Jerusalem A Rejoicing Is. 65:17-25 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
In the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, the Lord will create Jerusalem a rejoicing, Is 65:18. His promise to create Jerusalem is based upon his promise to create new heavens and a new earth after his millennial reign [Is 65:17; 2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1; Is 66:22]. You see at the end of the Tribulation, Jerusalem will be so torn up from the siege and the war [Zech 14:2-3; Rev 11:13] that God will start over with a completely new Jerusalem and, as with the new heavens and the new earth, “the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” The reasons that Jerusalem will be rejoicing are that:
God will rejoice in Jerusalem – Is 65:19 – in the same way that a bridegroom rejoices over his bride [Is 62:5] – all these centuries the Lord has been waiting for Jerusalem to accept him as her Lord and husband but she has gone after her lovers, instead – when God creates Jerusalem again, all that “adultery” and “idolatry” [Ezek 16] will be gone and forgotten, forever.
God will rejoice in his people – Is 65:19 – at the beginning of the Tribulation, the Lord will be dealing with Israel in fury and in wrath because of their evil doings and their unbelief in Jesus Christ, their Messiah [Is 51:17; Jer 4:4].
They will weep no more – Is 65:19 – the perfect cross reference for this passage is Ps 30:5 – see also Ps 126:5-6 – when God makes the new heavens and the new earth, he will “wipe away all tears from their eyes,” [Rev 21:4].
They will live to pre-flood ages – Is 65:20 – that is when a person dies who is 100 years old, he will still be considered a “child” – you won’t count the age of an “infant” in days but rather in years – nevertheless if the “child” dies a sinner at 100 years old he will be accursed [Is 26:10] – in other words he will be old enough to be accountable.
They will enjoy their houses, vineyards and fields – Is 65:21-22 – this is because the Lord will lift the curse of Deut 32:30-34 in which the enemy takes their houses, wives, children, vineyards and fields – thus Israel will enjoy the fruit of their own labour with their wives and families and in their own homes, unthreatened.
Their offspring will be blessed – Is 65:23 – see Is 61:9 – the Lord always intended to bless Israel and her offspring Deut 28:1-14 – only they had to hearken unto the commandments of the Lord.
God will hear and answer their prayers – Is 65:24 – he will answer before they even call – see God’s providence in Matt 6:8.
They will enjoy perfect peace – Is 65:25 – at the time the Lord fulfills Ps 122:6-7 in Jerusalem, he will also provide perfect peace among the animals [Is 11:6-9].
Conclusion: it is important, once again, to notice that until Jesus comes, they are going to have to weep, labour in vain, fight, be overrun by their enemies, die young and live without peace – their only hope is in Jesus Christ, their king and their Messiah.