Isaiah 62:4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall your land any more be termed Desolate: but you shall be called Hephzibah… Hephzi-bah was the wife of Hezekiah, and mother of Manasseh. Very uncertain tradition says she was a daughter of the Prophet Isaiah. The name means, "My delight is in her," and Dr. C. Geikie says, "Her name, whether given at her marriage or earlier, wakes a thought of old-world tenderness and poetry. Was it a fond reminiscence of one he had loved and respected, when Isaiah tells us that Jehovah will make Zion, after her long desolation, once more his Hephzi-bah?" The word "Beulah" means "married," and the figure rests upon the Eastern notion of the desolate condition of a maiden or a widow, and the happy satisfied state of the married woman, who has husband and home. A "married" land is one watched over, tended, cared for, and loved. Bunyan uses the name to represent the "waiting time" of old age, or of frailty, in which God's people tarry awhile ere they pass over the river. If somewhat fanciful, his picture is both beautiful and suggestive. "Now I saw in my dream, that by this time the pilgrims were got over the Enchanted Ground, and entering into the country of Beulah;... whose air was very sweet and pleasant; the way lying directly through it, they solaced themselves there for a season. Yea, here they heard continually the singing of birds, and, saw every day the flowers appear in the earth, and heard the voice of the turtle in the land. In this country the sun shineth night and day: wherefore this was beyond the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and also out of the reach of Giant Despair; neither could they from this place so much as see Doubting Castle. Here they were within sight of the city they were going to: also here met them some of the inhabitants thereof; for in this land the shining ones commonly walked, because it was upon the borders of heaven. In this land also the contract between the Bride and the Bridegroom was renewed; yea, here 'as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so doth thy God rejoice over thee.' Here they had no want of corn and wine; for in this place they met with abundance of what they had sought for in all their pilgrimages." This passage is taken from the first part of the 'Pilgrim's Progress,' but a similar passage at the close of the second part should be examined. The following divisions may serve as guides in the spiritualizing of this Beulah-figure. I. BEULAH-LAND REPRESENTS TIMES OF PEACE AFTER CONFLICT WITH SIN. Such times come in various parts of our life, and are times of refreshing. II. BEULAH-LAND REPRESENTS TIMES OF COMFORT AND REST AFTER DIVINE CHASTISEMENTS. God is very tender over the healing of his smitten ones, and gives seasons when the very heavens drop balm. III. BEULAH-LAND REPRESENTS TIMES OF WAITING WHEN EARTH'S TOIL IS ENDED. The beautiful time of holy old age, full of sweet memories and patient trust. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. |
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