This week, the Canadian federal government has launched voluntary evacuation plans for the roughly 5,000 Canadians remaining in Syria. On Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said: "The time to leave Syria is now,". "We can offer you assistance now. If the situation continues to deteriorate, we can’t guarantee that." Arab League sanctions against the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad came into effect Thursday. The new measures are expected to lead to the suspension of some 50% of commercial flights out of the country. The UN estimates over 5,000 people have died since the uprising began in March. On Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the crackdown on anti-government protesters must end. "In the name of humanity, it is time for the international community to act," he said.
Still, Russia and China have rebuffed efforts to push for action at the UN Security Council. (http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/world/archives/2011/12/20111215-103713.html)
When the people of Israel lived in exile, under the captivity of the Babalyons, they longed for redemption. The northern kingdom fell completely to Assyrian domination in 722 B.C. and ceased to exist as a nation. (Thomas Nelson, I. (1997). Woman’s study Bible . (Is 52:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
God allowed them to fall into captivity because of their disobedience to their covenantal obligations. Under foreign oppression they wondered where God was, if He abandoned them, and if He will act to release them from captivity.
As we look around this Christmas season there does not seem to be much peace around. Nations war against nations, people are imprisoned, hungry and living in fear as to their future personal and economic fortunes. Family and personal dynamics are rife with strife, conflict and frustration. Where is the promissed peace on earth promissed with the comming of Christ?
For the people of Israel under captivity to those living today, outward conflict is just a result of inward strife. The peace that Jesus brought in His first advent, points to the peace that will culmunate in His coming again. The strife between nations to the strife within the human heart, is only resolved in submission to the reign of Christ the king. For those who submit to His authority, and have His peace reign in their hearts, the outward manifestation in personal, family, regional, national and international lives, becomes manifest.
"Peace on Earth" is illustrated through God’s reign in Isaiah 52:7-10 as seen through: 1) The Peaceful Reign (Isaiah 52:7), 2) The Peaceful Return (Isaiah 52:8-9), 3) The Peaceful Reveal (Isaiah 52:10)
1) The Peaceful Reign (Isaiah 52:7)
Isaiah 52:7 begins with the voice of the messenger. Messenger (mebaśśēr) connotes a bearer of good news in this book (40:9; 41:27). Messengers will traverse the mountains around Jerusalem to spread the good news of the return of redeemed Israel to the Land (40:9; 61:1; Nah. 1:15) (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Is 52:7). Nashville: Word Pub.).
The glorious news reaching us comes through the feet of this runner! It is not the feet that are beautiful, but what the feet have brought is beautiful. The expression refers neither to the sound nor to the sight of the feet; but is a poetical metonymy. The feet stand for what they do. The feet walk, come. The coming, the advent of the messenger of good tidings is beautiful/lovely (Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Nägelsbach, C. W. E., Lowrie, S. T., & Moore, D. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures : Isaiah (564). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
In the imagery the messenger declares to a waiting people that their God, far from being dethroned, has conquered the enemy, thereby demonstrating the reality of his kingship. This passage does not refer to a cultic act but an act in history whereby God delivers his people, demonstrating that a fundamental characteristic of his kingship is compassion (see 40:10–11). (T. Mettinger, “In Search of the Hidden Structure: JHWH as King in Isaiah 40–55,” SEÅ 151–52 (1986–87) 148–57)
The Messenger ("him") is singular in the Hebrew, ‘the one’; not a straggle of fugitives from a defeat, but a single runner (as in 2 Sam. 18:24ff.) with shining face and a spring in his step because he comes with good news (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Vol. 20: Isaiah: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (372). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
• The main reason why there is not "Peace on "Earth" and in the human heart, is because of the diverse ways people seek peace. It will not ultimately come through a religious denomination, United Nations, supreme military or economic power, nor through the personal accumulation of wealth or sentimental feelings, but solely through "Him", Jesus Christ who is the singular and ultimate messenger of peace (Heb. 1:1-3).
The Messenger brings good news of God’s salvation (1 Sam. 31:9; 2 Sam. 1:20; Jer. 20:15; for the single instance of bad news, see 1 Sam. 4:17.). Here the message is threefold, leading to a climax: peace, good, salvation—your God reigns. In this reign of God, what does His rule entail? It entails a condition where all things are in their proper relation to each other, with nothing left hanging, incomplete, or unfulfilled (peace, šālôm); it entails a condition where creation purposes are realized (good, ṭôb; cf. Gen. 1:4, 10, etc.); it entails a condition of freedom from every bondage, but particularly the bondage resultant from sin (salvation, yešûʿâ). Where God reigns, these follow.
Three participial phrases explain the nature of this proclamation of good tidings. We are not to conceive of three different messages, for each statement is an aspect of the same blessed theme of salvation.
First, the messenger causes peace to be heard; i.e. the message that he delivers has peace as its grand subject. Peace: the picture is news from the battle, but the reality is the end of God’s wrath (51:17–23), the city awaking to holiness (52:1), the status of its people as priests and kings (52:1, 2), redemption without cost (52:3)—in a word, peace with God (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Vol. 20: Isaiah: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (372). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
We shall understand the word peace not through etymology, but through its usage in the prophecy. It is one of Isaiah’s favorite words, and refers not merely to the ceasing of hostilities among warring nations, but to a peace that the Lord gives to His people. There is peace to be proclaimed, for the Lord no longer stands in a hostile relation to His own (“Isaiah 34 and Its Position in the Prophecy,” WThJ, Vol. 27, No. 2, 1964, pp. 93–114.).
• Experiencing God’s peace does not mean the end of conflict, but it represents a change of foes. No longer do we cherish sins and align with the forces of darkness, but are surrendered and at peace with God. Now we war against the sinful inclinations and habits within ourselves that would bring us back to hostility with God.
This peace (ultimately is fulfilled through the Great (Messenger, Jesus Christ who) would come to achieve it by his work on earth. The angels would announce it at his birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). Jesus announced this peace with these words: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27) (Braun, J. A. (2001). Isaiah 40-66. The People’s Bible (214). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.).
Secondly, the messenger proclaims good, a word that characterizes the content of the message. This message originates with God, and refers to the blessing that alone is good, the salvation of sinful humanity. This message is good in the absolute sense, like the proclamation of God at the creation of the world—all was good. All this flows from the LORD, Jehovah—the source of all that is good. The psalmist gave thanks for the Lord’s blessings and proclaimed, “The LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Ps. 100:5). The situation between God and humanity could not be better. The blessings of God are for all humanity. No one (needs to be) a slave of evil’s tyranny any longer. The opposite is true. Good has replaced evil (Braun, J. A. (2001). Isaiah 40-66. The People’s Bible (214–215). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.).
Finally the messenger causes salvation to be heard. The word calls to mind the very name of the prophet. It is a salvation that finds its origin in God and comes from Him. He dispenses this salvation, for it is a salvation from all those things that bring God’s wrath upon sinful humanity It is far more than a mere delivery from the captivity in Babylon; it is a spiritual salvation, characterized also as good and peace. It is the divine victory over every binding foe, for the power of sin’s oppression broken (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Vol. 20: Isaiah: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (372). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
The release of the Jews from Babylon and their return to Jerusalem were only the first faint, rosy streaks of dawn. A much greater, more glorious freedom would brighten the sky. Paul referred to this when he wrote, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1, 2) (Braun, J. A. (2001). Isaiah 40-66. The People’s Bible (215). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.).
Please turn to Romans 10
Of course, this is exactly congruent with what the Christian faith considers its good news (euangelion) to be. This is the content that Christ instructed his disciples to preach from village to village (Matt. 10:1–7): that which Isa. 52:7–10 had spoken of was now present and at hand Paul’s quotation of the opening words of the verse in Rom. 10:15 is precisely in keeping with the sense of the verse.
Christianity understood itself to be about what Isaiah was about, declaring the good news of the universal rule of God in the world with associated peace, good, and salvation.
(J. Fichtner, “Jesaja 52,7–10 in der christlichen Verkündigung,” in Verbannung und Heimkehr, Fest. W. Rudolph, ed. A. Kuschke (Tübingen: Mohr, 1961), pp. 51–66; P. pp. 51–66;).
