Isaiah 60 was addressed to the people of Israel, foreseeing a time when they would be separated from their home, experiencing exile and alienation. That exile was not merely a physical displacement but a spiritual and emotional experience—a heart-ache for restoration, for belonging, for home.
The exile isn’t just their story: it's ours too. Even if we haven’t been exiled to a foreign country, we know that feeling that we are far from the place where we truly, permanently belong. C. S. Lewis calls this “our inconsolable secret.” He writes, “The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality.”
In Isaiah 60 and surrounding passages, we discover four realities about finding our true home.
1. Finding Our True Home Is Problematic
Our longing for home reflects a deeper problem: our sin has alienated us from the presence of God. Isaiah 59 paints a bleak picture of a world shrouded in darkness, injustice, and despair, where people "grope like the blind along a wall" (59:10). Just as a broken, unclean house cannot be a home, our sin makes us unfit for God’s holy presence. This is the human condition: made in God’s image but fallen, capable of great love yet also complicit in brokenness. We cannot fix ourselves, no matter how hard we try.
2. Finding Our True Home Is Possible
Though we are lost, God makes finding our true home possible. Isaiah 59:20 declares, "A Redeemer will come to Zion." This promise points to Jesus, who left His heavenly home to bring us back to God. He chose exile—living as a man, suffering on the cross, and bearing the weight of our sin—so we could be reconciled. In Jesus, the light dawns, and the way home is opened. His coming is the fulfillment of all our longings: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).
3. Coming Home to God Is an Invitation
Isaiah 60 envisions nations streaming to God’s light, bringing gifts in worship and joy. This invitation is for everyone—not to fix ourselves but to come as we are, trusting in Jesus. He says, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). When we put our faith in Him, God makes His home with us, just as Jesus promised: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23).
4. Finding Our True Home Is a Way of Life
Coming home to God transforms how we live. Isaiah calls us to "arise, shine," reflecting God’s glory to the world. This transformation is both individual—seen in the fruit of the Spirit—and collective, as the church becomes a foretaste of heaven.
Arise, Shine | Isaiah 60:1-9