January 15: MORE TO COME
The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:3
Isaiah’s prophetic description of events here points toward an end-time gathering of people from all around the globe. A few verses down, he alludes to something that sounds more like a historical report: The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries . . . from Sheba shall come (v.6). These words take us back to the memorable visit by the queen of Sheba during the days of King Solomon (some 200 years before Isaiah came upon the scene) a prophetic event that carries a promise of more to come . . .
Indeed, we read in Matthew’s gospel: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:1-2) The magnificent entourage of kings after the birth of Jesus is on a much grander scale than the song “We Three Kings” indicates. This carryover of Daniel’s influence in the region where Babylon had flourished is the next-level fulfillment of Isaiah’s view toward future glory. The irony here is that foreigners who had been diligent students of God’s word possessed a greater awareness of the arrival of the promised Savior than His own people.
The ultimate fulfillment of events laid out in chapter 60 of Isaiah will materialize before Jesus returns to collect His people. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you . . . And I will glorify the house of My glory (v.7). In this eyebrow-raising statement, people who live far from the presence of God will be gathered into the congregation of God’s true people. The name Kedar, one of the sons of Ishmael, grew into a sizeable and significant confederation of Arabian tribes* who inhabit the Arabian Peninsula. Known for military prowess, profitable trading, black tents, and nomadic lifestyle, the name Kedar came to symbolize traits of wandering spiritually so far from God as to be considered unreachable. But, with God, nothing is impossible!
The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, And their kings shall minister to you. Isaiah 60:10a
Dig deeper: Psalm 72:8-11; Haggai 2:7-9; Zechariah 6:15;
*Re: Kedar, See Psalm 120:5; Isaiah 21:16; Ezekiel 27:21