August 10 - Isaiah 60:1-9

August 10 – Isaiah 60:1-9

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

“Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.

“Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests? Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.

We see the future fulfillment of these words in Revelation 21 when the nations walk by the light of the New Jerusalem and the kings bring their splendor into it (Rev. 21:24).

The day is coming when all will be restored. 

I love watching the sky when clouds are breaking up after a storm.  I see a lot of wonderful stuff as I drive across Iowa because I can drive in and out of storm fronts.  The most exhilarating images are those of the dark, grey clouds breaking into mist with the lighter clouds coming in behind them, followed by the bright blue sky.  It’s amazing to see the darkness dissipate. 

Just like that image, darkness fills the earth, but the Lord’s light will break through and restore everything.

In Genesis 13:14-17, Abraham is told to ‘lift up his eyes from where he is and look north and south, east and west.’ Everything that he saw would be given to him and his offspring.  This is the promise that God made to Abraham regarding the explosion of his offspring on earth.

Now, we see that Jerusalem is to lift up her eyes and she no longer sees space that is hers to fill with offspring, but she sees the return of the children of Israel and the explosion of growth in the land. 

The New Jerusalem is coming.  She will be covered in splendor.  Revelation 21:2 says, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”

God says in Revelation 21:5, “I am making everything new!”

Restoration. Reunion. Renewal.