118. Arise, Shine

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Hymns: RHC 14 Send Out Thy Light and Thy Truth 460 Send the Light! 461 O Zion, Haste

Isaiah 60

1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. 8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? 9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. 10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. 12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. 14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. 16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. 17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. 18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. 22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.

Arise, Shine

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  • Worship in the Millennium (1-12)

INTRODCUTION

God through the prophet cries, Arise, He enables Jerusalem to arise. It is a word of power, as when Jesus commanded Lazarus to come forth (John 14:13). The second command is “shine”, by a use of words which sound alike with the first. 

Having received from the LORD His own perfect, holy light, her true salvation, Zion is to radiate that light. As “arise” refers to the outer man, so “shine” to the inner. Were not the light of salvation in her heart, Zion could not rise. [EJ Young]

The reason for the command is that Jerusalem’s light has come to her. Salvation is light and it dispels the darkness of ignorance, sin and evil. It is Zion’s salvation, for in accordance to the covenant promised to her – the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee (v2b) with Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee (v1). 

Sandwiched in between verse 2a – For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people:

Like a blazing sun, so the glory of the LORD has arisen upon Jerusalem subjecting it to its full and glaring light.

This glory is displayed in the whole of the created universe but was manifested in particular in the history of redemption, as in the Shekinah, and the pillar of cloud and fire. It accompanies salvation, for salvation is a manifestation of the Lord’s glory.

The contrast is with the darkness, the ignorance, sin, sorrow, destruction and perdition. Such darkness will cover the earth so that the earth is completely covered and no light shines through. 

There was a thick cloud, a thick, heavy darkness. A present state of the world without God. 

The thought is that even though darkness covers the earth, the LORD will arise as the sun upon Zion.

Upon Zion, instead of continuing darkness, light will shine. [EJ Young]

When Isaiah speaks of the earth is still enshrouded with darkness, there being only the morning star of the divine promises; but when Christ came, the Sun arose and light broke forth.

This light of salvation will draw nations unto it, and therein lies the reason why Zion is glorious. 

Here is a description of the Millennium when Christ returns to defeat the army of the Antichrist and sets up His earthly kingdom in Jerusalem where Satan is bound!

Revelation 20:1-6 (KJV) And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Isaiah declares that nations will walk with respect to Zion’s light. Not only nations, but kings, the head of nations, will walk with respect to the brightness of Zion’s arising. Isaiah is saying that not only the common people but even those of high rank with come to the saving knowledge of the truth.

Zion is rising and in rising is shedding its brightness. 

4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

Jerusalem is personified as a mother who looks about with love and tenderness as her children are gathered again unto her. Referring not only of Israelites but heathen who have been converted and are coming from afar in all directions. The heathen seek Zion, the dwelling place of the one living and eternal God.

5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Tremendous emotion will seize Zion as she sees the heathen coming to her in faith, her true sons and daughters. All that at one time belonged to the heathen nations will now be turned over to Zion, for the people and all that they have will be dedicated to Jerusalem.

6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

Traders from distant nations will bring their treasures to the LORD. An abundance of camels will cover the land, as a flood had overflowed the land, covering all.

They came to Jerusalem to worship the LORD at the Temple.

All of these (all the camels and dromedaries) will come from Sheba, a district in Arabia that may probably be identified with what is today known as Yemen. 

The animals will not come empty but bearing burdens of precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). Those who bring these gifts desire to offer the best unto their God, an expression of heartfelt devotion.

This devotion manifests itself in the praises of God which are proclaimned.

7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. 8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? 9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. 10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. 12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

Nations will bring their animals to serve the LORD in offerings. All the flocks of Kedar perhaps stands for Kedar’s wealth and the rams of Nebaioth for the best that Nebaioth can offer. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael (Gen. 25:13), whose descendants lived in the deserts between Syria and Mesopotamia.

1 Chronicles 1:29 (KJV) These are their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

Kedar’s flocks will be gathered for the benefit of Zion, and Natatea’s rams will serve Zion, speaking of free-will service as opposed to compulsory labour.

Isaiah speaks of the influx of the heathen as he looks out toward the Mediterranean sea and sees that shadowy forms which seem to be flying like a cloud. 

Tarshish speaks of Spain from western Europe.

Here the LORD is reign in Jerusalem – Zechariah 14:1-9 (KJV) Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee tothe valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. 8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. 9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

The action of strangers continuously coming, Zion’s gates will always be open those who do not enter will perish.

To be continued…