The Book of Isaiah

Hebrew Study

Explanation

After the deep darkness of chapter 59, the sun comes up. "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee." The command to shine rests entirely on a gift already given, the light has come, the glory has risen; now reflect it. God does not deny the darkness of the world; He heightens it: "the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people." But against that black backdrop, "the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee." Zion's brightness is not her own; it is the glory of the LORD resting on her. And this light is not for her alone. It has a magnetic pull on the whole world: "the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." The darker the world, the more the nations are drawn to the light shining from God's people. A city set on a hill, glowing with God's glory, becomes a beacon that pulls in the nations.

Gospel Focus

The light that rises here is the glory of God, and in the New Testament that glory has a face. "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). Jesus is "the light of the world" (John 8:12), and He says of His people, "Ye are the light of the world... let your light so shine before men" (Matthew 5:14-16). Notice the order, exactly as in Isaiah: we do not create light; we receive it and reflect it. "Arise, shine, for thy light is come." And the promise that "the Gentiles shall come to thy light" is the story of the gospel going to the nations, and it began at Bethlehem, where Gentile magi followed a light and came to the brightness of His rising. In a world of "gross darkness," the church is not called to curse the dark but to shine with a borrowed glory that draws people to Christ. Your light has come; now arise and shine.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

God tells Zion to look up and take in the sight: "Lift up thine eyes round about, and see." What she sees is a homecoming and an ingathering. "Thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side", her scattered children returning. And with them comes the wealth of the world: "the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." Caravans of camels stream in from "Midian and Ephah" and "Sheba," bearing "gold and incense", and, crucially, they "shall shew forth the praises of the LORD." This is not mere tribute; it is worship. The flocks of Kedar and Nebaioth come "with acceptance on mine altar." Ships come too, "the ships of Tarshish," flying home "as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows," fast and eager, bringing sons and treasure "unto the name of the LORD thy God." The whole scene is the nations of the earth converging on God's city, not to plunder it, but to worship, bringing their best to honor "the Holy One of Israel."

Gospel Focus

The detail of "gold and incense" from "Sheba" leaps off the page for anyone who knows the Christmas story. When the wise men from the east came seeking the newborn King, "they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh" (Matthew 2:11), Gentiles bringing their treasures to worship Jesus, a first fruits of this very prophecy. Isaiah saw, seven centuries early, the nations streaming to the light with gold and incense to "shew forth the praises of the LORD." And the fuller fulfillment is the gospel age, in which people "of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues" come to Christ (Revelation 7:9). Notice that what the nations bring is ultimately worship, "they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD." The goal of the ingathering is not Zion's wealth but God's glory. When you came to Christ, you joined this great caravan of the nations, bringing your life as a gift to the King, adding your voice to the praises of the LORD. The light has drawn people from the ends of the earth, and it is still drawing them home.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

The transformation of the city continues. Former enemies now serve it: "the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee." God explains the reversal simply, "in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee", the discipline is over, and mercy has the final word. Because the city is now secure and at peace, "thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night." Open gates mean no fear of attack, and a steady flow of nations bringing their wealth. The finest of creation comes to beautify God's sanctuary, "the glory of Lebanon... the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box." Most striking is the turnaround for those who once oppressed Zion: "The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down." The scoffers become worshipers, and they give the city a new name that tells the whole story: "The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel." What was forsaken is now marked as belonging wholly to God.

Gospel Focus

This passage looks beyond the rebuilt earthly Jerusalem to its greater fulfillment, the people of God and, finally, the New Jerusalem. John draws directly on Isaiah 60 in Revelation: the holy city has "the glory of God" (Revelation 21:11), "the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it," and "the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day" (Revelation 21:24-25), all straight from this chapter. The open gates picture a salvation freely accessible, no barriers to those who come. And the reversal, oppressors bowing and calling the city God's own, echoes the gospel's power to turn enemies into worshipers, "when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God" (Romans 5:10). Many who once despised Christ and His people have come bowing at His feet, from Saul the persecutor to countless others. The name given the city, "The city of the LORD," is the destiny of all God's people, we belong wholly to Him. The gates stand open; the invitation is to come in and belong to the city whose builder and maker is God.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

The final section gathers all the promises to a climax. The city "forsaken and hated" becomes "an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations." Through it all she learns the deepest lesson: "thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob." God upgrades everything, "for brass I will bring gold... for iron... silver," and He transforms her leadership, making "thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness." Violence ends entirely: "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land... but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise." Then comes the crowning vision. The city will no longer need created light: "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." Her sun will never set, her mourning will end forever. Her people "shall be all righteous," an everlasting inheritance, "the branch of my planting, the work of my hands." And God guarantees its certainty and its growth: "A little one shall become a thousand... I the LORD will hasten it in his time."

Gospel Focus

The chapter ends with the vision that ends the whole Bible. John's picture of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 is drawn straight from Isaiah 60: "the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23). The "everlasting light" that is "thy God thy glory" is fulfilled in Jesus, God with us, the Lamb who is the light of the eternal city. Every thread of the gospel is here: God is "thy Saviour and thy Redeemer"; violence is gone and the walls are named "Salvation"; the people are "all righteous" (not by their own works but as "the branch of my planting, the work of my hands", a righteousness God gives); and "the days of thy mourning shall be ended," for one day "God shall wipe away all tears" (Revelation 21:4). The chapter that began "Arise, shine" ends with a city that needs no sun, because God Himself is its light forever. This is where the light of Christ is leading, to a day of unending glory with no more darkness, no more mourning, and God Himself as our everlasting light.