Isaiah 4:4

Isaiah 4:4

When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

a. NLT: The Lord will wash the filth from beautiful Zion and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains with the hot breath of fiery judgment.

b. NIV: The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.

c. After the Lord has washed away the [moral] filth of the daughters of Zion [pride, vanity, haughtiness] and has purged the bloodstains of Jerusalem from the midst of it by the spirit and blast of judgment and by the spirit and blast of burning and sifting.

d. Septuagint: For the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Sion, and shall purge out the blood from the midst of them, with the spirit of judgement, and the spirit of burning.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Writings/Prophets: When my Lord will have washed the filth of the daughters of Zion and rinsed the blood of Jerusalem form her midst, with a spirit of judgment and a spirit of purging.

1. “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion…”

a. Lord [136 * “Adonay] [Strong:  am emphatic form of 113; the Lord (used as a proper name of God only):--(my) Lord.]

b. washed [7364 * rachats][Strong:  -bathe (self), wash (self).][Gessnius: To wash, metaphorically, the defilement of sin adhering to men.]

c. filth [6675 * tsow’ah][Gesenius: excrement.][Strong: excrement; generally, dirt; figuratively, pollution:--dung, filth(-iness).]

d. daughters [1323 * bath] [Strong: from 1129 (as feminine of 1121); a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively):--apple (of the eye), branch, company, daughter, X first, X old, + owl, town, village.]

e. Zion [6726 * Tsiyown] [Strong: the same (regularly) as 6725; Tsijon (as a permanent capital), a mountain of Jerusalem:--Zion.]

1). Just as we are repulsed by seeing individuals living in filthy homes, filled with the stench of excrement and urine, so the Lord is repulsed by our impurity. In Isaiah 3 the Scripture gives us a list of some of the “filth” of the daughters of Zion.

a). Isaiah 3:16, 17  Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

3:17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.

b). Isaiah 3:16, 17 [Amplified Bible] Moreover, the Lord said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks and with undisciplined (flirtatious and alluring) eyes, tripping along with mincing and affected gait, and making a tinkling noise with [the anklets on] their feet,

3:17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the heads of the daughters of Zion [making them bald], and the Lord will cause them to be [taken as captives and to suffer the indignity of being] stripped naked.

2). The phrase “wanton eyes” in Isaiah 3:16 reminds me of a verse in 2 Peter.

a). 2 Peter 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: a heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children.

b). These individuals are full of lust, wherever their eyes turn they imagine adultery and they cannot stop. Wherever they go they are seeking to lure whoever they can take advantage of sexually. They train themselves in these matters.

2. “…and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.”

a. shall have purged [1740 * duwach] [Strong: a primitive root; to thrust away; figuratively, to cleanse:--cast out, purge, wash.]

b. blood [1818 * dam] [Strong: from 1826 (Compare 119); blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or an animal; by analogy, the juice of the grape; figuratively (especially in the plural) bloodshed (i.e. drops of blood):--blood(-y, -guiltiness, (-thirsty), + innocent.]

c. Jerusalem [3389 * Yruwshalaim] [Strong: a dual (in allusion to its two main hills (the true pointing, at least of the former reading, seems to be that of 3390)); probably from (the passive participle of) 3384 and 7999; founded peaceful; Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of Palestine:--Jerusalem.]

d. midst [7130 * qereb] [Strong: from 7126; properly, the nearest part, i.e. the center, whether literal, figurative or adverbial (especially with preposition):--X among, X before, bowels, X unto charge, + eat (up), X heart, X him, X in, inward (X -ly, part, -s, thought), midst, + out of, purtenance, X therein, X through, X within self.]

e. spirit [7307 * ruwach] [Strong: from 7306; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions):--air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit((-ual)), tempest, X vain, ((whirl-))wind(-y).]

f. judgment [4941 * mishpat] [Strong: from 8199; properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstractly, justice, including a participant's right or privilege (statutory or customary), or even a style:--+ adversary, ceremony, charge, X crime, custom, desert, determination, discretion, disposing, due, fashion, form, to be judged, judgment, just(-ice, -ly), (manner of) law(-ful), manner, measure, (due) order, ordinance, right, sentence, usest, X worthy, + wrong.]

g. spirit [7307 * ruwach] See above.

h. burning [1197 * ba’ar] [Strong: a primitive root; to kindle, i.e. consume (by fire or by eating); also (as denominative from 1198) to be(-come) brutish:--be brutish, bring (put, take) away, burn, (cause to) eat (up), feed, heat, kindle, set ((on fire)), waste.]

1). Here it declares the blood of Jerusalem, everything she is guilty of shall be purged. There is a passage in 2 Kings that mentions the blood shed in Jerusalem would not be pardoned.

a). 2 Kings 24:1-4  In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

24:2 And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.

24:3 Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

24:4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.

2). There is only one thing that can accomplish this purging and it is the blood of Jesus and that is the chronological context of Isaiah 4:4.

a). Hebrews 9:13-15 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

b. What is beautiful is the Old Covenant is in agreement with this, though it says it in veiled language.

1). Isaiah 28:5, 6 In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,

28:6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

a). At this time, after the second coming of Christ it is Jesus who will be sitting in judgment and his blood will be the means Jerusalem will be purged.

c. In this next verse we see Micah declaring that he was able to by the spirit of the LORD and the spirit of judgment to declare Israel’s sin to them.

1). Micah 3:8 But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

2). Surely, when the Lord returns he is able by the spirit of judgment to declare Israel’s sin purged.

a). Malachi 3:2, 3 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.