How will all this happen? It will happen suddenly. Things can change very quickly. On that first Easter everything changed over a weekend. When Christ returns we will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye.
There is an assurance here that God will bring His plans to fruition, using the analogy of a woman giving birth. Everything is leading up to the fulfillment of the Lord's plans.
"Rejoice with Jerusalem". All peoples are called to pray for Jerusalem and to rejoice with her in the day of her salvation. Now this most definitely does not mean that we should condone everything that Israel does. Indeed all her efforts are ultimately futile until she turns to Christ. However, there is absolutely no Scriptural warrant for any notion that Israel is no longer part of God's plan. One day she will turn to Christ, recognising who He is, and recognising her own need of Christ. We should long for that day.
Isaiah here says that this is essential to receiving the full blessings of the Lord. How is this? Well only if we understand how God can and will save Israel can we fully understand how our own salvation works. The salvation of Israel will be the culmination of Christ's work, and it will happen.
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