Your Light Has Come!

Isaiah 60:1-12 

1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.

2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.

3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 "Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.

5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.

6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come;
They shall bring gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.

7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
They shall ascend with acceptance on My altar,
And I will glorify the house of My glory.

8 "Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like doves to their roosts?
9 Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them,
To the name of the LORD your God,
And to the Holy One of Israel,
Because He has glorified you.

10 "The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls,
And their kings shall minister to you;
For in My wrath I struck you,
But in My favor I have had mercy on you.

11 Therefore your gates shall be open continually;
They shall not be shut day or night,
That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles,
And their kings in procession.
12 For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
And those nations shall be utterly ruined.

Our light has now since come in God’s glory by His grace in Christ!  Though the world was covered in the darkness of sin and without hope, His glory rose like the dawning sun upon His people looking forward in Israel’s day but backwards in time for us to the time we base our calendar on because of Christ’s coming as foretold by Isaiah many times.  Nations and even kings would come to that light, gathering together for the glory of God and His Anointed through His people.  Isaiah called for the people to look up and look around for God’s work of drawing people to Himself out of all the nations and not just Israel (John 12:32) as promised to our common father by faith, Abraham (Genesis 17:5, Romans 4:17-18).  All this He does for His glory as well as our good (Romans 8:28)!  Because He has glorified us in Christ, we have come to the Holy One as He called and drew us to Himself to make one people out of many nations (Ephesians 1:10, 2:12-13, 14-15, 18).  The punishment on Israel for rejecting Him and disobedience to His word resulted in gathering us from outside Israel into one people as promised by faith exemplified by Abraham (Romans 11:25, 32).  Mercy given to Israel now comes to all nations on those He has chosen and called in Christ Jesus.  As the picture is given here of welcoming gates ever open to receive these riches of many, so the souls of all called will find eternally open gates in the New Jerusalem to come (Revelation 21:24-26) to serve and worship Him forevermore.  Those left outside the gates (Revelation 22:15) will be utterly ruined forever as they rejected Him and His word of grace to salvation in His Son, Jesus the Christ.  May all who read and hear respond as called by repentance through faith in receiving Him.  Arise, your light has come (John 3:19, 21, 8:12)!