September 17, 2022: Haftarah – Isaiah 60:1-22

This week's Haftarah reading is from Isaiah 60:1-22. Join Dr. Jeffery Myers as he digs into the words "Arise and Shine" as spoken by the prophet Isaiah, and what these words mean for the world.

Follow along in the AUDIO PODCAST, by clicking on the play button below, and reading along with the notes, as you listen to today's Haftarah:

Lion of Judah Speaks: Haftarah Portion – Isaiah 60:1-22

Those words “Rise and Shine” were spoken every morning when my mother woke me up for school. Even though the words were the beginning of a new adventure they still encouraged me to sometimes stay in bed with my blanket over my head. The thought of leaving my comfortable surroundings, enveloped in darkness, seemed to ask too much of my flesh. Yet, we hear the words coming from the prophet Isaiah to “Arise and Shine; for your light has come”. Ephesians 5:13b-14 tells us, “For everything that becomes visible is light.” For this reason, it says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Yeshua will shine upon you”. Isaiah 60:1-3 compels us to “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of Adonai has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but Adonai will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and King to the brightness of your rising.” Paul’s allusion to Isaiah 60 had a purpose in making his point about us living by the Ruach HaKodesh.

What is Isaiah 60 referring to in this passage? We know within all Scripture there is a prophetic interpretation and a personal application that can be applied to our lives. The Scripture contrasts the wonderful new day of light and His glory that will come out of a night of great darkness that each of us must pass through to get to His glory in fullness. To understand Isaiah 60, we must look at the surrounding Scripture passages. So, what do we see? We see Messiah’s first coming through Isaiah 53. We see in Isaiah 59 that Yeshua is coming…Amen! He put His helmet, breastplate, and His garments of vengeance upon Himself. A Redeemer will come to Zion! This means that the prophetic context of Isaiah 60 is an end-time narrative which leads to a climax at the end of this final generation with Adonai’s return and a bright new day…Arise and Shine!

We see that the language is literal. Zion is the physical city of Jerusalem where the Redeemer will come and dwell. Our Redeemer-Messiah is literally coming to establish His covenant with Israel. Isaiah 60-66 weaves predictions of end-time salvation and judgment in context with a restored nation of Israel at Yeshua’s coming. Israel’s future and spiritual and national deliverance is spoken in Isaiah 60. So, Arise and Shine…why? Who? The passage is addressed to Zion, the city of Jerusalem at a time when it will shine because the glory of Adonai will rise upon it. Yeshua, Himself will be her light! However, this light comes after a period of great darkness. There will be a physical darkness over all the earth when Yeshua returns, as well as a spiritual darkness upon the people. So, Arise and Shine…the concept of Adonai’s glory and light refers to His brightness, magnificence, and His greatness. Yeshua’s full Shekinah glory will be revealed as He returns to take His rightful place.

Israel will rise as a nation of light and nations will come to worship the King of Light! What a sight to behold! So we have the coming of Messiah and the glory of His Kingdom in Jerusalem during the Millennium. His coming will attract Hebrews and Gentiles from all over the world. They will come with gifts of gold, sacrifices, and praise to Adonai, according to Isaiah 60:4-9. The world will experience the Presence of our Savior and King and we will see the transformation of Zion. The light of Yah will be brighter than the sun, and everyone there will be righteous and bring glory to Adonai. What a powerful, glorious time!

You know, when we first accepted Yeshua as our Savior, His light shone in the darkness of our own lives and in that light, WE BEGAN TO SEE! We saw ourselves for what we were. We saw Yeshua for Who He truly was. We, for the first time, could see the purpose for life. Yeshua spoke, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12). In II Cor. 4:6, “For Yah, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness”, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of Yah in the face of Yeshua. We must continue to walk in the light as I John 1:5-7 tells us. As we approach the last hour this becomes even more important, not only for ourselves but for those around us as well because Isaiah 60 tells us that as we approach the end of the age “gross darkness” will cover the peoples. However, the darker the darkness, the greater the light!

Sins are exposed by shining light into sin’s darkness, darkness can no longer hide its nature and acts in secret. All is exposed to light and light makes everything visible and brings an even more radical element. Light turns darkness into light. Isn’t this our mission as a corporate body? Our goal is to shine Adonai’s light so that transformation takes place and changes darkness into light! Light is the underlying theme in the Isaiah 60 narrative. It reveals seven different words for “light” with approximately twenty references to the concept.

Paul tells us to be careful how we walk, where we walk, and encouraging us to make the most of our time, because the days are evil. He reminds us that we were not once in darkness but we were darkness. But now we are the light…so we must continue to walk in His light and we will shine. We must awaken from our spiritual slumber, stop going through the motions and stop filling our lives with many things that separate us from Messiah. We must wake up, rise and shine, taking toll of the dark days in which, we live and seek out Adonai’s will and live for Him! Why should we arise and shine? Because the light has come, Yeshua our light has come! He has given us the victory and we are on the winning side. Because His glory has risen upon us. Yeshua has given His life to us and His presence is within us leading and guiding us. We are no longer trapped in the frustration of living on our own. He will shine on us and through us…Halleluyah! We arise and shine because people all around us are in darkness…gross darkness to be accurate. Don’t forget this passage is prophetic of the last hour. Darkness will cover the face of the earth; morally, spiritually, financially, and emotionally. However, one good thing is that the darker it becomes, the easier it is to see the light. Remember, when the enemy comes in, like a flood the Ruach of Adonai will raise up a standard against him!

I know it is going to get harder but the Scripture tells us that no matter what we see, feel about this age…Rise and Shine! Yeshua will shine on us! Yeshua is coming and His glory will be revealed! Our future Kingdom is coming and His will and purpose will be performed. So, as followers, let us be reminded, “Don’t let your heart be troubled; believe in Yah, believe also in Me, He has prepared a place for us.” “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.” I saw a holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from Adonai, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of Yah is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and Yah Himself will be among them.” The Scriptures are our hope! Arise and Shine Mishpocha, because the glory of Yah has risen among us!

Shabbat Shalom

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