The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. (Isa 60:6)Compare that with the following New Testament story:
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem... 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was... 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. (Mat 2: 1-11).Isaiah named the countries from the East: Sheba which is Saba in southern Arabia, Ephah is believed to be northern Arabia, and Midian was surely in the northwestern part of Arabia. It was not Persians who brought the gifts as normally assumed, but Arabians and north Africans. Shebans were Hamites (Berber, Cushitic, and Egyptia), and Ephah the son of Midian, the son of Abraham and Kuturah. The name Keturah actually means "incense." 1Kings 10 indicates that the queen of Sheba brought King Solomon, "precious stones, spices and gold." Those nations, when Jesus was born, were the sources of gold and the incenses of Frankensense and myrrh.
There is significance in that: The Jews did not bring gifts but their semetic cousins did, those who were not of Jacob, and so did the Arabians who were traditional enemies of the Jews. That reinforces, what Isaiah was getting across in that chapter; that salvation was not merely for the Jews but Gentiles as well. The bringers of gifts were part of the "whosoever" in John 3:16.
Now look at the following passage from Isaiah chapter sixty:
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. (Isa 60:13)That passage appears to refer to Jesus and his "sanctuary" on the crucifixion cross - where the glory of Lebanon would come unto the people. The glory of Lebanon was their lumber. Isaiah named three woods: fir, pine, and boxwood. The cross is believed to be made of different woods. I have written on that before, but herein three woods are named. Boxwood, also called "dudgeon" represents a dagger, ready to plunge into the enemy. It appears that Jesus's feet during crucifixion rested on boxwood. Isaiah saw the crucifixion from his perch in the past! He believed in Jesus because he saw him die before he was ever born.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. (Isa 18:21).In these last passages, Isaiah saw New Jerusalem come down to Jerusalem. He saw the apocalypse just as the apostle John did in his Revelation. (Refer to Rev 21). Israel is so important to people because that shall be the eternal abode of Christians. Revelation 21 is regeneration of the Earth, back to the original generation (Gen 1:1). Adam will come home again, and bring his seed with him!
Why did Isaiah view "their land" - Israel as Paradise? Because therein "it shall be called righteous" and "they shall inherit the land forever." Israel is more than a small piece of property in an ocean of barbarism. It is eternal Paradise, while at the same time, the original Paradise.
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