It's time for another Sunday Scripture! This is the last post of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful. You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later. I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.] Today's study is from Isaiah 60:1-9.
S= "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
"For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples, but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.
"And the darkness shall come to the light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
"Lift up thine eyes round about, and see; they all gather themselves together, they shall come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
"Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged, because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the nations shall come unto thee.
"The multitude of camels shall cover thee; the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; they all from Sheba shall come, they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD.
"All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee; they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
"Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like the doves to their windows?
"Surely the coasts shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD, thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. (Isaiah 60:1-9)
O= In the Scofield Study Bible, C.I. Scofield titles chapter 60 of Isaiah "Glorious Zion in the Kingdom Age."
In With the Word, Warren Wiersbe focuses on three words that sum up the various sections of Isaiah 60. Two of them describe our passage.
For verses 1-3 (and also v. 19-22) he uses the word "light". He notes: "As Isaiah looked ahead to the redeemed people and the restored city of Zion, the thing that impressed him most was glory. It would be the dawning of a new day for the nation."
For verses 4-9 he chooses the word "unity". He writes, "Jews and Gentiles alike will delight in worshiping and serving God. Our world is plagued by division and conflict, but one day, God will give peace."
Cross-references for "risen upon thee" (v.1) --"And I will gather the remnant of My flock out of the countries to which I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase." (Jeremiah 23:3)
"And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Zion a Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." (Romans 11:26)
Cross-references for "glory" (v. 2) -- "And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory shall be a defense." (Isaiah 4:5)
"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did light it, and the Lamb is the lamp of it. And the nations of them who are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it." (Revelation 21:23-24)
Cross-reference for "light" (v.3) -- "I, the LORD, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations." (Isaiah 42:6)
The above is clearly speaking of Christ.
Cross-reference for "come to thee" (v.4) -- "Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold; all these gather themselves together, and come to thee." (Isaiah 49:18a)
Cross-reference for "Ephah" (v.6) -- "And the sons of Midian: Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah." [Abraham's second wife following the death of Sarah.]
Cross-reference for "Kedar" (v.7) -- "And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Israel, Nebaioth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam." (Genesis 25:13)
Verses 14-15 of Genesis 25 go on to list 8 more sons of Ishmael. So Kedar was one of twelve sons of Ishmael. And Nebaioth (also in verse 7) was Kedar's eldest brother, according to Genesis 25:13.
Cross-reference for "acceptance" (v.7) -- "Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and m ake them joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all peoples." (Isaiah 56:7)
Cross-reference for "glorify" (v.7) -- "And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts ... The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former, saith the LORD of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts." (Habakkuk 2:7-9)
Cross-reference for "bring thy sons from far" (v.9) -- "Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will lift up Mine hand to the nations; and set up My standard to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders." (Isaiah 49:22)
Warren Wiersbe writes in Be Comforted, his Bible study on Isaiah: " 'Arise and shine!' is God's 'wake-up call' to Jerusalem because a new day is dawning for Israel. This light is not from the sun, but from the glory of God shining on the city.
"God's glory had once dwelt in the tabernacle, only to depart because of Israel's sin. God's glory then came into the temple, but it departed when the nation turned to idols. The glory came to Israel in the person of Jesus Christ, but the nation nailed that glory to a cross."
A= For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.
"May His glory be seen in me." -- Rachel Wojo
My thoughts about this: These verses are all about God's glory. God wants me, and all of His people, to bring glory to Him with our lives.Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages. For this lesson the focus word is "radiant".
The question was asked: Which of my own words have blocked the beauty of God's Word?
My response in 2018: Maybe my worries and concerns as to what people may be thinking of me or may be saying about me. I need to pay attention to bringing glory to God, and leave everything else in His hands.
This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.
These are the places I circled: The words I read; the places I go; the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.
In 2024 I can note that for the words I read, I recently came across an essay by Hal Borland in a 1960s Readers' Digest magazine. Titled October Splendor, the essay gave a lovely picture of October in New England.
For the air I breathe, it's been a joy to get out in the fresh air and walk many mornings lately.
For
the weather I experience, I mentioned a string of perfect September days. It felt like such a gift!
For
the rest I receive, I'm so thankful that at the recent ladies' retreat, I slept all night. That was unusual, as I don't usually sleep all night. What a blessing not to have to leave the cabin to go out to the rest room.
A journaling prompt was this: List one or more ideas to remind myself to intentionally look for God's beauty throughout the day.
My response in 2018: Go for a walk if possible. Enjoy birdsong. Breathe deeply. Notice the beauty of God's Word. Appreciate the beauty of the privilege of prayer.
For my response in 2024, I added: Observe the leaves just beginning to turn color on isolated trees -- splashes of red and orange. Notice the night sky -- the moon looks like a mandarin orange slice right now, and I recently observed several planets. Watch for the progress as the sedum we planted at camp gradually changes color.
P= "Lord, I thank You for how You have worked in my life through this study. It has been a true exercise in looking to You and not my circumstances. My circumstances personally in 2018, and circumstances in our country in 2024, have been especially challenging, but this study has forced me to see Your beauty in spite of them. What a blessing it has been to focus on Your beauty! May I continue in Your strength to do this every day of my life regardless of circumstances. I thank You in Jesus' name, Amen."
And there is this week's Sunday Scripture -- as mentioned, the last in this particular series. I pray it's a blessing to someone. Next week we will be starting a new series on Psalms, though that may be interrupted by Thanksgiving, Christmas, and possibly something else. We'll see!