Isa 1:9 | KingComments | STEP | In the midst of all the unfaithfulness and God’s judgment on it, the LORD testifies of His love for Zion by speaking of the city as a “daughter” ( ). Here, Zion is the daughter, a young woman who is actually the bride of God. Zion is the poetic name for Jerusalem. It is better not to translate the Hebrew Bath-Tsion with ‘the daughter of Zion’, but with ‘the daughter Zion’. God prevents the Assyrians from taking Jerusalem. In the middle of the devastated land only Jerusalem still stands. But there is not much left of the former glory of the city. It resembles “a shelter in a vineyard” and a “hut in a cucumber field”. The shelter is for the watchman of the vineyard and the hut for the watchman of the cucumber field. The watchmen are the only human beings in a widely deserted environment. Zion is also compared to “a besieged city”. A city under siege is starving. All strength and beauty disappear. The few inhabitants of the shelter and hut mentioned in are indicated by the expression “a few survivors” ( ). That there is a remnant is only due to God’s grace. He, “the LORD of hosts”, has ensured that they have been “left”. If He had not intervened and kept a remnant, they “would be like Sodom” and “like Gomorrah” and would be literally perished like these cities. By leaving a remnant, God does not reject His people completely and not forever. In fact, the remnant in this book receives the place of the entire people. Prophetically this will eventually be fulfilled when the future Assyria, also referred to as the king of the North, will destroy Israel. Even then, God will keep a remnant, “a third” ( ), for Himself. Paul quotes in his letter to the Romans to point out that the salvation of the saved is due only to God ( ). This also applies spiritually to us as the church of Christ. Because of our unfaithfulness, the Lord could not maintain us as His witness on earth. The fact that we are still there, even though we are few in number, can only be owed to His grace (cf. ). The acknowledgment of this should lead us to great dedication. The remnant acknowledges that grace, because they acknowledge that they have deserved a sudden and total destruction. The inescapable judgment that will strike the mass will, after its execution, recall what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah ( ). We will see this in the end time. Then the wicked mass will perish by the fire of judgment, while the remnant will be set free and blessed as servants of the LORD under His righteous Servant. It is important to keep in mind that by Zion is meant the earthly Jerusalem and not the church. Nowhere in the prophecies of the Old Testament mention is made of the church. Indeed, the church is a mystery in the time of the Old Testament ( ). The prophecies are about God’s kingdom on earth. God wanted to give that shape in Israel. Because of their unfaithfulness they did not answer God’s thoughts and are rejected for a time. However, God’s plan will become reality in the realm of peace under the reign of the Lord Jesus. For the church, which belongs in heaven, the kingdom of God at this moment is not external, but spiritual ( ). All those who profess to be Christians can draw many spiritual lessons from the prophecies for their practical life of faith ( ). We see this when we see the resemblance between Israel as a failing testimony of God on earth then and professing Christianity as a failing testimony of God on earth now ( ).

‏ Isaiah 1:9

A Remnant

In the midst of all the unfaithfulness and God’s judgment on it, the LORD testifies of His love for Zion by speaking of the city as a “daughter” (Isa 1:8). Here, Zion is the daughter, a young woman who is actually the bride of God. Zion is the poetic name for Jerusalem. It is better not to translate the Hebrew Bath-Tsion with ‘the daughter of Zion’, but with ‘the daughter Zion’.

God prevents the Assyrians from taking Jerusalem. In the middle of the devastated land only Jerusalem still stands. But there is not much left of the former glory of the city. It resembles “a shelter in a vineyard” and a “hut in a cucumber field”. The shelter is for the watchman of the vineyard and the hut for the watchman of the cucumber field. The watchmen are the only human beings in a widely deserted environment. Zion is also compared to “a besieged city”. A city under siege is starving. All strength and beauty disappear.

The few inhabitants of the shelter and hut mentioned in Isa 1:8 are indicated by the expression “a few survivors” (Isa 1:9). That there is a remnant is only due to God’s grace. He, “the LORD of hosts”, has ensured that they have been “left”. If He had not intervened and kept a remnant, they “would be like Sodom” and “like Gomorrah” and would be literally perished like these cities. By leaving a remnant, God does not reject His people completely and not forever. In fact, the remnant in this book receives the place of the entire people.

Prophetically this will eventually be fulfilled when the future Assyria, also referred to as the king of the North, will destroy Israel. Even then, God will keep a remnant, “a third” (Zec 13:8c), for Himself.

Paul quotes Isa 1:9 in his letter to the Romans to point out that the salvation of the saved is due only to God (Rom 9:29). This also applies spiritually to us as the church of Christ. Because of our unfaithfulness, the Lord could not maintain us as His witness on earth. The fact that we are still there, even though we are few in number, can only be owed to His grace (cf. Lam 3:22-24). The acknowledgment of this should lead us to great dedication.

The remnant acknowledges that grace, because they acknowledge that they have deserved a sudden and total destruction. The inescapable judgment that will strike the mass will, after its execution, recall what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah (Deu 29:22-23). We will see this in the end time. Then the wicked mass will perish by the fire of judgment, while the remnant will be set free and blessed as servants of the LORD under His righteous Servant.

It is important to keep in mind that by Zion is meant the earthly Jerusalem and not the church. Nowhere in the prophecies of the Old Testament mention is made of the church. Indeed, the church is a mystery in the time of the Old Testament (Eph 3:4-5). The prophecies are about God’s kingdom on earth. God wanted to give that shape in Israel. Because of their unfaithfulness they did not answer God’s thoughts and are rejected for a time. However, God’s plan will become reality in the realm of peace under the reign of the Lord Jesus.

For the church, which belongs in heaven, the kingdom of God at this moment is not external, but spiritual (Rom 14:17). All those who profess to be Christians can draw many spiritual lessons from the prophecies for their practical life of faith (1Cor 10:6 ; 11). We see this when we see the resemblance between Israel as a failing testimony of God on earth then and professing Christianity as a failing testimony of God on earth now (Rom 11:16-24).