Translation and Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 11 May 2008
1. Get up,
shine,
for your light has come,
and the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you!
2. For look, the darkness will cover the earth, and the thick darkness against the peoples,
but upon you, Jehovah will rise, and His glory upon you will be seen!
3. And nations will walk toward your light and kings toward the brightness of your rising.
4. Lift up your eyes and look around!
All of them have been gathered together; they came to you.
Your sons from afar will come, and your daughters will be established on your side.
5. Then you will see and you will beam! Your heart will skip a beat, then swell,
because a multitude of the sea will be turned over to you – wealth of nations will come to you!
6. An abundance of camels will cover you - young camels of Midian and Ephah –
all of them, from Sheba they will come.
Gold and frankincense they will carry, and the praises of Jehovah they will announce.
7. They will be gathered together for you - all the flock of Kedar;
rams of Nabioth will minister to you.
They will go up with acceptance upon my altar, and my beautiful house I will beautify!
8. Who are these? They fly like the cloud and like the doves to their nests,
9. because it is for Me the coastlands will wait - even the ships of Tarshish at the head –
to bring your children from afar, their silver and their gold with them,
to the name of Jehovah your God and to the Holy One of Israel,
for He has beautified you.
10. And sons of a stranger will build your walls, and their kings will minister to you,
for in my wrath, I struck you, but in my favor I had compassion on you.
11. And your gates will be open continually - days and the nighttime; they will not be shut,
in order to bring to you the wealth of nations - even their kings being led in.
12. For the nation and the kingdom that does not serve you will perish,
and the nations will be utterly wasted.
13. To you will come the glory of Lebanon - cypress, fir, and box-tree together –
to beautify the place of my sanctuary, so the place of my feet I will glorify.
14. Also the sons of your oppressors will walk towards you to bow low,
and all who despised you will prostrate themselves over the soles of your feet,
and they will call you the City of Jehovah, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
This chapter resembles the format of the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III from 100 years before Isaiah as a listing of tribute from various countries. Notice the similarities between the things God lists here in Isaiah and the pictures and captions on the Obelisk – camels, gold, and people’s obeisance are all flowing to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser in the obelisk, but these same things are flowing to Zion in Isaiah 60! This was a traditional way of showing the glory and supremacy of a king and was commonly understood in Isaiah’s day.
1. This whole chapter is addressed to a feminine singular “you” = lady Zion, the church.
2. Rise from our misery and depression (Kimchi), exile and punishment (Del.)
3. God must empower us to obey this command
4. Mk 5:41 – talitha kum – same command given to dead girl.
5. 52:1 Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, City of the Holy One! 2. Shake yourself, arise from the dust, be seated, Jerusalem. Let the bonds of your neck be unlocked, captive daughter of Zion!
1. We shine because God first shone His face upon us
i. The O.T. blessing often repeated is “cause your face to shine on us” (Num 6:25, Ps. 31:16, Ps. 119:135, Dan. 9:17)
ii. Ps. 80:3 “Turn us again, O God; cause your face to shine, and we shall be saved.”
iii. Ps. 67:1-2 “God be merciful unto us & bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us; 2 That your way may be known upon earth, your salvation among all nations.”
2. This shining has to do with displaying life, energy, hope, and wisdom:
i. (cf. Ezr 9:8, Job 33:29-30, Psa 19:8)
ii. Ps. 13:3 “Consider and answer me, O Jehovah my God: Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
iii. Ps. 119:130 “The opening of your words gives light…”
iv. Eccl. 8:1 “…A man's wisdom makes his face to shine…”
3. Mat. 5:14-16 “Y’all are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shines unto all that are in the house. 16 Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
4. The RESULT of your “rising” and “shining” is found in v.3: Shine, and nations will walk toward your light; Rise and kings will come toward the brightness of your rising!
1. Similar to Elisha’s servant in 2 Kings 6:17 seeing the host of angels he didn’t know was there
2. Quoted from 49:18 and 43:5 Fear not, for I am with you. From the East I will bring your seed, and from the West I will gather you. 6. I will say to the North, “Give,” and to the South, “Don’t quit; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7. everyone who is called by my name.
3. What are you supposed to see?
i. Jewish commentators say sons & daughters are the exiles coming back from Babylon
ii. E.J. Young says these are not physical children of the Jews, but spiritual children, Gentiles who have been converted (2:2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established as the highest of the mountains… and all the nations shall flow to it, 3. and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob, so He may teach us from His ways and we may walk in His paths.")
iii. 49:18 Lift up your eyes and look around. They are gathered – all of them; they came to you! As I live, declares Jehovah, surely you will put them all on as the ornament; you will bind them on like the bride. 19. Surely your wastes and your desolate places and your demolished land – surely now you will be cramped from the settler… 21. Then you will say in your heart, “Who has given birth to these for me while I was bereaved and barren, exiled and rejected? And who has brought up these?...How did they get here?” 22. … they will bring your sons in the bosom and your daughters will be carried upon the shoulder, 23. and it will come about that kings are your supporters and their princesses are your nurses!
iv. Isa 66:18 “…the time cometh, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and shall see my glory.”
