Wednesday, December 18, 2024 PM

The Branch of the Lord and the New Jerusalem

It shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion, and remains in Jerusalem, will be called holy, every one who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem, when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

Then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering, and there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime, from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

So, this promise of the Lord's branch, even as everything is set right and gets better in chapter 2, at the beginning of chapter 2, as the nations, including Jacob, are called to come up into the new Jerusalem and the new Zion.

So also here, the attention is on the Lord's branch. Even as in chapter 2, we have a Jerusalem that comes in the place of the one that has been removed out of the way by judgment, so also here we have a branch, we have this tree, we have this new growth, this new life, where one was chopped down and moved out of the.

Way.

This is a major theme in Isaiah, where it shows the servant of the old covenant and how they are faithless. Interesting to read chapters 40 through 55 in Isaiah. We begin by hearing about the servant, and God says things like, has anyone considered my servant how deaf and dumb and blind he is?

Not a pretty picture, gets an F maybe, at the best. Very, very egregious covenant breaking. But then, as you keep reading, the term servant begins to be used of someone who will be faithful and will bring to pass everything that God had intended.

So we have, in the translators, we'll have a lowercase s for the unfaithful servant and then a capital S for the faithful servant, and then these two keep on being compared and contrasted until only the servant, capital S, is the one left being considered.

In like fashion, we have Old Covenant Jerusalem, Old Covenant Zion being judged, being shown to be sinful and faithless, but then New Covenant Zion, New Covenant Jerusalem being praised. We have the old kind of growth, the old plants, the old vineyard we're going to see in chapter five.

We have the tree that was cut down, but then we also have the new growth, the branch. And of course, later on in the New Testament, we hear John the Baptist saying that Jesus is coming to cut down the tree.

What was he talking about? He's talking about Isaiah, where the tree is cut down, but then there's a new growth out of that stump. In Isaiah 5, God talks about Israel as a vine that he put into a vineyard, and then Jesus comes and says, I am the true vine.

So time and again, we see this exchange where Jesus comes in the same trajectory with the same types of metaphors, but he comes in as the fulfillment of, so that the faithless, the unfaithful are set aside, or better yet, fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

So that's what we're looking here at the branch of the Lord. And in verse one, we have seven women taking hold of one man, which we have an echo of that in Zechariah, 10 men grabbing the sleeve of one Jew.

And the women just want the name, the name of this one man to take away their reproach. And of course, the very next verse, which parallels the same timeframe in that day, the name of this one is a name that will take away reproach.

The branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious. The fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing. So of course, they're going to have that covering to take away their reproach. And so in verse one, there's a convening of the new bride.

In verse two, there's the crowning of the new David. All this language in verse two reminds us of the prophesied one to come who fulfills the type of David. And then in verses three through four, we looked at the cleansing of the new Jerusalem.

In the new covenant Jerusalem, there's cleansing and holiness. There is forgiveness of sins. And nobody in the new covenant Jerusalem is going to be targeted as a covenant breaker. There's nobody in the new covenant Jerusalem that's going to be walking around defiled, unholy, and unclean.

Everyone in the new covenant Jerusalem is holy and clean and sanctified. That's a very deep contrast in the scriptures between old covenant and new covenant. In the old covenant, you could be part of the covenant simply by being born into the right families, the tribes of Israel.

And you were a covenant member simply because you were a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, circumcised the eighth day, maybe if you were born into a faithful family. And you were a part of the old covenant even though perhaps you were never ever spiritually alive.

There was a remnant within Israel who were born again by the Holy Spirit who were convicted of sin and they groaned inwardly when they saw problems. But they were a remnant. They were the few who found that narrow way.

But the majority of them were members of the old covenant but they weren't spiritually alive and they were very poor at keeping covenant. So, the contrast is very great between the old and the new in that sense.

The New Covenant Tabernacle and the Spirit’s Presence

Now we come to verses 5 and 6 where the imagery of the tabernacle that we read about in Exodus and Numbers, now that imagery is used of a new kind of tabernacle. So, let's look at that again in verses 5 and 6.

Then, notice the timeframe, it catches what verse 3 says, that shall come to pass, which is in line with verses 1 and 2, in that day, in that day. In that day of judgment where the old passes away and the new comes to pass.

Okay, so verse 5, then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering and there will be a tabernacle pulled for shade in the daytime from the heat for a place of refuge and for a shelter from storm and rain.

