The theme of Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11, part of the larger segment of Isaiah 61:1-11, is a message for Israel.
C. S. Lewis once said that among our greatest problems as human beings is not that we ask too much out of life, but that we expect too little. We are far too easily pleased. People who see little hope fill our world. III Isaiah addresses these words to disappointed people returning to Israel from their long exile. Lofty expectations and excitement filled them as they began to arrive. Social and political disappointments quickly followed. Bone-weary, discouraged, deprived of hope, they trudged in thousands to their fields, finding little gain from the drudgery of the exile. III Isaiah brings the promise of the Lord to the people of Judah, to all of us, that God understands the pain and discouragement. Yet do not have contentment with too little. Do not become too pleased with the little morsels of life the present gives you. Instead, he counsels courage and hope, that these people will not simply accept a disappointing life. He brings good tidings to the afflicted of all generations. The promise is there for all who turn to the Lord: There is hope for tomorrow, and their hope will find fulfillment.
One way of understanding this passage is by having two columns. Column A describes the people to whom God has sent the servant to minister. Column B identifies the blessings that the servant brings to the needy of column A.
The prophet speaks in Isaiah 61:1-4, which is part of a segment that extends to verse 7, describing the divine inspiration of the prophet and his divinely given mission. The prophet says 1the Spirit (ruach) of the Lord God (‘adonai YHWH) is upon me. In 42:1, the servant of the Lord has the Spirit. One can see the association of this passage with Jesus in Luke 4:14, where Jesus was “filled with the power of the Spirit.” The prophet is aware that the Spirit is upon him because the Lord has anointed (mashach) me. Such resting of the Spirit on the prophets puts this prophet in an extensive line of Old Testament prophets, in this case making him a herald of joy.[1] Such anointing is figurative in this case, referring to the imparting of the Spirit.[2] Such anointing occurs as well when God consecrates or ordains priests and kings who have authority for special service. The “anointed one” (mashiach) became a technical term for the kingly figure in the line of David who would deliver the people of God. In English, it became “Messiah” or “Christ,” the latter word is the Greek form of “anointed one.” The promise of the anointed one bolsters the hopes of those who, while God returned them from exile and redeemed them, the people are still waiting for the glory of a new creation. In fact, the Lord has sent me to bring good news (The Tanakh translates here that the anointed one is “a herald of joy.” The LXX verb is euaggelizw) to the oppressed (or “bowed down”). Indeed, joy pervades the passage. The task of the prophet, and the contemporary preacher, is to bring the encouraging good news as defined by this passage. The anointed one is to bind up the brokenhearted (nishbere leb). The brokenhearted are seized with a deep despair about themselves. This brokenness of their natural confidence in life and self is in the always a religious phenomenon, a state of being profoundly troubled and desolate in relation to God and the sign of the nearness of God.[3] The anointed one is to bind up the wounds and promote healing. The anointed one is to proclaim (khrussw), or shout out, liberty (in Leviticus 25:10 every fifty years is the year of Jubilee that proclaims liberty for Israelite formers who lost their land and were forced into indentured servitude) to the captives and release of prisoners. The idea is that the exile meant the loss of land and foreigners forcing them to live elsewhere, the period of served ending with the Edict of Cyrus and allowing them to regain their ancestral land. The mission of the prophet echoes 42:7 (bringing prisoners and those who sit in darkness out of the dungeon) and 49:9 (inviting prisoners and those in darkness to come out). The prophet is 2to proclaim the year (in sharp contrast with the delay of vengeance) of the favor (grace, good pleasure, acceptance, favorable decision) of the Lord. The passage recalls Leviticus 25:1-34 and its description of the sabbatical year. During this time, masters of the home were to release their slaves. It refers to the Messianic time of redemption. The redeemer of humanity is the Lord, who is the nearest kin of every human being, and who will intervene on their behalf. The prophet perceives in the ancient sacral arrangement of the year of liberation a reference to a final eschatological act of deliverance, actualizing the priestly law in a new fashion. The Lord in a unique redemptive act reclaims those who have fallen into the possession of other powers.[4] Luke 4:17-18 and Matt 12:28 specifically adopt this passage as the theme of the preaching of Jesus.[5] Luke 4:21 heralds the coming of Jesus as the fulfillment of this passage, suggesting that the early church connected this passage to the preaching of Jesus. Yet, we need to have some care in how we understand this. In both this passage and in Luke, the text distinguishes between the anointed one and the inbreaking of the rule of God. Thus, we see the self-distinction of Jesus from the Father is the inalienable condition of his deity and his identity with the rule of the Father.