Isaiah Chapter 9: The Messiah Is Coming!

Isaiah chapter 9 often has been called an “oracle of salvation.”

The prophet wrote this chapter as a thanksgiving hymn to emphasize what God intended to do in the future and not what He had done in the past. Despite Israel's rejection of the Lord, He planned bless His people again.

Chapter 9 is perhaps best known for vv. 6-7, where Isaiah introduces us to the Messiah.

The chapter opens with the promise of a bright future for the people of God. In v. 1, the prophet writes:

“¹ Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan…”

The region called Galilee included the lands of the tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali, which the Assyrians had occupied Galilee near the time Isaiah wrote this chapter. He refers to the people in that region as “…those who were in distress…” in v. 1. The people of Judah, which bordered Galilee to the south, had been fearful because the Assyrians had occupied territory so close to them.

Isaiah has a reassuring message for both the Judeans and the Galileans in v. 2. He tells them they face a bright future:

“² The people walking in darkness

    have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

    a light has dawned.”

The original Hebrew manuscript of v. 2 reads: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. As for those residing in a land of death’s shadow, light has shone upon them.”

Isaiah describes the people of Galilee as having emerged from “…the land of deep darkness…” when the Assyrian domination ended. We will see in later verses that he refers to an even brighter future light in his prophecy—the advent of the Messiah, the King promised to Israel who would be born in the royal line of David.

Conditions in Galilee had changed by the time Isaiah wrote this prophecy. The people in the north were no longer being oppressed by the Assyrians. They had reason to rejoice and once more were free to produce crops from their own lands. Isaiah chooses this time to tell the people of God’s promise of a redeemer, a future king from heaven who will rule the world, the one called the Messiah or Savior.

The prophecies found in this chapter have been an important part of Christian theology and worship for many centuries. Since the earliest days of the church, the church fathers and the scholars and commentators in the generations that followed have linked the prophecies in chapter 9 to Jesus’ birth 700 years later and ministry in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was, scholars argue, the one Isaiah calls in v. 2 the “…great light on those living in the land of deep darkness…” In the New Testament, Matthew 4:12-17 tells us that when Jesus moved to Galilee and ministered there, it was in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-2.

Isaiah introduces us to the Messiah through a detailed description of His birth and identity in a prophecy that has been celebrated by Christians for more than 20 centuries.

Vv. 3-7:

³ You have enlarged the nation

    and increased their joy;

they rejoice before you

    as people rejoice at the harvest,

as warriors rejoice

    when dividing the plunder.

⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,

    you have shattered

the yoke that burdens them,

    the bar across their shoulders,

    the rod of their oppressor.

⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle

    and every garment rolled in blood

will be destined for burning,

    will be fuel for the fire.

⁶ For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

    and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

    with justice and righteousness

    from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

    will accomplish this.

In vv. 6-7, Isaiah tells us the Messiah would come as a male child, a descendant of King David. Millions of Christians throughout the world are no doubt familiar with these prophetic verses, which Isaiah wrote 700 years before Jesus’ birth.

Until 1947 A.D., skeptics claimed vv. 6-7 must have been forged after Jesus’ birth because of their accurate details. But in 1947, the discovery of the scroll of the book of Isaiah among the Dead Sea Scrolls proved it had been written in antiquity after all, long before that night in Bethlehem.

Isaiah prophesied that the Savior will come as a child, a son, in v. 6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…” We find confirmation of Isaiah’s words in the gospel of Luke. Luke 2:6-7 reports the birth, and Luke 2:11 the announcement to the shepherds by the angel that this baby boy was the Messiah: “⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them…¹¹ ‘Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.’”

Isaiah continues his prophecy, predicting in the latter part of v. 6 some of the roles the Messiah would fill: “…and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Wonderful Counselor

There is some debate about whether this designation is one term (“Wonderful Counselor”) or two (“Wonderful” and “Counselor”) because there is no punctuation in the written Hebrew language. The King James Version translators chose to separate the two terms with a comma (“…and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor…”), understanding Isaiah to mean that these are two separate attributes of the Messiah. Most modern translations render it as a single attribute, “…Wonderful Counselor…” Neither translator’s choice radically changes the meaning.

The Hebrew term translated “Wonderful” here means “extraordinary, hard to be understood” and is used only to describe God and God's dealings with His people. The word is found 21 times in the Old Testament, every time referring to the work of God.

The Hebrew term translated “Counselor” means “guide, teacher, or intercessor.” “Counselor” is a government term and refers to the counselors every king employed to advise him. Isaiah intended his term “Wonderful Counselor” to tell us the Messiah would do powerful, miraculous works only God can do.

Mighty God

In calling the Messiah “Mighty God,” Isaiah revealed the Messiah would be God Himself. He also made this point two chapters earlier in 7:14, where he prophesied: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” “Immanuel” is a Hebrew word meaning “God with us” and expresses the wonder of the incarnation, that God “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).

Biblical theology tells us that God is manifested to us in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote of Jesus, the Son, in Colossians 2:9 that “…in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form…,” which is a clear-cut statement of the deity of Christ. Paul also referred to Jesus as “…our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…” in his letter to Titus (2:13). John wrote in 1 John 5:20: “We know also that the Son of God has come…He is the true God and eternal life.” And we have Jesus’ own testimony in His conversation with Philip (John 14:9): “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

Everlasting Father

The literal translation of this Hebrew name is not “Everlasting Father” as we find in our English translations, but more accurately, “Father of Eternity.” A Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures widely used in the 1^st century A.D. called the Septuagint  translates the name as “Father of the age to come.”

