Isaiah 60:15-22
15 “Although you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one traveling through,
I will make you the everlasting pride
and the joy of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior,
your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,
and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace your governor
and well-being your ruler.
18 No longer will violence be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous
and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of my hands,
for the display of my splendor.
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the Lord;
in its time I will do this swiftly.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Listening guide
Time to move!
For sale: The city of God, the new Jerusalem
Price: Buy without money
60:11 Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations— their kings led in triumphal procession.”
God has brought the good of all creation into eternity.
____________________________________________________ home and city for sale.
60:18 “No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.”
People themselves have been healed and the relationships they have with one another have been restored.
___________________________________________ neighbors and community.
60:19-20 ““The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.”
The entire city is filled with the glory of God.
______________________________________________
Your heart and a home here won’t fit together.
When you let God make his home with you, then you will be home.
Let God’s heart give you a home.
Discussion questions
Sociologists point out that there are basically 5 attitudes religious and believing people have toward the cities and people groups around us. These attitudes are not 5 neat or separate groups, but still generally reflect categories. Which one of the following do you most hold to?
#1 Assimilating the city – Christians give in and adopt the culture’s values and worldview. The goal is to blend in and lose any distinct identity. The time of the Judges offer many examples.
#2 Reflecting the city - Christians keep some aspects of Christian faith and practice, but they adopt the more fundamental values and worldviews of the dominant culture. Faith is for Sunday services and does not shape the way they live, their lifestyle is fundamentally no different. Micah and his mother in Judges 17 & 18 is an example.
#3 Despising the city – Christians respond to the culture with hostility. They feel polluted by the unbelieving arts, culture, and education. They may either disengage from civic life and denounce the decay, or they may attack and try to gain power to change the culture. The Pharisees and Zealots tried this approach.
#4 Ignoring the city – Christians focus almost entirely on building up the church and their own numbers. They believe God performs miracles, but forget God works through people. Hananiah in Jeremiah 28 is an example.
#5 Loving the city – Christians simultaneously accept and challenge the city. They operate out of a very different view of money, relationships, human life, sex, and power even when they engage in the same actions as the people around them. Jeremiah 29 and Acts 4 are examples of this.
What will heaven be like according to Isaiah’s description in verses 17-21? How does this compare with the description in Revelation 21:1-4, 22-27?
According to Isaiah 60:9-16, how will God’s people know that the Lord is their Savior and Redeemer?
How can the knowledge that there will be no violence or destruction in the future kingdom help us, and those we come into contact with, to cope with the violence and destruction we experience around us?
Richard Mouw writes, “My own hunch is that God has provided us with a rich storehouse of diverse images of the afterlife, all of them hints in the direction of something that is beyond our present comprehension, so that we can be free to draw on one or another of theme as a particular situation in our life may require.” Try this exercise. Each person in the room should share some situation they are currently experiencing in life. Then everyone else can try to apply a theme or image of eternity to encourage or direct that person.
What attitude have you adopted toward eternity? Share it with someone.