The King is coming!
by Dr Pauline Simonsen
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The Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: ‘Say to daughter Zion, ‘Look, your Saviour comes’ (Isaiah 62:11a).
Read Isaiah 62:6–12
This week in our devotions, we are dwelling in the last chapters of Isaiah, which look prophetically beyond Israel’s exile in Babylon to a time of restoration. But these chapters also look further – to a time when God’s Anointed One will bring salvation and transformation not only to Israel but people everywhere in the world.
From our vantage point in history, we see how Isaiah’s prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah, who brought redemption to all who believe through his death and resurrection. But we can also see Isaiah’s prophetic trajectory reaching further into the future – to the completion of these prophecies when the Messiah returns in glory to judge all with perfect justice and bring in God’s kingdom of righteousness and shalom forever. These chapters of Isaiah look towards that consummation of all history.
Our reading today yearns for that coming of the Lord. It’s portrayed as the victorious King coming to his holy city, promising his people secure possession of their land. Oh, how exciting, how triumphant, how glorious it will be when our King comes and leads us into the heavenly city of Zion! (Read Revelation 21.) There’s a wonderful picture here of the victorious King processing along the highway towards his city, gathering his people from everywhere as his reward; they stream towards him and join the great throng travelling with the King to Zion, the city of God.
Go through, go through the gates;
prepare the way for the people;
… lift up an ensign over the peoples.
The Lord has proclaimed
to the end of the earth:
Say to daughter Zion,
‘Look, your Saviour comes;
his reward is with him
and his recompense before him.’
They shall be called, ‘The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord’ (Isaiah 62:10–12a).
But all this is in the future. In the meantime, the Anointed One has posted watchers and sentinels, looking for his coming, praying for his coming, reminding the Lord of his promise to come. Will you join their prayer?
When the state of our world tempts us to lose hope or to despair, let’s instead hope in the Lord! Let’s pray, ‘Your kingdom come, Lord; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. Let’s pray, ‘Maranatha – come, Lord Jesus!’ Let’s be sentinels of hope, confidently calling to our returning King!
Lord God, remind us when we forget that your great story is not finished yet – you have a final chapter when you make all things new! Lift up our eyes of faith to see that our King Jesus is coming to lead us home. Come, Lord Jesus, into this weary world! O, how we long for you to come!
Pauline leads a Bible college and offers spiritual direction in Palmerston North, New Zealand. She’s married to Roger – who is recently retired – and she enjoys having him home a bit more. When she gets some free time, Pauline loves cooking and reading and likes nothing better than sitting with a cat on her lap and watching the birds in her garden.
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