Isaiah 61:5-7

Isaiah Adds His Words to Those of the Anointed One (Isaiah 61:5 a).

It is not always clear in this chapter who is speaking. In Isaiah 61:1 and probably 4 it is the Anointed One. In Isaiah 61:8 it is Yahweh. But otherwise we have to choose between the Spirit inspired Isaiah or God Himself. ‘Our God' in Isaiah 61:6 points in that section to Isaiah. Perhaps we may see the change from third person to second person, and back again as determining the distinction.

Isaiah 61:5

‘And strangers will stand and feed your flocks,

And aliens will be your ploughmen and your vinedressers,

But you will be named the priests of Yahweh,

Men will call you the ministers of our God,

You will eat the wealth of the nations,

And in their glory will you boast yourselves.'

The picture switches from building to ministry. It is now a picture of God's people, released from the mundane that they might serve Yahweh. That this includes some from among the nations who have united themselves with Israel comes out in Isaiah 66:21. God's true people are to be priests to the nations (Exodus 19:5). As a result of the work of the Anointed One, other peoples will look after mundane things, the feeding of flocks, the ploughing of fields, the dressing of vines, but His people will concentrate their efforts on ministering to all men in His name. It is the attitude of mind that is primary. The whole of the efforts of God's people are to be concentrated on serving Him in worship and praise and in ministering to the nations.

And from the nations they will receive their tithes, their portion from the wealth of the nations. And they will take great pride in the progress of the nations towards glory. The ministry of the Good News of the Gospel (compare Isaiah 61:1) is here very much in mind as Jesus, the true vine (John 15:1), and the new Israel of God, built on the foundation of the Apostles, went out to the world with the news of God's salvation, receiving help and support from those who were not themselves the people of God, but were potentially so. And some becoming so, would also bring their wealth with them. So God will even make nations that are not His own, assist with the work of the people of God. The contrast is with the nations who in the past had come for the sole reason of bringing God's people into subjection.

As Isaiah looked into the future under God's inspiration he foresaw many things which he sought to put in understandable terms to the people of his day. As we have seen in past Chapter s he foresaw God's judgment on those who saw themselves as His people, a judgment because of their sins, he foresaw a purified remnant who would come through as His true people, he foresaw many from the nations who would join themselves with, and become one with, the people of God (consider Isaiah 66:21), and he foresaw that God would use even the unconverted of the nations to bring about His purposes for His people. Many of these ideas are being expressed here from the perspective of Israel's way of thinking.

Note the change from third person to second person, possibly indicating that two prophecies have been brought together. Note the sudden change back to the third person in Isaiah 61:7. But the change may be simply a literary one for the purpose of a special emphasis of the passage to his hearers, or for the purpose of different emphases when reading aloud.

Isaiah 61:7

‘For your shame, double,

And for confusion they will rejoice in their portion,

Therefore in their land they will possess double,

Everlasting joy will be to them.

They had experienced shame and confusion. But in the future those who are His true people will, instead of shame, have a double portion of blessing. Instead of confusion they will rejoice in what God has allotted to them (compare Isaiah 45:7). Yes, in the land of their inheritance they will have ‘double' what was theirs before, that is an abundant excess, and they will have everlasting joy (a constant theme of Isaiah, compare Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 51:11). The idea is one of a perfect future arising out of their suffering when God will triumph

That this is not to be applied literally comes out in the use of everlasting. No land will be everlasting except the new heaven and the new earth. Thus ‘their land' here must refer to that new earth. Isaiah's conception is constantly of the ‘everlasting', a problem which has to be explained away by those who seek to literalise everything. Isaiah was seeing into the everlasting future, not some future earthly kingdom that could only pass away.

We must constantly keep in mind that as Isaiah looks ahead he is restricted to what his hearers can understand. They see the future in terms of a world that goes on and on in the same way. Thus the everlasting future is depicted in earthly terms, and its perfection in those terms. They had no conception of a spiritual future. The idea of ‘Heaven' would have been meaningless. (We may think we have better understanding but our view of ‘Heaven' is also grossly misrepresentative. Literally speaking Heaven is beyond our comprehension). They had no other way of describing it. It is the great, perfect, Promised Land, the new Jerusalem, lasting for ever. Even the resurrection was seen as being a resurrection into the promised land (Isaiah 26:19).