THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

The Apple of the World’s Eye

Isaiah 60 SCC 2/2/14

ALL NATIONS WILL BE DRAWN TO ISRAEL 60:1-9

60:1: God had called Israel to be a light to the nations but presently she was darkness. Now Isaiah summoned the nation to rise up and shine because her light had arrived. God’s glory, rather than His discipline, will rise as the sun upon her. Israel will in turn shine light to the nations revealing Gods glory to the world.

60:2: In this way she will be instrumental in removing the spiritual darkness that pervades the world. He had given light to His people in the past when He led the Israelites out of dark Egypt. The second Exodus from Babylon would be similar. God will teach the world then about His nature through the nation as Christ governs and the Spirit teaches.

60:3: In the future manifestation of light, the Gentile nations and their leaders will look to Israel for light (that is, righteousness and illumination). We can see a fore view of the revelation of God’s light coming through the 144,000 Jewish celibate missionaries who will preach the gospel during the Tribulation. The present preaching of the gospel by the church is only a foretaste of what is to come through Israel too. Though everyone entering the Millennium will be saved, people will be born during that 1,000-year period of time. Many of them will come to salvation because of God’s work on Israel’s behalf then.

60:4: The nations and their leaders will bring the disbursed Israelites back to their land as well. They will also bring their wealth and give it to the Israelites. This will delight the Israelites as well as surprise them since throughout history the nations have taken from Israel. These verses hardly found fulfillment in the return from Babylon (the regathering is worldwide) or in the church (the church goes to the world). Unsaved people may be coming to Christians to learn about God now, but they are hardly exalting Christians in the world and making them rich to the extent envisioned here. The typical reaction to the preaching of the gospel now is rejection of it.

60:5: Israel will rejoice and be amazed because the nations will bring their wealth and give it to Israel. The nations will do this because Israel will be the Lord’s vehicle for bringing the knowledge of God to them. The gifts are really in praise of the Lord, not to gain Israel’s favor in any way.

60:6: Gentiles will also come from other parts of the world bringing treasure to honor Israel. The visit of the wise men at Jesus’ birth suggests a fulfillment. But again, the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem was only a foretaste of what Isaiah predicted would come to all Israel. Isaiah saw camels as thick as flies on meat covering the land around Jerusalem. These Gentiles will express thanks that Israel has brought the word of God to them, in its written, spoken, and incarnate forms. Imagine that!

60:7: Isaiah saw other nations; ancient enemies of Israel bring offerings typical of their way of life. Evidently there will be a literal temple and altar in Zion then. The sacrifices offered there would be for thanksgiving to God. God will glorify the millennial temple as the focal point of worship at this time. Isaiah’s vision of the future Jerusalem included a temple and altar.

60:8: The prophet further saw people coming from the west as thick as clouds into the Promised Land. They reminded him of doves flying to their dovecotes or pigeonhole shelters. Who are these, he asked?

60:9: They are a combination of Gentiles and Israelites who have come to bring gifts and to escort God’s chosen people back to their land. Gentiles and Israelites are waiting for God because they have come to worship Him for what He has done in Israel’s experience and character. Israel will finally fulfill her calling as a kingdom of priests bringing all other kingdoms to the Holy One of Israel, her God.

PT: Throughout human history people have formed societies and governments to lord it over people. God has built into the human race the desire to reign and rule. All of it will culminate in the destined righteous rule of Jesus Christ. All other governing foreshadows this.

ALL NATIONS WILL BE SERVING ISRAEL 60:10-16

60:10: Foreigners will rebuild Jerusalem having formerly torn it down, and will serve to Israel in many ways. Peace will have arrived. Formerly God disciplined His people for their sins, but He will selectively favor them because He provided forgiveness for them.

60:11: Open gates indicate peaceful conditions. Isaiah foresaw the nations, led by their kings, bringing their riches into Jerusalem to offer them as gifts to the Lord. The kings follow the lead of another, probably the Lord Himself, who draws their allegiance. This will be a great triumphant procession: (1) security is assured (2) availability is certain.

60:12: Any nation that does not submit to Israel’s greatness in this time will suffer destruction. Thus worship of the Lord and thanksgiving for Israel’s mediatory ministry will be voluntary, and some may not choose to submit.

60:13: The nations will bring all their finest products to Jerusalem as gifts to the Lord. For example, Lebanon would bring its famous forest products, as it did for Solomon, who built the first temple in Jerusalem. This will all result in the beautification of the temple and, therefore, the glorification of Israel’s God. The Ark of the Covenant and the Holy of Holies symbolize God's presence on earth. The Jews conceived of the space between the wings of the Cherubim as the footstool of God His throne was in heaven. Here God says that place of my feet is glorious.

60:14: The descendants of Israel’s persecutors will end up bowing down to the Israelites, honoring them and submitting to them. They will acknowledge the Israelites collectively as Zion, the city of the Lord the Holy One of Israel. Can you believe it? Certainly Zion does stand for the future Israelites collectively in Isaiah, but it was also a synonym for Jerusalem, a real city, throughout the Old Testament. Here Isaiah employed the collective meaning of the name.

60:15: In the past Israel had been abandoned, hated, and isolated from other nations. In the future she would be an object of pride and joy in the world forever.

60:16: She would draw from the wealth of the nations, and she would know through her experience that The Lord the Holy One of Jacob, was her Savior and Redeemer. It is easy to see how Gentile nations will sustain Israel in the future since 1948 certain Gentile nations have sustained the modern state of Israel.

PT: The nations of the world will volunteer service to Israel. Apparently, this will not be true of some nations and they will perish. But the normal and expected outcome will be nations giving to and serving the needs and interests associated with Christ’s rule over the world from Israel.

ISRAEL WILL BECOME A TRANSFORMED RIGHTEOUS NATION 60:17-22

60:17: Everything will be better in Israel’s millennial future. The contrasts appear to be with regard to Zion. Peace and righteousness will be the governing principles in that city. If peace and righteousness are the slave drivers and inspectors, what will the best be? The Israelites could not produce peace and righteousness, but God will provide them (I WILL).

60:18: Israel will be safe and secure in her land, in contrast to her former vulnerable and insecure condition. All the world and Israel has ever known in that land is violence, devastation and destruction. Zion’s defense will be the salvation that God provides. Her gates will be so full of praise that potential enemies cannot enter.

60:19: The glory of the Lord would outshine that of the sun and moon. He would provide for His people the light and health these heavenly bodies did formerly.

60:20: The night, because of its darkness, is a time of mourning, but there will be no mourning for Israel because God will enlighten and brighten her. The Lord’s presence will dramatically change everything.

60:21: All the Israelites will be righteous, whereas formerly they had been unrighteous, in their standing and in their state. And they will possess the Promised Land forever rather than having to leave it because of their sins. Israel would be the plant that God had nourished and would now be healthy and thriving. Her condition will display God’s splendor.

60:22: The Lord would also bless His people with fertility so they would become the ancestors of numerous descendants. He would make of them what He had made of Abraham. With posterity come glory, influence, and power. The guarantor of these promises was God who brought Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land. He will bring these promises into fulfillment quickly in their proper time.

SO WHAT?

1. The 1000 yr reign will be a utopia for which many people have longed. Jesus will usher in that utopia and it will be founded in the most contested part of the world. Peace there means peace everywhere.

2. God has planned for a new world order. All of history is dialed in to this one global outcome. God will establish his worldwide kingdom thru which He is glorified by a redeemed and righteous nation.

3. You can see this outcome built into the global fabric. People have always longed for world peace, social order, and governmental justice. God designed it this way in anticipation of His own world order.