It seemed to Isaiah's audience that the promises in chapter 60 could hardly come to pass since the Babylonian exile was still ahead of them. The Lord assured them that He would surely fulfill these promises.
"Much of this chapter speaks of preparation being made for the coming of the Lord and for the restoration of His people, thus expanding the thoughts in 40:3-5, 9."697
62:1 Evidently God is the speaker (cf. v. 6). He assured His people that even though they thought He had been silent to their prayers for deliverance (cf. 42:14; 45:15-19; 57:11; 64:12; 65:6), He would indeed provide righteousness and salvation for them. He would do it for the love of His people, for Zion's sake.
62:2 All the Gentiles would see Israel's righteousness and her reflected glory. Her new name, that sovereign Yahweh would give her, would identify the change in her character (cf. Gen. 32:28).
"So often in the OT a new name (v. 2) is the pledge of divine action to change the status or character of a person (cf., e.g., Gen 17:5, 15[; John 1:42])."698
62:3 The Lord would make Jerusalem as a beautiful crown fit for a king that He would hold carefully in His hand.
62:4 The new name promised in verse 2 would be Hephzibah (My delight is in her; cf. 2 Kings 21:1) and Beulah (Married). These names would replace former designations of Israel's condition: Azubah (Forsaken; cf. 1 Kings 22:42) and Shemamah (Desolate). These new names would reflect God's delight in His people and His uniting them with their land.
62:5 Future generations of Israelites would be married to the Promised Land in the sense that they would not leave it. From a different perspective, the Lord Himself would be Israel's bridegroom and would rejoice over her as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.
"In all that Israel was to endure, what a source of comfort God's pet name for them: My-Delight-Is-in-Her' (v. 4) must have been. It is still true today. When circumstances and failure and blighted hopes combine to convince us that our name is Forsaken,' that is the hour to hear the whisper of the Bridegroom to his Bride (cf. 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27; Rev. 21:2, 9), with the name that it is his alone to give and hers alone to hear."699
62:6 The Lord revealed that He had appointed watchmen whose job it was to remind Him of His promises to Israel so He would not forget them (cf. 36:3; 2 Sam. 18:6; 1 Kings 4:3; Luke 2:36-38). Obviously the Lord does not forget His promises, but this assurance, in the language of the common practice of the day, underscored the fact that He would not forget. The watchmen in view may be angels and or human intercessors (cf. Dan. 4:13; Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8).
62:7 These watchmen were to give the Lord no rest, to keep reminding Him, until He fulfilled what He had promised, namely, making Jerusalem an object of praise in the earth (in the Millennium; cf. Matt. 6:10).
62:8 Not only did the Lord promise that enemies would never again invade the Promised Land and rob His people of their hard-earned food and drink, but He confirmed His promise with an oath. He swore by Himself, the highest authority, specifically by His right hand that would personally execute His will and by His strong arm that would powerfully accomplish His plan.
62:9 Unlike the days of Gideon (Judg. 6), when the Israelites grew their grain only to have it stolen at harvest time, they would harvest and eat what they had sown. They would drink the wine that they harvested in the security of the Lord's sanctuary as an act of worship.
