Commentary - Isaiah 61:4-7

Bird's-eye view

In Isaiah 61, the prophet lays out the glorious ramifications of the Messiah's coming, a passage our Lord Jesus Himself took up in the synagogue at Nazareth to announce that the time had come. The section before us, verses 4 through 7, describes the concrete, historical, and cultural consequences of the gospel's advance. This is not pie-in-the-sky sentimentalism. This is a prophecy about the total restoration of a ruined culture, a task given to the people of God. The Church, anointed by the Spirit, will be the agent of this global renovation project. They will rebuild the ruins, not just spiritually, but culturally and physically. The nations of the world, once estranged, will be brought into this project, serving alongside the new Israel of God. The people of God are elevated to the status of priests and ministers, feasting on the consecrated wealth of the nations. The passage culminates in a great reversal: the shame of exile and sin is replaced with a double portion of honor and everlasting joy. This is a robustly postmillennial vision of the kingdom's triumph in history, before the final consummation.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 4 Then they will rebuild the ancient waste places; They will raise up the former desolations; And they will make new the ruined cities, The desolations from generation to generation.

The pronoun "they" refers to the anointed ones from the previous verses, those upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rests. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. And what is their task? It is a task of total restoration. The gospel does not come to float souls up to heaven, leaving a ruined world behind. The gospel comes to remake the world. Notice the comprehensive nature of this rebuilding. "Ancient waste places," "former desolations," "ruined cities." This is not a minor touch-up job. Sin ruins everything it touches, and it does so over generations. The effects are cumulative. But the gospel is more powerful than cumulative sin. The Church is called to the task of applying the redemption of Christ to every area of life that has been desolated by the fall. This includes ethics, art, politics, education, and economics. This is the cultural mandate, reissued and empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is a multi-generational project, a patient, faithful, brick-by-brick rebuilding of Christian civilization.

v. 5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

Who are these "strangers" and "foreigners"? These are the Gentiles, the nations outside of the old covenant boundaries of Israel. In the Old Testament, such a situation might have been seen as a curse, a sign of Israel's displacement. But here, it is a glorious promise. This is the fruit of the Great Commission. The nations are not conquered and subjugated in a carnal, political sense. Rather, they are converted and brought into the covenant community. They joyfully take up their role in the productive work of the kingdom. They are pasturing flocks and dressing vines, engaging in the foundational work of building a prosperous and godly society. This is a picture of the nations bringing their glory and honor into the New Jerusalem, as Revelation describes. The work is shared, and the former aliens are now fellow citizens, contributing their strength and skill to the flourishing of God's people.

v. 6 But you will be called the priests of Yahweh; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their glories you will boast.

While the converted nations are busy with agriculture and animal husbandry, what is the central calling of the covenant people? "You will be called the priests of Yahweh." This is the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel at Sinai, that they would be a kingdom of priests. In the new covenant, this identity is extended to the entire Church. Every believer is a priest, ministering before God. Our primary work is liturgical, it is worship. But this worship is not confined to a sanctuary for an hour on Sunday. Our whole lives are the ministry. We are to mediate God's truth and grace to the world. And what is the result of this priestly ministry? "You will eat the wealth of nations." As the nations are converted, their wealth is consecrated. Their economies, their art, their scholarship, all of it is brought to the feet of Christ and put into the service of His kingdom. And the Church, as God's ministers, partakes of this consecrated wealth. We don't boast in the wealth itself, but "in their glories you will boast." We boast in the glory of what God has done, transforming the pagan glories of the nations into vessels for His own glory.

v. 7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, And instead of dishonor they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land; Everlasting gladness will be theirs.

Here we have the great reversal. The history of God's people, both old and new covenant, is a history marked by shame and dishonor. The shame of our sin, the dishonor of our failures, the persecution of the world. But God does not just erase the shame. He replaces it with a "double portion." This is the inheritance of the firstborn son. In Christ, we are made the firstborn. We receive not just restoration, but a superabundant inheritance. The memory of dishonor is swallowed up by shouts of joy. This is not a promise for some ethereal, disembodied afterlife alone. The text is clear: "they will possess a double portion in their land." The gospel has consequences for our life on this earth. The blessing is tangible, it is territorial. As the Church is faithful to its priestly calling, it will see the blessing of God in the land. And this gladness is not fleeting. It is "everlasting gladness." This joy is rooted in the finished work of Christ and the unshakeable promises of God, and so it cannot be taken away. It is the joy of a world being set right, a joy that begins now and flows into eternity.

Application

The message of this passage is a direct antidote to the pessimistic, retreatist, and defeated mindset that plagues so much of the modern church. We are not called to huddle in a holy corner, waiting for the world to burn down so we can be evacuated. We are called to be rebuilders. We have been given the Spirit of God precisely for this task.

First, we must see that the gospel is for all of life. The desolations caused by sin are not just in individual hearts, but in our families, our cities, and our cultures. We must therefore apply the lordship of Jesus Christ to every one of those areas, working patiently to rebuild on the foundation of God's Word.

Second, we must have a global and welcoming vision. The kingdom of God is not a private club for one ethnicity or nationality. The promise is that strangers and foreigners will join in the work. Our churches should be places where the nations are welcomed, discipled, and equipped to take up their role in this great restoration project.

Finally, we must live out our identity as priests. Our central task is to worship God and minister His Word. From this central task flows all cultural transformation. We must reject the shame of our past failures and the fear of the world's dishonor. In Christ, we have been given a double portion of honor and a calling to possess the land. Let us therefore take up our tools, with shouts of joy, and get to the work of rebuilding the ruins, confident that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.