NOTES for Isa 60:1-22

A majestic picture opens before us: we see Jerusalem triumphant, having become a center of attraction for all nations. This was hardly what those who listened to the prophetic words by the rivers of Babylon dreamed of. They must have had simple and understandable dreams of liberation and a return to their native land; it may even be that some of them regarded the people's calling by the Lord as an unbearable burden.

But the One who calls people to serve Him also gives them strength for that service. And so, behind the events of the earthly history of a small Near Eastern people, we can discern the outlines of the deep course of history whose meaning the Lord reveals to us. We see that the exiled Israelites must return to the Promised Land not only for the sake of their own practical interests, but first of all in order to continue on that land to stand before God and to keep His Covenant. Then Jerusalem will become a lamp illuminating for all nations the way to the Lord.