Isaiah 28:5 - The Glory of Divine Beauty

Isaiah 28:5

In that day the Lord of hosts will become a beautiful crown

And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;

Message: The Glory of Divine Beauty

Time: Isaiah prophesied from 739–681 BC to a nation that had turned a deaf ear to the Lord. He wanted to see the nation of Judah return to serving God with humility and love for their neighbors. But he was called to pronounce judgments to on a people offering meaningless sacrifices in the Temple and committing injustices throughout the nation. It provides the most prophetic picture of Jesus in the entire Old Testament.

What the Lord is Saying: In the previous lesson -- God's divine glory, God's nature as being holy, true, righteous and just is shown to be connected with a bright shining light. Another way to express His Glory is with Divine Beauty. As Isaiah 28:5 mentions, "In that day the Lord of hosts will become a beautiful crown." 

David speaks of his highest desire to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. 

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord

And to meditate in His temple. - Psalm 27:4

In our previous lesson, I studied communicable attributes and incommunicable attributes and divine beauty is something we seem to share with the Lord and will adorn us as well.  Today's passage mentions, "And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people." There is a beauty that is transferred to God's people, His children. 

In saving us, the Lord adorns us with the robe of the perfect righteousness of Christ --

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. - Isaiah 61:10

-- and yet that beauty is not seen by God's creation completely. There is a light that we are to shine and is, hopefully, evident in the lives of His children, but our beauty is not yet completely seen. 

This is the mesmerizing thing to me about salvation, that the glory of the Lord shines on man and we are seen as glorious. We are in Christ. God sees us not as we are, but as Christ is. 

Romans 10:15 - “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

Psalm 96:5-6 - For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

Summary: There is a divine beauty that God bestows on His children, clothing me with perfect righteousness. 

Promise: From Matthew Henry, "God will so appear for [His people] by his providence as to make it evident that they have his favor towards them, and that shall be to them a crown of glory; for what greater glory can any people have than for God to acknowledge them as his own? And He will so appear in them, by his grace, as to make it evident that they have his image renewed on them, and that shall be to them a diadem of beauty; for what greater beauty can any person have than the beauty of holiness?"

Prayer: All praise and glory to You God for making me holy and beautiful in your sight. I am a sinner, but I have been saved by Your grace and as such am seen by You as being perfectly righteous and so I remain so grateful to You. Help me to radiate this light and beauty even on this earth, though I know I won't be clearly beautified until I am with You face to face.