In Isaiah 60 glory is linked with wealth, beauty and worship. Tip’eret describes a beauty which comes from within.
‘The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet.’ (Isaiah 60:13)‘Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land for ever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendour.’ Isaiah 60:21
The New Testament writers only had one word available to them – the Greek doxa -so we have to guess which meaning is intended.
And so this idea is picked up in the NT:
‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only.’ (John 1:14)
When the glory of the Lord shone around as the angels announced Jesus’ birth it pointed to all the possible meanings – a beautiful thing of heavenly consequence. God is revealing his glory in us. When we let Jesus spirit shine we are the splendour of God.
