Isaiah 9
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Isaiah 8:18–20 (CSB)
Here I am with the children the Lord has given me to be signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of Armies who dwells on Mount Zion. When they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the spiritists who chirp and mutter,” shouldn’t a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? Go to God’s instruction and testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, there will be no dawn for them.
For those who stay on this track of seeking false gods, the lights will go out and not come back on.
Isaiah 8:21–22 (CSB)
They will wander through the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged, and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. They will look toward the earth and see only distress, darkness, and the gloom of affliction, and they will be driven into thick darkness.
But there is HOPE in the future for these people, especially for those who are the 1st ones to be defeated and taken captive in Northern Israel - the first place the Assyrians would invade.
Isaiah 9:1 (CSB)
Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.
Isaiah 9:2 (CSB)
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.
What/who IS this great light
Isaiah 9:3–5 (CSB)
You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before You as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. For You have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as You did on the day of Midian [see Judges 7:19-23]. For every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire.
The day of Midian is referring to how God destroyed Israel’s enemies through Gideon and only 300 men, as God threw them into confusion to where they killed one another in their camp.
You could see why the people of Judah to whom Isaiah is talking to would expect a leader like Gideon, trusting the power of Yahweh, to come and defeat their foes.
And then, once again, we come to a familiar passage, typically mentioned around Christmas time. But this time, this promise has NO TIME MARKER ATTACHED. (Remember when God had given King Ahaz the time marker of “before the child knows right from wrong” his enemies would be destroyed?)
In other words, this wasn’t a near future promise, but a far future promise for the people. Despite the destruction that was coming, God would not allow His people to be obliterated and would live life WITH them!
Isaiah 9:6-7 (CSB)
For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
Who in the world IS THIS? This one who would reign on the throne of David forever?
Which King of Israel/Judah was EVER referred to as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace? There is only ONE who fits that description, and yet the only crown He ever wore was made of thorns.
He will also be called...
WONDERFUL COUNSELOR
Before we dive too deep, we need to note that the NET translates this as something very different than how we have heard this traditionally. Instead of Wonderful Counselor it is translated as...
“Extraordinary Strategist”. Why? In short, the Hebrew here suggests it should be translated literally as “one who counsels wonders”, referring - in context - to a King who is a great military strategist.*
* Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).
In other words, we should recognize this King as much more than a therapist who helps us solve all our problems, but a Conquering King whose plans will not be thwarted. This unmatched wisdom is evidenced as Jesus counters His critics who want to know who gave Him the authority to toss the temple.
Mark 11:27–33 (NIV)
They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”
[v31-33] They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.) So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
And then there’s this title:
MIGHTY GOD
While some earthly leaders are called small-g “gods” as they represent the ONLY GOD, no Israelite or Judean king was ever identified as “Mighty God.”*
*John N. Oswalt, Isaiah, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2003), 160–161.
And as we have already seen from Isaiah 7:14, this Promised King isn’t just the PROOF of God’s Presence, but the PERSON of God’s Presence - Jesus IS GOD WITH US!
Further, the Promised King will be know as...
EVERLASTING FATHER
If you’re like me, and you know the New Testament, you might think…”Wait a second, Jesus is the Son, not the Father!”
But Isaiah is not trying to give clarity to the Trinity as it isn’t a focus until the New Testament. I appreciate what...
Spence writes, “How could there be more than one everlasting Father, one Creator, Preserver, Protector of mankind who was absolutely eternal? If the term “Father,” applied to our Lord [Jesus], grates on our ears, we must remember that the distinction of Persons in the Godhead had not yet been revealed.”*
*H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Isaiah, vol. 1, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1910), 167.
These 2 terms - EVERLASTING & FATHER - point to the Promised King as the Everlasting/Eternal - Father/Creator - the Source of Life [1] - the Provider & Protector [2] of His children.
1 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Comforted, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 38.
2 Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Is 9:6.
Isaiah’s ancient audience would have to wrestle down the idea that the CREATOR OF ALL - the EVERLASTING FATHER was somehow coming to Earth. How could that be?
Most believed the EVERLASTING FATHER would empower the Messiah, but not embody the Messiah. So, when Jesus showed up, even those who believed Him to be the Messiah struggled to believe that He was the CREATOR OF ALL.
Further, the Promised King would be the...
PRINCE OF PEACE
Christmas Truce of 1914
World War 1 began 5 months prior to Christmas of 1914. But a strange thing happened on Christmas Eve of 1914. Huddled in their trenches and rather than firing weapons, many German and British troops began to Christmas carols to each other across the lines. At certain points the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.
At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in broken English. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing that the Germans were unarmed, they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The even exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs together. Some of the soldiers from opposing sides even played a good-natured game of soccer.
This kind of chivalry was never again repeated, but Christmas brought 2 enemies together…at least for a short time.
* https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/christmas-truce-of-1914
There IS a future time coming when Jesus WILL bring peace in the eternal kingdom with no more death, no more war, and no more sin,
But the Prince of Peace would first come to make PEACE between God and man, reconciling the enemies of God and giving them PEACE in their SOULS (2 Cor 5:17-18), that should lead to peace with people. In a couple of weeks we will be reminded of the Purpose of the King - HOW the Prince of Peace reconciles man to God.
And there’s more GOOD NEWS!
Isaiah 9:7 (CSB)
The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
Isaiah writes that once the Promised King comes, His government & peace will never end! He will be LARGE & IN CHARGE, seated on David’s throne…from that time on and forever!
One commentator writes: “The empire of grace will forever expand.”
* Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. and R. Kent Hughes, Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 100.
And that’s what continues to happen as the message of The Promised King conquers hearts all over the world!
C. S. Lewis’s famous book Screwtape Letters, Screwtape, the senior demon who is instructing his younger, inexperienced understudy, Wormwood, in the art of guiding a human being into Hell warns his pupil that his task is all the more difficult because the “Enemy” (God) “has a curious fantasy of making all these disgusting little human vermin into sons.”
*David L. Allen, 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family, ed. R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 137.
YES HE DOES! We who were once enemies are transformed into SONS and DAUGHTERS!
Has that happened to YOU? If not…don’t wait too late!
Missed the Bus
While on a trip to Washington DC (2019) with my son (Joshua) and over 60 folks from Madison, I ran up to our hotel room just before time to get on the bus at 7:30am. The elevator opened at 7:30am to the hotel lobby, that was filled with my crew just moments before.
Strangely quiet, I walked outside and made a phone call at 7:31am to one of my traveling buddies (Jason Justus) because...the bus was gone. When they said we are leaving at 7:30, they weren’t kidding. And I missed the bus. I ran for half a mile with 2 backpacks full of stuff to meet this bus...with all 60-plus watching. That was humbling.
Thankfully, I was able to get on the bus. But what if I wasn’t? What if the bus driver said, “It’s too late. You missed the deadline.”
The next trip, I showed up EARLY!
There is a deadline coming for every person alive, a moment when it will be too late to ‘get on the bus’. Make sure you don’t miss it. In fact, it would be wise to show up early.
On another note, why didn’t my friends look around and realize I wasn’t there? Why didn’t they call me and warn me, “The bus is about to leave. Get yourself down here quick before it’s too late!”
If we care about our friends, are we warning them before it’s too late?
Who are you PRAYING FOR? Who are you SHARING WITH?
What’s our take-away?
NEED TO TALK? Please pull one of these brothers aside and let’s do that.