Echoing the words of hope and restoration found in the previous chapter, Isaiah 61 begins with a proclamation of God’s favour on His people. The one pronouncing these joyous words to Zion is identified as one endowed with and empowered by the Spirit of God: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me” (1). The messenger is either Isaiah himself or the Servant of the Lord, introduced in the four Servant Songs (Isaiah 42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–7; 52:13–53:12). Either way, the speaker’s words will be cited by Jesus when He describes His mission to those in Israel (Luke 4:18-19).
The “good news” announced by the Lord’s messenger speaks of a coming, glorious future. A grand reversal is coming; the nation of Israel will go from poverty, brokenness, and bondage to a place of wholeness and freedom (1). A “year” is coming when the Lord will show His people His favour; a “day” is coming when His enemies will experience His vengeance (2). God’s people will trade ashes for beauty (“a beautiful headdress instead of ashes), mourning for gladness (“the oil of gladness instead of mourning), and weakness for praise (“a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit”—2). They will become sturdy and strong like “oaks of righteousness” that are planted by the Lord (3). The ultimate outcome of this glorious renewal is that the Lord Himself “may be glorified” (3).
Having been restored by the Lord, the people of Israel will “build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations” (4). They will have both the inclination and capacity to be constructive, building up the broken places and raising what had been torn down. People from other nations (“strangers”, “foreigners”) will come to assist them, tending their flocks and working their fields and vineyards (“tend your flocks”; “be your plowmen and vinedressers”—5).
The restoration will be more than a physical and economic recovery, it will be a spiritual renewal. God’s people will become a nation of “priests” and be known as “the ministers of our God” (6). Instead of having only one tribe set apart as priests, all of God’s people will have the privilege of serving the Lord as his ministers.
Firmly established in their own land, God’s people will flourish among the peoples of the earth; they will receive and enjoy (“eat”) the wealth of nations (6). No longer shamed and dishonoured, they will be given a “double portion” (7). And God’s blessings will remain upon them, bringing them “everlasting joy” (7).
Why will this dramatic and glorious reversal take place for Israel? Verse 8 tells us: “For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrong. I will faithfully give them their recompense and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.” In His justice, the Lord will keep His promises. He will root out robbery and wrongdoing among His people. He will “recompense” the faithless and the faithful as He has promised to do. What’s more, He will make an “everlasting covenant” with His people that brings them “everlasting joy” (7, 8). Israel’s future blessing flow out of the Lord’s character (justice) and covenant (loyal love).
The result of the Lord’s favour upon His people will be known globally. Instead of being known as a devastated, dominated nation, the sons and daughters (“offspring”) of Israel “shall be known among the nations” (9). Their fame and reputation will not be for their own glory, but for the Lord’s honour: “all who see them shall acknowledged them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed” (9). God’s work among and for His people creates world-wide attention and admiration for His great name.
In verse 10, we hear the response to God’s goodness: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God.” These words could be the joyful response of Isaiah the prophet, or (more likely) the sentiments of Zion, the restored city of God. Jerusalem and its people can say, “he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (10). In fulfillment of His promise to exchange Israel’s “ashes” for a “beautiful headdress” (3) and make them a nation of “priests” (6), the Lord decks out His people “like a priest with a beautiful headdress” (10). Jerusalem shines “as a bride” with “her jewels” (10).
Verse 11 wraps things up with a reminder of why Israel is assured of a glorious future. God’s promises, planted like seeds in a garden, will certainly “sprout up” in God’s good time. The Lord’s word never returns to Him empty but accomplishes all He purposes (55:11). So surely, “the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations” (11).
Behold Your God
The Lord’s goodness to His people turns mourning into joy. Though Israel’s sin led brought them judgment, grief and captivity, their story would not end in ashes. God promises to turn their mourning into “gladness”, “praise” and “everlasting joy” (3, 7). Israel will “greatly rejoice in the Lord” (10) for clothing them with “the garments of salvation” and “the robe of righteousness” (10). As Elizabeth Elliot said, “Of this I am perfectly certain, God’s story never ends in ashes.”
The Lord shows favor and brings judgment on the earth. While the Lord is gracious and good, He has an undiminished passion for justice: “For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong” (8). That is why Isaiah proclaims both the “year of the Lord’s favour” and “the day of vengeance of our God” (2). His grace does not excuse evil, it extinguishes it and exchanges it for “a robe of righteousness” (10). His “everlasting covenant” causes “righteousness and praise to sprout up before the nations” (11).
The Lord will be glorified in His people and among the nations. The good news announced to God’s downcast people brings them the promise of renovation and restoration. The Lord will do great things for Israel, reversing the devastation of the nation, exchanging their mourning for eternal joy. His ultimate motive in blessing His people revolves around the glory of His name (“that he may be glorified”—3) and the extension of His fame (“among the nations”—9). How grateful we can be that God glorifies Himself by showing His goodness to His people in a way that attracts the attention and devotion of the peoples of the earth (11). God’s glory is our good.
Here Am I
I praise the Lord for Jesus who came to proclaim and fulfill Isaiah 61:1-3. When Jesus returned to the synagogue in Nazareth, he was handed the “scroll of the prophet Isaiah” to read. He purposefully “found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luke 4:16-17). After reading from the opening verses of Isaiah 61 (in the LXX translation), he said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (4:21). Seven hundred years after Isaiah recorded these words, Jesus came to proclaim and fulfill them. Praise the Lord for sending us Jesus to bring the “good news” of salvation in the time of the Lord’s favour!
I want to be an oak of righteousness, planted by the Lord to bring Him glory. When the Lord brings His salvation, He plants His people as “oaks of righteousness” (3). Like oak trees, they grow stout and sturdy in His righteousness; they stand strong as “the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified” (3). Lord, I desire to be one of the oaks of righteousness that brings you glory through my life and service.
In dark times, I can hold on to God’s promise of a bright future. When Isaiah wrote chapter 61, Israel was in a dark place spiritually and politically. Because the leaders and people had heard hearts, blind eyes, and deaf ears, the nation was headed for devastation and deportation (Isaiah 6:9-12). But ashes would not be the end of the story; the Lord proclaimed a message of good news and hope (61:1-11). Because of His faithfulness and favour, those who belong to the Lord can expect a glorious finale when He brings blessing to His people and to the nations. We are heading towards a future where we will be satisfied, and God will be glorified.
Rick and Linda Reed 