Isaiah 60
OGCEXAMINATION Chapter S SIXTY THROUGH SIXTY-SIX
DEFINITION
(Define the following words or phrases as they were discussed in the comments.)
wealth of the nations
covenant
Spirit upon me
married
meek
ensign
liberty
Edom
year of Lord’s favor
Zion
strangers
swine’s flesh
priests
new heavens and earth
MEMORIZATION
The _____ of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath _____ me to preach good tidings unto the _____; he hath sent me to _____ up the broken-hearted, to proclaim _____ to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are _____; to proclaim the year of Jehovah’s _____, and the day of vengeance of our God; to _____ all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in _____, to given unto them a _____ for ashes, the oil of _____ for mourning, the garment of _____for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called _____ of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah that he may be _____. (Isaiah 61:1-3)
EXPLANATION
Explain how Zion would be built by foreigners.
Explain what the One anointed by the Lord was to declare.
Explain the new name Zion was to receive.
Explain the Holy Spirit’s relationship to believers in the O.T.
Explain why God said former things would not be remembered.
Explain how God created a land in one day (brought forth at once a nation).
Explain how people of Zion look upon dead bodies.
APPLICATION
(In its context every scripture has one meaningthe author’s intended meaning. How may the following be applied in the believer’s life?)
Does Isaiah’s prediction of the year of the Lord’s favor at the coming of the Messiah apply to our understanding of biblical eschatology?
Does Isaiah’s symbolic use of Edom in chapter 63 contribute anything to present day understanding of the relation of Zion to the world?
Does the impatient prayer of Zion in Chapter s 64-65 have any application to New Zion?
How can we apply the statement, … bless himself in the God truth. to our concept of God today?
Does the symbolic use of new heaven and new earth in chapter 66 apply to our eschatological understanding of the O.T.?
What is the main application concerning the nature of God from the book of Isaiah?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
TEXTS
Biblia Hebraica, Rudolf Kittel, American Bible Society
Koren, Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd.
LEXICONS
Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, Benjamin Davidson Bagster
Langenscheidt Pocket Hebrew Dictionary, Karl Feyerabend, McGraw-Hill
The English and Hebrew Bible Student’s Concordance, Pick, Kregel Publishers
Hebrew and English Lexicon, Gesenius, Eerdmans
Hebrew and English Lexicon of the O.T., Brown, Driver, Briggs, Oxford
Synonyms of the Old Testament, Girdlestone, Eerdmans
TRANSLATIONS
King James Version
American Standard Version, 1901
Revised Standard Version, 1946-1952
The Berkeley Version
The New American Standard Version, 1960-1971
Living Psalms and Proverbs with The Major Prophets, Paraphrased
Four Prophets, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah, by J. B. Phillips
Today’s English Version, Good News Bible, 1976, pub. American Bible Society
COMMENTARIES
The Book of Isaiah, Three Volumes, Edward J, Young, Eerdmans
Exposition of Isaiah, Two Volumes, Herbert Carl Leupold, Baker
Isaiah, John Peter Lange, Zondervan
Isaiah, Two Volumes, Keil and Delitzsch, Eerdmans
Class Notes on Isaiah, V. K. Allison
Class Notes on Isaiah, Chester Williamson
Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah, Joseph A. Alexander, Zondervan Classic Commentary Series
I and II Kings, James E. Smith, pub, College Press
Old Testament History, Smith and Wilbur Fields, pub. College Press
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Eerdmans
Pictorial Bible Dictionary, Zondervan
Handbook to The Bible, Eerdmans
The International Jewish Encyclopedia, Isaacson and Wigoder, pub. Prentice-Hall
OTHER WORKS
The Doctrine of The Prophets, Kirkpatrick, Zondervan
Prophecy and The Church, Allis, Presbyterian and Reformed
The Grammar of Prophecy, Girdlestone, Kragel
New Testament Interpretations of Old Testament Prophecies, Bales, Harding
Prophecy Interpreted, Milton, Augsburg
The Divided Kingdom, Pfeiffer, Baker
Exile and Return, Pfeiffer, Baker
Israel and The Nations, Bruce, Eerdmans
The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic, D. S. Russell, pub. The Westminster Press
History of The Jews, Heindrich Graetz, pub. The Jewish Pub. Soc. of America
The Eternal Spirit, C. C. Crawford, pub. College Press
LIBERTY IS NOT LICENSE
INTRODUCTION
Bob Iverson tells of the man who went to one of the new style worship services in which a rock and roll record was being played at ear-shattering levels (Rolling Stones now hold Guinness record of decibels 120. SST Concorde Isaiah 130 decibels at take off). When he asked the young man in charge why such noise, the youth replied that this was an expression of doing one’s own thing. The older man, then, did his own thing by getting out his pocket knife and destroying the amplifier. This illustrates the human problem of knowing and practicing freedom or liberty.
I.
NO SUCH THING AS ABSOLUTE FREEDOM FOR MAN
II.
TRUE FREEDOM
A.
Is when human beings recognize their limitation and obligations
B.
Is always relative and relational. It is relative to the will of the Absolute Creator and in relation to knowing and abiding in His will and fellowship with other human beings.
C.
True freedom is:
Legacy
Not license
Liability
DISCUSSION
I.
LIBERTY IS OUR LEGACY
A.
Christ came to free mankind.
Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house forever; the son continues forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34-36
If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. John 8:31
The most important freedom Christ gives is freedom from falsehood. He reveals the real, abiding, saving, edifying TRUTH about who God is, who man is and how life is to be lived. You SEE, THE DEVIL LIED TO EVE AND ADAM ABOUT THAT AND HAS DECEIVED MOST OF MANKIND SINCE.. MAN ACTS ACCORDING TO WHAT HE BELIEVES. WHEN THE DEVIL DECEIVED MAN INTO BELIEVING AND DOING A LIE, HE ENSLAVED MAN WITH GUILT, FEAR AND SELFISHNESS.
B.
