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Isaiah 60 Commentary

The Glory of the LORD over Zion

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KEY THOUGHT: I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.” [Isaiah 60:22c NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Isaiah 60 NKJV
The Gentiles Bless Zion

60 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 “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 nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come;
They shall bring gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
They shall ascend with acceptance on My altar,
And I will glorify the house of My glory.

8 “Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like doves to their roosts?
9 Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them,
To the name of the Lord your God,
And to the Holy One of Israel,
Because He has glorified you.

10 “The sons of 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.
11 Therefore your gates shall be open continually;
They shall not be shut day or night,
That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles,
And their kings in procession.
12 For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
And those nations shall be utterly ruined.

13 “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
The cypress, the pine, and the box tree together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I will make the place of My feet glorious.
14 Also the sons of those who afflicted you
Shall come bowing to you,
And all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
And they shall call you The City of the Lord,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
So that no one went through you,
I will make you an eternal excellence,
A joy of many generations.
16 You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles,
And milk the breast of kings;
You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
Instead of iron I will bring silver,
Instead of wood, bronze,
And instead of stones, iron.
I will also make your officers peace,
And your magistrates righteousness.
18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land,
Neither [a]wasting nor destruction within your borders;
But you shall call your walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise.

God the Glory of His People

19 “The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,
And your God your glory.
20 Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21 Also your people shall all be righteous;
They shall inherit the land forever,
The branch of My planting,
The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.
22 A little one shall become a thousand,
And a small one a strong nation.
I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 60:18 devastation

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Isaiah 60 Commentary

There aren’t many visions as complicated as Isaiah’s visions. In verse 1, the prophet announces the breaking news with a live, happening-right-now feel to it. In the last verse of the chapter, the good news isn’t at all current. At an appropriate time, the LORD will do it.

Of course, the author is aware of the decree by Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem. But definitely, the prophet refers to some other time when the LORD shows up in glory.

The fact that the author of the Book of Revelation relies on this prophecy is significant. He points to a time when God’s people won’t need any physical lights other than the brilliance of the presence of the LORD. It is definitely an event for the Revelator’s future. Compare verse 19 to Revelation 21:23.

The reference to light brings to mind the LORD’s presence among His people in the form of a pillar of fire by night. The LORD who had said, “let there be light”, will finally be that same light to His people.

In between the opening verse and the last verse are numerous references to God’s unique presence amongst His people. We also have several references to the generosity of the LORD during the good times of Isaiah’s past. Simply put: this same God shall be your God – full-time!

“And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.” Verse 6b. It is a throwback to the great times of King Solomon when the nations brought gifts to Jerusalem. Remember the queen of Sheba!

We have also seen King David’s prosperous years when the nations brought materials for his house as well as the temple.

“Instead of bronze, I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron.” Verse 17a. During the difficult years of the Kings of Judah, an impoverished nation would replace gold shields with bronze shields. We shall see the reversal of lost fortunes for the nation.

“The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation.” Verse 22a. Whatever the LORD means, regardless, the history-long blessing of increase or multiplication shall come to bear. We have already seen the full extent of a restored dominion as well as prosperity – the history-long blessing on mankind in full swing!

“You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts.” Verse 16b. It is one little statement but fully loaded with memories of God’s eternal care for Israel. Moses’ time at the palace under the care of Pharaoh comes to mind.

Chapter 60 is one very long chapter with very few verses. It takes you places down the generations of God’s people. You pause at every stage to ponder the generosity of the LORD. Then the very last statement of the chapter: “in its time I will do this swiftly;” who wouldn’t love to ponder these thoughts with blessed eternity in mind?

Of course, we need to post a thought concerning the mention of Zion. It has nothing to do with the restoration of a physical and geographical Zion. We are talking about the restoration of God’s eternal rule over His people – over a cleansed and redeemed people.

The prophet uses images of success from a world he knew. But they are still images. The key thought is that the Creator God makes it good again, as originally planned.

Loving Scripture….

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25 thoughts on “Home”

  1. It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

    God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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  11. Profound. My life needs a new introduction to God. Not that I have been right, but because God desires to help me… I see an amazing Grace here. Having broken the first commandment, still God looks for me and helps me to build up with him… And live for him. A littles knowledge of the Lord will ignite my passion and desire to serve him. This morning I pledge to seek, live and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His purposes everyday of my life.
    Beautiful lesson

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  12. The Lord reintroduces himself and shows Israel, He is all they need. Some boast in horses and others in chariots but we’ll boast in the Lord. He is able and the only one worthy of our trust. Lord teach me how to always look up to you at all times and not focus on my strength or capabilities. This is my prayer

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  14. This far too common today. Just do something that seems like true worship yet it’s intent and actual practice is not even close to the set standard by the Lord. I personally feel challenged of some things we do in our personal lives, the focus of many churches and ministries today. We’ll need to realize the Lord must be worship as he has personally guided. Provides a good start of my reflection today

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  15. In those days when there was no King everyone did as they pleased. This is a good reminder to us that we are on own when the King of Kings isn’t leading our lives we’ll be doing what is not right and the results will show clearly how life without Christ looks like. We thank God that even when it looks like he’s not there, he’s behind the scenes working. I have learnt to trust in the Lord always.

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  16. Iam seeing this being stressed… There was no King in Israel… So lawlessness is the order of the day. This shows how heartless and wicked man can be with out the right King in his life. He can do anything. May the Lord help us to allow Christ in our lives that every aspect of our lives is changed and we yield ourselves to him alone.

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  17. I’m sure as the two daughters in-law stayed in Naomi’s home they learned about the God of Israel and appreciated His works among his people. Ruth’s determination and what she says moves my heart. She’s convinced she must go with Naomi and wants to spend her life with her, this relationship was strong especially between a mother inlaw and a daughter in-law. Yet Ruth stays and how she puts it shows the depth of her heart, I’ll go with with you, your people will be my people, your God will be my God…

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