Verse of the Day 12-19-22

The Coming of a Great Light: Jesus, Isaiah 9:1-7

But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who walk in darkness

Will see a great light;

Those who live in a dark land,

The light will shine on them.

You will multiply the nation,

You will increase their joy;

They will rejoice in Your presence

As with the joy of harvest,

As people rejoice when they divide the spoils.

For You will break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,

The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.

For every boot of the marching warrior in the roar of battle,

And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of armies will accomplish this. (NASB)

            In this great prophetic passage Isaiah spoke of a coming deliverer-a Savior who one day would lead God’s people into a life of joy, peace, justice and a right relationship with God. This person is the Messiah-Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This prophecy reveals several important truths about the coming Messiah.

• He would minister extensively in Galilee (v. 1).
• He would bring the light of spiritual salvation and hope (v. 2).
• He would expand the community of God’s people by also including Gentiles (those people of all nations who are not Jewish) in God’s kingdom of faith (v. 3).
• He would bring peace by freeing his people from oppression and crushing their enemies (vv. 4-5).
• He would come from the nation of Israel and be known by many titles, including Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace (v. 6).
• He would reign over God’s people forever (v. 7).

            The first two verses, “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them,” tell us exactly where the ministry of this coming Messiah will be centered. It will be centered in the territories that once belonged to the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, which happens to be the territory in which Jesus grew up and in which he spent the most time ministering in.

            Not only do these first two verse gives us the location of where this Messiah will begin his ministry but they also began to tell us what this ministry will bring. Because verse tells this, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.” The first thing this coming Messiah’s ministry will bring is light into a land full of darkness. And that light is the light of salvation and hope.

            In verse 3 we are told this, “You will multiply the nation, you will increase their joy; they will rejoice in you presence as with the joy of harvest, as people rejoice when they divide the spoils.” This is a promise that this coming Messiah is going to add new groups of people to God’s people. And he will accomplish this by brining the Gentiles (non-Jewish people) into the fold by offering them a way to become people of God.

            The next four verses describe exactly what will happen when this coming Messiah takes his rightful place as our ruler. This description starts with verses 4 and 5:

For you will break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressors, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the marching warrior in the roar of battle, and cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

According to these two verses the first thing that we should note about the reign of this Messiah is that he is going to end all oppression. But the very next verse gives even greater hope concerning this coming Messiah.

            In verse 6 Isaiah writes these words, “For a child will born to us, a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” This is a prophecy about the birth of the Messiah-the “Anointed One,” the Savior-Jesus Christ. His birth would happen at a definite time and place in history and in a unique and marvelous way (see post “Verse of the Day 12-17-22”). We will come back to the phrase “the government will rest on His shoulders” when we deal with verse, but for now we are going to deal with the four names that will characterize the Messiah.

1. Wonderful Counselor. He is exceptional, distinguished, and without peer, the one who gives the right advice. The Messiah would be a supernatural wonder (the Hebrew word pele’ is only used to describe God never humans or human work, Isaiah 28:29). He would show this part of his character through powerful works and miracles. This Wonderful Counselor would possess perfect wisdom. His words and message would reveal God’s plan of salvation, leading people into a right relationship with God and giving them eternal life.
2. Mighty God. He is God himself. In the person of Jesus Christ all the fullness of God-his nature and character-would exist in bodily form (Colossians 2:9 and John 1:1 and 14). In other words, Jesus Christ would be fully God and full man.
3. Everlasting Father. He is timeless; he is God our Father. The Messiah not only would show the way to the heavenly Father, but he himself would be a perfect reflection of the Father-loving, protecting and supplying the needs of his children (Psalm 103:13).
4. Prince of Peace. His government is one of justice and peace. His coming to earth would bring people to place of peace with God by setting them free from sin and spiritual death (Isaiah 11:6-9; Romans 5:1 and 8:2).

            In the last verse of this great prophecy, verse 7, Isaiah writes these words: “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on an forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this.” This verse is referring to Jesus establishing his kingdom and reigning in peace. His first coming, by birth, showed people how to enter God’s kingdom and have true spiritual peace by receiving his message of forgiveness, new life and a personal relationship with God. But one day Jesus physically will return to rescue his people, defeat the forces of evil for good, and establish a peaceful rule that will lead into eternity (Revelation 20-21).

            Here is what we should take away from this great prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-7. Into the darkness, God will shine his everlasting light. The fulfillment of these verses reaches far beyond Isaiah’s time. The land of Galilee will experience God’s gracious light, such that people in the land of darkness will witness the dawn of something new (vv. 1-2). What God does will mean joy and peace (vv. 3-5). This hope and dawning light again concern the birth of a son. But Isaiah’s son is not view here. The Lord promises a son who will rule and whose titles include Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (v. 6). This son is the promised offspring of David (2 Samuel 7:12-13), the son whose reign will never end (Isaiah 9:7). Though Israel had not yet had a king who practiced justice and righteousness, one would be born in the fullness of time, when the incarnation of God’s Son fulfilled the hope of Isaiah 9:1-7. After Jesus went to live in Capernaum in the land of Galilee, Matthew tells us that this fulfilled what Isaiah wrote: “The people living in darkness have seen a great light” (Matthew 4:16). Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), so wherever Jesus goes, the dawning light of deliverance shines.

Today’s Bible Readings:

Zephaniah 1-3, Revelation 10, Psalm 138:1-8 and Proverbs 30:11-14