The real hindrance to true freedom is not God’s Law (His Will) BUT GUILT, FEAR AND SELFISHNESS.
These are the elements Satan uses to keep men in bondage (Hebrews 2:5-18) etc.
Freedom comes only by faith in Christ’s atonement, His priesthood, and His Lordship.
C.
Christ frees us from sin.
Sin is lawlessness.
The devil’s subtle lie is that freedom is found in rebellion. that we cannot really be free if we are going to let God tell us what is right or wrong.
What most people do not realize is that if we don-’t let God tell us then we let the devil tell us! And he lies. You see, man, limited to this world cannot determine right or wrong, reality or unreality, for that has its basis in what is beyond our finite existenceonly supernatural sources know ultimate truth.
Christ frees us from the slavery of lawlessness.
If you want an example of the slavery of lawlessness read Romans 1:18-32.
He also frees us from the guilt and penalty of sin.
D.
Christ frees us from fear.
It is through guilt and the fear of death and the judgment the devil keeps men enslaved to him.
Christ paid our penalty, died and rose again and we who are in covenant relationship with Him do not fear death.
We are not driven by a motive of fear of failure to keep God’s law. that is a never-ending, never attaining bondage.
We are forgiven, freed, adopted sons and now serve willingly from love.
By faith the law of love is transformed into the love of law and almost in proportion as the law is loved, it ceases to be felt as law at all, but privilege and blessing!
THE LOVE OF GOD MASTERS THE CHRISTIAN, AND THE MASTERY OF LOVE IS FOUND TO BE PERFECT LIBERTY.
E.
Christ frees us from inordinate love of self.
L. H. Marshall in his, The Challenge of N.T. Ethics, says, Jesus attributes all moral evil to the self-will that knows not the rule of God, page 31.
Selfishness enslaves us. We become incapable of growth; we become unteachable, impenetrable, unloving.
Selfishness destroys creativeness, the ability to appreciate and enjoy.
The selfish person imprisons himself, fetters himself, hinders himself more than any man who has ever been imprisoned in any concentration camp.
II.
LIBERTY IS NOT LICENSE.
A.
God has objectively, judicially and propositionally freed me.
God has emotionally, willingly loved me when I was unlovely. and He did it in such a way that it breaks my rebellious heart. and I love Him.
Loving Him is not something I can produce without an adequate cause. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
Jesus commanded His disciples to love others as He loved them. Perfect love has its origin and reproduction in the divine Lover.
Our love is a rebounda reactiona response.
Love is both a motive and a force operating on the human will.
Love moves a person to want to do something.
B.
The love of Christ constrains me, but constrains me from what or to do what?
Love is not self-defining.
Even in the Garden of Edenin innocence, man’s liberty and freedom could only be enjoyed and expressed within divine guidelines.
Before man had ever been deceived by falsehood, God told man what to do to love his Creator.
The creaturely nature of man forbids absolute license.
God must be allowed to tell us how to love and what to love.
C.
Liberty is not self-defining.
C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, page 39:
What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could -be like gods-‘could set up on their own as if they had created themselvesbe their own mastersinvent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God. The reason why it can never succeed is this. God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about His will.
Anything God forbids He does so to free us from anything which is not His nature.
Anything God commands He does so to create in us the divine nature.
D.
Liberty is found in order. God is order. Our lives must operate within order and discipline.
An ancient writer of Athens illustrated the consequences of license and disorder this way:
A farmer, not wishing to take the time and effort to sort his harvest, threw into his granary barley and wheat and peas together. But then, when he wanted barley bread or wheat bread or pea soup, he had to pick them grain by grain, instead of having them separately stored and easily accessible.
In 1776 George Mason wrote this statement into the Virginia Declaration of Rights: … the blessings of liberty can (not) be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.
Edmund Burke, British statesman 1727-1797, said: (Liberty) cannot exist unless a controlling power on the will and appetite is placed somewhere; and the less there is within, the more there must be of it without.
Discipline is not antagonistic to liberty. License is not proof of freedom. The test of the greatness of liberty is the extent to which we can obey self-imposed law.
As Christians we are free to move responsibly within an orbit as wide as the revealed will of an all-knowing, all-loving, all-true, all-holy God.
A study in 1968, entitled Studies in Self-Esteem, of young men from homes where parents demanded high standards of behavior and performance and where firm discipline was a fact. findings. suggest. the development of independence and self-reliance is fostered by a well-structured, demanding environment rather than by largely unlimited permissiveness and freedom to explore in an unfocused way. (See Education In America, by G. Charles Roche, III, pub. Fee, p. 142.)
III.
LIBERTY IS LIABILITY.
A.
Booker T. Washington, in his book, Up From Slavery, describes the scenes among the blacks on the night of the proclamation of their freedom. There was no sleep that night.. All was excitement.. Early in the morning we were all sent for. The proclamation was read and we were told that we were free and could go when and where we pleased.. There was great rejoicing, followed by wild scenes of ecstasy. But the wild ecstasy did not last long.. The great responsibility of being free seemed to take possession of them.. Now that they were liberated, they found possession of freedom to be much more serious business than they had anticipated.
B.
Freedom is never free! There is always a price that those who would possess it must pay. The price of freedom is responsibility. Those who demand freedom but are not willing to pay this price, seek, not freedom, but license.
C.
One man illustrates it as like the fundamental law of economics: There is no such thing as a free lunch. there are no moral bargains in freedom. Liberty has a priceit is responsibility.
A generation of young adults fed existentialism in education, art, and modern rock music, pursues the self-defeating course of aspiring to freedom while seeking to evade responsibility.
D.
Liberty demands self-mastery.
During a Fritz Kreisler concert, a young violinist sat enthralled. -Ohhh,-’ she sighed, -what I would give to have such finger dexterity, such mastery, such freedom!-’ Later she told the incomparable Kreisler that she would give her life to play as he did. The violinist looked at her compassionately, then said, -But, my dear, I did.-’
E.
The man who has not accepted the liability and paid the price to discipline himself has narrowed his freedom. A man who cannot deny himself, cannot choose.
