There is so much here for us to rejoice in! Firstly, the confidence of Isaiah’s vision is profoundly real, and it is of the church of God as we now experience it. It speaks not only about the higher standards we can and should apply to the work of the church (see yesterday’s study) but also the joy of having Peace and Righteousness as our spiritual guides and mentors. I am tempted to suggest that when, in the life of the church, we find that the things we do become a chore and we are consumed by the difficulties and the stresses of what is required of us, then something has gone wrong. We have either succumbed to the temptations of the evil one, or we have allowed our own prejudices, opinions and limitations to dictate what should be a work of the Lord. Yes, I do believe that when we are operating in the Lord’s will, then peace and righteousness will be our partners and guides, and the outward results of our work will be ‘salvation’ and the praises of our God (60:18). If our hearts sink when faced with the work of the church, something is wrong, because it is all for God’s glory, and the Lord wants us to enjoy being His people and doing His work. Perhaps we are trying to do what God has not called us to do, or to work in our own strength.
Secondly, the reality of the Lord’s redeeming presence with His people in Christ should be our confidence in the Kingdom and the things of God (60:21f.). It is with joy that we expect great things to come from small beginnings, and the ‘shoot’ planted by the Lord ‘... will become a thousand’! I am aware that in saying this I have jumped across two verses of Isaiah, but I believe that the prophecies are all intertwined and interconnecting, as our lives as God’s people should be. The work begun by one person should be the fruit reaped by another, and the smallest of efforts by a child should bear fruit in the church of God’s Kingdom.
I remember as a child inviting a friend to come to church. I think I must have been only 8 or 9 at the time, and when I talked about it with my father, he commended me for my action. This made me think about what it meant to be someone who was responsible for the message of faith that, even at that time, had begun to have great meaning for me. It laid the seeds of evangelism in my soul. It was only the actions of a child, and I do not know what happened to the individual concerned, but God has used this incident gloriously in His Kingdom through the ministry He has given me. The reason why He does these kinds of things for us all is to help us see that the future Kingdom of His glory, when the heavens and the earth are rebuilt in splendour, will be happy, joyful, and a good pace to be. He wants us to look forward to His future!
© Paul H Ashby 2008
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Please go on to the DISCIPLESHIP PAGE where you will find some suggestions about the discipleship issues relating to the text, some questions for use in group study and also a final prayer
These words are the conclusion of Isaiah’s great prophecy about the coming of God’s glory. All manner of visionary pictures have been used in this cascading prophecy, and some of them reappear in this last section, especially the theme of light. Remember, Isaiah announced; ‘arise, shine, your light has come!’ (60:1f.) and at the end of our passage, this vision of the all sufficient light of God’s glory is emphasised by something almost unique in scripture; a pair of verses (19 and 20) which repeat the same theme, sometimes word for word, acting together to emphasise the power of what is said. There will be no more natural light by day or by night, for the Lord God has come, and He ‘will be an everlasting light for you’. He is the light by which His people will see, and He is the light by which the future will unfold, even to the coming of God’s complete Kingdom ‘when its time comes’ (60:22); He is the ‘Light of the World’!
Yesterday we saw that this great vision contained many promises; the in-gathering of God’s people from both near and far (60:4,6f.), the access to God available through the gates of a city permanently open for business (60:11-15), and the picture of a satisfied child at the breast (60:16). These great pictures continue to flow into the text of our passage today, and Isaiah describes the greater beauty of God’s new dwelling place, represented by the replacement of building materials with higher quality resources; ‘instead of bronze I will bring gold ...’ (60:17 etc.). In addition, the two symbols of earthly oppression, the governor and the taskmaster (for taskmasters – see Exodus 3:7), are replaced by the two rulers of God’s Kingdom; ‘Peace’ and ‘Righteousness’ (60:17). Without the threat of violence, the dwelling place of God will have walls built by foreigners (60:10) called ‘Salvation’ (60:18), and gates open for the worship of God (60:11) appropriately called ‘Praise’ (60:18)! Throughout the whole passage, it is easy to see how these themes roll from one section to another, gradually leading up to their climax.
Verse 19 and 20 speak volumes about the difference between life under the governance of the Lord God and the light of His presence, and life without it. Light comes and goes in days and nights and in the changing of the seasons, but the Lord’s presence will be like a light that never goes out. The one part of each verse which is identical is this; ‘but the Lord will be an everlasting light for you.’ His presence, power, authority and inspiration will be constant and unchanging; he will not ‘come in’ and ‘go out’. This much is relatively easy to spot, but if we look at the two verses to try and identify their differences, then there is more. In verse 19, the sun and moon are replaced by the light of the Lord, but in verse 20, it emphasises that the sun ‘sets’ and the moon ‘wanes’. Was Isaiah’s prophecy suggesting that in God’s light, the light of Zion herself would ‘wane’ so that sorrow and mourning (60:20, last line) would be no more?