[6] We should consider it a possibility that Jesus understood his message in terms of this passage and its description of the deeds of salvation, for he also proclaimed the immanent reign of God, breaking in already in his work and with acceptance of his message.[7] John Calvin referred to this passage as scriptural support for the office of prophet as a description of the ministry of Jesus. Even the baptism of Jesus by John connects with the anointing of Jesus as a prophet.[8] The New Testament associates Jesus Christ with this servant figure of Isaiah. One can see this in Matthew 8:16-17; 12:15-20. One can also see this association in Philippians 2:7-8, I Peter 2:23-25. The anointed one also is to proclaim the day (in sharp contrast with the “year” of the Lord’s favor) of vengeance of our God, for which see 34:8, 35:4, 59:17, and 63:4. Many people today do not like to hear or speak about divine vengeance. Yet, good news for Judah will come when the oppressing enemy experiences defeat. The defeat of the oppressor will bring deliverance for Judah. The anointed one offers to comfort all who mourn. The suffering servant also offers comfort in 51:3, 12. In particular, the prophet is 3to provide for those who mourn in Zion.Further, the prophet will offer festive clothing and acts of rejoicing that will replace signs of disheartened mourning. He is to give them a garland instead of ashes. He is to give them the oil of gladness (see Ps 45:7 as well) instead of mourning. Anointing oneself was part of the proper preparation for festivities. He is to give them the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. The Spirit of the Lord will strengthen their faint spirit. The persons who receive help will be oaks of righteousness (or justice). The oak tree is the terebinth, a tree closely related to a pistachio tree and a pepper tree, both common in Israel. The terebinth has red berries, and the leaves change color and fall in autumn, leaving the trunk bare. This is referenced in Isa 1:30: “For you shall be like an oak whose leaf withers, and like a garden without water.” The writer uses a tree as a positive metaphor. It works because the terebinth was an impressive tree and when left alone could reach a height of 40 feet, remarkable in this geographical area. Some varieties will also yield turpentine, and it is called familiarly a “turpentine tree.” These persons are the planting (see 60:21) of the Lord, to display divine glory. The expression about planting includes the idea of a long-drawn-out careful working. The divine gardener has cultivated those who now appear to stand in the shadows. Such persons will glorify the one who delivered them.[9] The Lord will empower them to accomplish the task before them. Deliverance from captivity was part of the work of God among them. An essential part of the work of God is the task of restoration. These persons 4shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations, they shall repair the ruined cities. God is offering sufficient hope for them to carry out the work of rebuilding. The people of God continue with this view of the work of God among them, as God delivers them and gives them a task for mission. If the mission is restoration in other settings, let us consider the ways in which human beings create ruins physical and spiritual. With the people of God, deliverance and restoration are always a theme. Deliverance from captivity was only part of God’s work among them; restoration was also an essential part of their blessing and task. God offered them sufficient hope to carry out this work of rebuilding. From the Christian perspective, God does a similar thing for humanity in delivering it and restoring it. For Christians, this is good news. The captives rejoiced jubilantly at their announced deliverance from captivity and their anticipated restoration of the ruins of their physical and spiritual home. Since Jesus saw such work to be his own mission in Luke 4, his followers look with joy to both his first advent and his anticipated coming advent. Jesus has come to save us. With God, there is ongoing deliverance and restoration. Moreover, we respond by living rightly and justly, and by praising God before the peoples of the world. The people of God live in praise of their Lord live with a joy that nothing can take from them. The horrors of the present, the perishing in body and soul, the hardened fatalism, the nihilism disintegrating in hatred and bitterness, and the ruthless battles against each other, set people upon a path of self-destruction. The people of God have much rebuilding to do in such a situation.[10]
If you were oppressed and brokenhearted, in mourning and in captivity, and now you have been lifted, your heart has been healed, your spirit has been comforted and you have been set free, you would be joyful, too. You have a “garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.” Of course, you are happy. The hymn “Ode to Joy,” written by Henry Van Dyke, might accompany the application of this passage as well. Note the third verse of the hymn.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
All who live in love are Thine:
Teach us how to love each other,
lift us to the Joy Divine.”
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee
God of glory, Lord of love
Hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee
Op'ning to the Sun above
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness
drive the dark of doubt away
Giver of immortal gladness
fill us with the light of day
All Thy works with joy surround Thee
Earth and heav'n reflect Thy rays
Stars and angels sing around Thee
center of unbroken praise
Field and forest, vale and mountain
Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea
chanting bird and flowing fountain
call us to rejoice in Thee
Thou art giving and forgiving
ever blessing, ever blest
well-spring of the joy of living
ocean-depth of happy rest
Thou the Father, Christ our Brother—
all who live in love are Thine
Teach us how to love each other
lift us to the Joy Divine
Mortals join the mighty chorus
which the morning stars began
Father-love is reigning o'er us
Brother-love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward
victors in the midst of strife
joyful music lifts us sunward
in the triumph song of life
In Isa 61: 8-9, the Lord speaks. The reason all the above will happen is 8For I the Lord love justice, which the prophet further defines as I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense. In verses 5-7, the Lord will restore to Judah double what it had lost. The former oppressors would now come to be of benefit to them. Jeremiah 14:20-21 asks the Lord not to spurn this people for the sake of the name of the Lord, nor dishonor the glorious throne of the Lord. Rather, the prophet asks the Lord to remember the covenant the Lord has with them. Thus, we can only imagine the joy in hearing that the Lord say I will make an everlasting covenant (see also verse 7) with them. The New Testament will speak of a new covenant, patterned after Old Testament covenant renewal ceremonies, especially as we see it expressed in Jer 31:31-33. The Lord promises to make a new covenant with Israel and Judah, the Lord will put the Law within them and write it on their hearts, the Lord will be their God, and they shall be the people of the Lord. From the least to the greatest, they shall know the Lord. The Lord will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. The Lord makes the promise that 9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed. This promise is consistent with other promises. The Lord promises Abram that the Lord will make a great nation arise out of him, bless him so that he will bless others (Gen 12:1-3). The nations shall receive blessing through Abraham (Gen 18:18). The nations shall gain blessing through the offspring of Abraham (Gen 22:18).
In Isa 61:10-11, Zion speaks. It responds to what the Lord has said with gladness. The world will see the saving act of the Lord in the vindication of Israel. The oracle ends with expressions of exuberant joy and praise in response to hearing the good news. Can the believing community offer such words of thanksgiving sincerely, even if it does so with more reserve than we find here? The salvation event that comes to the community and individual is the act of God clothing them anew, an act in which God covers human shame.[11] 10 I (Zion[12]) will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God. It shall receive the tangible manifestation of salvation for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, which Zion needs in its present desperation, and he has covered me with the robe of righteousness (61:3), which Zion needs to express toward God. In Gen 3:21, the Lord clothed Adam and Eve. That sure sounds like protective clothing. God has provided the garments of salvation and robes of righteousness for the whole people of Judah. The Lord gathered them, following the end of the Babylonian exile, back into their homeland. But why did the people need protective clothing? Because they understood the collapse of their nation and the long exile that followed as judgment from God for their sins. In fact, Isaiah spoke of that coming disaster and captivity and said people would “enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts in the crags, from the terror of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth” (Isa 2:21). God is dangerous in that way, for the holiness of God demands judgment of sin. Hence, the anger of God will flare up for a moment as human beings behave in the self-destructive forms sin takes. That catastrophe was in the past, and if the people were to recover in any meaningful way, they needed to believe that when God looked at them now, he saw not their sins, but their righteousness. And, according to the prophet, to make sure that happened, God, the divine clothier, gave them robes of righteousness. The people of God are to put on their clothes and allow their message in infuse their lives. Putting on such clothes is the business of the people of God throughout their lives, becoming what the clothes are supposed to be.[13] Such clothing is a reminder of a wedding, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Rev 21:2 has New Jerusalem descending from heaven adorned as a bride for her husband. The bride and groom demonstrate their intentions and commitment through their appearance. Actions previously ascribed to the Lord (59:16-17) this author now completely transfers--as raiment--to the Anointed One himself. The text's reference to the bridegroom and bride suggests this Anointed One may also have a covenanting function. However, the most obvious reason for the bridegroom and bride images here is that they, like the Anointed One, are known to the world by the special adornments they wear. On the wedding day, the bride and groom demonstrate their intentions and commitment through their appearance. Their dress is their address. The conclusion involves several analogies that continue the sense of overflowing joy. 11For as the earth brings forth its shoots. Thus, the natural fertility of the earth, which spontaneously brings forth new shoots of life, provides the first analogy. Further, and as a garden, reminding us of Eden, causes what someone sows in it to spring up. Thus, the carefully cultivated growth that springs up from a garden provides the second analogy. In an analogous way, the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. The righteousness that emerges is likewise a product of both spontaneous divine growth and the nurturing care of the promises of the Lord. Zion shall soon enjoy salvation and received recognition among the nations for her newly redeemed condition. In Isa 45:8, the Lord will shower righteousness from heaven, and will cause salvation and righteousness to spring up.
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[12] Some will suggest the Anointed One speaks here, but as I suggest in the exposition, I do not quite see that as a real possibility.
[13] —Rabbi Eliyahu Yaakov, “A Little Give-and-Take with God,” Patheos.com, March 30, 2011.
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