More advance in rank in USN, more libertybut more responsibility.
More Christian maturity, more libertybut more responsibility.
F.
Liberty is a capacity, a potentiality.
We are freed by Christ to make possible the reaching of that capacity, that potentiality for which we were made. that beautifully free, purposeful, harmonious person, Christ demonstrated in the flesh it was possible to be!
Liberty is in being. not in things or circumstances!
The difference between a baby making random movements in his crib and the beautiful balance and coordination of a Willie Mays or Jack Nicklaus is the discipline and self-mastery and growth it takes to reach the potential.
The difference between a show-off, infantile, immature church of Christ in Corinth, and one that truly serves and-’ ministers and reflects the gospel of Christ, is the discipline and self-mastery those Christians would exercise in the liberties Paul declared they had as Christians.
Liberty is not license.
Paul wrote: All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but I will not be enslaved by anything. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. True liberty is having self-mastery to do what is right and good when we don-’t feel like it! Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him. For Christ did not please himself. How DID CHRIST, THE FREEST, MOST LIBERATED PERSON EVER TO LIVE UPON THIS EARTH, KNOW SUCH LIBERTY? He found it surrendering self to the will of the Father as revealed in God’s Word.
Liberty cannot survive in a vacuum. Jesus illustrated this with His parable of the unclean spirit who returns to his house to find it swept and put in order, but empty, and goes and gets seven other spirits more evil than himself and re-occupies the liberated, but empty, dwelling place! CHRIST HAS LIBERATED US for SERVICE. HE HAS LIBERATED us TO LIBERATE OTHERS. LIBERTY IS NOT JUST TO ENJOY. IT IS TO USE! AND TO USE FOR HIS GLORY! LIBERTY IS NOT SELF-INDULGENCE, BUT SERVICE.
A famous poet once said, I have on my table a violin string. It is free, I twist one end of it and it responds. It is free. But it is not free to do what a violin string is supposed to doto produce beautiful music. So I take it, fix it in my violin and tighten it until it is taut. Only then is it free to be a violin string.
Each of us is free, if we choose, to be an untightened, unhampered piece of violin string and flop around or lie around and produce nothing. Or we are free, if we choose, to be tightened, constrained and tuned by the will of the Master and only then are we free to be what He can make us and produce what we were made to produce.
SPECIAL STUDY THE HOLY SPIRIT IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES
by Ron Fisher Great Lakes Bible College
INTRODUCTION:
There is a wealth of teaching in the Bible with respect to the person and work of the Holy Spirit. He is said to do what only persons can do. He can speak, teach, search, reveal, lead, and forbid (1 Timothy 4:1; John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Acts 16:6-7). He has the faculties of a person-mind, knowledge, affection, and will (Romans 8:27; 1 Corinthians 2:11; Romans 15:30; 1 Corinthians 12:11). He is shown to have the attributes of God. He is eternal (Hebrews 9:14). He knows what God knows (1 Corinthians 2:10-11). He exerts God’s power (Luke 1:35). He is everywhere present as God is (Psalms 139:7-10). He is the Spirit of holiness (Romans 1:4). We have every right to conclude, therefore, that a Bible study of the Holy Spirit is most valuable and essential.
A.
THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKED THE WORKS OF GOD IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES.
He was present and active in the creation of the universe (Genesis 1:2).
He shared in creating man in the Godhead’s image (Genesis 1:26; Job 33:4).
He exerted power as from God (Judges 14:6; Micah 3:8).
He convicted men of sin and tried to turn them back to God (Genesis 6:3).
He cooperated in confounding arrogant men at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:7).
B.
THE HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERED AND GUIDED GOD’S LEADERS.
During the very unsettled times covered by the book of Judges, God gave assistance to several judges with the presence of His Spirit.
a.
God sent His Spirit upon Gideon, encouraging him to rally the tribes of Israel against the Midianites and the Amalekites (Judges 6:33-35).
b.
God’s Spirit enabled Jephthah to defeat the sons of Ammon (Judges 11:29-33).
c.
God’s Spirit empowered Samson to slay a lion and to slay thirty men (Judges 14:6; Judges 14:19).
d.
God’s spirit was strong in Samson to prepare him to slay 1,000 Philistines (Judges 15:14).
Though Jehovah did not want Israel to have a king, when granting them their wish, He assisted Saul and David by bestowing His Spirit upon them.
a.
When Saul was anointed by Samuel as Israel’s first king, the Spirit came upon him to lead him in prophesying (1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 10:6; 1 Samuel 10:10).
b.
Once Saul was rejected by Jehovah, David was selected as Saul’s successor. As the Spirit came upon David, He deserted Saul (1 Samuel 16:12-14).
The Holy Spirit’s most extensive work of all in Old Testament times is found with respect to God’s prophets.
a.
Moses expressed the selfless, open-hearted wish that all of God’s people could be prophets under the guidance of His Spirit (Numbers 11:29).
b.
When one understands the Old Testament’s concept that the prophet must speak for and represent God to man exactly (Exodus 7:1-2), he can see the necessity of man’s being guided by the Spirit to be qualified as a prophet.
c.
In Nehemiah’s day, the Israelites stood a fourth of a day confessing their sins. Then they were admonished by Levites to recall the bountiful blessings God had showered upon their ancestors. Among these was the Spirit’s instruction of them through the prophets (Nehemiah 9:20; Nehemiah 9:30). Sadly, most of the nation would not give heed to the prophetic words spoken.
d.
Zeehariah observes how the people had hardened their hearts against the former prophets, even though the Spirit revealed Jehovah’s law and words through them (Zechariah 7:12). Jehovah promised not to listen to them just as they had not listened to Him.
e.
The most effective summary of Old Testament prophecy is found in the New Testament: 2 Peter 1:20-21. There it is declared that no prophecy of Scripture originates from human will. Rather prophets spoke as they were guided by the Spirit of God.
