The focus of this chapter is Israel's position of prominence among the nations in the future.
". . . the poem centres on the Abrahamic theme that those who bless him will be blessed and those who curse him will be cursed (Gn. 12:3; 27:29)."683
Light would dawn on Israel, and as a result the Gentiles would seek her out.
60:1 God had called Israel to be a light to the nations (43:10), but presently she was darkness (56:9-57:13; 59:1-15a). The Lord had promised that He would enable His people to fulfill their calling (57:14-21; 59:15b-21). Now Isaiah summoned the nation to rise up and shine because her light had arrived (cf. 51:17; 52:1). God's glory, rather than His discipline, will arise as the sun upon her. Like a city gleaming in the light of the risen sun, Israel will shine with a glory that is not her own. God will not share His glory with false gods (42:8; 48:11), but He will share it with His people through His Servant (11:10; 35:2; 43:7; John 1:14; 17:4, 22; Rom. 8:17; 1 Pet. 4:13-14).
The first coming of Christ provided the dawning of a new day for Israel, but His second coming will see the fulfillment of these prophecies of Israel's glorification (cf. Rev. 2:28; 22:16).
60:2 God's glory will arise on His people when there is much darkness on the earth, the darkness of sin and wickedness (cf. 8:19-22; 59:9-10). He had given light to His people in the past when He led the Israelites out of dark Egypt (Exod. 10:23). The second Exodus from Babylon would be similar. This was true also before Jesus appeared the first time, and it will be true before He appears the second time. His second coming will end the Great Tribulation.
60:3 In the future manifestation of light, the Gentile nations and their leaders will look to Israel for light (righteousness and illumination). They will not seek Israel because she is light but because of the light that she will reflect and make manifest to the world. We can see a foreview of the revelation of God's light coming through the 144,000 Jewish missionaries who will preach the gospel during the Tribulation (cf. Rev. 7:1-8). This preaching will not fulfill this promise, however. 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."684
60:4 The nations and their leaders will bring the disbursed Israelites back to their land as well (cf. 11:12; 49:18). They will also bring their wealth and give it to the Israelites (cf. v. 11; 61:6; Hag. 2:7-8; Zech. 14:14). This will delight the Israelites as well as surprise them since throughout history the nations had 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), though a foreview of fulfillment is unmistakable.685Unsaved 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, and often persecution follows for its preachers (cf. 1 Tim. 4; 2 Tim. 3).
"In the end, God will keep his ancient promises in the land of Israel and there will demonstrate his rule within history."686
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 nor to repay her for her sufferings or because she is a superior race.
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 (cf. Matt. 2:11). The visit of the Magi should have alerted Israel to the identity of Jesus. 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 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.
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 (cf. Ezek. 40-43). The sacrifices offered there will be for thanksgiving to God. God will glorify the millennial temple as the focal point of worship at this time.687
60:8 The prophet further saw people coming from the west like clouds into the Promised Land. They reminded him of doves flying to their dovecotes. 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. They 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 (Exod. 19:5-6).
Now the relationship of the nations to Israel becomes even clearer. The Gentiles will come to Israel because of her God, will submit themselves to Israel because of what the Lord will do for her, and will serve the Lord with Israel.
60:10 Foreigners will rebuild Jerusalem (cf. 56:3, 6), having formerly torn it down, and will minister to Israel in many ways. Peace will have arrived (cf. v. 17; 57:19). Formerly God disciplined His people for their sins, but He will bless them because He provided forgiveness for them.
"Any fulfillment of this after the Exile was only partial. The Persians made possible the rebuilding of the walls but did not do it themselves (v. 10). Its true fulfillment lay beyond the OT era altogether."688
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 (cf. Rev. 21:24-27). The kings follow the lead of another, probably the Lord Himself, who draws their allegiance. This will be a great triumphant procession.
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 mediatorial 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 (cf. 1 Chron. 28:2) and, therefore, the glorification of Israel's God.
60:14 The descendants of Israel's persecutors (cf. 39:7) will end up bowing down to the Israelites, honoring them and submitting to them (cf. Esth. 8:2). They will acknowledge the Israelites collectively as Zion, the city of Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel. Does this mean that "Zion"is a figure for the future redeemed Israelites and not the name of a real city? 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.
"The earthliness of this setting seems to preclude assigning it to heaven."689
60:15-16 The prophet summarized what he had said. 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. She would draw from the wealth of the nations, and she would know through her experience that Yahweh, the Holy One of Jacob, was her Savior and Redeemer.690
"This is the point that God has been trying to drive home to Israel, and through Israel, to the world, at least since ch. 40. Chs. 1-39 show that he is the Sovereign of the nations, but chs. 40-66 show that he is the Savior of the world. He begins to show this in chs. 40-48, by predicting the deliverance from Babylon. But chs. 49-55 show that the real need of Israel is for deliverance from sin. Now in chs. 56-66 he is showing that Israel's witness to God's saviorhood is to, and for, the world."691
60:17 Everything will be better in Israel's future. The contrasts appear to be with regard to Zion (v. 14). 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? Another view is that Isaiah personified peace and righteousness as vice-regents of God to indicate that human leaders would no longer be necessary. The Israelites could not produce peace and righteousness (59:9-13), but God will provide them.
60:18 Israel will be safe and secure in her land, in contrast to her former vulnerable and insecure condition. Zion's defense will be the salvation that God provides. Her gates will be so full of praise that potential enemies cannot enter.
60:19-20 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 (cf. Rev. 21:4, 23). The night, because of its darkness, is a time of mourning (cf. Ps. 30:5), but there will be no mourning for Israel because God will enlighten and brighten her.
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 (cf. Gen. 17:8).692Israel would be the plant that God had nourished and would now be healthy and thriving (cf. 4:1; 5:1-7; 6:13; 11:1; 27:2-6; 53:2; John 15:1-5). Her condition would glorify Him.
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 (cf. 51:2). With posterity comes glory, influence, and power (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26-31). The guarantor of these promises was Yahweh, who brought Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land (cf. Exod. 20:2). He will bring these promises into fulfillment quickly in their proper time (cf. Gal. 4:4).
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