Romans 10:8-17 [8]But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); [9]because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10]For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. [11]For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." [12]For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. [13]For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." [14]How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? [15]And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" [16]But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" [17]So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (ESV)
The content of the message is the fact that Zion’s God reigns. During the captivity, God allowed others to rule over his people. At the end of the exile, he brought an end to the rule of the Babylonians over his people. God always remained in control. The messengers have brought that good news. But all this is not just about the exile. We know that God established a new kingdom where peace and the good news of forgiveness dominate. The reign of Jehovah included the sending of his Servant into the world. He was David’s son, a king. But he entered Jerusalem as a meek and lowly person riding on a borrowed donkey. Pilate questioned him as to whether he was a king, and Jesus responded: “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Of course, this king will return again—the next time in glory—to subdue all his enemies and judge the world. The Lord reigns. We may wonder about it from time to time, but his kingdom stands firm so that even “the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18) (Braun, J. A. (2001). Isaiah 40-66. The People’s Bible (215–216). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.).
The return from the Exile represents only the feeble beginning of the restoration of God’s reign. When John the Baptist and Jesus Himself proclaimed that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand/in your midst” (Mt. 3:2; 4:17), the latter was about to lay the immediate foundation of it. The completion will only take place when the Lord will come again visibly to realize His inward and outward sole dominion on earth (Rev. 12:10; 19:6) (Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Nägelsbach, C. W. E., Lowrie, S. T., & Moore, D. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures : Isaiah (564–565). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.).
If we take the verb as inchoative, the thought would simply be that God is now making it clear to Israel that He is reigning, although to Israel it might appear that He was beginning to reign. In any case, we must avoid the modern interpretation of this verse, which would see here a reflection upon an annual ascent of the throne (Young, E. (1972). The Book of Isaiah: Volume 3, Chapters 40-66 (329–331). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.”).
Illustration: (Christmas: The Harbinger of Peace)
Christ of the Andes is an impressive symbol of peace. Once Chile and Argentina were enemies and fought constantly. At last they decided it was in their mutual interest to live in peace. So, high upon their natural boundaries, the Andes Mountains, they erected a great statue of Christ with outstretched arms. The inscription reads: “Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust than the Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ the Redeemer.” Christmas reminds us of the coming of peace to earth. Jesus was known as the Prince of peace. His motives, manner, and ministry all reflect peace. He said, “Blessed are those who make peace, for they will be known as sons of God!” (Matt. 5:9) (Jones, G. C. (1986). 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching (60). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.).
2) The Peaceful Return (Isaiah 52:8-9)
Isaiah 52:8 [8]The voice of your watchmen--they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion. [9]Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. [9]Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. (ESV).
When the approaching messenger stands upon the mountain with his announcement of peace, then Jerusalem’s watchmen lift up their voice, and shout in unison. The watchmen is the first persons to see the running figure of the messenger and to deduce correctly what his coming means. The people in the city hear the clamor of their voices and say to one another, “Listen!” The watchmen are lifting their joyous shouts because right before their eyes is the evidence that the Lord is coming to Zion in victory. In a broader sense, watchmen refers to all those who long for salvation and of the Lord’s return (21:11; 62:6) (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Is 52:8). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.).
The phrase eye to eye does not mean the same as the common English expression, to agree upon something, but rather, as in Numbers 14:14, describes two people as being so close that they can look into one another’s eyes. Their seeing is immediate and clear. The point is that the messengers of the truth (“watchmen”) will see the Lord return to Zion (a better translation) as vividly as they see each other looking eye to eye (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Is 52:8). Nashville: Word Pub.).
