March 25, 2011
Central Truth
God is our Lord and Savior. He is the Mighty One and our Redeemer who will bring all of His worshipers from afar to Himself in perfection.
For the coastlands shall hope for me,
the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the LORD your God,
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because he has made you beautiful.
(Isaiah 60:9, ESV)
1
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3
And nations 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 carried on the hip.
5
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult,
1
60:5
Hebrew your heart shall tremble and grow wide
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned 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 bring good news, the praises of the LORD.
7
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,
and I will beautify my beautiful house.
8
Who are these that fly like a cloud,
and like doves to their windows?
9
For the coastlands shall hope for me,
the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the LORD your God,
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because he has made you beautiful.
10
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
Your gates shall be open continually;
day and night they shall not be shut,
that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
with their kings led in procession.
12
For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
13
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14
The sons of those who afflicted you
shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the LORD,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15
Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.
16
You shall suck the milk of nations;
you shall nurse at the breast of kings;
and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17
Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
and your taskmasters righteousness.
18
Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.
19
The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light;
2
60:19
Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Targum add by night
but the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
3
60:19
Or your beauty
20
Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
21
Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified.
4
60:21
Or that I might display my beauty
22
The least one shall become a clan,
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the LORD;
in its time I will hasten it.
Every day, I get to start my morning looking out my window, gazing at the beautiful Rocky Mountains that the Lord has made. They are a constant reminder to me that the Lord creates beautiful things out of nothing. As I read Isaiah 60, God reminded me that the same God who created the majestic Rockies is at work creating a new heaven and earth for you and me. In the second half of verse nine, Isaiah is summarizing what God is doing for His people, specifically for Israel, but through Christ for all those who believe in Him. This is what Isaiah says, "[F]or the name of the LORD your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful" (verse 9, ESV).
I have been wrestling with this idea that "God is making me/you beautiful." Here is my conclusion. God not only will be our Redeemer, Lord, and Savior at the end of time as Isaiah mentions in verse 16 and our everlasting light and glory when "the sun shall be no more" (verse 19, ESV), but He is also Redeemer, Lord, and Savior today as you and I go through life.
One day, we all will come to Him when He gathers the nations to Himself as Isaiah 60 describes, and things will not be broken but made perfect in a Savior. But we don't have to wait for wholeness.
Today, if you have put your hope and trust in His Son, God is making you beautiful through the power of God the Spirit at work in your life to make you more and more like Him. For me, Isaiah 60 was a reminder and a source of hope that my God has been making me beautiful as He daily chisels off my harsh, prideful edge that I have struggled with my whole life. I am not only hopeful of one day being made beautiful and perfect when Christ comes back, but I find joy and peace now seeing God in His timing make me beautiful as I submit myself to Him. Are you aware of the grace God has for you? Do you see that His kingdom is not just some far-off thing, but even now God is creating beautiful things out of you? God makes you beautiful.
1. Can you say with all your heart that God is your Lord, Savior,
Redeemer, and Mighty One who wants to make you beautiful?
2. Do you see God's kingdom coming in your life today, or are you
simply waiting for Christ to come back?
3. Do you tend to put your hope only in the future or in what God is
doing today?
4. Where in your life do you see God transforming your life and making
you beautiful?
This week celebrate with your community the ways you see God making you and others beautiful out of the amazing grace of Christ.
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
ISAIAH 56-60 (MAR 21-25)
Read Isaiah 56:1-2.
What does the Lord ask us to do? If we do these things, we will be blessed. What do you think this blessing looks like?
Read Isaiah 58:6-14.
What are the things He says we should do here? What does He consider to be a blessing?
Activity: Talk about verse 7. Who do you know that is in need-- whether for shelter, food, or clothing? What can you do to make a sacrifice to meet one of these needs for someone? Look in your closets and take clothes to a clothing bank? Go serve a meal at a shelter? Put meals in your car and go look for someone in need?
After doing the activity in the previous paragraph, what was it like? Did you experience blessing because of your time being obedient to what He calls us to do?
(Together, read Sarah Stehlik's blog at http://thestehlikchronicles.com/2010/09/30/his-name-is-robert/.)