A great deal of time has been invested in the idea of the earthly restoration of Zion, but this scripture does not encourage it. Here, the Lord’s work by means of the Redeemer alone is the real presence of God by which people’s needs are met. Physical light is replaced by spiritual light (60:19), sorrow is replaced by joy (60:20), all will be secure (60:21), growing and bearing fruit according to the Lord’s planting (including the least of all people - 60:22) according to the Lord’s own guarantee (60:22). Clearly, Isaiah first saw this vision in terms of Zion (see 60:14), but the general lack of reference to Zion throughout the vision means that Isaiah may well have known that his prophecy was taking him farther than any picture of the city of Jerusalem or any Temple. Zion, like all the other visionary pictures and images in this scripture directs us to a new reality; the recreated Kingdom of God’s dwelling with His people, coming in glory and yet to be completed!
Going Deeper
As we go deeper, we will spend further time with each of the three last phases of this prophecy; the general benefits (60:17,18), the new light (60:19,20), and the final glory (60:21.22). There are a number of places in Isaiah where his visions take us beyond earthly reality (see Isaiah 27, 35, for example). It is entirely consistent with these other prophecies that Isaiah should look forward to a new work of God to create a new dwelling place with His people.
The general benefits (60:17,18)
The hint of something more glorious is contained within the way in which wood and stone, bronze and iron, and silver and gold are described within this text. The great rich and unsurpassed metals of gold and silver replace bronze and iron, and the bronze and iron replace the wood and stone (60:17). Is there any significance in these objects, minerals and metals? The answer is that there is. All of them are listed as being used within the building of the great Temple of Solomon (1 Chron 22:14, 1 Chron 29:2 etc.). However, if we look closer in scripture we will find that wood and stone are the basic materials used for the ark and the Tabernacle (the 10 commandments are written on stone and the Ark and Tabernacle are made of wood and other materials). Scripture also describes other gods as made of ‘wood and stone’ (Deut 4:28, Deut 29:17). Bronze and iron were also used as building materials, but there were also symbols of strength and power (Job 40:18, Psalm 107:16, Isaiah 45:2). Gold and silver denote quality, beauty and richness, and are mentioned in scripture frequently both in the building of the Temple and also in reference to the wealth of Israel (Gen 13:2, Num 22:18, 1 Kings 7:51).
What are we to make of this? What Isaiah saw was the replacement of one building item with another of greater value and worth, and this is more than a hint. The building done by people from foreign lands bringing gold and silver (60:9) now makes sense, it is to upgrade the place of God’s dwelling. Zion is getting a refit, and the quality of materials used is to be increased! Some people feel that this prophecy points forward to a time when God will establish His rule on earth and Christ will come again, but in previous studies I have explained that this is not right. If we were to look at the crystalline structure of the new creation of God’s dwelling in Revelation (21:18), we would realise that God had much more in store for His heavenly abode. No, this is a vision of earthly upgrading from the time of the coming of the Redeemer.
This is confirmed by the last part of verse 17 and verse 18 in which Isaiah’s vision extends to non-violence, together with the appointment of ‘Peace’ and ‘Righteousness’ as the rulers of the people, and ‘Salvation’ and ‘Praise’ as the structure of the city. Altogether this part of the vision is a challenge to God’s people in the light of the Servant’s task of redemption (53) to take hold of the heritage available to them. Non—violence is possible amongst God’s people, if they dwell in His presence, ‘Peace’ and ‘Righteousness’ are to be the governing principles of life, and ‘Salvation’ and ‘Praise’ are to be the visible evidence of our spiritual life in this world
The New Light (60:19,20)
In a similar way, the two verses 19 and 20 are sometimes thought to propel the reader further forward towards the final time of God’s re-creation of all things, because the natural light of the sun and the moon are described as ceasing to give their light and the light of God replaces this. Clearly, this appears to tie in with the New Testament vision of God as the light that shines in the New Jerusalem (Rev 22:5). However, a closer look at the Hebrew (see notes above) directs us in a different way. Verse 19 says quite literally, ‘the sun will no longer be a light for you’ and the description of the moon’s light does not suggest that it stops, but that it will no longer be the ‘brightness’ people require in order to see at night. The emphasis is not on the ceasing of the sun and the moon as in the end of the world, but in the coming of a new ‘light’; ‘the Lord will be an everlasting light for you’ (60:19). This is more like the prophecy of one coming who will be a ‘light to the world’, something John believed had come true in the life of Jesus, centuries before our own day and certainly before the time of His coming again (John 8:12, 9:5).