So, the Lord's branch is the name, is the glory, is the holiness and he's the tabernacle. Notice we have something new. The Lord creates above every dwelling place on Mount Zion this cloud and smoke, this tabernacle.

A tabernacle, the tent of meeting, is a place meant for communion and it's a place meant for a covering. And in this case, we have a communion that never fails and a covering that is both loving and protecting.

First of all, think about the Lord's creation, the Lord creates. Now, when this is said in verse 5, it's looking forward to the days of the new covenant. Currently, the remnants of the tabernacle that traveled around the wilderness and was brought to rest in the land of Canaan, a place that Samuel ministered at, the remnants of the tabernacle were brought in to the temple that Solomon built.

So, all of the holy artifacts, that furniture, many of the items and decorations that were in the tabernacle that you read about in Exodus, those were brought in to the temple and then fresh things were made that had been ruined over the course of years of battle and so on.

But it was the same Ark of the Covenant, right? Various things were brought into Solomon's temple and it was very grand. That temple still stood in the days of Isaiah. So, they had the better version of the tabernacle right there in Jerusalem.

And faithful worshipers still use the temple as they used to use the tabernacle back in Exodus, following through with all the sacrifices, following through in all the feast days, that's what they did.

But this is saying God's going to create something that wasn't there currently. Now, the term create here is exclusively used in the Old Testament of divine action. This is the same word in Genesis, when God created the heavens and the earth.

Same word is being used here. This is a word not saying the Lord is going to rearrange a few things. This is something like when God created the heavens and the earth. He's creating something new here.

And we have, I think the use of this term for create in this context is very striking. Because when we read in verses 1 through 6, when we read in this context, we read about Zion here in verses 5 and 6.

We read about Jerusalem. We read about a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud. And a little bit later on, we read of a deluge, a flood, a little bit later on. In other words, as we're reading through, we're reading about different elements of all the different stories in which God made covenants in previous generations.

God made a covenant with Noah after the great storm in the deluge. God made a covenant with Israel, and they were in the wilderness with a pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud. God made a covenant with David, and David reigned in Zion and Jerusalem, and the temple was built there.

And so when the Lord is creating something new, everybody's ears should perk up. And it's for communion. Notice that he creates above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, that's where the people live, above her assemblies where the people gather, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night.

Now this is a great answer to Chapter 1. In Chapter 1, God talked about the things that Israel was involved with, that Judah still went to temple, they still had their sacred assemblies, they went through all the motions of making those sacrifices, but he actually told them to cut it out.

He said, why don't you just stop it? Stop with your sacred assemblies, stop with your feasts, stop with your sacrifices, because you don't mean it. You're just going through the motions. They're an annoyance to you, they're an annoyance to me.

Your heart's not anywhere near them, so just cut it out and stop, because I'm done with them. But here, looking ahead to the new covenant, we have an idea of assemblies, and this is the way God wants to have the assemblies.

And notice that God is present there and there is real, genuine communion there as we find the cloud, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Now that sounds familiar, right?

That sounds familiar, the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. And whenever the pillar would start to raise up and move, well, then the priest got busy, packed everything up, the tribes got busy, packed all their tents up, and they'd follow that pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night, wherever it went.

And that pillar of cloud was there for a shade in the day, in the heat of that wilderness, and the pillar of fire was there for the warmth there in the high deserts when it was too cold. And God protected his people there in the wilderness, and he was there in their midst and among them.

But remember that that pillar was right over the tabernacle every time, and the tabernacle was in the midst. The tabernacle was in the middle, the Levites camped out in a ring, and then the 12 tribes camped around that.

And in this way, God promised to be in the midst of his people. But this is different because now all the people that are being talked about that are part of this new covenant, all of them live in Zion.

Already in the promised land, not just the promised land, but already on the holy mountain, already in the special city. And so not in the wilderness anymore, but you're all the way in Zion. Additionally, living in Zion, which is the picture of the new covenant Zion we have in Galatians 4 and Hebrews 12, living in Zion above every dwelling place you have the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire.

Isn't that interesting? Everywhere the new covenant members live, God is present there, which reminds us of the big showing of the new covenant's arrival in the advent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Holy Spirit shows up with a great wind and tongues of fire above each of the saints. So here comes God's communion with his saints in the new covenant. And it's not that there's one tent in the middle of everybody that they have to go over to and get close.

He is present with each one of the new covenant members. There is a real genuine fellowship. So God's personal communion is assured here. And notice that this is a covering. For over all the glory there will be a covering.

