Commentary - Isaiah 66:7-9

Bird's-eye view

Here at the very end of Isaiah's prophecy, we are given a stunning vision of the birth of the new creation. This is not a slow, laborious, evolutionary process. It is a sudden, miraculous, and decisive act of God. The old world order, with its pains and sorrows, is giving way to the new. This passage describes the birth of the Messianic age, the establishment of the Church, in language that is designed to shock and astonish us. It is a birth without precedent. The central theme is the supernatural power of God to bring forth His kingdom in a way that defies all human expectation. He who promises is the one who performs, and He will not falter in bringing His purposes to their glorious completion.

The prophet uses the metaphor of childbirth, a common biblical image for suffering and transition, but he turns it on its head. Here we see birth before labor, a nation delivered in a single day. This points directly to the work of Christ. His suffering, His travail on the cross, was the labor that brought forth a new people, the Church. And the birth of that Church, particularly on the day of Pentecost, was exactly as Isaiah describes it: sudden, explosive, and miraculous. This passage is a profound encouragement to the people of God in every age to trust in the God who can and will bring forth new life out of impossible situations.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 7 “Before she was in labor pains, she gave birth; Before her pangs came, she delivered a male child.”

The normal course of events is entirely reversed. In the natural order, labor pains precede birth. They are the necessary agony that brings forth life. But here, the prophet sees a delivery that occurs without any of the expected travail. This is a sign, a miracle. The "she" here is Zion, the people of God. The "male child" she delivers is, in the first instance, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. His arrival was not the result of Israel's agonized striving or political maneuvering. He was a gift, given sovereignly and miraculously. But this male child also represents the new corporate body, the Church, which is brought forth with Him. The birth of the kingdom is not something we achieve through our own painful efforts; it is something God gives, suddenly and graciously. This is a picture of pure grace. The salvation He brings is not the result of our labor, but His.

v. 8 “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be brought forth through labor pains in one day? Can a nation be born all at once? As soon as Zion was in labor pains, she also gave birth to her sons.”

The prophet piles up rhetorical questions to emphasize the utter uniqueness of this event. This is not business as usual. No one has ever heard of a nation being born in a single day. Nations are built over centuries, through war, politics, and slow cultural formation. But God's nation, the Church, is different. Its birth was an event. Think of the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit falls, Peter preaches one sermon, and three thousand souls are added to the Church. A nation was born in a day. The question is meant to evoke wonder and awe at the power of God. The final clause, "As soon as Zion was in labor pains, she also gave birth," seems to contradict the previous verse, but it actually clarifies it. The labor pains were real, but they were not the protracted, uncertain struggle of a natural birth. The labor was the cross of Jesus Christ. That was the travail. And the moment that labor was finished ("It is finished!"), the birth of the sons of God was secured. The resurrection and Pentecost were the immediate results. There was no gap. The cause, Christ's suffering, immediately produced the effect, the birth of the Church.

v. 9 “Shall I bring to the point of breaking forth and not cause birth?” says Yahweh. “Or shall I who causes birth shut the womb?” says your God.”

Here is the bedrock certainty of God's covenant faithfulness. The Lord Himself is speaking, and He is making a promise based on His own character. He is not a God who starts a project and abandons it. He does not bring history to the very climax of redemption only to fail at the last moment. The imagery is potent. A midwife does not bring a mother to the point of delivery and then walk away. God is the great physician, the divine midwife. He is the one who "causes birth." If He has brought His people to this point, He will see it through. This is a glorious promise for the Church in every age. When we see the promises of God beginning to unfold, we can have absolute confidence that He will bring them to completion. He does not tease. He does not promise and then retract. The God who opens the womb will not then shut it. The gospel will accomplish its purpose. The Great Commission will be fulfilled. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, because the God who causes birth will not shut the womb.

Outline

Key Issues

Application

This passage is a direct assault on all forms of eschatological pessimism. We are so accustomed to thinking in terms of slow, painful, incremental progress that we forget we serve a God who can bring a nation to birth in a single day. The same power that launched the Church at Pentecost is at work in the world today through the proclamation of the gospel.

We are not engaged in a project that might fail. We are participants in a divine birth that cannot be stopped. God has brought the world to the point of delivery, and He will not now shut the womb. This should fill us with a robust and cheerful confidence. Our evangelism, our discipleship, our cultural engagement, all of it is tied to this certain victory. God is not wringing His hands over the state of the world; He is bringing His sons to glory.

Therefore, we should not be timid. We should not measure the success of the kingdom by the standards of this world, which sees only slow, grinding processes. We should look to the pattern God has revealed: His work is often hidden, but when it breaks forth, it does so with astonishing speed and power. Our task is to be faithful in our calling, knowing that the God who causes birth will ensure that the delivery is successful. He has promised, and He will perform it.