The Birth Of The New Age (Isaiah 66:6-9).
‘A voice of tumult from the city,
A voice from the temple,
A voice of Yahweh,
Which renders recompense to his enemies.'
Before she travailed she brought forth,
Before her pain came she was delivered of a man-child,
Who has heard such things?
Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth at once?
For as soon as Zion travailed,
She brought forth her children.
Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth?
Says Yahweh,
Shall I who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?
Says your God.'
There is a stirring in the city, a voice from the temple. It is the voice of Yahweh. He will now recompense Himself on all His enemies. Heaven is at work. This is the commencement of the process that will lead up to the ideal Jerusalem of the previous chapter.
There are two births mentioned here. The first miraculously painless, the second in great travail. The miraculously painless birth (before she travailed she brought forth) is an indication that the birth is of God and not in the usual run. Thus we must expect the baby too to be unusual. ‘She was delivered of a man-child.' In the context of Isaiah this must surely look back to the promised birth of such a man-child in a miraculous way in Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7. At an unexpected time the coming King will be born. This was certainly how John interpreted it in Revelation 12:5 (although there he saw the birth as in pain. Isaiah is stressing the miraculous and smooth nature of the birth, John its urgency) where he links it with Psalms 2:9, a Messianic psalm.
But, it may be asked, does it not say that this passage refers to the birth of the nation? (Isaiah 66:8). The reply must be that it does, but that that is because the coming of the King was to be the precursor to the birth of the nation. Once He came His government and peace would increase and there would be no end. The everlasting kingdom would come in (Isaiah 9:7), justice would be established (Isaiah 11:4), and He would rule (Isaiah 32:1-4). Then the nation would follow in His train, but its birth would be through suffering.
So with the king will come the birth of the nation. ‘He will see His seed' (Isaiah 53:10). However, we should note the distinction made. The King will be born before the woman travails, the nation will be born when she has begun to travail. First the man-child will be born, and then the travail, and then the children. For the redemption must be born before the new nation can result. Without the birth of the Servant (Isaiah 49:1), the new ‘Israel' (Isaiah 49:3), there can be no Israel of God (Galatians 6:16).
‘Who has heard such things? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.' It is admitted that what is to happen is remarkable, so remarkable that it is unique. And it results in the birth of the nation ‘in one day, at once'. The birth of a man-child in one day would not be remarkable (although His birth could be remarkable), but the birth of a nation resulting from it is truly remarkable. And as a result Zion produces many children. As John does in Revelation 12, we may see this as pointing to the miraculous birth of Jesus, and the consequent birth of the new nation as a result (Isaiah 65:1; Isaiah 65:9).
‘ “Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth?” says Yahweh, “Shall I who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?” says your God.' God now challenges the scoffers. Do they think God will not finish what He has started? Let them beware. What God has begun He will do, and nothing will prevent it.
We may well see this birth of the new nation as resulting at Pentecost (Acts 2). This was equally startling and equally sudden, and comparable with the birth of the old nation at Sinai. At Pentecost the essential foundation for the new nation was laid, and from there it has spread around the world, and it will find its completion in eternity.