“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.”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 60:21 Mean?
God prophesies about the restored Zion: thy people shall be all righteous. The future community will not be a mixture of faithful and unfaithful. All righteous. The purity is comprehensive.
"They shall inherit the land for ever" — the inheritance is permanent. Unlike the temporary possession that was interrupted by exile, this inheritance has no expiration. For ever.
"The branch of my planting, the work of my hands" — the people are described as God's planting and God's work. They did not produce their own righteousness. God planted them. God shaped them. The righteousness is his work, not theirs.
"That I may be glorified" — the purpose of the righteous people, the eternal inheritance, and the divine planting is glory. God's glory. The people exist for his glory. The land is inherited for his glory. The planting is accomplished for his glory.
The vision is eschatological: a future community where everyone is righteous, where the inheritance is permanent, and where God receives the glory for it all.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does 'all righteous' mean for the quality of the future community God is building?
- 2.How does being 'the branch of my planting' change the source of your righteousness?
- 3.What does 'that I may be glorified' mean as the ultimate purpose of your life?
- 4.How does this eschatological vision encourage you in the imperfect present?
Devotional
Thy people also shall be all righteous. All. Not a mixture. Not mostly righteous with a few holdouts. All righteous. The future community that God is building will be completely, thoroughly, universally righteous.
They shall inherit the land for ever. For ever. Not temporarily. Not until the next judgment. The inheritance is permanent — a possession that never expires, never transfers, never ends.
The branch of my planting, the work of my hands. The righteousness is not self-produced. God planted them. God worked them. The branch did not plant itself. The people did not make themselves righteous. God did it.
That I may be glorified. That is the purpose — the reason for the righteous people, the eternal land, the divine planting. All of it circles back to one thing: God's glory. The people exist for his glory. The inheritance serves his glory. The work of his hands displays his glory.
The vision is of a future where everything is complete: all righteous, for ever, God's work, for his glory. The imperfections of the present are not the final state. The mixture of faithful and unfaithful is temporary. The future is all righteous.
You are the branch of his planting. The work of his hands. And the purpose of your existence — your righteousness, your inheritance, your future — is that he may be glorified.
Let that settle your identity and your purpose. You are his planting. His work. For his glory.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Thy people also shall be all righteous,.... That is, the church's people, or the members of the church; otherwise the…
Thy people also shall be all righteous - (See the notes at Isa 4:2). They shall inherit the land for ever - (See the…
Of my planting - מטעי mattai; so, with the Keri, read forty-four MSS. (seven ancient) and six editions; with which agree…
The happy and glorious state of the church is here further foretold, referring principally and ultimately to the…
The community, composed exclusively of righteous persons, shall possess the land for ever; and Jehovah shall be…
Cross References
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