Beth Shalom
Seventh-day Adventist

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Today I’m here to share the prophetic word of Mother Zion’s restoration. My remarks are based on Isaiah chapter 60. This is where God tells Mother Zion that her exile is over. In synagogue Isaiah chapter 60 is known by the opening words as qumi ori. I’ll give you just a taste of how qumi ori sounds in synagogue.

“Arise! Shine!, For your light has come, and the glory of the L-rd has dawned upon you. For behold, the darkness covers the earth, and fog the nations. But the L-rd will dawn upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles will walk towards your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes around you and see! All of them are gathered and come to you. Your sons will come from afar, your daughters will be nursed at your side. Then you will see and will glow, your heart will throb and thrill. For the abundance of the sea will be diverted to you, the wealth of the Gentiles will come to you. Dust clouds of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midyan and Efa. All those of Sheva will come. Gold and incense they will bear, and they will gospel the praise of the L-rd.

Qumi ori is a magnificent depiction of the end of Israel’s exile and the end of God’s absence. Israel returns to Zion and God also returns to Zion. The prophecy addresses Jerusalem as though she were a woman ― this works particularly well in Hebrew, because in the Hebrew language city names are grammatically feminine. Mother Zion, who has been abandoned and neglected, will see her sons and daughters coming home.

Foreign armies, which once stripped the country bare and wrecked everything they couldn’t cart off, will enrich Jerusalem with exotic treasure from afar. Just look at the prophecy! Verse 5 says, “For the abundance of the sea will be diverted to you, the wealth of the Gentiles will come to you. Dust clouds of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midyan and Efa.” Verse 9 says, “the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from afar, their gold and their silver with them.” Verse 10 says, “the sons of aliens will build your walls, and their kings will serve your needs.” Verse 13 says, “the glory of Lvanon will come to you, cypress, pine, and boxwood together to adorn the place of my sanctuary” (verse 13). From the prophecy it seems like all Israel’s neighbors will be engaged in beautifying Jerusalem. God promises the rebuilt temple will be even better than before the exile. Verse 17 says, “Instead of bronze I will bring gold. Instead of iron I will bring silver. Instead of wood I will bring bronze. Instead of stones I will bring iron.”

According to the prophecy, these reparations will be entirely voluntary. Israel’s neighbors will be genuinely awed by God’s return to Zion and what he accomplishes by means of his servant people. It will not be mere recognition of military superiority or economic power, but a shift in spiritual orientation and allegiance. Israel’s neighbors will actually desire to worship Israel’s God. Verse 3 says, “The Gentiles will walk towards your light.” Verse 6 says, “All those of Sheva will come. Gold and incense they will bear, and they will gospel the praise of the L-rd.” Verse 14 says, “The sons of your tormenters will come bowing to you, and those who despised you will prostrate themselves at the soles of your feet. They will call you the L-rd’s City, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” Since Israel’s God is unique and doesn’t tolerate rival gods and goddesses, acknowledging him implies the Gentiles will totally abandon false worship.

It’s clear from Isaiah’s prophecy that Israel’s recovery and rehabilitation is not just about Jews. Isaiah emphasizes the effect of Israel’s return on non-Jews. You see, Israel is God’s plan for reclaiming his lost world; God always intended Israel to be the base of operations to turn the Gentiles from the deception of idols and the oppression of Satan to the true and living God. Admittedly, after the tower of Babel God chose the children of Avraham and Sara as exclusive partners. But that was only a temporary measure. When his purpose for Israel was back on track, God’s plan was always to partner with his other children. In Isaiah’s prophecy, Israel’s repentance triggers the world’s repentance. That’s why the Bible makes such a big deal about the recovery, rehabilitation, and restoration of one little ethnic group.