Please turn back to Isaiah 49
Israel experienced great joy at the return from Babylon in 536 B.C. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Is 52:7–8). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
But there is also the idea that God is himself returning to Zion after his estrangement from her also finds support, especially at the very outset of the division (40:3, 9–10; cf. Ezek. 43:1–5). Thus it is the advent of God that is the cause of this outpouring of joy. God is with us, and we need not be afraid any longer. Yahweh, whom Israel regarded as having abandoned Zion, will now return to His holy city, there to reign in peace and good and salvation (Young, E. (1972). The Book of Isaiah: Volume 3, Chapters 40-66 (331). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Isaiah 49:9-13 [9]saying to the prisoners, ’Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ’Appear.’ They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; [10]they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. [11]And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up. [12]Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene." [13]Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. (ESV)
Now in Isaiah 52:9 the whole choir joins in the song. The waste places of Jerusalem are called on to join the watchmen and the messenger in shouts of joy. Nothing is to be held back. The wonderful victory of God is a cause for all the pent-up emotions to break forth. Someone could ask how a ruined Jerusalem, as implied in waste places, could have any walls for watchmen to stand on. But the point is that the besieged city is an image, not the literal Jerusalem. The Zion to which Isaiah is speaking is a waste, both physically and spiritually. The ruins of Jerusalem symbolize the condition of the people. Will Israel remain a waste forever, forsaken by her God? No! The ruins will be rebuilt. Restoration occurred after the Babylonian exile of the sixth century B.C. with the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s ruins (Ezra 3:8–13; Neh. 6:15–7:3). In the same sense, Christ is rebuilding His people who were being destroyed by sin (1 Pet. 2:5) (Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). Reformation study Bible, the : Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture : New King James Version (Is 52:9). Nashville: T. Nelson.).
Much more important than the restoration of Israel, and a much greater cause for rejoicing, is the restoration of the people to their God. They too are a waste; their lives seem to be a landscape of ruins. Their sin has left them alienated from God and each other, bound by enemies both physical and spiritual, helpless in despair, guilt, and purposelessness.
• How can I have peace this Christmas? It’s not because everything seems all peaceful right now. Christmas can often be the most conflict time of the year, but we can look to the Prince of Peace. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, admit your faults to those who you have trespassed, and ask Christ to rule and reign in your heart. He will give you peace if you look to Him for peace.
It is into this landscape that God comes with the promise that he has comforted them and redeemed them (prophetic perfect verbs). These two verbs are at the very center of the message of this part of the book “Comfort”: 40:1; 49:13; 51:3, 12; 54:11; cf. also 12:1; 66:13; “redeem”: 43:1; 44:22–23; “redeemer”: 41:14; 43:14; 44:6, 24; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7, 26; 54:5, 8; cf. also 59:20; 60:16; 63:16). They speak of restoration to fellowship, deliverance from bondage, encouragement in despair, strength in weakness, forgiveness in guilt, purpose in uselessness, and more. If this is not cause for unrestrained joy, what is? Yes, the wastes of Jerusalem will be rebuilt, but much more to the point, the waste places of the people of Israel, and of the people of the world, will be rebuilt. Break forth, shout joyously!
All this rejoicing is in anticipation. The evidence points to the victory of God. The signs show that he has defeated the enemy and is coming to set them free. But as of this moment, he is not yet here. Nevertheless, the people are called to participate in the hymn of thanksgiving and praise. Why? This is the faith and belief about which the prophet has been speaking throughout the book, and especially throughout this division. To give thanks in advance is the highest form of faith.
The person praising God for what he or she does not yet possess is the person who truly believes the promises of God (Young, E. (1972). The Book of Isaiah: Volume 3, Chapters 40-66 (331–332). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Illustration: In 1731 J. S. Bach wrote his cantata Wachet auf. We know it as “Sleepers, Awake!” Bach was saying, “Christ is coming. Get ready.” The cantata sings,
“Awake!” calls the voice of the watchman to us,
Very high up on the battlements.
“Awake, you city of Jerusalem!
This is the hour of midnight,”
Calling us with clear voice:
“Where are your wise virgins?
Prepare! The Bridegroom is coming;
Arise and take your lamps! Alleluia!
Make yourselves ready for the wedding,
You must go forth to meet him!”
Zion hears the watchmen singing.
Her heart leaps with joy,
She wakes and rises in haste.
Her Friend comes from heaven in splendor,
Strong in mercy, mighty in truth;
Her light burns bright, her star rises.
Now come, you worthy crown,
Lord Jesus, God’s Son! Hosanna!
