What does Isaiah 4:1 mean?
Isaiah 4:1 says, “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” The first thing that catches our attention is ‘that day’. What and when is that day? To find the answer to that question, we need to go back and read Isaiah 3:16-17, “Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.”
If you will read Isaiah 3:1-15, you will see the Lord pronouncing judgment upon the rebellious men of Judah. Beginning in verse 16, He begins to pronounce judgment upon the wayward women of Judah. ‘That day’ is, at least in part, the punishment that would come upon them during their time of the Babylonian captivity. However, the fullness of ‘that day’ has not yet occurred. That will happen in a future day when the Lord will cast His eyes upon the nation of Israel. That day is the ‘day of the Lord’ which will be a time of great calamity. This harsh and pure judgement rightly precedes the reign of the Lord on the earth, where He will dwell and rule for 1000 years.
“Seven women shall take hold of one man…” This speaks of the scarcity of men because of war. We read of this back in Isaiah 3:25, “Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.” Because of so many men being killed in battle, there was a desperation of women for men. So much so that they would “eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel.” Desperate times, indeed. The women had said that they would make provision for themselves, although this was the responsibility of the man towards the woman as we read in Exodus 21:10, “If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.” When a man took a wife, he assumed the responsibility to work and supply the needs of his wife. In our chapter, the women are willing to forego this, and to get a man, they would support themselves.
“…only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” In those days there was a certain reproach on women who were not married or did not have any children. These women show their desperation. In those days, even as in our day, the woman took the man’s name when they married. That was true in the very first marriage. We read in Genesis 5:2 when the Lord, “called their name Adam.” These ladies were asking men to marry them to take away the reproach of being single and childless.
I do not want to end this meditation without reading some good news! In the next verse, Isaiah 4:2, we read, “In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.” That day is the day of the Lord’s return to the earth to establish His kingdom. The ‘branch of the Lord’ is none other than Christ Himself! The remnant of Israel will be greatly blessed as the Lord, through His remarkable patience and grace, after purging His people through judgment, will restore this nation. We also read of this great day in Jeremiah 23:5, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” (207.10)