Your Light Has Come

Isaiah 60: 1 - 5 (January 3, 2010)

1) The Text

60Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4Lift 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. 5Then 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.

2) The Context

This book can be divided into two (and possibly three) parts. Chapters 1 to 39 were written before the exile, from about 740 BC to about 700 BC. These were difficult times for the southern kingdom, Judah: a disastrous war was fought with Syria; the Assyrians conquered Israel, the northern kingdom, in 723 BC, and threatened Judah. Isaiah saw the cause of these events as social injustice, which he condemned, and against which he fought valiantly. Chapters 40 to 66 were written during and after the Exile in Babylon. They are filled with a message of trust and confident hope that God will soon end the Exile. Some scholars consider that Chapters 56 to 66 form a third part of the book, written after the return to the Promised Land. These chapters speak of hope and despair; they berate the people for their sin, for worshipping other gods. Like Second Isaiah, this part speaks of the hope that God will soon restore Jerusalem to its former glory and make a new home for all peoples.

Chapters 60-62 are the heart of the third section of Isaiah (56-66). The community of returned exiles struggled to believe that God was still working in their midst (see Where is God? Isaiah 59:1-21). The promises recorded in the second section of Isaiah during the exile (40-55) pointed to a great future for God’s people (see The Turn Toward Hope: Isaiah 40:1-15). They had regained possession of the land as promised. But they were barely existing. The community of God’s people was in no condition to be a light to the nations (42:5-7).

Throughout these chapters, prophetic interpretations of actual historical events are interwoven with visionary descriptions of the working out of God’s purpose in history. The language in this chapter is highly poetic, painting a glorious word picture of the restoration of Jerusalem (note Micah 4, Ezekiel 40). The exact setting of the chapter is not certain. Historical events unfolding in Israel during the fifth century BC likely provide the background for the passage (see The Unity and Authorship of Isaiah).

3) Interpretation

Scripture readings for Epiphany include both this passage and Matthew 2:1-12 (i.e., the Three Kings visiting baby Jesus). The name Epiphany comes from the Greek verb epiphaino, which means ‘to appear, give light’. The noun means ‘appearing, appearance, or coming’, and the adjective ‘glorious’. No ordinary appearance is indicated but one that brings light, both literally and metaphorically, in theological terms ‘revelation’ of some kind.

The feast of Epiphany is associated with the visit of the wise men from the east who have come to Judea in search of the new born king of the Jews. They have observed his star or portent at its rising. His coming has been ‘revealed’ to them, and in the star light has literally shone forth. We can, therefore, see why this passage is set for Epiphany. It is also understandable that the Old Testament reading set for Epiphany is today’s passage which begins ‘Arise, shine; for your light has come’, and continues telling of the glory of the Lord coming upon the people. Lots of light and plenty of ‘seeing’ fill this passage.

More broadly, Isaiah 60 is concerned with the glorification of God’s house, the temple, in the new age. The chapter is addressed to the city of Jerusalem, which is here pictured as a woman forsaken and hated but who is now promised a new, restored life. This woman will be adorned and have her children restored to her (cf. Isa. 49:14-26). The chapter moves toward a crescendo, building up an image of great glory coming to Zion. After an introduction (vv. 1-3) the chapter divides into three sections, each ending with an aspect of the praise of God.

The image from Isaiah is not dissimilar to that given in the story of the wise men in Matthew’s Gospel. That story stands at the beginning of the Gospel to point the way to the end; to reveal at the start that Jesus is the king who has been awaited, and that in him a new light has dawned. But just as the wise men do not understand in the story at first what that means fully, so we do not fully understand it until we hear of the sign above Jesus on the cross. His kingdom is not of the type we might normally expect, one marked by power, strength and authority. It will in the end be marked by a cross, a tool of oppression and injustice meant to indicate failure and rejection. As we read of the crucifixion we are reminded of the wise men’s testimony and hope, and we read with new insight.

Isaiah’s story is like their story. It points to a truth which will shape how the events to follow will be understood, a truth that will help the people of Judah and Jerusalem face disappointment and hardship. Isaiah’s wonderful vision of the light coming, the light which in the end is the Lord himself (v. 20) helps maintain their hope, and shape the way they will live their life. The story of the birth of Jesus the Christ can easily be seen in and of itself as an end, an end of the waiting of Advent, the coming of the one expected. It is just that, for Jesus is Immanuel, ‘God with us’. But it is more. It is itself a light that points us toward another end, the fullness of the kingdom of heaven as Matthew calls it and it helps shape how we live our life toward that end.

4) Thought Exercise

In what way did new light come to you this Christmas season?

How can this light shape your life in the year to come?