:
I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;
I will pay it back into their laps—
both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,”
says the LORD.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
and defied me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
the full payment for their former deeds.”
And because of these sins, judgment will come.
Isaiah 65:8-10, Remnant
This is what the LORD says:
“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes
and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;
I will not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah those who will possess my mountains;
my chosen people will inherit them,
and there will my servants live.
Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
for my people who seek me.
But despite the sins of the nation, a remnant will be saved. Descendant will come from Jacob/Judah to inherit the land.
Both Sharon and Achor represent, to Isaiah, "[national] deterioration and messianic renewal" says Motyer (p. 308), citing 33:9 and 35:2. It was in the valley of Achor that the family of Achan was stoned, Joshua 7:24-26, after the defeat at Ai as the Israelites moved into Canaan.
Isaiah 65:11-12, Mixed wine for Destiny
“But as for you who forsake the LORD
and forget my holy mountain,
who spread a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will fall in the slaughter;
for I called but you did not answer,
I spoke but you did not listen.
You did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”
But those who insist on forsaking YHWH will indeed be punished. they have prepared offerings for Fortune and Destiny -- and their fortune and destiny will be slaughter, because they rejected God.
The Hebrew words for Fortune and Destiny are Gad and Meni . These are also the names of two Syrian gods (Grogan, p. 353.)
Isaiah 65:13-15, Servants prosper
Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“My servants will eat,
but you will go hungry;
my servants will drink,
but you will go thirsty;
my servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit.
You will leave your name
for my chosen ones to use in their curses;
the Sovereign LORD will put you to death,
but to his servants he will give another name.
There is a clear distinction between those who serve God and those who do not. God's servants will prosper while the disobedient go hungry and are put to shame.
Note the rapid beat of the antithetical parallelism in verse 13, "My servant... but you...," with positive promises and negative punishments. This rapid beat slows down to one longer summary statement in verse 14.
Isaiah 65:16, Swearing by the true God
Whoever invokes a blessing in the land
will do so by the one true God;
whoever takes an oath in the land
will swear by the one true God.
For the past troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my eyes.
In that Day, people will be blessed -- and will swear by -- the one true God,
Isaiah 65:17-20, New heavens and new earth
“See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.
“Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.
Finally we see God's ultimate solution. God will create a new Jerusalem, as part of a new heavens and new earth. (See Revelation 21 for the New Testament description of this.) In this new Jerusalem, a one-hundred-year-old will be viewed as a mere youth. There will no longer be the tragedy of infant deaths. Although death is mentioned, it appears to be a rare (and possibly nonexistent?) event amidst the joy of this future time.
Isaiah 65:21-24, Houses and vineyards for themselves
They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,
so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy
the work of their hands.
They will not labor in vain,
nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD,
they and their descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear.
The people in this new Jerusalem will have their own houses and vineyards -- property that they can safely keep. It will not be taken from them by oppressors.
Isaiah 65:25, Wolf, lamb, lion, serpent
The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”
says the LORD.
In this new Jerusalem, the wolf, lamb and lion will be companions; the serpent will no longer be a threat. (This passage essentially repeats the ideas in Isaiah 11:6-9.)
Humanity gets to enjoy a new Eden.
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