God’s Redemptive Purpose in Judging Zion

4:2-6
What new thing would God bring about in the last days?
Like the oracle in Isaiah 2:1-5, this passage is eschatological in its content. These verses look ahead to a purified city inhabited by a purified remnant enjoying the beneficent protection of God’s presence. It describes the state of the remnant, or those who survive God’s judgments on Jerusalem. They “will be called holy” (4:3), will have their names recorded in God’s census book or the Book of Life (4:3), and will be cleansed (4:4). After the cleansing of verse 4, God will create an environment in which the people also enjoy the blessing of His protection from all harm and danger (4:5-6).

Note: The word “Branch” in verse 2 can refer either to [1] the Messiah, [2] the remnant which survives God’s judgment, or to [3] the fertility of the land in the eschatological age.