4. The RESULT of obeying this command and seeing this ingathering is great excitement
i. v. 5: you will see and “beam/be radiant/flow-KJV”
ii. Your “heart will thrill”-NAS/throb-AJV/tremble with excitement-Kimchi/fear-KJV/used of fear every other time it appears in Isaiah – the first emotion is to be startled at the sight, for our heart to skip a beat.
iii. The following emotion is positive: be enlarged-KJV/rejoice-NAS/exult-ESV/be joyful-NIV – I like the NKJ’s literal translation best: swell
iv. What makes your heart skip a beat with excitement and swell with joy?
1. The popular media personalities that are called “heart-throbs” are not what we should be getting excited about.
2. Rather we should be getting excited about people coming to faith in Jesus!
3. That is what this passage is about – the excitement of tribute being paid to King Jesus from all over the world!
i. Psalm 118:27 “Jehovah is God, and He has given us light...”
ii. Isa 58:8 “Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your restoration will spring up speedily, and your righteousness will proceed before your face; the glory of Jehovah will be your sweep. 9. Then you will call and Jehovah will answer… If you will turn away from your midst the yokes, the thrusting of the finger and the speaking of iniquity,10. and you will give out your soul for the hungry and satisfy the soul of the poor, and your light will rise in the darkness and your gloom will be like the noon, 11. and Jehovah will guide you continually…”
iii. Isa 60:19 “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto you: but Jehovah will be for you an everlasting light...”
iv. It is spiritual – Col 1:12-13 “giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; 13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love”
v. “Brightness” in v.3
1. Ezekiel uses this same word to describe God’s presence in heaven in ch.1
2. Prov. 4:18 “the path of the righteous is as the dawning light that shines more and more unto the perfect day.”
3. Our righteousness - Isa 62:1 “For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that blazes.” This righteousness comes not from ourselves but from Jesus.
i. “thick darkness” is an allusion to God’s judgment at Sinai, where this word first occurs: Deut 4:11-13 “And y’all came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire… with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 And Jehovah spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire… 13 And He declared unto you His covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments...” (cf. Ex. 20:21, Deut. 5:22, I Ki. 8:12, Job 22:13)
ii. The reason that we can rise and shine is that there is a contrast between us and the unregenerate world, we have the light and they don’t!
i. Quoting Deut. 33:2 “Jehovah came from Sinai and rose… He shined forth from Mount Paran…”
ii. Isa 4:5 “Then Jehovah will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night”
iii. Jesus
1. 49:6&23 – “Your being for me a servant to cause to establish the tribes of Jacob and to cause to turn back the preserved of Israel is insubstantial, I will also give you for a light of nations, to be my salvation unto the end of the earth…”
2. Mal 4:2 “But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings…”
3. John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.”
4. John 8:12 “Jesus [said], ‘I am the light of the world: he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.’”
i. Zec 14:14-17 “…the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance… 16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, that whoso of all the families of the earth does not go up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.”
ii. Although the “abundance of the sea” could mean the seaborn merchandise of maritime counties (Ibn Kaspi) and the “things of value possessed in the coasts” (Delitzsch), I rather think (along with E.J. Young) that it is speaking of the peoples of the world because:
1. The word translated “abundance/wealth-NIV” is usually translated “multitude” in the rest of Isaiah, normally referring to people
2. The sea is often a poetic figure of the nations (cf. Isa 17:12, 29:5-8, 2 Chron. 20:2, Psalm 65:7, and Jer 51:42)
3. and “the multitude of the sea” is parallel to the phrase “wealth of nations,” which, with all due respect to Adam Smith, is not simply commodities, but rather people!
i. Midian was the son of Abraham’s later years when he married Ketura (Gen 25:2) and one of Midian’s sons was Ephah.
1. The ethnic group that came from these men settled East of the Gulf of Aqaba (Gen 25:2-4)
2. People from this region of the world will come bearing tribute on the backs of camels - so many of them that their camels will blanket the streets!
3. Giving of our wealth is an act of worship.
ii. Sheba is Southern Arabia, including the African coast – roughly Yemen and Ethiopia.
1. It was from this region of the world that frankincense came. Note that they bring not only gold and incense, but they also bring good news, announcing the praises of the LORD.
