SALT & LIGHT God’s Plan of Renewal: Joyful: A world of celebration and gladness, where old pains are forgotten

17 For behold, I create new heavens

and a new earth,

and the former things shall not be remembered

or come into mind.

Rashi

New heavens—The princes above shall be renewed, and the princes of Israel shall be the upper princes and the princes of the heathens (the nations [Parshandatha]) will be lower, and so on the earth. ([K’li Paz reads:] The princes above shall be renewed, to raise up the humble and to humble the high ones, and so on the earth.) And some say that there will actually be new heavens, and that is correct, for Scripture proves it (infra 66:22): “For as the new heavens, etc.”

And I have put my words in your mouth

and covered you in the shadow of my hand,

establishing the heavens

and laying the foundations of the earth,

and saying to Zion, “You are my people.” ISA 51:16

Rashi

Establishing the heavens to preserve the people about whom it was said that they shall be as many as the stars of the heavens from Jonathan.

And laying the foundations of the earth—And laying the foundations of the congregation about whom it is said that they shall be as many as the dust of the earth from Jonathan.

Sanhedrin 99b:11

Rav says: It is as though he built a palace of heaven above and of earth below, as it is stated: “And I have placed my words in your mouth and I have covered you in the shadow of my hand, to plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, ‘You are my people’ ” (Isa 51:16). One who has the word of God placed in his mouth through Bible study has established heaven and earth. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: One who engages in Bible study also protects the entire world, as it is stated: “And I have covered you in the shadow of my hand.” And Levi says: He also advances the coming of the redemption, as it is stated: “And say to Zion, ‘You are my people’ ”

For as the new heavens and the new earth

that I make

shall remain before me, says the Lord,

so shall your offspring and your name remain. ISA 66:22

Tractate Kallah Rabbati 8:21

“Five acquisitions.” Just as the heavens and the earth will be renewed in the future, so also will Israel be renewed in the future, as it is stated, For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain. By whose merit? By the merit of Abraham and by the merit of the law. And where? In the temple.

For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. JOH 3:34

John Gill

For he whom God has sent—Still meaning Christ, who was sent in human nature, in the likeness of sinful flesh, in the fulness of time; to be the Savior of the world, of that which was lost, of the chief of sinners; and to preach the glad tidings of the gospel, which is more especially here designed; and for which he was abundantly qualified by the Spirit of God, with which he was anointed.

Utters the words of God—The words which God gave unto him; the doctrines of grace; the word of truth; the word of faith; the word of righteousness; the word of reconciliation; the words of salvation and eternal life; the whole mind and will of God; and whatever he spoke were as true as the oracles of God.

For he he gives the Spirit without measure—As he did to the prophets of the Old Testament, and to the apostles of the New; and to the ordinary ministers of the word, who have gifts differing one from another; to one is given one gift of the Spirit; and to another, another gift, as the Spirit pleases; and to everyone is given grace, or gifts of grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ (Eph 4:7). To which agrees what the Jews say of the Holy Spirit, and his gifts.

“Says R. Joden bar R. Simeon, even the waters which descend from above are not given, but, ‘in measure’—Says R. Acha, even the Holy Spirit, which dwells upon the prophets, does not dwell, ‘in weight.’ ”

But the Lord Jesus has every gift of the Spirit, and the fulness of grace in him: he is anointed with the oil of gladness, with the Holy Spirit above his fellows; and has an immeasurable unction of the Holy One; which, like the precious oil poured on Aaron, descends from him to the members of his body.

But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2PE 3:13

18 But be glad and rejoice forever

in that which I create;

for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,

and her people to be a gladness.

4 Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

5 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth.

Rashi

For you judge the peoples with equity—Favorably.

You . . . guide them—You . . . guide them in a fair way; therefore, all peoples praise you.

because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. ACT 17:31

6 Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you! PSA 67:4-6

10 Sing to the Lord a new song,

his praise from the end of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,

the coastlands and their inhabitants.

