SERMON NOTES: THE CAMELS ARE COMING

The Camels are Coming!

Isaiah 60:1-6 

Kirbyjon H. Caldwell October 4, 2026

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I.      INTRODUCTION

Isaiah 60:1-6 provides an unexpected and sudden injection of hope and encouragement into the Jews’ social and economic reality of despair and disconnection. Having just returned to a completely ruined Jerusalem from Babylonian exile, the Jews were “tore up from the floor up.”

The Jews were metaphorically and literally sitting in the dust, weighed by grief, depression and hopelessness. Their future, as they saw it, was non-existent. Their past was tethered with shame. Their present was perceived as a moment bogged down in futility.

In the midst of the drudgery of despair and disorientation, The Lord says:

II.    ARISE!  v. 1

1. Arise, shine is a powerful, double imperative command from The
2. Arise, shine is a divine summons to move from a position of despair to position of victory!
3. The Lord is commanding His people to abandon their posture of defeat, depression and survival mode.
4. Arise means to stand strong and take your Your mourning is over!

III.  SHINE!

1. Jerusalem has no light of its She is broken and ruined. The Lord tells her to be a mirror. Reflect the light of The Lord!
2. The radiant glory (kabod) is actively dawning like a
3. Get up out of your dust of despair; stand up in your true identity; and reflect the light of The Lord!

IV.  DARKNESS COVERS, BUT THE LORD WILL RISE ON YOU!   v.2

1. This verse highlights a distinct tension: darkness and light co-
2. Two extreme realities can be true at the same
3. This verse acknowledges that thick darkness is simultaneously occurring alongside breaking light.
4. The darkness of pain and shame are But the power of The Lord’s light is greater than the darkness in your life.

V.    LIFT UP YOUR EYES AND SEE!  v.4

1. Pain and anxiety can shrink your peripheral A stressed nervous system forces a person to look down at their feet
2. The instruction in verse 4 is a grounding Looking up can orient you in the present moment.
3. Look up – now!

VI.  YOU WLL SEE AND BECOME RADIANT  v.5, 6

1. This verse describes an intensely physical response to In order to see around you, you must look up!
2. The heart swells with joy because the days of economic desperation and destitution are over! Abundance and wealth are coming!
3. The “multitude of camels” function as a rich cultural, economic and spiritual
4. The camels represent: 1) an inundation of divine provision and wealth; 2) a shift from warfare to worship; and 3) psychological integration.

October 4, 2o26

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