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