This word for covering is only ever used in passages that talk about marriage, the marriage chamber, the canopy over the marriage bed. So there's a marriage going to happen. There's going to be a wedding that's coming.

How many times does Jesus bring that up in his new covenant teaching? How much does that show up in the New Testament, talking about the new covenant as a marriage, as a wedding, the bride of Christ is the church.

The language of over all the glory, there will be a covering. And then it says, There will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

Shade and shelter are used in tandem in the Old Testament to talk about kingship. The king was to provide shade and shelter. The king was to provide refuge for those whom he ruled over. So we have basically with this language, it envisions in poetic fashion the coming marriage of a king with his people.

And in this way, he's going to be always present with his people, communing with his people. And so this is the picture. These are pictures that are being pressed together to talk about the new covenant.

Now that makes sense that we're already talking about in verse 6. And there will be a, well, at the very end of verse 5, for all the glory, there will be a covering, which is very technical language about marriage.

And how did it begin in verse 1? In that day, seven women shall grab hold of one man saying, we will eat our own food and wear our own apparel, only that it be called by your name to take away our approach.

All they're asking for is just take away our approach. They weren't asking for very much at all. But by the end, we have a full on wedding and full provision and communion and protection and refuge. So the grace of God on display.

So the tabernacle is dispersed in a sense. It is no longer in the midst of a set of camps in the wilderness, but we're in Zion. It's still localized in the sense that it's over each dwelling place where the people of the covenant are.

That's where God is dwelling with them. Now, this is this pattern of creating something new and then being in communion and then providing a covering. It's going to happen again, Isaiah. So we might as well look at this is near the beginning of Isaiah.

This is near the end of Isaiah and Isaiah 65. The same elements are going to show up again in the prophet's latter writing, verses 17 through 19 of Isaiah 65. For behold, I create. Same word. For behold, I create.

Now it's not a new tabernacle, but what is it? A new heavens and a new earth. The former shall not be remembered nor come to mind. You can imagine the old order of things not even going to be pertinent, not even important.

So much better is the new way of doing things. I create new heavens and a new earth. The former shall not be remembered nor come to mind, but be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem.

Do you see that? So first he says, I create new heavens and a new earth, and then he clarifies, what does he create? He creates Jerusalem. You see how he does that, how he parallels the two so we know what he's pointing at and talking about.

For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people. So he says, when he says he's creating new heavens and a new earth, he clarifies he's creating Jerusalem and a people.

And he says, you be glad and rejoice in what I create, and he says, I'm going to rejoice in what I create. You see that? So when God wants to talk about having a new covenant, he uses the expression of new heaven and new earth.

The old heaven and the old earth was the old way of relating between heaven and earth. The old covenant. The new covenant is the new way of relating between heaven and earth. They are not opposed to each other, but this one is the fulfillment of the old.

So we have various expressions of the judgment that's to come against Jerusalem and the old covenant, and the heavens and the earth pass away in fire and burning. Remember that? The stars fall out of the sky.

The moon turns to blood. The sun won't work no more. Mountains melt. The islands hitch up their skirts and run away. Heaven and earth come undone. And of course that happened with Edom and it happened with Babylon.

It also happened with Jerusalem in AD 70. So the old heavens and the old earth pass away, but no fear, God creates new heaven and new earth. And there's a new way, a fulfilled way, a satisfyingly fulfilled way of relating between heaven and earth, and that is the new covenant in Jesus Christ.

So when we look at this promise of creating things new, we remember that the tabernacle was filled with artifacts that pictured the stars above and the ground below. It was heaven and earth in a box. And they did the same thing with the temple.

Heaven and earth, all those descriptions of the stars above and the earth below, all those artifacts put together. Well, that old heaven and earth passes away. There's a new way of relating between heaven and earth.

The word became flesh, John 1, verse 14, and he uses the word tabernacled. The word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten, full of the Father, full of grace and truth.

And it goes on to say, you know, this is what came that this came through Moses, but through Christ we have truth and grace. The law came through Moses, but through truth and grace of Jesus Christ. So here's the new tabernacle.

Here's the new covenant. The newness of the new covenant is a satisfying fulfillment of the old. It really isn't a rejection. We talked about last time the spirit that was described as the spirit of judgment and the spirit of fire.

And we saw at Pentecost how the spirit comes down upon each of all of the saints. We see in the New Testament the scriptures of how we are made by the spirit. We are made holy living stones in the new covenant temple.

