Isaiah 4

Wow, it's been long enough for me to think that I had finished Isaiah 4 already... Again, I don't know why this seems to be so hard for me...

1: Seven women approaching one man, offering to provide their own living if they could be called by his name. Does this further indicate the lack of men as God carries out his plan? Again, has this happened, or is this more indication of events still to come? How does a woman taking a man's name remove disgrace? Perhaps it has something to do with society at the time - single women were looked down upon, right? Even if they were wealthy. Oh, didn't I hear somewhere that the wealth of single women could be taken away? If so, then this would mean that many women were looking to ensure their homes and families - but again, what does this have to do with disgrace?
Especially when we look at the rest of the chapter - "All who are left in Jerusalem will be called holy" So these women, seeking a man in groups, would be considered holy - so why are they running to have disgrace removed? Maybe there's a hinting that captors will be coming and stealing and raping women, so they're looking for protection? I feel like that may be quite a stretch, but this idea of running from disgrace is really difficult for me.

Maybe there is an indication of order in this chapter and the last chapter. Maybe God will chose to deal with the men first, punishing them for being poor leaders. Isaiah talks about God coming and cleansinig the women of Israel with a spirit of judgement and fire. Hmm, could this be an answer for my constant question? Ok, if God has dealt with the men, and there are still some that exist (God indicates that there will still be faithful ones in Jerusalem in verse 3), women could be running to the remaining few men looking for leadership to take them away from their sinful past, thus trying to remove their disgrace. Now, Isaiah seems to indicate that the women would then be judged next - in other places in scripture we see them being judged for their vanity, and that could extend here.

God then promises to rest with His people again, giving them the cloud of smoke during the day and the fire during the night, as it was when the Jews were leaving Egypt. It seems, though, that God is promising even more - a canopy over all of the glory (I can only guess that the reference is to the cloud and fire, but I could very easily be wrong) that would protect from storm and heat. Meaning that the world would still be experiencing these natural events, but jerusalem would be exempt; giving those living there the perfect experience. I wonder if this is an attempt at describing heaven, and if the storm and rain include the emotional and interpersonal problems we experience here on earth, with the heat including the fierce anger experienced between people.