Then, in verse 20, Isaiah reiterates the same theme, but we must be careful about interpreting the first two lines. It could be that they simply mirror the first few lines of the previous verse, but I suggest that they really reflect the new reality. The sun that does not set and the moon that does not wane is indeed the Lord, who is an ‘everlasting light for you’. When God’s people have accepted the work of the Redeemer, this is the spiritual truth available to them, which should banish all mourning from people’s hearts.
A vision beyond (60:21:22)
We cannot expect Isaiah to have a full understanding of the Kingdom of God as taught by Jesus, but I do suggest that his vision took him deeper and deeper into a picture of what we now call the Kingdom of God. This is something we experience now, in part, whilst we await the final completion of this kingdom at Christ’s coming again, and although the language of the last two verses seems to invite us to go further, it is fulfilled in God’s church.
The Kingdom we possess even in this earth is something which is our eternal inheritance; ‘they will possess the land forever’ (60:21). This idea is rarely preached about, and yet it is a truth which comes from the teaching of Jesus and also, as here, from the prophets. The Promised Land was given to the people of Israel with strings attached (see Deuteronomy 29,30), but the church is part of a Kingdom which does not perish and will not be taken away. Sometimes, when God’s people are in the midst of their occasional bouts of deep angst at what is happening to the church, it is worth remembering that God’s people bear an eternal inheritance just like this and despite all the problems, God does not take this away. His people are the ‘shoot that I planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my glory!’. This is our wonderful calling, and if our eyes are fixed firmly on this our godly call, then our apparent problems will be seen in their proper light, the light of the Lord Himself.
It is wonderful to read the final stanzas of this vision of Isaiah’s vision; ‘the youngest child will become a thousand, and the least significant a mighty nation!’ These could almost be the words of Jesus, after taking a child in his hands (e.g. see Matthew 19:1f.)! These words contain the whole theme of turning the values of the world upside down which characterised Jesus’ teaching, and they also contain the important idea of the significance of the ‘least’ in the Kingdom of God (see Matt 11:11, 25:40,45). These themes have little direct meaning here in Isaiah unless we allow that Isaiah’s words point us to the ministry of Jesus, the one true Redeemer.
The whole prophecy comes to an end with the concluding words of the Lord, which come with authority and power; ‘I am the Lord’ is the classic Old Testament statement of the authority of God Almighty, and it places the final stamp of approval on the vision. The last line then adds a remarkable and enigmatic feeling to the whole work; ‘when its time comes I will do this quickly!’ Again, some believe that this is a comment about the Lord’s second coming and the final judgement, but I believe that in this context, it is God’s comment about the speed with which the Christ child will come. Remember, so many of Isaiah’s prophecies are about the coming of redemption and salvation through the birth of a child (7:14), the coming of a king (9:6, 11:2f.) and the coming of a Redeemer (52:13-53:12). In this great vision, He speaks of nothing more and nothing less. For us, Isaiah’s prophecies may seem to point further, and this may simply be the result of our inadequacy when faced with the power of such texts. Our best response to this vision is to see it fulfilled in the life of Christ and our own times.
- V17 ‘I will appoint Peace as your governor and Righteousness as your taskmaster.’ The translation of this verse is relatively straightforward, but it is worth noting that the word I have translated as ‘governor’ can also mean an official ‘who exercises oversight’. In this it is remarkably similar to the Greek word used in 1 Timothy and Titus (‘episcopos’) which is often translated ‘bishop’, or ‘overseer’.
- V19 ‘nor will the moon give you light, as brightness.’ This is exactly what the Hebrew says, but the traditional Latin, supported by some ancient Targums, suggest that the words ‘by night’ can be added. They make the poetry of the passage smoother in Latin and also in English, so I suspect that this is an addition simply for this reason, and have therefore left it out.
- V19 ‘... your God will be your glory.’ The word for glory (‘tiparah’) is not the usual one used for the glory of God (‘cavath’) but a word meaning ‘beauty’, like the glory of something visible, like fine clothes or beautiful jewellery, or even something of which one can boast. Glory is indeed the right way to translate the word here because it refers to God, but it adds to our understanding of the word ‘glory’.
- V20 ‘your days of mourning will cease.’ The word translated ‘cease’ is in fact the famous word ‘shalom’. When used as a verb it means ‘make complete’ or ‘bring to an end’. I have preferred the word ‘cease’.
- V22 ‘and when its time comes I will do it quickly.’ The Hebrew here is two words, one meaning ‘in its time’ and the other meaning ‘I will do this quickly’, however, I have slightly paraphrased these two expressions so that we get the meaning of this more clearly.
