Arise, Shine

The world is dark. Thick darkness, over every land and every people. And then, over one city, the sky begins to glow, like sunrise. And a voice calls out to the city: Wake up! Get up! Shine!

Isaiah chapter sixty is spoken to Jerusalem, also called Zion. The city has been through ruin. Her walls were broken, her temple burned, her people scattered. Even those who came home found a poor, small, struggling town. They felt anything but glorious. In the chapters just before, God promises that a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those who turn from their sins. And now God speaks to the city as if she were a woman lying in the dust, grieving. Get up. Things are about to change.

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the Lord's glory has risen on you.” Notice: the light is not Jerusalem's own. It comes to her. God's glory rises on her, the way the sun rises over the hills. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you.” All around, the world is still in shadow. But on God's people, a light is shining. And because of that light, something astonishing happens. “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Then God tells the city to look around. “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together. They come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be carried in arms.” The scattered children are coming home. Picture a mother on her doorstep, seeing her lost children appearing over the hill. “Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and be enlarged.” Her face lights up. Her heart feels as if it will burst. And it's not just her family. The wealth of the sea, the riches of the nations, will come to her.

And here come the camels. “A multitude of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah. All from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of the Lord.” Long lines of camels from the desert lands to the south and east, swaying under loads of gold and fragrant incense. Not coming to conquer, but to praise God. Centuries later, wise men from the east followed a star to Jerusalem, and then to Bethlehem. When they found the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshipped him, and they opened their treasures: gold, frankincense and myrrh. The light Isaiah saw rising over Zion had come into the world as a baby. And the nations were beginning to come to it.

Frankincense was one of the most precious goods of the ancient world. It is a fragrant resin, tapped from the bark of small trees that grow in the dry hills of southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, described how it was gathered in Arabia and carried north by caravan, and how expensive it became along the way. Burned on hot coals, it gives off a sweet, sharp smoke, and it was used in temples across the ancient world, including the temple in Jerusalem.

Arise, shine. You'll find it in Isaiah chapter sixty, verses one to six. In a dark world, God's light rises on his people, and the nations come to it with gifts. So here is a question to carry with you. Jesus said his followers are the light of the world. Where could you let his light shine this week?