The new covenant temple is one of living stones indwelt by the spirit. So in this we're not seeing a taking up of the Old Testament and tossing it aside and saying we don't need that no more. But we find that all of it points to Christ, and we have a satisfying fulfillment of it in Christ.

For example, in Zechariah 6, verse 12, it says,. And speak to him, saying,. Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch. So we keep our attention on the branch whether we're in Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Zechariah.

Behold the man whose name is the branch. From his place he shall branch out, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Now how did Jesus do that? Remember what he said when he was confronted by the Pharisees, Sadducees, so on and so forth about how he treated the temple.

He said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. He's talking about his own person, his own self. And so Paul talks about us being in Christ. Christ is the temple. We're the living stones of the temple.

So this is how Christ builds a temple. By his death and resurrection, he builds the new covenant temple. And in chapter 60 of Isaiah, we learn that this temple, not only do we know that this temple is not a brick and mortar temple, the new covenant temple is not brick and mortar, well also the new covenant land isn't governed by sun and moon.

Now you go anywhere on planet Earth. Mike was in Norway. Now sun and moon still exist all the way over in Norway. Not a lot of sun this time of year. Not a lot of sun at all. But sun and moon were still there.

No matter where you go on planet Earth, sun and moon still going. Still governing the day, still governing the night. But the land that is promised in the new covenant is not a land that is governed by sun and moon.

So Isaiah 60 verses 19 to 21. This is talking about the inheritance. The Lord is not only our temple, but he's also our inheritance. So Isaiah 60 verse 19. The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you.

What does that mean? It means that when you're in your inheritance, you're not being governed by sun and moon like you were before. You're governed by the Lord. The Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory.

Your sun shall no longer go down, nor your moon withdraw itself, for the Lord will be your everlasting light. And the days of your mourning shall be ended. What was the days of mourning? Well they got exiled.

They were exiled from the land. Exiled from the land of promise. But their whole life was governed by the cycles of the sun and moon. Where is the sun located? Where are the stars located? What phase is the moon in?

Now we know what feasts to have. Now we know if it's a Sabbath day or a Sabbath year. We know what to do, because the sun and moon are governing us and telling us what the time is. We're going through this liturgical feast year.

But the new covenant promise is when you get your inheritance and the reproach is gone and you're in your inheritance, you're not going to be looking at sun and moon anymore. That's not going to be governing you in your inheritance.

It's not going to be a sun and moon type of thing. You're going to have the light of your Lord. And we know that that's the light who is Jesus Christ. And in verse 21, now this is Isaiah 60 again. So verse 20 says, your son should no longer go down nor your moon withdraw itself for the Lord will be your everlasting light and the days of your morning shall be ended.

Also, your people shall all be righteous. That's the new covenant promise. Everybody in the new covenant is righteous, justified by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Not a single one in the new covenant is not righteous.

All your people should be righteous. They shall inherit the land forever. What kind of land was that that he just said? It's not a land that the sun shines on. It's not a land that the moon glows over.

It's not a land like you think of land, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands. That's a description of Christ that I may be glorified. So once again, the Old Testament anticipated the day that the inheritance of the people of God in the work of the Messiah would be an inheritance and a promised riches and blessing that was not going to be like the old covenant land.

Not a land of sun and moon, but a land, an inheritance, a richness, like the new covenant Zion, like the new covenant Jerusalem, like the new covenant tabernacle and so on, that the Lord continually shines over.

I think that makes it even more clear as the meaning of the tabernacle in the midst of the wilderness. Now, that's the focus, both at the beginning of chapter 2 and here in chapter 4. And these two passages echo and reinforce each other.

And it's important that we see that they bracket a thoroughgoing condemnation of the covenant breakers. And I know that a lot of you have gone to Ken's class and going through Hebrews. God found fault, not with the parameters of the old covenant, but with the participants of the new covenant.

He found fault with them. And the old covenant, that's why it was obsolete and ready to pass away. In the days when the book of Hebrews is written. Okay, we're going to close it off there. I think this coming Sunday evening is our carols, Christmas carols.

The following Wednesday night is Christmas. So don't come, don't come then. And so I think that we're going to be, I don't even know, probably it's going to be another week or so before we get back to Isaiah.

Well, maybe a little bit more so. Oh, the following Sunday on the 29th, we're not even meeting here at night. So it's after the service, we're going to have a very Baptist potluck for everybody who comes.

And then I think possibly it's not till January that we're gonna get back to Isaiah. So read ahead chapter 5 and then you can get ready for that. Let's go ahead and turn our attention to some passages.