CHAPTER 60 Ju1. 4
The Future Glory of Israel
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh is risen upon you. 2For behold, darkness shall cover the land, and gross darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and His glory shall be seen on you. 3Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. 4Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. 5Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of Yahweh. 7All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on My altar; and I will glorify the house of My glory. 8Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? 9Surely the islands shall wait for Me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because He has glorified you. 10Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you: for in My wrath I struck you, but in My grace have I had mercy on you. 11Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive. 12For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 13The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, 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. 14The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending to you; and all those who despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you The city of Yahweh, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. 16You shall also drink the milk of the nations, and shall nurse from royal breasts; and you shall know that I, Yahweh, am your Saviour and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron. I will also make your officers peace, and righteousness your ruler. 18Violence shall no more be heard in your land, desolation nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. 19The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light to you: but Yahweh will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. 20Your sun shall no more go down, neither shall your moon withdraw itself; for Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. 21Your 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. 22The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; I, Yahweh, will hasten it in its time.
Commentary
60:5 Note how the sea is used as a symbol for the nations- this is common in the Bible.
60:6 They shall bring gold and frankincense- What was potentially possible for Judah at the time of the restoration, or perhaps at the time of Hezekiah, didn’t come true because of their disobedience. But this doesn’t mean the prophecy was falsified- it was reapplied to Jesus, the true “servant of the Lord”, and this was fulfilled when the wise men brought Him these presents at His birth. God will not be defeated by human failure, but somehow His word comes true.
60:11 The reality was that the walls were built from a motive not of glorifying Zion in fulfilment of prophecy, but for defence against the Gentiles. But the gates had to be shut to keep the Gentiles out (Neh. 13:19), lest they yet further corrupted the Jews who were eager to trade with them on the Sabbath rather than convert them to the God of Israel. Instead of bringing their goods through the gates to lay before Yahweh, they brought in their goods to sell to His people in trade. But returned Judah didn’t act as a nation of priests, the food the Gentiles brought in to Zion was to be sold for profit to the Jews. They failed to be a missionary nation, and rather were mere trading / economic partners on an equal footing [cp. the church today?].
60:13 But Haggai lamented that instead, Judah dwelt in their own beautifully ceilinged houses”, they used the exotic trees of the land for their own homes, whilst the house of Yahweh lay desolate. The prophecy of :14 started to come true after Haman’s demise; but Judah didn’t do their part in fulfilling the rest of that prophecy, which speaks of a rebuilt Zion. Note that the language of wood from Lebanon being used to build the temple is alluding to what happened when the first temple was planned and built under David and Solomon. The future Kingdom of God on earth will be a restoration of the Kingdom of God as it historically was on earth previously (Acts 1:6; see on Ez. 21:25-27).