We all follow to the hall of joy
And join the Lord’s Supper.
Bach was inspired by a hymn written by a German pastor, Philipp Nicolai, during a plague in 1597. More than 1,400 people died. Pastor Nicolai lived in a world of death. But he looked beyond his surroundings, found in the gospel a transcendent hope, and gave it to his people in a hymn entitled Wachet auf. It was this hymn that Bach developed into his own cantata—a song of hope, even joy, in suffering. Sometimes we feel like telling God to wake up. But we are the ones who fall asleep, and it’s high time for us to come alive to the gospel. Isaiah’s tone in this passage is urgency (Ortlund, R. C., Jr, & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Isaiah : God saves sinners. Preaching the Word (341–342). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.).
3) The Peaceful Reveal (Isaiah 52:10)
Isaiah 52:10 [10]The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Verse ten carries on the description begun in the previous verse of the actions of God that precipitate the anticipatory outburst of praise. Here God’s power is expressed in the image of the outstretched hand or arm (cf. Isa. 5:25; 9:11, 16, 20). As a warrior is accustomed to make bare his right arm up to the shoulder, that he may fight without encumbrance (exsertare humeros nudamque lacessere pugnan, as Statius says in Theb. i. 413), so has Jehovah made bare His holy arm, that arm in which holiness dwells, which shines with holiness, and which acts in holiness, that arm which has been up till now concealed and therefore has appeared to be powerless, and that in the sight of the whole world of nations.
The inclusion of the nations fulfills the promise to Abraham concerning blessing to all the nations (Gen. 12:3; Luke 2:30–31; see note on Isa. 42:6) (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (1337). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles). All the ends of the earth come to see the reality of the work, which this arm has already accomplished by showing itself in its unveiled glory—in other words, “the salvation of our God.”( Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (2002). Commentary on the Old Testament. (Is 52:10). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.)
Like the warrior preparing for battle, the Lord has shrugged off his cloak and his powerful arm is bared for battle. For the nations determined to oppose him (66:14), that is cause for a shiver of apprehension; but for those who submit to him, it is cause for hope (51:5). God’s arm is described as holy. Perhaps at least two things are intended by the use of that term. On the one hand there is divine perfection. Those who would oppose him must recognize that they face all the transcendent power of the Holy One. How can we stand against the power that created the universe with a word (30:12–14; 37:23; 40:25)? But there is also another implication: the purpose for which God’s arm is bared is a holy one.
Please turn to Psalm 98
God does not bare his arm like some earthly tyrant to aggrandize himself at the cost of all those whom he can beat down. Rather, he exerts himself for those who are trampled down by human greed, those who are broken on the rack of sin, those who are imprisoned in the darkness of desire (Oswalt, J. N. (1998). The Book of Isaiah. Chapters 40-66. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (367–371). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Psalm 98:1-3 [98:1]Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. [2]The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. [3]He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. (ESV)
As a result of the laying bare of God’s holy arm, all the ends of the earth shall/will see the salvation of our God. The deliverance wrought by God for Israel will cause all nations to acknowledge the Lord (Is 66:18–20). The partial fulfilment (Lu 3:6) is a forerunner of the future complete fulfillment (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (Is 52:10). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.).
That they "will see"—the perf. with waw consecutive after a prophetic perf. expresses the future. When the nation of Israel had fallen into the darkness of the exile and the theocracy was no more, the first glimmers of deliverance were seen when Cyrus permitted a return from bondage (Young, E. (1972). The Book of Isaiah: Volume 3, Chapters 40-66 (332). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Jerusalem has not redeemed herself, nor have the people of God comforted themselves—it is the work of God. And that work will not have been done in secret. The display of the power of God against his enemies that will enable God to speak words of comfort and redemption to his people will be done in full view of all the nations. The ends of the earth will see what he has done (cf. 12:1–6; 18:3, 42:10–13; 55:5; 60:1–3; Ps. 96:1–3; 97:6; 98:2). Israel’s salvation will have universal implications. Its significance will not be for Israel alone. Since Israel’s God is the only God, the sole creator of all things, and since his name is Love, then what he does for Israel must affect everyone.
