Understanding Isaiah 4:1

Q. Re: Isaiah 4:I.  In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, “We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!”

Pastor, how do you explain this passage?

A. Beginning with Isaiah 2:6 and continuing through all of chapter 3 is a prophecy of the judgment that will befall Israel at the end of the age.  It will be a time of great devastation and many men will die leaving widows and orphans behind.  Beginning in Isaiah 3:16 the Lord had Isaiah speak against the vanity of Israel’s women.  Their wealth and their pride will be taken away to the point where multiple women will be willing to join together and agree to pay their own expenses  to come under the legal protection of one man through marriage.

Then in Isaiah 4:2-6 there’s a beautiful picture of the Messiah’s return to wash away all their impurities. In verse 5 the word translated defense (KJV) or canopy (NIV)  is chuppah, the wedding canopy, symbolizing that the Messiah will fulfill the prophecy of verse 1 and “marry” all of them by bringing them under His protection.  And in verse 6 the word translated tabernacle (KJV) or shelter (NIV) is sukkah, the shelter that Jews build on the Feast of Tabernacles, symbolizing that the Lord will dwell with them again.