2. This could mean that it is they themselves announcing praise to God, or they could be announcers of the news that their people back home are praising God.
iii. v.7 Ishmael’s first 2 sons were Kedar and Nebaioth (Gen 25:13), they were patriarchs of nomadic desert dwellers between Egypt, Babylon, Israel, and Syria.
1. As such, they were shepherds, and their livelihood poetically represents the people themselves who will “minister” to Zion, whose sacrifices will be accepted, and who will “adorn/add glory to/beautify” God’s house.
2. Isaiah describes the worship of Gentiles in the New Testament using Old Testament worship forms because he lives in the O.T - that’s his context.
3. 56:6 “And the sons of the foreigner, those joined upon Jehovah to minister to Him and to love the name of Jehovah, to belong to Him as servants, all who keep the Sabbath from violating it and who keep a strong grasp in my covenant, 7. I will cause them to go to my holy mountain, and I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their sacrifices for burning up and their [other] sacrifices are to be accepted upon my altar.”
4. v.10 “kings will minister to you”
5. Isa 61:6 “But you shall be named the priests of Jehovah; men shall call you the ministers of our God: you will eat the wealth of the nations...”
iv. v.8 describes another group of people flying toward Zion like clouds or like doves. These appear to be the people in v.9 from Tarshish and the other coastlands sailing in, as it were, across the Mediterranean ocean to bring people and money as tribute to God as well.
1. The people of Tarshish who were formerly wailing over their loss in ch. 23 now have a keen purpose for sailing again – they do it out of hope in God and they do it to bring tribute to God.
2. They want to honor God’s name: 59:19 “and those from the West will fear the name of Jehovah”
i. 1:26 “Then afterwards, it will be called for you the righteous city - faithful town.”
ii. 58:12 “…And you will be called “Breach-repairer” “Restorer of streets to dwell in.”
iii. 61:6 “But you will be called the priests of Jehovah; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God…”
iv. 62:2 The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah will designate… 4 It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her," And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married… 12 And they will call them, "The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD"; And you will be called, "Sought out, a city not forsaken."
A) You=Reconstructed
Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah and Zerubbabel
Your time of darkness under Babylonian exile is over, your time of being
struck by God’s wrath, now is a time of God’s mercy, you time of light has
come, be a beacon of God’s righteousness amidst the nations so that they will
be attracted to God through you, neighboring nations will build your temple (Ezra
6:1-18 “Then Darius the king made a decree… Concerning the house of God at
Jerusalem, let the house be built… and let the expenses be given out of the
king's house… 6 Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the River,
Shethar-bozenai, and your companions the Apharsachites… let the governor of the
Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place. 8
Moreover I make a decree … that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond
the River, expenses be given with all diligence unto these men, that they be
not hindered. 9 And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and
rams, and lambs, for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven; also wheat, salt,
wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests that are at Jerusalem, let
it be given them day by day without fail; 10 that they may offer sacrifices of
sweet savor unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of
his sons. 11 Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word,
let a beam be pulled out from his house, and let him be lifted up and fastened
thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this… 13 Then Tattenai, the
governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their companions… did
accordingly with all diligence…”) (Ezr 7:21 “I Artaxerxes the king, do make a
decree to all the treasurers that are beyond the River, that whatsoever Ezra
the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you,
it be done with all diligence, 22 unto a hundred talents of silver, and to a
hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred
baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much... 25 And you, Ezra, after
the wisdom of thy God that is in thy hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who
may judge all the people that are beyond the River, all such as know the laws
of thy God; and teach whoever does not know them. 26 And whosoever will not do
the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him
with all diligence, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to
confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment. 27 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of
our fathers, who hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify
the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem…”), (Neh 6:15-16 “So the wall was
finished… in 52 days. 16 And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard it,
that all the nations that were about us feared, and were much cast down in
their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.”),
but Israel was not faithful to be a light to the nations or welcome the nations
into relationship with God, and the promises of the latter verses were not
fulfilled in the physical nation of Israel.
B) You = Jesus
Jesus rises from the dead because it is time for Him to be glorified,
people saw the image and glory of God when they looked at Jesus. Nations come
to Jesus. Jesus is the light. He is seeing His children – “red and yellow,
black and white” – coming to Him in faith all over the world, All things are
being placed under His feet – all things in heaven and earth and the sea (v.5) are
being turned over to Him, The Magi came from the East bowed down and worshipped
Him offering gold & frankincense (Mt. 2:11). He was despised by the Jews (The
word “despised” in v. 14 is only used in Isaiah to describe Jews rejecting God
– 1:4, 5:24, and 52:5.), He was “stricken” (v.10) by God on the cross, then
raised again. He who believes in the gospel of Jesus will be saved; he who
disbelieves will be condemned (Mark 16:16 cf. v.12), the Jews will look upon
Him whom they have pierced and they will mourn, every knee will bow before Him
(v.14), and He will be “majestic” forever (v.15).
