Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. What pledge does the Lord make in Isaiah 62:1 (printed below?)
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, until her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a blazing torch. (Isaiah 62:1)
The Lord pledges that for Zion’s sake He will not keep silent and for Jerusalem’s sake He will not remain quiet. The Lord pledges that He will neither hold His peace nor rest until He has accomplished His purpose, namely, to cause the righteousness of His people and His kingdom to shine forth like the rising sun at dawn. Note: The Lord’s promise that His people’s righteousness shall shine out like the sun at dawn is not referring to any inherent personal righteousness that His people possess in themselves; it is referring to the divine righteousness they possess by faith in Christ (see Philippians 3:9). What is anticipated here in Isaiah 62:1 is the day when the divine righteousness of Christ shall radiate from our lives with the brilliance of the noonday sun and like a blazing lantern illuminating a pitch dark cave. This will occur on the day the Lord brings forth His kingdom in all of its glory.
2. What other promises of God should inspire and motivate us to persistently pray for the coming of His kingdom? See Isaiah 62:2b-4 (printed below)
…you will be called by a new name that the mouth of Jehovah will bestow upon you. (3) Furthermore, you will be a beautiful crown in the hand of Jehovah, a royal diadem in the hand of our God. (40 You shall no longer be called Forsaken, neither shall your land any longer be called Desolate. On the contrary, you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land shall be called Beulah; for Jehovah will take delight in you, and your land will be married. (Isaiah 62:2b-4)
In verse 2 the Lord promises that His people shall be identified by a new name; the old name, “Forsaken,” shall be put away (verse 4). The new name is “‘Hephzibah—my delight is in her’ … for Jehovah will take delight in you.” This is the very name by which the Father addresses His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (note Matthew 3:17). In verse 3 the Lord promises that we shall be a crown of beauty in His hand—here is the blessing of being totally possessed by God; being held in the Lord’s hand as His precious jewel and treasured possession. At the same time, here is the blessing of being a royal honor and glory to the Lord of glory Himself—a crown of glory and a royal diadem for the Lord.
3. Whom has the Lord stationed atop the walls of Jerusalem (see verse 6a printed below?) What else are they called (see verse 6b printed below?)
I have posted watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who are Jehovah’s palace recorders, give yourselves no rest (Isaiah 62:6a)
You who are Jehovah’s palace recorders, give yourselves no rest (Isaiah 62:6b)
In verse 6a the Lord declares that He has set watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem. In verse 6b these watchmen are identified as “Jehovah’s palace recorders.” The palace recorder, or remembrancer, was an official position in the ancient Middle Eastern court whose responsibility was to remind the king of his appointments and commitments—the remembrancer was a type of royal secretary.
4. What is the task of these watchmen whom the Lord has stationed atop the walls of Jerusalem? See Isaiah 62:6-7 (printed below)
I have posted watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who are Jehovah’s palace recorders, give yourselves no rest, (7) and give him no rest, until he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of all the earth. (Isaiah 62:6-7)
The Lord declares that these watchmen are never to hold their peace day or night. Their duty is to be found constantly crying out to God for the fulfillment of His promises to bring His kingdom to its full fruition. These divinely appointed “palace recorders” are given the charge, “Give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest, until he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of all the earth.” The Lord’s remembrancers are to take no rest and give the Lord no rest until He has fulfilled His promises and brought His kingdom to the earth in all of its eternal glory.
5. What public proclamation does the Lord make in Isaiah 62:11 (printed below?)
Listen! Jehovah has made a proclamation to the ends of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, Look! Your Savior is coming! Look, he is bringing his reward with him, and his recompense accompanies him. (Isaiah 62:11)
In verse 11 the Lord publicly proclaims in the hearing of all the nations that His kingdom shall surely come. The Lord shall personally come to redeem His people and bestow upon them the eternal rewards that His Son has merited for them and that they have “earned” by their faithfulness to Him—a faithfulness enabled by His grace. The Lord has gone on public record, He has publicly committed Himself, (and He has put it in writing in the Bible), and for His own honor He will certainly fulfill His promise: His kingdom will surely come. Thus, the Lord’s public proclamation becomes a further incentive for His people to diligently pray for the fulfillment of His promises and the coming of His kingdom in the fullness of its divine glory.
