Isaiah 60
A New Day
Glorious Light vs. 1-3
Treasures to Come vs. 4-13
A New Future vs. 15-22
Intro:
Isaiah is trying to bring Israel into Revival
Today he gives us a light at the end of the tunnel, a new day that Christ will usher in
This new day will be his millennial reign
A 1000 year period of peace on earth
Those who follow Christ will reign with him from Jerusalem
It will be a new day
One of the best things about camping is the mornings
Something about being out in nature sitting in your chair watching the sun come up
You really get a sense of God’s majesty and power
Lamentations says that His mercies are new every morning
Out camping a new day really is a new day
There is that briskness that tells you somethings new
God can truly bring a new day into our lives
Eventually there will be a new day on this earth where Christ comes to reign on earth
There will be no more sun but the Glory of Jesus will illuminate the earth
All death, sorrow, and pain will be taken away and new life will rise
Todays passage carries us out of today’s world of fanatical terrorists, dysfunctional schools, inoperable cancer and broken promises into a future age of worldwide happiness in Christ.
Are you aware that the Bible records many prophecies of a day when the gospel will wash over the whole world under an outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
God has committed himself to the future of this world, his grace will triumph permanently
There is a new day coming and as Christians we need to realize it’s getting closer and closer
Read Isaiah 60:1-3
Transition:
“Arise and shine!” is God’s “wake-up call” to Jerusalem, because a new day is dawning for Israel.
This light is not from the sun but from the glory of God shining on the city.
God’s glory had once dwelt in the tabernacle, only to depart because of Israel’s sin.
God’s glory then came into the temple, but it departed when the nation turned to idols.
The glory came to Israel in the person of Jesus Christ, but the nation nailed that glory to a cross.
Today, The Babylonian Captivity had been the nation’s darkest hour, but that was not the darkness Isaiah was describing.
He was describing the awful darkness that will cover the earth during the Day of the Lord, when God punishes the nations of the earth for their sins.
But the prophet is also describing the glorious light that will come to Israel when her Messiah returns to reign in Jerusalem.
Then “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea”.
Israel’s sons and daughters will come home again, and all of them will know the Lord.
God is going to bring a new day to this earth
But he can also bring a new day into your life in the midst of darkness
Glorious Light vs. 1-3
God tell us to arise
The light doesn’t come from within us but from God
Vs. 1 The Glory of the Lord is Upon You
After the thick and desperate darkness described in Isaiah 59:9-10, this is the glorious rescue from the Redeemer.
Light has come - so God tells His people to respond to it, and to arise and shine!
Darkness is for lying down; light is for rising up.
Darkness is for gloom and sleep; light is for shining.
When the light has come, we must respond, and arise, shine!
Mal 4:2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
First, we receive God’s light (your light has come), and then we have a service to put forth (arise, shine).
You can’t shine until your light has come, but once it has come, there is something wrong if you don’t arise and shine!
This is no earthly light; this is light that emanates from the glory of the LORD.
This is like the light of Jesus in the Transfiguration, when His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light (Matthew 17:2).
Sometimes harsh, bright light can be disturbing or uncomfortable - but not this warm, wonderful light that pulsates from the glory of the LORD.
Let’s walk and reflect the light of Christ
Vs. 2-3 Nations will come to You
When the LORD lifts up His glorious light over Israel, the Gentiles nations shall see it and be attracted to the light.
Even kings will be attracted to the brightness of Israel’s rising.
This will be ultimately fulfilled in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus, when Israel is lifted up among all nations.
While in principle this chapter has application to all God’s people, it is specifically directed to Israel, and will be fulfilled in the Millennial Kingdom. Not all have seen this.
The fact that the LORD speaks of the Gentiles here in opposition to the subjects of the prophecy shows He speaks to Israel as Israel. Replacement theology just doesn’t work here, or anywhere.
Treasures to Come vs. 4-14
Vs. 4 Lift Up Your Eyes
Next God tells us to lift up your eyes
What do we do when it gets dark? We put our eyes down to the ground so we won’t trip
Sometimes after it gets light we don’t want to life our eyes because we are afraid of what we might see
The Jews didn’t want to see the devastation of their decisions
It was easier to just focus on themselves and where they were at
But God wanted them to turn their eyes towards him
Is 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
God is going to show them that the world will come to them
This is true
Vs. 4b Sons will Return
Through this passage, one of the great themes is regathering.
We may suppose that in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus, every Jewish person remaining on the earth will be gathered into the land of Israel from every nation on earth.
The present day regathering of Israel is a precious preview of this ultimate and complete regathering.
Vs. 6 Wealth will from the Nations
Not only will they receive the treasure of their people, but also the literal treasure of the Gentiles shall come to Israel in the Millennial Kingdom.
The nations will willingly give them their wealth, much as the Egyptians willingly gave the Israelites riches when they left Egypt (Exodus 12:35-36).
So much will be given that they will need to keep the gates of the city open continually!
Why do the nations bestow such riches on little Israel?
First, they recognize that they give it to God.
They bring their silver and their gold with them, to the name of the LORD your God, and to the Holy One of Israel.
Second, they do it because they see the work of God in Israel: because He has glorified you.
So they willingly give to and serve Israel
The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you.
Another reason the riches of the nations pour into Jerusalem in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus is to build and support the Millennial Temple.
The Millennial Temple - described in great depth in Ezekiel 40-47 - stands as a place memorializing God’s presence and work in history.
There will apparently also be priests and sacrifices at the temple, but not for atonement - because atonement was finished at the cross.
The sacrifices are for worship, consecration, and perhaps historical reenactment.
Vs. 11 Peace will Reign
First foreigners will take the money from al the nations and rebuild the city, but also the temple
The result of that is there will be peace, so much so that the gates will never close
Rev 21:25-26 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.
It will be a place of total safety
This is the reign that Christ will usher in
A New Future vs. 15-22
Vs. 15 Hated but now Majestic
Is 62:4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.
Vs. 18 Violence replaced by Salvation
Vs. 19 The Lord will be Your Light
Rev 21:23 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.
Vs. 22 I will Hasten It
Closing:
