This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears.
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Isaiah
CHAPTER 60
1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
In the previous chapter, Isaiah had said that the "Redeemer" would "come to Zion, and to them that turn from transgression in Jacob.." (Isaiah 59:20).
Now Isaiah begins to prophesy of the time when Jesus comes. He speaks of "Zion," saying that her "light has come." Again, may I say, that when God SAYS something will be done, we can COUNT it as DONE!
Before the Redeemer comes, there is DARKNESS, and the people cannot SEE the real truth of God. But, when the Redeemer comes to Zion, then the LIGHT of God's full truth and final revelation of Himself has shone. There was "darkness" in the sense of an unfulfilled revelation of the Redeemer until Jesus Christ came. He is the ultimate revelation of God, and His LIGHT has shone upon Jerusalem!
Through Jesus Christ the "church" of God is formed, and it includes ALL born-again believers in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Every born-again believer in Jesus Christ becomes a part of the "ISRAEL of God." (See Romans 9:6, Galatians 6:16)
Therefore, the time of the LIGHT shining in Israel is the coming of Christ to begin the CHURCH AGE. It is the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST to which this prophecy is directed.
Literally millions upon millions, even billions, of people have come to know this LIGHT, Jesus Christ. The Gentiles of the earth have come to realize that God's eternal salvation comes ONLY through Christ Jesus. For instance, in the Southern Baptist Convention alone, over 419,000 baptisms were recorded in the year 2000. And that was just in the USA. In total foreign missions, another 363,703 baptisms were recorded.
Friends, this is certainly proof that "thy LIGHT is COME!" Once people genuinely hear the truth of the gospel of Jesus, they realize that He is indeed God come in flesh to offer salvation to ANYONE! (Romans 10:13)
4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?
9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
Literally, FLOODS of people have come to Jerusalem and given tremendous aid to the Jewish people! Born-again Christians from every country of the world have influenced leadership to send funds and aid to Jerusalem. Christians realize that God STILL HAS a significant purpose for which He will use the Jewish people.
Those born-again believers who go to Israel do not serve Judaism, but they serve Jesus Christ. It is HE of Whom this passage of Scripture prophesies. His coming brought LIGHT, or revelation to the lost.
Note that they are called "sons" because they have received adoption through the blood of Jesus Christ, King of Israel, King of Kings, Eternal Lord.
Millions of Christians have traveled to the "Holy Land" to see the places where Jesus ministered. They have carried with them millions of tourist dollars which have benefitted Israel tremendously.
The land of Israel is rich today because people "fly as a cloud" (verse 8) to see how God has "glorified" (verse 9) Israel.
But there is going to be a time when a GREATER "flood" of people will seek to be in the country of Israel. That will be when Jesus comes AGAIN! For in that day, He will set up the millenial kingdom, and will rule the earth from Jerusalem.
Yes, this prophecy speaks about the time when Jesus came to live on the earth and preach salvation through Him and Him alone. When Jesus came then, he shined a great LIGHT upon Israel and the whole world. It was the revelation of salvation through Christ and Him alone.
This prophecy also speaks of ANOTHER event. One day there is going to be another appearance of our Lord upon this earth. Then, He will stay for 1,000 years. And all the people of the earth, from every nation and tongue will live in HARMONY! Now THAT'S a LIGHT the world hasn't yet seen!!
10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.
11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.
12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
It is through "strangers" (verse 10) that Israel has been built strong. Leaders of nations have ministered to Israel because of what is said here.
God was angry with Israel for her idolatry and He sent them into captivity. After that, for over 400 years, the voice of God was not heard in prophetic utterance. There was "darkness" (verse 2) upon Israel and the world. But then Jesus Christ came, and the "LIGHT has SHONE!" God has indeed been MERCIFUL (verse 10) to Israel and to all the peoples of the world!!
Verse 12 carries a prophetic statement which has been abused and misused many, many times. The statement is that the "nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish." God had said to Abraham,
My friends, the promise to bless nations which "serve thee" (verse 12) is to the CHURCH of Jesus Christ and not to the PHYSICAL Israel! One must be very careful to relate prophetic statements to the CONTEXT in which they are given. We shall see another instance of this before the chapter is finished.
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
What a REVELATION written in prophecy some 2,700 years ago!!!
When Christ comes again, Jerusalem shall become the place of HIS worship. God says here, that people will "beautify the place of MY sanctuary" (verse 13). It is Jehovah God Who is the REDEEMER, and it is the REDEEMER Who will come to set up the 1,000 reign on earth.
15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.
When Israel was in Babylonian captivity, the physical land was virtually deserted. Except for a very few who were allowed to remain there, and a very few which were returned by Assyria, the nation was considered CURSED!
In the days of Rehoboam, Solomon's son, Shishak came up from Egypt and took away all the treasures of the "House of the Lord" (See 2Chronicles 12). And the Bible says that Rehoboam made "brass" shields for the guards to replace the GOLD shields which had been taken away by the king of Egypt.
But God says here (verse 17) that He will bring "gold for brass." The REALNESS of worship will be returned!! Matthew Henry says when we have "..baptism in the room of circumcision, the Lord's supper in the room of the passover, and ministry in the room of the Levitical priesthood, we have GOLD instead of BRASS." [[Matthew Henry's Commentary, Vol. IV, p. 355]]
Notice in verse 16, that God says through Isaiah, it is the LORD, Jehovah God, Who is the REDEEMER!! Again may I say, the Jesus of the New Testament is the Jehovah of the Old Testament.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.
When Jesus comes again he will change the way things were done in Israel before. The Levitical priesthood was corrupted because of greed and selfishness. The political government of Israel was corrupted because the same things plus selfish lust. But Jesus will CHANGE all that!
He will ensure that there will be "no more" violence in that land. Violence shall not enter from the outside; neither shall it be found on the inside!
The protection we all need is not a physical wall around a city or house. The protection we NEED is a wall built by God around His people (see Job 1:10). When we receive salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, then we are given that WALL which is CALLED "Salvation." It is the protection from eternal damnation!!
And "gates" of our "city" (or heart) are filled with PRAISE because of what Christ has done for us!
19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.
Now, it was said before that we must be careful to observe prophecy in the context in which it is given. Let us be assured that a time skip has occured between verses 18 and 19. Isaiah, speaking BEFORE Jesus came, is not aware of that times skip. The prophecy he received all "ran together" for him.
However, the Bible has revealed certain other things in the New Testament that clear up this time skip. In the millenial kingdom, Satan will be bound in prison (Revelation 20:2). Then he will be released, and will deceive the nations once again (Revelation 20:7-9)
It is not until AFTER this time that Christ sits in judgment of all mankind (Revelation 20:11). And then it is AFTER that judgment the "new Jerusalem" will appear. In that "new Jerusalem" there shall be NO NEED of the sun or moon, because Christ Himself will be all the LIGHT that is necessary (Revelation 21:22-25).
So let us understand that the context of Isaiah 60:20-22 speaks of a time AFTER the millenial kingdom and AFTER the final judgment of all men.
At that time, Satan will be removed from the presence of people, and "Thy people also shall be ALL righteous!" (verse 21)
Now, friends, THAT is a TREMENDOUS revelation!! Have you ever even IMAGINED living without sin? If you are a true believer in Jesus Christ, one day you will live ETERNALLY and TOTALLY without sin!!
OH! What a GREAT and WONDERFUL God we serve!
"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:2-3)
And, yes, God DID bless Israel in that manner. But the prophecy spoken to Abraham did not concern the PHYSICAL Israel. It concerned the SPIRITUAL Israel! And the SPIRITUAL Israel includes all those that believed Jehovah when He promised a Redeemer, and all those who believe in the Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Please continue in Bible study with us tomorrow.