Isaiah 60:1-6

Isaiah 60:1-6 (NRSV)

 Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

² For darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will appear over you.

³ Nations shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 

⁴ Lift up your eyes and look around;

they all gather together, they come to you;

your sons shall come from far away,

and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.

⁵ Then you shall see and be radiant;

your heart shall thrill and rejoice,

because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,

the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

⁶ A multitude of camels shall cover you,

the young camels of Midian and Ephah;

all those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense,

and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Isaiah 60:1-6, part of a segment that extends to verse 22, has the theme of the glory of the New Jerusalem. Most scholars will assign this passage to III Isaiah, the prophet who was part of those who returned to Jerusalem after the exile. The chapter has a close relation to Chapter 62 and to the Zion poems of 49-53. The Lord is the speaker. The light is the presence of the Lord that draws all nations to Jerusalem. The metaphor of light and darkness will be important in this oracle. The nations bring their wealth to Israel. They submit to Israel because Israel is the place where the Lord finds a people who worship the Lord. The emphasis is peace and security. The text may envision an Israelite empire. The focus is the coming good fortune of Zion as the epicenter of a new world order promised by the God of Israel. Deliverance, healing, restoration, and forgiveness are for the chosen people, of course, but now we find it to be a promise to the world. 

In Isaiah 60:1-6, the oracle begins by addressing Israel to ¹arise, shine, for its light (unique to III Isaiah) has come. If we put ourselves with the first listeners of this oracle, we will probably respond with some skepticism. The prophet invites them to stand up and be ready for a new day. They were downcast, understandably discouraged. He is seeking to awaken the powers they already have within them. Further, this view of the light of Israel reflects the theology of the covenantal relationship between and the Lord that forms the basis of these prophecies. As a parallel affirmation, the glory of the Lord has risen upon them. Yes, ²darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord and the glory of the Lord will arise upon Israel. Isaiah 9:1 is similar in thought. The Day of Judgment and redemption for the nations is a time when they will see the divine plan for Israel. Israel will see its election as an event in its history that becomes a divine mission. At that point, ³nations shall come to the light of Israel. The purpose of Israel was universal in scope. It was to provide a light for all people. Yes, people would overlook the light. Yet, in the end, this light will shine out unmistakably in the vast darkness that covered the earth.[1] The point is that Zion shall shine with the reflected radiance of the divine light that has now arrived. Let us pause for a moment with this notion. What does the prophet see that others do not see? I can imagine they were cynical and rational. War had ravaged Zion. The people are in conflict with each other. Very little exists in the way of political or religious leadership. What does this prophet see that people around him do not see? Further, many of us cannot see the light that has already come. At least half of our problem is that we do not have confidence in or believe in God when the dark times come to our lives. In any case, the prophet sees that Kings will come. Isaiah 2:2-3 = Micah 4:1-2, say that in the future, nations will stream to Zion, desiring to come to the house of the Lord in order to learn the ways or paths of the Lord. Instruction and the word of the Lord will flow from Zion. III Isaiah envisions a fulfillment of this prophecy. The prophet encourages Zion to ⁴look around and see sons and daughters coming, carried on the arms of their nurses. Israel had experienced divine judgment in the dispersion and exile, for it had forsaken its side of the covenant. The Lord promises to reverse the exile here. Long held captive among the nations, those dispersed will return home. At that point, they ⁵shall see and be radiant (Psalm 34:5), for they shall grasp the full significance of what they are seeing. Their heart shall thrill and rejoice, for the abundance of the sea (usually a sign of evil or chaos in the Old Testament) and the wealth of the nations shall come to them. We see a sign of the liberation of Israel and the compassion of the Lord. Further, ⁶camels shall be in Israel in abundance, especially from Midian, Ephah, and Sheba. People shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord. This suggests Arab lands and luxuriant and royal abundance brought to Zion. The Christian will think of the visit of the Magi in Matthew 2:1-12 as a partial fulfillment of this prophecy.

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[1] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.1 [57.2] 31.