Though there are over 300 references to priests in the Old Testament, there is not one example of the Holy Spirit’s presence to guide them. This is probably best explained by the fact that their duties, mode of dress, and style of life were set down by divine revelation. Their obligation was to obey what God had already told them to do.
C.
THE HOLY SPIRIT ASSISTED SECONDARY LEADERS.
The leaders previously mentioned furnish illustrations of the major human leadership God provided and equipped for Israel.
There was also a back-up or assisting leadership which God prepared with Holy Spirit guidance.
During Moses-’ career of directing people of Israel over a period of 40 years of wandering, God commanded him to select 70 elders from among the population to act as his religious and civil assistants. This would lighten his burden of trying to deal fairly and adequately with almost three million people. God placed His Spirit upon these men, once they were chosen (Numbers 11:16-17; Numbers 11:25).
Joshua took Moses-’ place and led out to conquer Palestine for Israel and to settle the tribes in their new-found home. God had placed His Spirit within Joshua and asked Moses to ordain him to his task by the laying on of hands (Numbers 28:17).
God endued Bezalel and Oholiab with His Spirit so as to make them skilled tradesmen, fitted to prepare all the artistic designs and accompanying furniture of the Tabernacle. They exhibited superior skills which were worthy of God’s house of worship (Exodus 31:1-11).
D.
THE HOLY SPIRIT STRESSED THAT DEPENDENCE UPON HIM IS THE ONE WAY TO GOD’S VICTORY.
Through Isaiah Jehovah chastised the nation of Judah for making its own plans, not accepting His; for making alliances with Egypt and not with His Spirit (Isaiah 30:1-2). See also Isaiah 31:1-3. They were adding sin to sin. Their foul attitude is dramatized by the fact that they were refusing to listen to God’s instruction. They even bullied God’s prophets (seers), telling them not to prophesy what was right. They wanted to hear pleasant words and deceits (Isaiah 30:9-10).
Because Israel rejected God’s Spirit in the wildernesss wanderings, He turned against them as His enemies (Isaiah 63:7-14).
Under the figure of a lampstand holding seven lamps and supplied with lighting fuel by two olive trees, Zechariah conveyed a valuable lesson to Zerubbabel from God: accomplishment of God’s work is achieved by God’s Spirit, not by human might or power (Zechariah 4:1-6).
CONCLUSION:
The presence of God’s Spirit has played a fundamental role in His direction of men throughout both the Patriarchal and Mosaic Dispensations. Special men were selected for the Spirit’s indwelling so that they might lead God’s people correctly. These principles can minister to a better understanding of the Spirit’s work in New Testament times.
Isaiah 60:1-7
IX. ZIONTHE ZENITH, Chapter S 60 - 66 A. REWARD OF ZION, WEALTH OF THE NATIONS CHAPTER 60
- GLORY
TEXT: Isaiah 60:1-7
1
Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee.
2
For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Jehovah will arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3
And nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
4
Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be carried in the arms.
5
Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations 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 frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah.
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.
QUERIES
a.
When does Zion’s light come?
b.
How is the abundance of the sea turned to her?
c.
Where is Nebaioth?
PARAPHRASE
Do not let the coming captivity prostrate you Zion. Stand up, be stedfast and faithful and begin to be a light to the dark world. The glorious light of God is shining on youthe grandeur, splendor and righteousness of Jehovah is being given to you. It is still night and darkness to the heathen nations around you, but you are going to be light for the whole world when Jehovah gives you His glory. You will become a reflection of God’s truth and love that will be seen by people from all over the world. The Gentiles will be attracted to your glory and come to it; great and famous rulers will humbly come to bask in the splendor of your majesty. Look around you, Zion, from all directions people of every nation and tribe and tongue are coming to you; they are all bringing others to you with the tenderness and compassion a foster-parent shows its adopted child. You will see all this and it will make you radiate joy and gratitude, Your heart will be thrilled and swell with excitement toward the Gentiles coming to you. This will be your attitude because you will recognize that God is giving you, in these who are coming, the true wealth of the islands and coastlandsbelievers! Multitudes of people will make their way to you, Zion; people from every direction will come bringing their most precious possessions as gifts and they will testify to the majesty and power of Jehovah. Even your inveterate enemies from Mesopotamia and Idumea will be accepted by Me and by you and they will join you in ministering and worshipping Me. The Lord will make His house more glorious than ever when He brings people from all over the world into it.
COMMENTS
Isaiah 60:1-5 LIGHT: It has been our purpose to show the student of Isaiah the logical progression of the prophet’s message. In the first 35 Chapter s Isaiah has declared that Israel’s salvation is not in any human programs; neither self-righteousness nor idolatry nor military alliance with the heathen will save her. In Chapter s 36-39 Isaiah inserts parenthetically a record of an historical event which demonstrates precisely what he is preaching; that Israel, God’s covenant people, can only be saved and reach her messianic destiny through faith in Jehovah by keeping covenant with Him. Finally, in Chapter s 40-66, Isaiah will prophesy and typify the grand climax of God’s program for the redemption of the whole world through the Servant and Covenant relationship to Him. The last section, with which we now begin to deal, predicts the glorious consequence of Zion’s appropriation of the Servant’s work by Covenant-communion. Zion will enjoy Reward, Regeneration and Rest, among other blessings. Zion is going to be made whole (see our discussion of the word shalom/peace on Isaiah 59:8) because she will have given to her a covenant of peace or wholeness (cf. Isaiah 54:10) when the Servant becomes peace/ shalom for her (cf. Isaiah 53:5).
In anticipation of this wholeness (peace) Zion is told to arise and shine. The future glory of Zion is so certain (although it is centuries away from accomplishment by the Messiah) Isaiah speaks of it as if it had already come. The remnant of Judah will be prostrated in exile along with the unbelievers of the nation. It will be a temptation for the remnant to despair and give up hope that God will ever keep His promises made to their forefathers (Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David). But Isaiah says, Stand up, stand fast in your witness as those who believe God will keep His covenant. Let your messianic light shine, for God has promised, and it will come to pass!
