November 6, Isaiah 60
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the
glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For
behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick
darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise
upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. - Isaiah 60:1-3
Imagine the effect Isaiah's words in Chapter 60 would have on the captive Israelites in Babylon. They had lost everything, their freedom and their homes. Perhaps their family members had been among those killed. Their captors had confiscated their wealth, destroyed their city and dissolved their national identity. The Babylonians had made them slaves in a foreign land. And God told the captives through Isaiah, more than a century before their captivity, "Arise, shine, for your light has come." God would bring their captivity to an end. The old promises would be kept. The bright fulfillment might begin when Cyrus released them from captivity. But nothing in the years to come would remotely match what was predicted by the prophet.
Until the promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, came into the world, the Gentiles would remain in the deep darkness of idolatry. The Jews themselves would be in the darkness of ongoing disobedience and ritual worship practices that failed to honor God or impact their daily lives. But when Christ came and established a new Israel in himself and his people, the fulfillment of the promises would bring the glorious light of God to their hearts and lives. Even then, some of the images and prophecies about that coming light would not be realized until the final judgment and the dawn of the eternal day of glory for God's people.
The New Testament leaves no doubt that Jesus himself is that light of which Isaiah spoke. The gospel writers tie Isaiah's words about the light to Jesus' birth, ministry and glorious resurrection, and the new Israel of God in Christ. John said that life was in Jesus and that life was the light of men. Jesus said of himself that light had come into the world. He called himself the light of the world. No one else in all of history fits Isaiah's prophetic words about the glorious light.
And it was not just light. This text described a light whose brightness was the very glory of God. Again, only Jesus fits that description. Creation does show some of God's glory. Our natural world and our own bodies testify to God's power and wisdom. But only in Christ does the glory of God's justice, mercy, compassion and love shine through.
Remember that the first word and work of God in Creation on the first page of the Bible was, "Let there be light." And at the end of the Bible, the ultimate outcome of all God's promises of redemption and salvation are realized. God's people are in a city where there is no need for sun or moon, because the glory of God is the light in that eternal place of praise. God had blessed Israel with the light that guided them in the pillar of fire. He gave them a law that should have enlightened them about his character and nature, and made them holy as he is holy, reflections of his light. But their sin obscured that light, and God withdrew his shining presence from them more than once. The glory of God rose and set like the sun on Israel through centuries of their history. They did not lose their light because God forsook them; they lost it because they forsook God.
When you and I see the light of Christ and come to that light, we have the privilege of walking in the light and not stumbling. We still experience times of darkness and sorrow in this world. But one day God will once again separate the light from the darkness, and banish darkness forever as his redeemed people join him in an unending day of glory. We long for that time to come, but trust that God will do exactly as he said at the end of this chapter: "I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it."
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—November 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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