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Arise & Shine! Your Light Has Come
Isaiah 60
“The Glory Has Risen”
Pastor Jason Van Bemmel
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2 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.
3 And nations 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 carried on the hip.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 Who are these that fly like a cloud,
and like doves to their windows?
9 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.
10 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 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.
12 For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
13 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.
14 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.
15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.
16 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.
17 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.
18 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.
19 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.
20 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.
21 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.
22 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.
What is Happening in the World?
Have you ever just said, “What in the world is happening?” If you have, I’m guessing you didn’t mean it literally. What if someone were to ask you in a more serious way, “What is happening in the world?” How would you answer? Would you talk about the baseball season beginning and Spring having arrived or would you talk about how both the Maryland men and woman were bounced from the NCAA tournaments or maybe about the current activities in the Trump administration?
Do we know and really believe that the most important thing happening in the world right now is the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the gathering in of God’s people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation?
Isaiah 60 has a few verses that are directly fulfilled in the New Testament, and these verses provide us with a helpful framework for understanding the importance of what this passage is saying:
Verse 6 is fulfilled in the coming of the Wise Men from the East, recorded in Matthew 2 –
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.
And then, verses 11 & 19 are both fulfilled in the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21-
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. – v. 11
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. – v. 19
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. – Revelation 21:22-27
The vision of New Jerusalem is a description of the final, glorified state of the church when Jesus returns.
So, what we have in Isaiah 60, from verse 6 to verse 19, is a scope of the whole gathering in of the nations in the church age, beginning with the Wise Men after the birth of Jesus and culminating in the glorification of the church, when the glory and honor of the nations are brought into New Jerusalem after Jesus returns. Isaiah 59, which we heard last week, shows us the need for a Redeemer and God providing the Redeemer we need. Then, Isaiah 60 calls us as God’s people to rise up and shine forth to the nations because the Redeemer has come!
Arise & Shine, for Your Light Has Come, vv. 1-3
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2 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.
3 And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Isaiah 60 opens with a call, a command, and a blessing all in one. This is similar to the very first thing God says to people in Genesis 1 –
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:26-28, ESV
Theologians and Bible scholars have debated for centuries whether to understand God’s first words to humanity as a command or a blessing, but it’s really both. It’s a commission, a call, that is both a blessing and a command. The New Testament version of this is the Great Commission –
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20, ESV
The world is shrouded in darkness. This is the reality of living in a fallen, cursed world where Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers, keeping them from seeing the light of the glory of God in Jesus Christ. But those of us who belong to Jesus have had the light of God shine on us, and having received God’s light in Jesus, we’re called to shine it in the world. 2 Corinthians 4-5 is a great section of Scripture for understanding this blessing and calling. Here’s how 2 Corinthians 4 begins –
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, ESV
We see three things from Isaiah 60 and from 1 Corinthians 4 –
- We are wonderfully, amazingly blessed to have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus shining in our hearts. This is amazing grace, and we should be overflowing with joyful gratitude.
- God calls us to a ministry of shining this light to the world, and we are blessed to be able to do so.
- The only light we have to shine into the world is the light of Jesus Christ, the true Light of the World, and we need to shine the light of Jesus with integrity, openly stating the truth from God’s Word without tampering or being in any way underhanded or cunning. Manipulating God’s Word either to get what we want or to tell people what they want to hear is disgraceful and will be judged by God.
Your Children Are Being Gathered, vv. 4-9
As we shine this light through Gospel evangelism and missions, we are blessed to see children of God gathered in from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation in the whole earth.
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 carried on the hip.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 Who are these that fly like a cloud,
and like doves to their windows?
9 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.
We’re not going to go into detail about every one of these peoples and where they come from. It’s a poetic description of all kinds of people coming from all kinds of places, from every direction and every kind of area – east and west, desert and sea, etc.
It’s very clear here that the gathering in of all these people is because of the work of God in making the church beautiful with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, verse 6 says it will be camel-riding peoples from the East who will bring good news – they will bring the Gospel to God’s people – along with their gifts of gold and frankincense. When the wise men came to Jerusalem, they came bringing the good news of the birth of the King of the Jews, the long-awaited Messiah. Sadly, God’s people didn’t want to hear it.
Of course, the Gospel which makes the church beautiful is also a deep offense to lost and blinded people. The Gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. But the Gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes. Those who are God’s children, God’s chosen ones, come to believe and join the family of God through the preaching of the Gospel.
We can see this process unfold in the Book of Acts. In Acts 13, we read of Paul and Barnabas preaching the Gospel in the city of Antioch in the region of Pisidia –
44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:44-52)
Later, in Acts 18, God keeps Paul in Corinth by promising him, “I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” (Acts 18:10) But when the appointed year and a half was up, violent opposition arose, and Paul left the city.
So, we always find Gospel growth and kingdom advancement along with opposition and tribulation. So, it’s in this context that we need to understand verses 10-14, which speak of the wealth and honor of the nations being gathered and given to the church.
The Wealth & Honor of the Nations is Gathered, vv. 10-14
10 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 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.
12 For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
13 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.
14 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.
We already read from Revelation 21, which sees the complete fulfillment of these verses when Jesus comes again. We should not expect glorious triumph over the nations before that day.
But even before that day, the Lord gives the church the use of the great achievements of the nations:
How did Paul spread the Gospel so effectively? In part, he used the excellent Roman Roads, the greatest engineering accomplishment in the history of the world to that point. How did he communicate? By using the common language of Greek, which was spread throughout that area by the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Later, when the printing press was invented in 1455, the first thing printed was the Bible, and then the Reformation spread like holy wildfire across Europe powered by the printing press. Later the ships of the Age of Exploration were used to take the Gospel to far-reaching lands.
Today, the Internet and satellite communications and artificial intelligence are all being used to speed up the process of translating the Bible into new languages. In the Yumbe district of Uganda, which is 90% Muslim with maybe 1% evangelical Christians, the New Testament was fully translated into Aringa for the first time four years ago, and Jacob Lee was able to be there to preach at the celebration worship service.
Glory & Peace Are Coming, v. 15-18
In the future, when the Gospel has been spread to every people group in the whole world, glory and peace will come. This glory and peace will be fully realized when Jesus returns and the judgment of the nations brings a final end to all evil and rebellion. We’ll look more at these wonderful truths in Isaiah 65-66 in late May. For now, let’s just hear and believe these powerful words that tell us what God will do –
15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.
16 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.
17 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.
18 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.
An Unimaginably Glorious Future is Coming, vv. 19-22
19 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.
20 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.
21 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.
22 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.
So, what are we to do now? How do we respond to this powerful chapter?
- Realize that the advancement of the Gospel to the nations of the earth is the most important thing happening in the world and prioritize our lives to more robustly participate in this work.
- Trust in the Gospel to change hearts and lives and don’t get distracted by techniques designed to attract people to something other than Jesus. We as the church have no other light to shine into the darkness but the light of Jesus.
- Put all other national and global events in their right perspective in light of what God is doing.
- Pray, give, and serve to shine the light of Christ to our neighbors and the nations.