Perhaps even more remarkable than the world’s repentance, is the prophecy that Israel will be wholly righteous. The surviving remnant who return from exile, having been refined in the fires of affliction, will be purged of all divided loyalty and waywardness. Look what verses 20 and 21 say! “The days of your sadness will be complete. Your people, all of them, will be righteous, they will inherit the earth for eternity.”

During most of ancient Israel’s history, particularly during the exile, it was difficult to fathom how God’s election of Israel might be the centerpiece of the plan of salvation. It seemed that the descendents of Avraham and Sara Israel were just as much part of the problem as anybody else. It was difficult to imagine how Israel might be the solution to the world’s alienation from the true God. The rabbis in the Mishna were so impressed with Isaiah’s prophecy they concluded,

“All Israel has a portion in the world to come, for it is written, ‘Your people, all of them, will be righteous.’” [Mishna Sanhedren 10:1; Bavli Sanhedrin 90a]

For the rabbis “all Israel has a portion in the world to come” was a faith statement, rather than evidence of anything on the ground. Somehow, someday, in God’s timing, all Zion’s children would be righteous. As spiritual leaders, the rabbis were under no illusions regarding Israel’s current righteousness. The fulfillment of Isaiah’s words would have to be a stupendous miracle.

The question that interests us is, “How does God pull this off?” How can God enjoin Mother Zion qumi ori “Arise! Shine! for your light has come, and the glory of the L-rd has dawned upon you”? Isn’t this jumping the gun?

Traditional Christian interpretation has understood that Mother Zion refers to the church. If you look at the chapter heading for Isaiah 60 in the King James Version, it spells it out for you: “the glory of the church.” But traditional Christian interpretation is difficult to sustain. For one thing, God never sent the Christian church into exile in Babylon for her sins or brought the Christian church back to her own land after the captivity. For another thing, the Christian church never had the likes of Midyan, Efa, Sheva, Tarshish, and Lvanon for neighbors. For another thing, the Christian church never had rams ascending on God’s altar with acceptance. Too many of the prophetic specifications in Isaiah chapter 60 don’t fit the church.

On the other hand, many of the prophetic specifications don’t fit Israel’s history either. While it’s true Israel did go into exile for her sins, and God did bring her back home, Israel’s restoration was never complete in antiquity. Some non-Jews were persuaded to abandon their idols and join the worship of the true and living God, but nothing on the scale prophesied. “The sons of aliens” did not rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. The Book of Nehemiah tells us plainly that the returnees had to do the job themselves with a lot of interference and from their neighbors. As for the wealth of the Gentiles being diverted to Mother Zion ― well, that just never materialized. After Israel’s return the same old situation prevailed as before. Foreign empires skimmed off whatever wealth Israel managed to produce. Idol-worshipers got rich, and faithful commandment-keepers were impoverished. There was no economic redemption.

So little of Israel’s experience fits the prophecy that no commentator, neither Jew nor Christian, seriously suggests the fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 60 was in the past. Israel’s return under Ezra and Nechemya was only a dim shadow of what Isaiah prophesied.

Our problem with recognizing the realization of the prophet word is that our attention span is so short. With us an event has to take place quickly, within a single human lifespan, otherwise we don’t view it as an event. When we hear a prophetic summons like qumi ori we naturally want to determine, “Did that take place back when Israel returned from Babylon under Ezra and Nechemya? Or did it take place when Jesus announced that God was back on Israel’s throne to take charge of the world? Or will it take place when Jesus executes the verdict of God’s judgment?” For us these moments in salvation history are spaced widely apart. We’re anxious to pinpoint exactly where each leaves off and the next picks up. We say, “Plot it for me on a grid! I wanna know where I’m standing today! Am I nearer the last judgment, or maybe I’m nearer the cross?”

