We need to catch some highlights from Isaiah 60, and that will be our last look at Isaiah until after Holy Week.

First is a prediction of light:

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isaiah 60.1 – 3, ESV)

The first sentence forms the lyrics for another marvelous number from Handel’s Messiah.

The rest is a litany of the Great Reversal. Israel will be persecuted, but the nation will rise. Here’s a sample:

The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isaiah 60.14 – 16, ESV)

And the last verse is another promise that Navigators have claimed for their ministries. We invest in people, help them grow to maturity, and send them out to do the same. The result is:

A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time. (Isaiah 60.22, KJV)

I love this video demonstrating the power of small beginnings:

When I showed it to my Navigator mentor Skip Gray, his immediate response was to quote Isaiah 60.22 (above).