The light which comes upon Zion is the glory of Jehovah. That cannot be anything less than the Messiah. Christ was the effulgence of the glory of God and bore the very image of His substance (cf. Hebrews 1:3). Jesus was the Word become flesh and men beheld His glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father (cf. John 1:14). The Word was the life and the light of men (John 1:4). The Hebrew word kevod is translated glory. The fundamental root meaning is probably weight or heaviness, conveying the idea of some external, physical manifestation of dignity or preeminence of majesty. But the word as it is most widely used means, the exhibition of the excellence of the subject to which it is ascribed. In other words, character is the chief element of glory. Concerning God it is the display of His divine attributes and perfections of righteousness, power, truthfulness, faithfulness, mercifulness, justice, compassion, love, etc. Some of the glory of God may be seen in a limited way in nature (cf. Romans 1:18-23; Acts 14:15-18, etc.).
Zion is to have the excellence of the character of Jehovah rise upon her. The glory of God is to be imputed to Zion through the Servant and made available for appropriation through the New Covenant. Zion will not earn His glory. The Servant comes to earn God’s glory for Zion. Zion simply receives it by exercising faith through covenant conditions.
She is to reflect His glory. Darkness covers the earth. All nations (including Israel) fall short of the glory of God (cf. Romans 3:9-26; esp. Romans 3:23). But the people who walk in darkness will see a great light (cf. our comments Isaiah 9:1-7). The Light of the World came to Zion and made her a kingdom of light (cf. John 8:12-20; John 12:46; Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 1:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 2-3). The letters of the apostle Paul to churches predominantly Gentile confirm the prediction of Isa 60:3 that nations shall come to thy (Zion’S) light. Great and powerful rulers and men of renown were attracted to Zion’s glory (see comments Isaiah 49:7).
The Hebrew word -amanah is translated carried but means more literally, a foster-father or foster-nurse who has a child in safe keeping. What it means in verse four is that the Gentiles shall bring children safely to Zion (cf. comments on Isaiah 49:22-23). Zion is exhorted to look even now in faith down through the centuries from Isaiah’s day to the messianic glory and behold Gentiles coming to her from all directions of the earth. This vision compares to the one given the seven churches of Asia Minor by the apostle John when he recorded the spectacle of the redeemed which no man could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the throne (Revelation 7:9).
The Hebrew word nahare is translated radiant in verse five. It is from a root which means to flow, to run. Zion’s reaction to the Gentiles coming to her for the glory of Jehovah which she has will be that of effervescent joy. She will radiate a bubbling excitement because she sees the promises of God being fulfilled that in her seed shall all the nations be blessed. The word phakhad means to tremble with joy and is thus translated thrill. The picture Isaiah paints of Zion is of the messianic age when she has realized she has become the instrument of God for the salvation of the world and is one of excitement. Zion’s heart trembles, swells, pumps and jumps with excitement as she realizes she is engaged in divine, eternal, cosmic redemptive history as a colaborer of Almighty God (cf. Acts 11:18; Acts 15:3; Acts 19:10, etc.). Zion is caused to tremble with joy because she sees that there are Gentiles who are precious in character and that there are Gentiles worthy of becoming jewels in the crown of a Jewish apostle (cf. Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19). The abundance of the sea is the wealth of the islands and coastlands (Gentile territories). What is the wealth of a nation? It is its people, especially regenerated, redeemed people. These are the people who produce goodness, truth and beauty in any nation or society. These are the people who serve humanity without selfish motives. Zion sees that she possesses that which is the wealth of the world after allpeople being conformed to the image of Christ.
Isaiah 60:6-7 LAUDATION: AS Keil and Delitzsch point out: The prophet, indeed cannot describe even what belongs to the New Testament in any other than Old Testament colors, because he is still within the Old Testament limits. In other words, Isaiah is depicting the spiritual prosperity of New Testament Zion (the church) in terminology of his own times. The picture Isaiah draws is that of multitudes of people from the fartherest reaches of civilization uniting in praise and honor to Jehovah. Midian was a son of Abraham from Keturah (Genesis 25:1-6) and Ephah was a son of Midian. Midian and his descendants claimed the land east of the Jordan river and the Dead Sea, southward through the Akabah and including the southern and eastern parts of the peninsula of Sinai. Sheba was the oldest son of Jokshan (Jokshan was also a son of Abraham by Keturah). His descendants probably became what is called the kingdom of Sheba or the Sabeans. The Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon was from this people. These far distant peoples shall contribute their wealth to Zion and they shall come to Zion and proclaim the praises of Jehovah. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael (a son of Abraham by Hagar, the handmaiden of Sarah), (cf. Genesis 25:13), whose descendants lived in the desert between Syria and Mesopotamia. Nebaioth is mentioned always in connection with Kedar or the descendants of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13; Genesis 28:9; 1 Chronicles 1:29) and is regarded by most as identical with the Nabataeans. It is interesting to note that all these are descendants of Abraham, but alien to the original covenant which was administered exclusively through the only son of Abraham by SarahIsaac. Yet, when the promise was given to Abraham, before Isaac’s birth, it included blessedness to all nations through that singular seed (cf. Galatians 3:16). These Gentiles are going to be acceptable! Their offerings (worship) will be acceptable and their ministry will be acceptable. As Young says, The picture here given is that of Gentiles converted to Christ who bring all that they have and devote it to His service.
These desert nomads (Midian, Ephah, Sheba, Kedar, Nabataeans) were all enemies of the Jews for centuries. They are even today, racial, geographical and political enemies. The only way these people could ever become united in praising Jehovah and be accepted as worshippers and ministers of Jehovah is through the reconciliation that is in Christ Jesus (cf. Ephesians 2:11-22; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, etc.).
