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60 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,
and I will beautify my beautiful house.
Who are these that fly like a cloud,
and like doves to their windows?
For the coastlands shall hope for me,
the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the LORD your God,
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because he has made you beautiful.
Foreigners shall build up your walls,
and their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you,
but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
Your gates shall be open continually;
day and night they shall not be shut,
that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
with their kings led in procession.
For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
The sons of those who afflicted you
shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the LORD,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.
You shall suck the milk of nations;
you shall nurse at the breast of kings;
and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
and your taskmasters righteousness.
Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.
The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light;
but the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified.
The least one shall become a clan,
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the LORD;
in its time I will hasten it.
(ESV)
Isaiah 60 begins a new section that looks ahead Christ’s Kingdom and rule. Remember, Isaiah was a prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah during the time when the northern kingdom, Israel, had already been destroyed by the Assyrians. So, these prophecies about the future glory of Israel would have been encouraging as the people were living in dark times.
At the time of Isaiah’s writing, there was certainly not any glory in Judah or Israel. They were living in a land which had been destroyed by war. The city walls were reduced to rubble and the temple stood in ruins. Here in Isaiah 60, there is hope despite the circumstances. Isaiah’s prophecy looks forward to a revived Israel with a restored temple and rebuilt city. Imagine what an encouragement it would have been to the people reading this during Isaiah’s time!
The theme Isaiah is touching on here is the same today as it was back then. Darkness flees in the presence of Jesus because Jesus is light. He will restore what has been lost. Here are a few of the promises of this chapter…
These are amazing promises! Just consider what they mean for us today. Through the Holy Spirit, righteousness is attainable. We can confidently approach God through Jesus and actually satisfy His standard through our fruitful obedience. This is not of our own doing but by the glory of God.
We will have permanent possession. This happens first through the Holy Spirit which takes up residence in our hearts. That transformation is a permanent sealing that assures we are God’s chosen. We are heirs to His kingdom as sons and daughters of the Most High. We get the opportunity to share His Good News as we disciple the nations. We will live in the New Heaven and New Earth for eternity!
As broken vessels, our power will obviously come from the Lord. By His grace we will produce great works that can only be explained by God’s mighty hand. Just as He has for centuries, God will take the weak and make them strong. He will confound the proud and arrogant on His way to proclaiming His infinite wisdom.
All of these promises are powerful features of a relational God. He doesn’t need us, but He still uses us for His purposes to bring glory to Himself.
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