Isaiah 61:10 English Standard Version (ESV) I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

As we approach the end of this chapter of Isaiah let us be cautious in our thoughts and not to assume too much.

Who is speaking “I will” in this verse. We are not the bridegroom but the words are “like a priest” meaning there is a comparative association which tells us how He feels and that we might find ourselves feeling the same way.

We might feel the same things but we are still human, still flesh and our feelings are tainted by our humanity. We do not all feel the same, nor do any of us reach that level of experience that our Lord has reached.

The Hebrew word for rejoice here is śûś pronounced soos. It root definition is to be bright, to emit, and we are said to have oil lamps, oil being the Holy Spirit. We are not the light, just lamps, which are not to be hidden.

The Hebrew word for exult here is gîl pronounce gheel. It is a primitive root; properly, to spin round (under the influence of any violent emotion). This is beyond our control, any attempt to duplicate this spiritual experience will come short of what is going on inside us in truth. Yet we raise our hands in praise, we dance with glee, and some even get slain in the spirit. All of it comes short of expressing what is in us.

John 4:23-24 English Standard Version

²³ But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Isaiah 61:9 English Standard Version (ESV) Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

The meaning behind “their offspring” is lost on the religious community of that time as attested to by one of their most noted theologians.

John 3:1-9 English Standard Version

You Must Be Born Again

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”

If we are to point to any portion of scripture that summarizes the essence of the blessing that come to us from our God, it has to be these words. God blesses His offspring and they are those who have been born again.

No one can glorify God without being born again, not in the way that God has designed and offered His glory, His Son Jesus Christ.