Now what will have to take place if this appeal of the prophet is to be answered? Evidently that which he yearned for, as expressed in the first verse of the next chapter. God Himself must intervene in a very personal way. He must rend the heavens and come down. Nothing short of this would suffice. Yes, but how should this be done?
The words that follow make very plain what Isaiah had in his mind. He desired that God would personally intervene in power and in judgment. He knew that God had come down at the start of their national history, when there were thunders, lightnings, fire, and “the whole mount quaked greatly”, even if it did not actually flow down at His presence. Now, if there were another such display of the Divine presence, surely the effect would be great.
It was, of course, something of this kind, that would break up the Roman power and work a visible deliverance for Israel, that the people, even the godly ones, connected with the coming of their Messiah; as we see so plainly manifested by the disciples, both before Jesus died and even after His resurrection. Something of that sort will take place at the second coming of Christ, as Zechariah 14:44And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. (Zechariah 14:4) testifies. And for that coming we wait.
But we today are in the happy position of knowing that this desire for the presence of God has been answered first in another way. Earlier, Isaiah had foretold the coming of the One whose name should be Immanuel, and in the opening of Matthew’s Gospel we are told the meaning of that name God with us. The heavens were rent upon Him just as He came forth in public service. He came amongst us “full of grace and truth”; not doing “terrible things”, but rather suffering Himself the terrible things, when He died as the Sacrifice for sin.
Compared with these prophetic desires, and even forecasts, into what “marvelous light” we have been brought!
Chapters 64:4-65:12
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