Good News for Israel - Isaiah 62: 1-5
 (Bible quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.)
v.1
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch.
 
Good News Version: I will speak out to encourage Jerusalem; I will not be silent until she is saved, And her victory shines like a torch in the night.
 
NLT: Because I love Zion, because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
 
Quest Study Bible note, p 1750.  Zion.  One of the hills on which Jerusalem stood.  Often used to refer to the temple or Jerusalem as a whole [Psalm 48]
 
The people of Israel were in exile, downtrodden and slaves.  They must have felt that God was no longer with them and that God no longer cared.  Here is Isaiah telling them that God still loves them and will not be satisfied until Israel is saved from this situation and the world knows about it.  Israel’s restored position is to shine like the dawn or a blazing torch.  The light of the dawn is the beginning of a new day – the beginning of Israel’s new day.  The blazing torch lights the way for people walking in darkness.  Israel had a task  - to show others the way to righteousness.  God would restore the nation for that purpose.
 
For us, here is reassurance that, no matter what our circumstances seem like, we can be sure that God care about us and wants us to be free of worries and troubles so that we can ‘shine’ as he means us to shine.  That does not mean he will take away our troubles, but that he will help us to be free from having them rule our lives and spoil our lives.  When we trust God, we are helped to cope with our troubles and worries.
v.2
The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.
 
When Israel was restored to its former glory, all nations would know about it and would know Israel as different from the way they had been known.  They would be given a new name to be known by.  When God transforms, a whole new world of possibilities opens up for us.  It is as if we have become new people.
 
Quest Study Bible note, p 1028.  In ancient times, names were used to do much more than identify a person.  Names revealed something about people – their characteristics, for example, or the circumstances surrounding their lives.  Changing names was a vivid way to express a change in circumstances.
v.3
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
The Message:  You'll be a stunning crown in the palm of God's hand, a jewelled gold cup held high in the hand of your God.
 
What an extravagant image.  The downtrodden people of God are to become like a crown of splendour [NIV], a king’s crown held by God.  It seems like a picture of God about to put this beautiful crown on his own head where it will be seen by al creation.  The writer of The Message adds an image of God like a king holding a richly decorated cup in his hand, maybe about to make a toast to Israel.  It is an image of victory in contrast to their real situation at the time.
 
This is a message of hope and encouragement for the Israelites and for all who belong to God.
v.4, 5
You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.  For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
 
NIV:  No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah;
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
As a young man marries a maiden,
so will your sons marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.
 
NEB:  For, as a young man weds a maiden,
so you shall wed him who rebuilds you,
and your God shall rejoice over you
as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride.
 
NLT:  Never again will you be called the Godforsaken City or the Desolate Land. Your new name will be the City of God's Delight and the Bride of God, for the LORD delights in you and will claim you as his own. Your children will care for you with joy, O Jerusalem, just as a young man cares for his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.
 
Here is a change of image, but one every bit as encouraging.  God now says he will be like a bridegroom, loving and delighting in Israel as his bride.  No longer will Israel be known as a people who are deserted by their God and no longer will they be seen as downtrodden, but as a people who bring God delight and who are cared for by God.  Israel is no longer alone, but in a relationship with God as close as the marriage relationship.  They are to have children – other people who will be brought into God’s family by Israel and who will be cared for by God and who will respect and care for Israel as a parent.
 
When God enters into a relationship with his people, it is not one-sided relationship.   It is a partnership of love, respect and care and is meant to flow on to others.  God intended Israel to bring other nations into his family and he expects us to do the same.  To be a Christian means, as much as it meant for Israel, to be in a close relationship with God and to bring others into his family as well.  Being a Christian is not a private matter, just between ourselves and God.  Like Israel, we are not a privileged people whose only responsibility is to keep ourselves pure and clean and apart from those who might pollute us.  We are to out there, bringing other people into God’s family, doing what Jesus said he came to do:  
“… to bring good news to the poor.
…to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
[Luke 4:18-19]
God wants to be in a close relationship with Israel, with his church [ which Paul described as the new Israel] and with each one of us personally.  He expects that relationship to result in our working with him to bring about his kingdom on earth.