With God, what we think of as a giant sequence can be a single event. With God, Israel’s restoration begins right on schedule after the 70 years captivity under the leadership of Ezra and Nechemya. Israel’s restoration continues with Jesus’ announcement of God’s kingdom and Jesus’ victory over sin and death. Israel’s restoration includes the ingathering of the Gentiles, her faithfulness to the covenant despite persecution from apostate Christianity, the judgment hour summons, the constitution of the remnant, the final deliverance in the face of the death decree. For us, this is a huge canvas. For God, it’s simply Israel’s restoration. It’s his plan for recovering the lost world he so loves.

The fulfillment of qumi ori begins with the generation who returned from Babylon, continues with Jesus’ messianic deeds, flows right on into what we term church history and Jewish history, continues right past us living today into God’s future until he accomplishes every good word he has promised.

Because for him the results are already in view, God encourages Mother Zion qumi ori “Arise! Shine!, for your light has come.” God knows his plan of salvation is going to work; there’s no sense keeping success a secret. He says in verse 4, “Lift up your eyes around you and see! All of them are gathered and come to you.”

As far as God is concerned, his servants are equally involved in his deeds. If you are his servant, you’re part of his story. Every moment in the plan of salvation is equally close to God. Past, present, future ― it’s all equally accessible to him. Every generation is equally included.

When Jews celebrate Israel’s annual festivals and they call on him to remember his story, God actualizes the event. When Christians celebrate Jesus eating and drinking the messianic victory banquet with his disciples, God actualizes the event. You get in on the whole wonderful story no matter which generation you live in.

Christians sometimes ask how do we know that God actually does what the Bible story says when we celebrate the ancient events in the plan of salvation? Who says that God’s soul is refreshed on the seventh-day Shabbat when his children rest? Who says that water baptism or eating unleavened bread together at Jesus’ table or drinking the fruit of the vine are God’s deeds? How do we know God shares these experiences with us?

The answer must be when God commands us to do something together with him, he commits himself to participate. God doesn’t command us to do something with him, then stand us up. God’s commandments aren’t magical, but neither are they merely symbolic of something else. When we do his commandments with him, God reenacts the story they tell. We are participants in his past and future experiences, because God makes it so. We’re not just going through the motions. We’re not on our own. We’re doing these commandments with God, and he supplies the reality. So you and I can get in on the transforming power of any event in the plan of salvation, regardless of which generation we belong to.

If you feel the plan of salvation is for others, but not for yourself, access the ingathering of the Gentiles! If you need victory over the power of evil, access the cross! If you need to return from exile in a far country, come home to claim your God-given heritage! If you’re concerned about the apostasy of so many Jews and Christians around you, access the remnant of God’s loyal worshipers! If you feel like a prisoner to the old order of things, access the resurrection from the dead! If you’re longing for the vindication of right and the retribution of wrong, access the Son of Man’s coming with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days! You aren’t remote from any part of Israel’s story. It’s all God’s plan for your life. Access whatever part you need most!

In his letter to the Galatians (4:6) the Apostle Shaul assures us that Jerusalem is the mother of us all. As a citizen (Ephesians 2:19) of the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:12), your true home is Mother Zion. Whether you are Jewish or Christian, qumi ori is for your mother. I want to conclude with just a little more qumi ori. Isaiah 60:18-21.

“No more will violence be heard in your land, robbery or destruction in your borders. You shall call your walls salvation, and your gates praise. No more will the sun be your light by day, nor for brightness will the moon shine. the L-rd will be to you an eternal light, and your God your glory. Your sun will never set, your moon will not be withdrawn. For the L-rd will be to you an eternal light, and the days of your sadness will be complete. Your people, all of them, will be righteous, they will inherit the earth for eternity, the shoot of my planting, the work of my hands in which I glory.”

Father of compassion, we thank you for Isaiah’s prophecy of our future. We thank you for Jesus who has brought us to your worship. We thank you that in him, all the promises are “Yes.” We thank you for making us part of your experience. Sanctify us by your commandments. Empower us with the events of your salvation as we celebrate them with you. For we ask in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of their Spirit, ואמרו אמן, and all the people said, “amen.”