These verses indicate that Jehovah is going to send His Light (the Messiah) to glorify Zion and make available to her the wealth of the world. In other words God is going to demonstrate, once and for all, that His redemptive people (the church) are the focal point of the cosmos. Everything in His creation is to glorify Zion. Sooner or later, ultimately, inevitably God will use everything He has created to serve for the glorification of the redeemed. The apostle Paul said as much in 1 Corinthians 3:21-22: … all things are yours. whether. the world or life or death or the present or the future. all are yours. Everything that is good and eternal and abiding of God’s is the birthright of His Son, and Christians are joint heirs with Him. The house of God is going to be made more beautiful than it has ever been when He adorns it with the wealth of the nations (Gentiles beautiful in character) (see comments Isaiah 56:7).
QUIZ
Can you trace the logical progression of Isaiah’s book and include this section?
Why does Isaiah see a necessity to exhort his people to Arise and shine?
What is the light or glory that is to come upon Zion?
What will be Zion’s reaction to nations coming to her light?
What is the wealth of the nations?
What would be necessary for the nations listed in verse six-seven to unite with Zion in praising the Lord.
Isaiah 60:8-14
- GAIN
TEXT: Isaiah 60:8-14
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, for the name of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
10
And foreigners shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee.
11
Thy gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive.
12
For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
13
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14
And the sons 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 Jehovah, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
QUERIES
a.
What are the clouds and doves of verse eight?
b.
How would it be possible for foreigners to build Zion’s walls?
c.
How would the nation that did not serve Zion perish?
PARAPHRASE
There are shadowy forms on the prophetic horizon drifting inexorably in our direction; they are like homing pigeons or doves going straight for their nests. Who are they: They are ships coming from all over the world bringing all those Gentile sons of Zion who have been waiting so long in darkness to find her. These ships of the prophetic future are bringing the real wealth of the world to Zion. They have been attracted to Zion because God has made her beautiful by giving her His redemptive glory and they want to be made a part of that beauty also. Yes, Gentiles are going to be participants in forming the future Zion; Gentiles will be co-laborers and fellow-citizens of that messianic city. Even some of the rulers of Gentile peoples will become citizens and serve the new Zion. I, Jehovah, am about to destroy the present city of Jerusalem, but I will in mercy also restore a remnant and through them eventually build the everlasting Zion. Access to the new Zion will be open as long as there are people deciding they want to take up citizenship. Nations from the ends of the earth will contribute their best and greatest resources to the new Zion; people great and small shall become willing captives of this glorious city. Those peoples and individuals who do not willingly surrender to Zion will perish. The attitude of many peoples toward you Zion, My dwelling place, will be reverence and a desire to give the best of their possessions to beautify you. Those who have been Zion’s enemies will become willing citizens, humbling themselves and believing that what Jehovah has said about her belonging to Him is true. They shall willingly confess that you are Mine, that I dwell in You and that I am God.
COMMENTS
Isaiah 60:8-12 CITIZENS: Zion now arisen and awake to what God has been trying to communicate through the prophet begins to see dimly certain shadowy cloud-like forms of the prophetic ingathering of the world to herself. Isaiah has repeated and repeated the message. Like the inexorable movement of clouds and the magnet-like homing of doves the prophet’s visions of masses of humanity coming to Zion has finally caught on in the mind of the remnant. So they ask, Who are these. ? The answer comes back immediately, They are the isles! (see comments on Isaiah 11:11; Isaiah 20:6; Isaiah 23:2; Isaiah 23:6; Isaiah 40:15; Isaiah 41:2; Isaiah 41:5; Isaiah 42:4; Isaiah 42:10; Isaiah 42:12; Isaiah 49:1; Isaiah 51:5). Tarshish was the great-grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:4), and considered to be the progenitor of a people along the western coastlands and islands of the Mediterranean. Tarshish is also conjecturally believed to be a form of the name of Tartessus, an ancient city located on the southern or eastern coast of Spain (see comments, Minor Prophets, Jonah 1:3, pg. 225, Butler, College Press). Tarshish probably represents the fartherest known reaches of traveled or commercialized civilization of that age. These people so long in darkness waited for Jehovah to manifest Himself and reveal a way back to His presence (cf. Isaiah 42:4). The prophet has repeatedly predicted that some day their waiting will be over. When that day comes, they will fly inexorably and directly to God. The reason given for that flight is that Jehovah will have glorified Zion. That is, of course, the redemptive work of the Servant and the New Covenant available to all peoples.
Foreigners building the walls of Zion is definitely a messianic figure of speech (cf. Amos 9:11-12 with Acts 15:16-17; see also Jeremiah 31:4-6 and attendant context; Jeremiah 33:7-26; Micah 7:11-17; Isaiah 19:16-25). Paul wrote to the Gentiles in Ephesus that they were a part of the New dwelling place of God (Ephesians 2:11-22). In the New Zion all members will be ministerseven Gentiles. There will be no special priesthoodall members of the New Covenant will be a holy priesthood (cf. 1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 10:19 ff). All who come to New Zion (Hebrews 12:22-24) will offer sacrifices as ministers and priests (cf. Hebrews 13:15-16). God, in His wrath against the wickedness of Old Zion, destroyed it (not only in the Babylonian exile, but centuries later [forever] when Old Zion. rejected its Messiah [70 A.D.]). But God is going to build a New Zion by grace (favor) because the Messiah came and earned God’s grace for man. The Messiah’s merited favor will be made available not only to the Jew but to the Gentile also. Gentiles will be included in the New building.
Access to New Zion will be constant. Access to New Zion will be for everyone who wishes it. The Holy Spirit, through His Word, and the Bride (the churchNew Zion) say Come to all who will (cf. Revelation 22:17). Of course, the invitation will not always be offered for men to become citizens of the New Zion. But those who will not willingly enter Zion in this life would not enter it in the next life either (cf. Luke 16:29-31). This is really the point of Isaiah’s statement that Zion’s gates are open continually; the idea is ready access for all who wish. There shall be no danger to those in New Zion that the gates will have to be shut and barred. There will be continual freedom and peace in New Zion. The members of Zion will be continually bringing in the sheaves (the wealth of the nations).
