Isaiah · chapter 60 of 66
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Isaiah 60 announces to Zion that her light has come and that the glory of the Lord has risen upon her while darkness covers the earth. The nations and their kings come to that light, children return from afar, wealth and praise arrive, the gates stay open, and the Lord will be Zion's everlasting light, her people all righteous.
Isaiah 60 is the first of three chapters (60-62) that describe the future glory of Zion in the third part of the book. After the confession and the Lord's intervention in chapters 58 and 59, here light replaces darkness, and the restored city becomes a point of attraction for the nations.
The chapter begins with a command: arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Darkness covers the earth and thick darkness the peoples, but the Lord will arise upon you and his glory will be seen upon you. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. Verses 4 through 9 ask Zion to lift up her eyes: they all gather and come to you, your sons come from afar and your daughters are carried on the hip. Your heart will thrill, because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you and the wealth of the nations will come.
Verses 10 through 14 say that foreigners will build up your walls and their kings will minister to you. Your gates will stand open continually, day and night they will not be shut, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations. The nation that will not serve you will perish. The sons of those who afflicted you will come bending low to you and call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas you were forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from generation to generation. You will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Verses 17 through 22 promise changes: instead of bronze I will bring gold, instead of iron silver. Violence will no more be heard in your land; you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will be no more your light by day, nor the moon for brightness; the Lord will be your everlasting light and your God your glory. Your sun will no more go down, and your people will all be righteous; they will possess the land forever. The least one will become a thousand, and the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Zion is told to arise and shine because her light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon her. The light is not born in the city: it comes from the Lord and is reflected in her.
Nations will come to Zion's light and kings to the brightness of her rising. God's people fulfill their mission when others are drawn by the light the Lord makes shine upon them.
Camels from Midian and Ephah arrive, and people of Sheba bring gold and frankincense, proclaiming the praises of the Lord. Matthew 2 speaks of magi bringing gold and frankincense to the child Jesus, and many readers see an echo of this passage, although Matthew does not quote it.
The sun and moon will no longer be Zion's light, because the Lord will be her everlasting light and her glory. Revelation takes up this image in describing the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:23; 22:5).
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: To arise and shine, because her light has come. — Isaiah 60:1
Answer: The nations and the kings. — Isaiah 60:3
Answer: Gold and frankincense, and they proclaim the praises of the Lord. — Isaiah 60:6
Answer: They will stand open continually, not shut by day or night. — Isaiah 60:11
Answer: The walls Salvation and the gates Praise. — Isaiah 60:18
Answer: The Lord, her God, who will be her glory. — Isaiah 60:19
Isaiah 60 reminds us that the church does not shine on its own. The light comes from the Lord and the community reflects it. In a class you can talk about how we live so that others draw near to that light, not because of our image but because of who God is.
The always-open gates encourage a church to be a place of welcome, accessible to all. And the promise of a Lord who is everlasting light comforts anyone passing through personal darkness: the dark does not have the last word. For a youth group, a useful question is: what does it mean for us to arise and shine in our surroundings this week?
Isaiah 60 describes Zion filled with light, with peoples arriving and justice governing. Chapter 61 gives the voice to someone anointed by the Spirit, who brings good news to the poor, a passage Jesus read in Nazareth.
Revelation takes up several images from this chapter to describe the new Jerusalem: gates that are never shut (Revelation 21:25), kings who bring their glory (21:24) and a city that needs no sun or moon because the glory of God lights it (21:23). Many believers see in Isaiah 60 a foretaste of that final hope.
Interpreters differ. Some see a promise for the community that returned from exile, others a hope fulfilled in the church, and others a future reality for Jerusalem and the world. In every case the center is the Lord as light and the coming of the nations into his presence.