C) The church in
the NT and the age to come
The church is to rise and shine because it has the light of the knowledge
of God in the writings of the prophets and apostles. People from all nations
are coming toward the light of Christ that the church beams out into the world,
resources from those who have been converted pour into the coffers of the
church; God is building up the church (His beautiful house) by adding gentiles
to it, “taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name” (Acts 15:14), building
with “living stones as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5), “He
gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleaning her by the washing of water
with the word that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory
having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and
blameless” (Eph 5: 26), Kings have helped the church on occasion, the church is
always open - welcoming people in, and whoever does not join the church of
Christ will perish in their sins (John 8:24). The church will be oppressed and
persecuted but will ultimately triumph, and everyone will recognize her as the
City of the God.
And in the age to come, heaven is pictured as a situation where all the
nations perfectly worship God: Rev 21:10-26 “And he carried me away in the
Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God: her light was
like unto a stone most precious… 22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord
God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof. 23 And the city has no
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God
lightens it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb. 24 And the nations shall walk
amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it.
25 And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut [unlike Nehemiah’s gates
which had to be shut periodically in Neh. 7]…”
D) Illustrations:
1. v.14.
the sons of your oppressors will bow to you and call you the city of Jehovah – This
is illustrated by the Apostle Paul who started out as a
persecutor of the church, but became an avid worshipper of Jesus and a spreader
of the Gospel.
v.9 ships of Tarshish bring people and money: During his third missionary
journey, Paul sent a letter from Ephesus ahead to the Corinthians (1 Cor.) giving
them advance notice that he wanted to take up a collection for the poor from them.
They responded with an indication that they would give a large sum of money toward
this fund. Paul related this news to the churches in Phillipi and Thessalonica,
and they decided to give a big gift to match the Corinthian church. A year later,
when he was getting close to leaving Ephesus and actually visiting Corinth, he wrote
the letter of Second Corinthians to make sure that all was in order when he arrived.
He then arrived in Corinth and during his three months there, took up the collection
and also wrote the book of Romans in which he expressed his desire to take up a
collection in Rome. He went back to Jerusalem before going to Rome, though, because
he wanted to be there for the annual Pentecost celebration. It was this money collected
from the churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth that he was bringing into
the temple in Jerusalem to give to the poor, when the Jews tried to kill him!
And how did he travel? By ship! This is part of t. fulfillment of v.9
2. v.6
those from the middle east will come and bring praises of the Lord:
It’s still happening today: “When Nabil's eyesight failed, his
sister Yasmine took him to local hospitals—to no avail. So Yasmine contacted
her friend Crystal, a FRONTIERS member who has spent many years serving among
the unreached Muslims of the region. Yasmine asked Crystal if she knew of a
foreign doctor who could help Nabil. Crystal did. She introduced Nabil to a
qualified Western doctor. But the doctor's diagnosis offered little hope.
Together with Yasmine — newly a believer — Crystal anointed Nabil with oil and
prayed for him in the name of the greatest healer, Jesus Christ. Immediately,
Nabil's eyesight began to improve. The next day Crystal got a call from Nabil.
Could he stop by with Yasmine and ask some questions? When they arrived, it quickly
became apparent that Nabil was hungry for the truth. Together, Crystal,
Yasmine, and Nabil watched the JESUS film. Nabil left with a few of his
questions answered — along with a copy of God's Word and the JESUS film.
“About a month later, Nabil came back. Clearly, something had changed. A
schoolteacher in a mountainous rural area, Nabil had spent the past month
teaching every morning - and devouring "the Book" every afternoon. He
had read from Genesis through to the Song of Solomon so far. Praise God for
eyes that could see to read! Nabil had an important request: "I need one
hundred copies of the Bible to take back to my village. Can you get them for
me?" You see, Nabil had spent his afternoons not simply reading — but
reading in public, where all could see. As a result, many had come to ask him
questions. In fact, at least 15 village men had come to his house to watch the
JESUS film. They all agreed that it was the truth... The opportunities are
huge. But Nabil — and Yasmine and the men of Nabil's village - may be just the
tip of the iceberg. Crystal continues: "I am overwhelmed at all that the
Lord is doing... This is the season of the harvest in this land... People are
seeking everywhere I look... I find myself in conversations in taxis, in the
university and even in the street with people who are hungry and searching for
truth... " With opportunities like these, more workers are urgently
needed. Crystal writes: "Please pray for more harvesters to come and reap
in these fields. There is so much to be done." (Source: Letter from Bob
Blincoe, dated April 25, 2007)
Nate Wilson’s website – Isaiah Sermon Expositions