One very forceful reason for concluding the Zion here is New Zion (the church) is that all who will not serve her shall perish. As Young puts it, It is obvious that this prophecy does not fit the time of the restoration from exile. What nations at that time perished because they did not serve the empirical Zion? There have been nations through the centuries, and there are nations now, not only refusing to serve literal Zion but making her serve them and they have not perished. Literal Zion as Jehovah’s dwelling place perished in 70 A.D. (cf. Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 13:34-35; Luke 19:41-44). The Hebrew word kharav is translated wasted and means basically destroyed by drying up. What tragic waste all the potential resources, and wealth of those nations and peoples who will not surrender to the New Zion!
Isaiah 60:13-14 COMELINESS: The place of God’s dwelling (New Zion) will be exalted above all that is on the earthboth of nature and men. It is going to be made glorious and preeminent. Everything in creation will be made available to glorify her (art, music, learning, literature, thoughts, emotions). The greatest powers opposing her will be humbled (cf. Matthew 16:18; Colossians 1:15-20; Colossians 2:14-15; Hebrews 2:5-18). Many of the powerful forces and peoples opposing Zion will become converts to her. Formerly they ridiculed and scoffed at herbut they will penitently call her what she very evidently is: The (only) city of Jehovah, The Zion (Citadel or Sanctuary) of the Holy One of Israel. In Old Testament times it appeared Zion could be despoiled, humbled and obliterated by war, siege and death. But Zion’s Eternal King came (the Messiah) in a space-time historical event and conquered death forever! This is the message of the book of Revelation. The Lamb has come and conquered death by resurrection and is now worthy to reveal (open the scroll) that New Zion (the church) is unconquerable! New Zion is the citadel of eternal safety.
QUIZ
Why does Zion see clouds and doves (verse eight)?
How do the isles bring their sons to Zion?
Why do we say foreigners building Zion’s walls is a messianic term?
What is the meaning of the continual opening of Zion’s gates?
How does Isaiah 60:12 help determine this is a messianic passage?
Why will Zion’s enemies bow down to her?
Isaiah 60:15-22
- GOODNESS
TEXT: Isaiah 60:15-22
15
Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
16
Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breast of kings; and thou shalt know that I, Jehovah, 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 executors righteousness.
18
Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, desolation nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.
19
The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but Jehovah will 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 Jehovah will be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy morning shall be ended.
21
Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
22
The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation: I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its time.
QUERIES
a.
What does Isaiah mean by Zion sucking the milk of the nations?
b.
Why would Zion need only Jehovah for light?
c.
How does the little one become a thousand?
PARAPHRASE
Zion, you have been laughed at and scoffed at by the world because it never believed what you proclaimed about your God. You have also been despised for your hypocrisy and profligacy. Although you have been mocked and shunned by the world, I am going to make you so exalted and majestic for all eternity you will be an object of rejoicing for millions. You shall be fed and grow into beautiful maidenhood from the life and vitality that comes from the nations of the world. Kings and great leaders of these nations shall become part of that food that shall be given you. When this comes to pass you will compare the experience with the predictions I have made in My Word and you will know that I, the God of the Jews, am the only God there is! Only the best will be good enough for you Zion. You will be built with that which is superior and precious instead of that which is inferior. Failing, faltering human rulers will no longer be needed in Zion because I will put Peace and Righteousness upon her throne. There will be no more violence in her midst. Desolation and destruction will be banished from within Zion. My Salvation and My Praise will protect her like walls around a city. She will no longer be dependent upon mere reflections of My Glory for her light, but she shall have the ultimate origin and source of all Light, My Person, illuminating her forever. There will never again be sadness or grief with Zion. Her citizens will all be made righteous and they shall all be given the eternal inheritance I promised them and this will cause all the world to see My glory. From a small and insignificant remnant Zion shall grow into an innumerable multitude of people forming a universal kingdom. I, Jehovah, will accomplish this according to My time schedule of the world’s history.
COMMENTS
Isaiah 60:15-17 RICHES: The time came when the glorious land (Palestine) and the holy city (Jerusalem) was an object of ridicule and mockery. After Assyrian invasion of Israel in 722 B.C. and the deportation of the ten northern tribes (and the immigration of foreigners into the unoccupied territory) came the Babylonian invasion of Judah (606-586 B.C.). Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple, tore down most of Jerusalem’s walls and took the people back to Babylon as prisoners of war. The land of Palestine became inhabited by a nomadic people from the deserts and mostly pagan. The beautiful homes and luxuriant vineyards and productive farms of the Jews were allowed to deteriorate. The city of Jerusalem remained in a semi-ruined state until 70 years later when Nehemiah received word that it was in ruins (Nehemiah 1:1-4), and got permission to return and rebuild it. For two generations caravans, travelers and soldiers passed by Palestine and by the city of Jerusalem, wagging their heads and hissing (whistling) at the devastation. This was what God predicted (cf. Jeremiah 18:16; Jeremiah 19:8; Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah 25:18; Jeremiah 29:18; Lamentations 2:15-16; Micah 6:16). The world not only hissed at the land of Palestine, it also mocked the Jewish people. They had (until idolatry became so prevalent) claimed their God, Jehovah, was the only true God and that He was all-powerful. They also claimed He was righteous and holy. But they had become pagan themselves and were conquered by those they held in contempt as ignorant heathen. Suddenly they were mocked and shunned and despised. This was precisely predicted (Deuteronomy 28:15-46, esp. Deuteronomy 28:37).
From these despicable depths, however, God promises to rescue a remnant and form a New Zion which He will exalt and magnify eternally. The Hebrew word ge-‘on is translated excellency; it means to grow up, to increase, to be lifted, exalted, majestic. The Lord is going to make the New Zion majestic and an object of rejoicing for succeeding generations (millions of people).
