For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2 The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. 3 You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. 5 As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
The theme for the readings of the second Sunday is weddings and joy – a renewed relationship of love between God and his people. The Old Testament reading comes from the prophet Isaiah who gives us a poem in which God announces good news to Israel which has suffered greatly. For long, God has seemingly looked on silently, refusing to intervene to help his chosen ones. Many in Israel must have felt that God had abandoned them or was just simply indifferent to their sorrow. Perhaps some questioned whether he even existed. How often in our own lives have we had similar feelings?
But in this poem, God announces that everything will now change. He will intervene in history and publicly express his attachment to Israel. The nations (that is the Gentiles) will see that he will no longer allow them to mistreat his beloved. Life in Jerusalem will be transformed for God will work new wonders there and give her a joyful new existence. The key words for this change are given in verse one: “vindication” and “salvation”.
As a sign of this new life, God will give Jerusalem a new name. In the Bible a new name, especially one given by God, is always the sign of a momentous change: Abram becomes Abraham and sets off for a new life; Jacob is called Israel and founds a new nation; and Jesus names Simon Peter so that he can become the rock on which the Church is built. The new identity signals a new relationship with God and with other people. The nations may have mocked Jerusalem before as a defeated and destroyed city, but they will do so no longer. God will restore the land and the city and show his love for his people. The image chosen to symbolize this new joy is that of a wedding. God and his people will love each other and live together in joy and fruitfulness. The future then is bright and there is no reason for despair. Perhaps that’s a particularly important message in these dark times.
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