Isaiah 60:10 – 22
Man looks on the outward appearance, God on the heart. It has been ever thus. It is true in life in general, in the way we see each other, the way we judge the world around us.
It is especially true in our theology and, specifically, in our eschatology. This is why the message of these chapters is so misunderstood by much of modern Christianity: it does not conform to their charts and expectations. Appearances – or lack of appearances – warps their eschatology. If I may use the somewhat clichéd witticism: Their ship came in but they were at the airport. More to our point: The Kingdom came in – is coming in – and they miss it. The Temple is being built, stone upon Living Stone, and the Heavenly Jerusalem is growing mountainlike (Dan. 2:34-35, 44) before their very eyes but they are fixing their gaze on a parcel of obsolete geography, waiting for a visible temple that will never appear. The truth needs to really sink in that the Kingdom did not – and does not ever – “come with observation“. It came. It is among us. Like the disciples of Christ’s time who fixated on the marvelous stones of the doomed earthly temple they need to see things as they really are. The things that are eternal are invisible.
Getting back to Isaiah’s modern misinterpreters: Their end-time paradigm prejudices them against the truths revealed here in these closing chapters, truths that are, as we will continue to show, reaffirmed and cross-referenced in Revelation. From this 60th chapter to the end of the book (but especially the next three or four chapters) there is a very instructive series of parallel themes and motifs between the two books. This should not be surprising since the topic and general time of fulfillment is the same, Calvary to the fall of Jerusalem.
Two aspects of our Kingdom of Zion in this passage deserve special notice: The latency (“hiddenness“) of it and the glory of it – “glory” or “glorify” occurring eight times on this chapter.
Zion is “latent” in the sense of being unrecognized by many Jews and Gentiles – both then and now. God’s Kingdom – just like the King Himself – came in under the radar, so to speak. It grows, like the seed in Mark 4:26, and man “knows not how“.
10 “The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls,
And their kings shall minister to you;
For in My wrath I struck you,
But in My favor I have had mercy on you.
Zion’s walls: Isa. 49:16; 62:6 (compare with Acts 15:14ff). The physical rebuilding of Jerusalem began with the permission of Artaxerxes Longimanus but the spiritual fulfillment is described in that passage in Acts.
Here is a great irony: The Jews destroyed their own city in order to defend it against foreigners – they did this twice (during both sieges, Babylonian and Roman) – and now the “sons of foreigners” build up the walls! Spiritual Zion is being rebuilt by “willing converted strangers” (Young).
11 Therefore your gates shall be open continually;
They shall not be shut day or night,
That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles,
And their kings in procession.
Gates not shut (Rev. 21 also): If we can trust the secular historian Josephus there was a portentous miracle concerning the Temple’s Eastern Gate: The massive structure opened of its own accord in 66 AD during the Feast of Tabernacles.
12 For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
And those nations shall be utterly ruined.
13 “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
The cypress, 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 Also the sons of those who afflicted you
Shall come bowing to you,
And all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
And they shall call you The City of the LORD,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
So that no one went through you,
I will make you an eternal excellence,
A joy of many generations.
16 You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles,
And milk the breast of kings;
“Milk the breast of kings”!
The Bible has several inelegant imageries like this, but I believe that it is phrased like this in order to shock us into considering the impossibility of it. Similar is the passing of a camel through the eye of a needle. With man these things are impossible, but with God all things are possible. Although this is clearly metaphorical it reveals an accomplishment that only God can do; only God can turn the hearts, open the purse strings, and overrule scepters of kings.
You shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
Instead of iron I will bring silver,
Instead of wood, bronze,
And instead of stones, iron.
I will also make your officers peace,
And your magistrates righteousness. City ImprovementCaesar Augustus boasted, “I found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble”. But his improvements were a mere veneer of glory, superficial adornment. God’s Zion, being as the King’s daughter, (Psa. 45) “is all glorious within.” Man is always cleaning the outside of the cup and whitewashing walls. Only God can clean up a city.
Man is impressed and fooled by outward facades. God desires truth and inward excellence – both for individual saints and for the kingdom as a whole.
18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land,
Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders;
But you shall call your walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise.
19 “The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light,
And your God your glory.
Lit. “There shall not be to you...” suggests comparison to the first commandment. The implication here is that Christ is not only our Light, but He is the fulfillment of the Law. See Young for more on this.
20 Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the LORD will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
19-20: There are seven mentions of our light. See Isa. 60:1-2. The point is that at the same time darkness will still prevail elsewhere. There is light in the kingdom and there is outer darkness elsewhere. This is the “ruling in the midst of enemies”. (Psalm 110:2) “Let your light so shine that” Gentiles and kings can “come to the brightness of your rising.” v.3
There is throughout our time a false light as well as the true light. Those who follow the false lights, “the sparks”, will “lie down in sorrow”. Isa. 50:11. Likewise Paul warns of “angels of light”, 2 Cor. 11:14, who oppose the true light of the Gospel.
Application: Rev. 21’s light is also partial. There is darkness elsewhere. The light of the Lamb and outer darkness.
The moon has a further significance here. The fact that it will not “withdraw itself” anymore means that there will no longer be the observances of the feasts of the Law, since they are necessarily based on the moons phases (withdrawals). Another indication of Christ fulfilling and mooting the Law, making it of no effect.
“The days of our mourning shall be ended”.
This comfort is for the mourners of Matt. 5:4:
“Blessed are the mourners, for they shall be comforted.”
God comforts all of us who mourn over our sins, over the great and humbling disparity between our profession and our walk. And He “gives grace to the humble”, James 4:6.
21 Also your people shall all be righteous;
They shall inherit the land forever,
The branch of My planting,
The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.
They “shall all be righteous.” No exceptions. This reminds us of Isa. 54:13 and John 6:45, “They shall all be taught of God.” Likewise the oft-misused verse of Romans 11:26 “All Israel will be saved.” finds its application here.
1. The Israel of Romans 11:26 is the Jew of Romans 2:29.
2. The inwardly changed Jews (actually, Jews and Gentiles) make up the Israel of Romans 11:26.
3. These are the ones who will all be righteous.
4. These are the ones who are taught by God.
5. If we are Christians we are also all of the above.
22 A little one shall become a thousand,
And a small one a strong nation.
I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.”
God promised Isaiah’s hearers that He would hasten it in its time. But when the time came the Apostle Paul announced,
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.“ 2 Cor. 6:2.
The Kingdom is here now.
Do you see it?
Are you in it?
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