One Man

¹Seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear our own clothing; just take away our disgrace and let us be called by your name.”[#4:1 This chapter should be viewed as a continuation of ch. 3 regarding the daughters of Zion. The daughters of Zion can also be a metaphor for the church. There is coming a day when the church will become so destitute of answers that she will turn to one man, the Lord Jesus, and take hold of him. We have taken hold of the world, and we have taken hold of clever ideas, but the “seven women” (seven churches of Rev. 2 and 3) are about to lay hold of their Beloved. The church will long for him, that he would feed us his bread and we would wear his garments. We will want to be called by his great name. The shadow of his beauty will remove our disgrace.]

The Branch of the Lord

²In that day, the branch of Yahweh

will be beautiful and glorious,

and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and glory

of the remnant of Israel.

³Then the remnant in Zion and Jerusalem,[#4:3 See Isa. 37:31–32.]

those who are written for life in Jerusalem,

will be called holy.

⁴And the Lord has washed away

the filth of the daughters of Zion

and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem

by a Spirit of justice and by a Spirit of burning.

A Cloud and a Glow

⁵Then Yahweh will create over all of Mount Zion

and over every gathering a cloud of smoke by day

and a glow of flaming fire by night.

And all this manifestation of dazzling glory

will spread over them like a wedding canopy.

⁶It will be a tabernacle as a shade[#4:6 The overshadowing tabernacle points to the Lord Jesus Christ, who “tabernacled” among us (see John 1:14). This is the same Hebrew word ( sukkah ) used in Amos 9:11 to describe the “tabernacle [tent] of David” that God promises to restore on the earth with night-and-day worship before the unveiled presence of God.]

from the scorching heat of the day

and a safe shelter to protect them from the storm and rain.