11 Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,

the villages that Kedar inhabits;

let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,

let them shout from the top of the mountains.

Rashi

Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice—Their voice in song.

The villages that Kedar inhabits—(Connected to “Let the desert . . . lift up.” Let the desert of Kedar, where they now dwell in tents, lift up their voice and sing. It is like: And the villages with which Kedar is settled.) The desert of Kedar, where they now dwell in tents, will be permanent cities and villages.

Habitants of Sela—The dead who will be resurrected. So did Jonathan render this.

Let them shout from the top of the mountains—Let them lift up their voices from the top of the mountains from Jonathan.

12 Let them give glory to the Lord,

and declare his praise in the coastlands. ISA 42:10-12

Rejoice always 1TH 5:16

19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem

and be glad in my people;

no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping

and the cry of distress. ISA 65:17-19

Go out, O daughters of Zion,

and look upon King Solomon,

with the crown with which his mother crowned him

on the day of his wedding,

on the day of the gladness of his heart. SON 3:11

Rashi

O daughters of Zion—Heb. צִיוֹן. Children who are distinguished (מְצֻיָנִין) as his, through circumcision, phylacteries, and ritual fringes.

With the crown with which his mother crowned him—The tent of meeting, which was adorned with hues of blue, purple, and scarlet. Rabbi Nechunya said, “Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai asked Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Yose, ‘Perhaps you heard from your father what is meaning of “with the crown with which his mother crowned him”?’ He replied, ‘This is a parable of a king who had an only daughter of whom he was very fond. He could not stop loving her until he called her “my daughter,” as it is stated (Psa 45:11): “Hear, O daughter, and consider.” He could not stop loving her until he called her “my sister,” as it is stated (below 5:2): “Open to me, my sister, my love.” He could not stop loving her until he called her “my mother,” as it is stated (Isa 51:4): “Give attention to me, my people, and . . . my nation (וּלְאוּמִי).” It is written: וּלְאֻמִי which can be read as וּלְאִמִי, and to my mother. Rabbi Shimon son Yochai stood up and kissed him on his head, etc.

On the day of his wedding—The day of the giving of the law, when they crowned him as their King and accepted his yoke.

On the day of the gladness of his heart—This is the eighth day of the installation, tabernacle was dedicated in the wilderness.

Taanit 26b:6

And similarly, it says in another verse: “Go out, daughters of Zion, and look upon King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the gladness of his heart” (Son 3:11). This verse is explained as an allusion to special days: “On the day of his wedding”; this is the giving of the law through the second set of tablets on the Day of Atonement. The name King Solomon in this context, which also means king of peace, is interpreted as a reference to God. “On the day of the gladness of his heart”; this is the building of the temple, may it be rebuilt speedily in our days.

He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people he will take away

from all the earth,

for the Lord has spoken. ISA 25:8

Pesachim 68a:15

As we have been discussing the world of the future and the resurrection of the dead, the Gemara cites additional statements on these topics. Ulla raised a contradiction between two verses: In one verse it is written: “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the insult of his people he shall take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken” (Isa 25:8). And in another verse it is written: “No more shall there be in it an infant who lives a few days, or an old man who has not filled his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old” (Isa 65:20), implying that people will live long lives, but death will not be totally eradicated. Ulla answers: This is not difficult: Here, in the first verse, it is referring to Jews, who will not die at all, while there, in the second verse, it is referring to Gentiles, who will live exceedingly long lives but eventually die. The Gemara asks: What are Gentiles doing there in the future world? The Gemara answers: As it is written: “Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and vineyard workers” (Isa 61:5).

Rashi

He will swallow up death—He will cover it and hide it forever from Israel.

3 So he told them this parable:

5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. LUK 15:3, 5

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. REV 7:17

The world God wants for us is joyful. The city he promises to create is designed to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. God wants to enjoy spending time with his people and blessing them. He even wants to remove any cause for the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. What does a joyful world look like to you?