The interesting phrase in Isaiah 60:16, Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, is a graphic figure of speech to portray the New Zion as a hungry nursing child feeding on the choicest products of the nations of the whole world. This has already been commented on in Isaiah 60:11. There have been the Augustines, Justin Martyrs, Pascals, Gladstones, Lincolns, Agassizes, Miltons, Handels, ad infinitum. the milk of the nations which have sustained Zion. There have been the millions and millions of little people, the salt of the earth people, the real jewels of each generation and nationality which have also come to Zion. The fact that great and small, rich and poor, literate and illiterate, weak and powerful may come together in a kingdom of peace redounds to the glory and praise of Jehovah who created Zion. The church itself is undeniable, empirical evidence of the existence of God. Isaiah 60:17 is a continuation of the idea that God is going to build New Zion from only the best of everything. There will be no inferior materials in building His New dwelling place (the church). There will be no more need for human rulers in New Zion (human rulers were oppressive and inferior) because she shall be ruled by Peace (see comments on Isaiah 59:8 for peace) and by Righteousness. In the church of Christ there are no positions of human rulershiponly servanthood. Elders, deacons and evangelists are not rulersthey are slaves, ruled over by the Prince of Peace and the King of Righteousness. The Hebrew word Jerusalem means righteousness-peace.
Isaiah 60:18-22 RIGHTEOUSNESS: AS important to the goodness Zion is to have as riches, is righteousness. Citizens of New Zion are not belligerent; they do not retaliate (they leave justice to be done by the proper authority); they do not war and fight against one another (Matthew 5:7; Matthew 5:9; Matthew 5:21-26; Matthew 5:38-42; 1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 5:25-28; James 4:1-12; 1 Peter 2:13-25, etc.). Citizens of New Zion have conformed their thinking and acting to the image of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and there is no violence in Zion. The New Zion is the only Zion of which this can be said. It certainly cannot apply to any literal, physical Zion or Jerusalem! The reason there is no violence in New Zion is that she is walled about by Salvation and Praise. Jesus pointed out to some men in His day that the kingdom of God had suffered a history of violent men wanting to take God’s kingdom from Him and use it for their own violent purposes (cf. Matthew 11:7-15), but (the inference is) His coming to establish His rule as King would stop all that.
Some commentators think Isaiah 60:19-20 refer to the heavenly-consummation when heaven and earth shall have passed away and there is no more sun or moon (cf. Revelation 21:23; Revelation 22:5). Isaiah does not actually state here that the sun and moon will be done away, but merely that it is no longer to give light to Zion by day. It is possible that this is merely a figure to predict that all light (mental and spiritual illumination) except Divine Light will be excluded from the New Zion. The menorah (lamp-stand) in the Tabernacle in which only that oil made according to Divine formula could be burned typified the fact that in the Lord’s dwelling place only Divine Light was to shine. Instructions concerning the Tabernacle also prohibited the Jews from allowing sunlight, moonlight or any other light to shine inside the tent. Jesus was the Light (John 1:4; John 8:12; John 9:5; John 12:46). The gospel is the Light (Acts 26:23; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:19; 1 John 1:5; 1 John 1:7; 1 John 2:9, etc.). Malachi predicts the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings (Malachi 4:2) which we believe to be a messianic prophecy. God’s city will be changed from a physical, geographical Zion which has a physical sun to a spiritual, universal Zion which will have a spiritual Light.
Isaiah was directed to comfort Israel with the prediction that her warfare is ended (cf. Isaiah 40:1 ff, see comments there). Chapter s 60-66 are amplifications of that prediction. When New Zion is created, the days of mourning for God’s people will be over (cf. comments Isaiah 25:6-9).
The crowning characteristic of New Zion will be the righteousness of her citizens. This is possible only because God has provided a satisfactory atonement and imputed His righteousness to Zion’s citizenry (cf. comments Isaiah 53:11). Zion’s citizens, declared righteous, must by righteous living be faithful to their calling, however, or they will not remain citizens. In other words, there is an imputed righteousness and a lived righteousness. The one who is justified and saved will do righteousness (cf. 1 John 3:4-10). Anyone born of God cannot go on sinning (deliberately). This is the correct understanding of the present tense Greek verb poiei in 1 John 3:9, and the present tense participle poion in 1 John 3:8. Present tense in Greek means continuing action. Citizens of Zion hunger and thirst after righteousness. As John says, … let no one deceive you. the one continuing to do righteousness is righteous. the one continuing to do sin is of the devil. Ultimately, of course, we will be saved forever by God’s imputed righteousness for we sin even after accepting by faith the grace of God (1 John 1:8; 1 John 2:1-2 was written to Christians). But if we repent (change our minds) and determine not to continue in a particular sin but rather keep His commandments, we are faithful citizens of Zion and we shall receive our inheritance. We are the human offspring of our earthly parents by their grace, so to speak, and we remain in the grace of our mothers and fathers only so long as we choose to be faithful to them. We are joined to our earthly spouse by his or her grace, but we remain in the love of that grace only so long as we are faithful.
When God’s people are faithful and live righteously, God is glorified. And Zion’s population is increased when God is glorified. The phrase The little one shall become a thousand. apparently means that the Lord will take the foolish, weak, and despised and confound the wise and powerful (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31). God will take what the world says can never become anything and give it increase and glory (cf. Micah 5:2); even Bethlehem of Ephrathah small among the claims of Judah will produce the Messiah, Jehovah will not follow man’s timetable. He has His own seasons and times in His great redemptive work (cf. Daniel 9:20-27, see our comments there, College Press). The Lord fixes all times and seasons in His own authority (cf. Acts 1:6-7; Daniel 2:20-23). And the Lord will create New Zion in its time. Its time was, of course, in the days of the kings of the fourth kingdom (cf. Daniel 2:44); the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1 ff). The creative work of Zion’s incarnate King began on a Sunday, as He mounted a colt, the foal of an ass, and rode toward physical Zion declaring Himself the prophesied King of Zec 9:1-10 coming to establish spiritual Zion.
QUIZ
When was Jerusalem hated?
What does the term excellency mean?
What is the milk of nations?
Which Zion would experience the cessation of violence?
Are Isaiah 60:19-20 speaking literally or figuratively?
What are the two aspects of righteousness the people of Zion shall have?
What was the time Jehovah chose to create New Zion?