The Hebrew term for “Everlasting” means “perpetuity, eternal,” or “eternity” and has the idea of “in perpetuity” or “without end.” Notice that the next verse, v. 7, says of the Messiah, “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.”

The concept of “Father” in Isaiah’s time and culture included the roles of protector and provider for family and community. The king, for example, was regarded as the father of his subjects, and spiritual leaders such as Abraham and Moses were called fathers of their people.

Prince of Peace

Like every generation before us, we live in a world filled with war and violence, and that makes it difficult to see how Jesus could be the all-powerful God who acts in human history as the embodiment of peace. But physical safety and political harmony are not the kinds of peace the Bible refers to. When the Bible speaks of peace through Christ, it almost always refers to “peace with God.”

The Hebrew word for “peace” is “shalom,” which means “harmony, wholeness,” or “well-being.” It is often used to describe or promote a sense of calm and tranquility among people or even nations. The concept of shalom also has the more foundational meaning of “the spiritual harmony brought about by a person’s restoration with God.”

People live in a sinful state and need to be reconciled to God. It is because of Christ’s sacrifice that we are restored to a relationship of peace with God: “…While we were still sinners, Christ died for us…” (Romans 5:8) and “…since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 5:1). There can be a deep, abiding peace between people’s hearts and the Creator, and that cannot be taken away. It is Christ’s work as the “Prince of Peace.”

When the heavenly host sang to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14), they were singing about the Father’s goodwill and peace toward mankind, made real by His sending the Son, the Messiah, as the means of restoring peace with Him.

In the original Hebrew text, the prophecy of v. 7 begins: “To the increase of his dominion and of peace there will be no end upon the throne of David and over his kingdom…,” which means the Messiah would exercise abundant or great authority. Isaiah adds in v. 7 that “He will reign on David’s throne…,” making it unmistakably clear that the ruler is from the royal line of David and, therefore, would be the “Anointed One” or “Messiah.” Furthermore, Isaiah predicts that His rule would be marked by righteousness, justice, equity, fairness, and impartiality.

After giving a description of the coming Messiah in vv. 6-7, Isaiah turns the focus of his prophecy back to the nation of his day in vv. 8-21:

“⁸ The Lord has sent a message against Jacob;

    it will fall on Israel.

⁹ All the people will know it—

    Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—

who say with pride

    and arrogance of heart,

¹⁰ ‘The bricks have fallen down,

    but we will rebuild with dressed stone;

the fig trees have been felled,

    but we will replace them with cedars.’

¹¹ But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them

    and has spurred their enemies on.

¹² Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west

    have devoured Israel with open mouth.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

    his hand is still upraised.

¹³ But the people have not returned to him who struck them,

    nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.

¹⁴ So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,

    both palm branch and reed in a single day;

¹⁵ the elders and dignitaries are the head,

    the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

¹⁶ Those who guide this people mislead them,

    and those who are guided are led astray.

¹⁷ Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,

    nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,

for everyone is ungodly and wicked,

    every mouth speaks folly.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

    his hand is still upraised.”

‘¹⁸ Surely wickedness burns like a fire;

    it consumes briers and thorns,

it sets the forest thickets ablaze,

    so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.

¹⁹ By the wrath of the Lord Almighty

    the land will be scorched

and the people will be fuel for the fire;

    they will not spare one another.

²⁰ On the right they will devour,

    but still be hungry;

on the left they will eat,

    but not be satisfied.

Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring:

²¹ Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;

    together they will turn against Judah.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

    his hand is still upraised.’”

Isaiah was prophesying to the nation of Judah, but in vv. 8 and following, he focused on the northern kingdom of Israel as the example of the severity of God’s judgment.

The northern kingdom of Israel lay in ruin, but the people thought it was only a temporary setback and that they could rebuild better than before, as they boast in v. 10: “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”

God had judged Israel for its hardness of heart in the people’s refusal to return to the Lord (vv. 13-17), and Isaiah wanted the people of Judah to know that Israel’s ruin was not temporary and that Judah itself also was in danger of destruction as long as its people continued in sin.

The people in the northern kingdom had been led astray by false prophets and evil leaders. Their own wickedness had destroyed their nation, the way a fire destroys a forest or a field (vv. 18-19), an especially vivid picture of wickedness Isaiah drew as he wrote.

The expression translated “…the Lord Almighty…” in v. 19 is “…YHWH of hosts…” in the original Hebrew manuscript. It calls attention to the fact that God has hosts or armies of angels at His service. He expresses His wrath and lets people experience the consequences for disregarding of His law and will. Those consequences may include invading armies functioning as His instrument to punish the rebelling Israelites.

In view of the desperate condition in which the people would find themselves, they would do anything they could just to have food to eat (vv. 20-21), but they could not find enough to be filled or satisfied.

The NIV translation of v. 20 is odd when compared to the original Hebrew manuscript. In the Hebrew manuscript, v. 20 reads: “And he will snatch to the right and be hungry, and he will eat on the left. And they will not be satisfied. They devour, each, the flesh of his arm,” while the NIV translates the last part of the verse: “…feed on the flesh of their own offspring…” The KJV renders it accurately: “…they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm…” The Targum of Isaiah indicates the expression “They devour, each, the flesh of his arm…” refers to plundering the goods of one’s neighbor.

What the text is telling us is that in their greed and desperation, the people of the northern kingdom were devouring one another, (v. 20) and battling one another (v. 21); meanwhile, a foreign army, the Assyrians, were making preparations to invade.

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NOTE: In our next session, we will look at Isaiah chapter 10, in which God promises “A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God” (10:21).