The Rebirth of Planet Earth
By Ray Roennfeldt

A Commentary on the Sabbath School Lesson for June 19–25, 2004, on Isaiah 65 and 66

Isaiah 65 and 66 contain some of the most positive pictures of God’s planned future for his Old Testament people as well as some of the darkest. That contrast is perhaps the starkest in the last few verses of the book: "From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the Lord. "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind" (66:23–24). This is a great text to show that the Sabbath will be kept in the new earth, but it’s hardly the kind of Sabbath afternoon recreation we had expected!

Isaiah is, of course, writing his message of salvation and judgment during the eighth century B.C.E. The nation of Judah has witnessed the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel, and Judah and Jerusalem are threatened by the Assyrians. It is in that context that Isaiah expresses a message of hope to those who follow God with all their hearts, along with its corollary that divine judgment would fall on those who ignore the covenant.

A Contrast between Two Ages (Isaiah 65:17–25)

Although the ultimate doom of Judah and Jerusalem appear to be sealed by the time Isaiah presents his vision of chapters 65 and 66, God wants those who continue to be faithful to him to focus on his power to recreate. Verse 17 is obviously reminiscent of Genesis 1:1, but here Jerusalem is the particular focus: "I will create Jerusalem to be a delight" (65:18). John D. W. Watts points out that verses 19 to 25 provide a series of poetic parallels between the old age and the new age:1

Not any more…but…

• Crying, distress (v. 19)…but rejoicing (vv. 18, 19)

• An infant dying a few days old (v. 20)…but a child living to be a hundred (v. 20)

• An elderly person dying prematurely (v. 20)…but one hundred deemed to be an early age to die (v. 22)

• Build and another live there (v. 22)…but build houses and live in them (v. 21)

• Plant for another to eat (v. 22)…but plant vineyards and eat their fruit (v. 21)

• Work for nothing (v. 22)…but be like a tree (v. 22)

• Bear children for terror (v. 23)…but wear out their own things (v. 22)

• (Build Houses for others to take)…but build for their children to live in (v. 22)

• (Receive answers to prayer)…but before they call, God answers (v. 24)

• Constant violence…but not harm or destroy in all God’s mountain (v. 25)

The kinds of blessings foreshadowed for God’s people in the age of restoration in these verses are a reminder of the covenant blessings (and cursings) in Deuteronomy 27–28.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1. What contrasts are evident between Isaiah’s eschatological vision and John’s (see Rev. 21:1–4)?

2. How would an urban Westerner describe "the new heavens and the new earth," as compared to a rural African?

Zion and God as Mother (Isaiah 66:7–14)

Bracketed by declarations of judgment in Isaiah (66:6, 15) are some wonderful words of consolation. Judah and Jerusalem are to be restored. In order to provide a powerful image of the future, God (through Isaiah) pictures the re-creation of the nation taking place through the process of birth. The picture is one of Zion producing children at such a supernatural rate that "Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son" (66:7). This is clearly a matter for amazement: "Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children" (66:8).2

Then the picture of Zion as mother figure is extended to God: "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem" (66:13). For some, this might be a challenging concept, but Scripture clearly pictures God through a variety of metaphors, including a Rock, a Lion, a Father, and (here) a Mother. Surely, it is important to remember that we are not to make God in our own image, and yet we can identify with the Divine through human analogies. Several years ago, I heard a prominent feminist theologian say that she would continue to pray to God as Father, lest she construct God in her own image! That is a very real challenge to me as a man, who usually thinks of God as "Father"!

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1. How could one convey the "fatherliness" of God to someone who has not experienced the love of a father?

2. What would these promises have meant to the faithful in Judah who a facing an uncertain future?

Rest (Sabbath) in the Midst of Impending Doom (Isaiah 66:22–24)

In a context of judgment and destruction on those who do not keep the terms of the covenant (see 66:15–17), God provides a "sign" for those who keep the faith. There will be survivors whom God will "send" to Tarshish, Libya, Lydia, Tubal, Greece, and the distant islands (66:19). Although it seems that everything is lost and that their world had come to an end, God plans that his name will be glorified "among the nations" through the dispersion of his people. The result is that there will be a new multiracial line of priests and Levites (66:21). This could hardly have been imagined in Isaiah’s time!

Again, the land would rest and "all mankind will come and bow down" before God. One must conclude that the Sabbath will again be a "delight" (58:13). Yet, from my perspective, I wish Isaiah had finished with chapter 66:23. Perhaps verse 24 is there to remind us that our joy in the good news of restoration is to be tempered by the need for continuing responsibility. Certainly, one does not get the impression that the "dead bodies" (66:24) are merely Assyrians!

Questions for discussion and reflection:

1. How would you have ended Isaiah 66? Why?

2. What evidence is there in Isaiah 65–66 for the concept of conditionality in biblical prophecy? What does this say about divine sovereignty and human freedom?

Notes and References

1. John D. W. Watts, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 25: Isaiah 34–66 (Waco, Tex.: Word, 1987), 354. I have added the relevant verses to Watts’s material.
2. For a worthwhile comment on this passage, see Joseph Blenkinsopp, The Anchor Bible: Isaiah 56–66, A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (New York: Doubleday, 2003), 305–6.

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