Isaiah 60

Isaiah 60:1

Isaiah: God controls the nations God’s promises to his special people An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Isaiah chapters 58 to 66 www.easyenglish.info Norman Hillyer This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 60 New *Jerusalem will be splendid v1 ‘Rise, *Jerusalem, and shine like the sun! The *glory of the *Lord is shining on you! v2 Darkness covers the earth. Black night covers the nations. But the *Lord will come like the sunrise to you. His *glory will appear over you. v3 The people from foreign nations will move towards your light. Their rulers will come to your bright dawn.’

Verse 1

The *Lord is speaking to ‘*Jerusalem’. ‘*Jerusalem’ refers to both the city and its inhabitants. So, through this whole chapter, ‘you’ means both the city and its inhabitants.

 ‘Rise’ means ‘get up to act’. The action is ‘to shine’. That is, the people are to express bright hope for their future, because of God’s firm promises.

 When dawn comes in the East, it appears very quickly. The sudden sunshine on the white rock of the *Temple is a powerful contrast with the earlier black night. This provides a word picture of the experience of *Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The *Lord will suddenly act. He will free the *exiles from their hopeless darkness (despair) in Babylon. And he will bring them home to *Jerusalem.

Verse 2

God’s gift of special light is for his people when they obey him (see Isaiah 9:2 and 58:8). The ‘light’ refers to the witness that God’s people give to the nations.

Verse 3

Light attracts attention. Foreign nations will notice what happens. They will want to share the same experience. Crowds are coming to *Jerusalem v4 ‘Look about you! See what is happening! Your people are gathering to come home together. Your sons and your daughters are coming from distant countries. v5 When you see them, your eyes will be bright with great joy. Your hearts will tremble with excitement. That is not all.

Merchants will bring to you wealth that you could never imagine. It will come from many nations across the sea. v6 Crowds of *camels will cover your land. They will come from Midian and Ephah. People will bring gold and *frankincense from Sheba to praise the *Lord. v7 Great numbers of sheep will come from Kedah. The rams (male sheep) of Nebaioth will also be for you to use as *sacrifices on my *altar,’ says the *Lord. ‘In this way I will make my *Temple even more magnificent. v8 There are ships that are sailing along like clouds in the sky. They are like birds that are flying home to their nests. v9 Great ships are coming from distant countries.

They are bringing God’s people home. They carry with them silver and gold to give honour to the *Lord. He is the Holy God of Israel, who has caused all nations to respect his people.’

Verses 4-5

The ‘sons’ and ‘daughters’ refer to the families from *Jerusalem which were in *exile. Now the *Lord makes it possible for them to return home. This continues the word picture in Isaiah 49:17-21.

Verses 6-7

All the areas in this list were in the desert called Arabia. The people who lived there were called Arabs. They were busy merchants. They used *camels to carry their goods over long distances.

 People in Israel usually obtained gold (see Isaiah 2:7) and *frankincense (see Isaiah 43:23) by trade. And Sheba was famous for its supplies of these things. But the Queen of Sheba gave gifts of gold and *frankincense to Solomon (1 Kings 10:10). And the *New Testament mentions gifts of gold and *frankincense in connection with the birth of Jesus the *Messiah (see Matthew 2:11). Also, see Matthew 12:42.

Verses 8-9

As picture words, ‘ships, clouds, birds, nests’ describe a busy scene of action. Former enemies are now eager to bring back harmony and beauty to the city that once they tried to destroy. They do not stop to wonder why they have changed their attitude. It was the *Lord who caused this to happen. Enemies will rebuild *Jerusalem v10 ‘Foreigners will rebuild the walls of *Jerusalem. Foreign kings will be your servants. Because of my anger,’ says the *Lord, ‘I punished you. But now I am showing you great kindness. And I am comforting you. v11 The gates of *Jerusalem will always remain open. They will never shut, in the daytime or during the night. Because continuously, people will be bringing great gifts into the city. And foreign kings will personally deliver to you the wealth of their nations. v12 Any nation or country that does not serve you will end. Enemies will completely destroy those nations. v13 Valuable wood from the rich forests in Lebanon will come to you. The wood will help to make my holy *Temple beautiful. And it will give honour to the place where I stand.’

Verse 10

The *Lord had been angry because the people refused to obey him. The people’s punishment was to become *exiles for many years in Babylon.

Verse 11

Normally, men shut the city’s gates each evening to give protection to the inhabitants. But now there is no danger. The *Lord is in complete control.

Verse 13

Only the very best materials are good enough for the *Lord’s *Temple. Centuries earlier, King Solomon obtained the help of the *Gentile people from Lebanon (see 1 Kings 5:2-9). They provided wood for the *Temple.

 The *Lord’s *Temple is holy, because the holy *Lord is there. The *Lord changes attitudes v14 ‘The sons of enemies that attacked you in former days will now kneel at your feet. All who once hated you caused you so much pain. Now they will be humble towards you. They will call *Jerusalem “The City of the *Lord” and “*Zion, the City of the Holy God of Israel”. v15 You people in *Jerusalem will no longer feel alone. Nor will you feel that other nations hate you. It used to be like that, when people would not even travel through *Jerusalem.

But I, the *Lord, will make your city beautiful. *Jerusalem will always be a city to give you pride. v16 You will enjoy the best things that other nations can provide. And I will make them to care deeply for you. Only I, your *Lord, can bring about this complete change of attitude. You will realise that only the all-powerful God of Israel can save you. Only he can cause this to happen.’

Verses 14-16

Whether people realise it or not, their deepest desires can find true satisfaction only in the God of Israel. That is true about the desires both of people, and of whole nations. The *Lord will establish true peace v17 ‘Instead of ordinary metals, I will bring gold and silver to you. I will bring you metal instead of wood. And you will have iron instead of stones. And I will establish fair government and a quiet life for all. v18 You will no longer hear the noise of attacks in your nation. Enemies will no longer destroy or ruin your country. You will name your walls, “The *Lord keeps us safe”. And you will name your gates, “They praise the *Lord”.’

Verse 17

You will have all the materials that you need for the *Temple. This was what happened in the days of King Solomon (see 1 Chronicles 29:7).

Verse 18

To give names to the walls and gates is a double word picture. The first means that the *Lord himself will protect his people like a strong wall. The second means that the people will praise the *Lord because of his actions on their behalf. The bright (and wonderful) future v19 ‘The sun will no longer be your light during the day. The moon will no longer shine on you by night. Instead, the *Lord himself will be your constant light all the time. God’s own wonderful light will shine upon you. v20 Your sun and your moon will never set. Because I, the *Lord, will be your light for always. And your sad days will end. v21 All your people will do what is right. They will possess their land for always. They will be like a young tree that the *Lord has planted with his own hands. It will show how great he is. v22 The few will grow into a large crowd. The small nation will become powerful. I, the *Lord, will cause this to happen when the right time comes.’

Verse 19

This does not mean that the sun and moon will disappear. Rather, it means that God’s people will not need their light. Their light cannot compare with the *Lord’s far brighter light. And unlike the light of the sun and moon, the *Lord’s light will never end (see Zechariah 14:6-7; Revelation 21:22-25).

Verse 20

The ‘sad days’ refer to the people’s first sight of the state of their land. Enemies had ruined it while the people were away as *exiles in Babylon.

Verse 22

The *Lord made such a promise to Abraham many centuries earlier (see Genesis 18:18).

© 2007, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

October 2007

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