Isaiah 9:1-7—The Messiah Is Coming!

 

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—

² The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 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.

Introduction

Isaiah 9 often has been called the “oracle of salvation” in the Old Testament.

Isaiah chapter 9 originated as a thanksgiving hymn to recognize not the acts of God in the past, but to thank Him for what He would do in the future. The prophet was aware that God was determined to bless His people Israel, despite their many sins and rejections of Him.

Chapter 9, of course, is best known for vv. 6-7, where Isaiah introduces us to the Messiah. Isaiah 9:6 is often coupled in sermons in the Christmas season with Isaiah 7:14:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

The Exposition

Chapter 9 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, in the northern part of Israel, included the lands of the tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali, which the Assyrians, under King Tiglath-pileser III, invaded and in 733/732 B.C. at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy, circa 740-700 B.C. It is because of the Assyrian occupation in Galilee that Isaiah calls the people “…those who were in distress…” in v. 1.

In addition, the people of Judah, which bordered Galilee to the south, were fearful because the Assyrians had occupied territory so close to them, because the Assyrians were ferocious and merciless to the people in regions they conquered.

The Assyrians carved out three provinces for themselves at that time. One Isaiah calls: “…by the way of the sea…,” in v. 1, referring to the region of Philistia, and the other he calls: “…Galilee of the nations…” The Hebrew expression גְּלִיל הַגֹּויִֽם (“Galilee of the nations”) specifically refers to the nations of the House of Israel, referencing the rebellious tribal lands of Zebulun and Naphtali. These were among the first areas of Israel to be attacked from the north because of the major highway running through them. We read about the Assyrian invasion in 2 Kings 15:29:

“In the “time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maakah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria.”

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 literal Hebrew of v. 2 reads: “…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 “…a land of death’s shadow …” when the Assyrian domination ends. 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.

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 “…a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness…”

In the New Testament, when Jesus moved to Galilee and ministered there, it was in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-2; Matthew tells us:

“¹² When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— ¹⁴ to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: ^15 ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—¹⁶ the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. ¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (Matthew 4:12-17).

Vv. 3-5 show us that the gloom Isaiah cites in v. 1 has turned into praise and exaltation as the prophet anticipates the people's own future joy in God. V. 3 begins with words of thanksgiving and praise. It is a prophecy that the Lord will enlarge the nation and increase their joy:

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.

“…The nation…” in v. 3 is Israel, which had been reduced to a small remnant, but God would restore it.

However, there is a problem with v. 3 that has caused much debate among scholars, likely due to an early error in some manuscripts in writing one of two similar Hebrew words that are pronounced alike but have different meanings. They are לו, (lô), which means “to him, his” or “their” and  לא, (lo’) which means “not.”

The King James translates the text as: Thou hast not increased the joy” whereas it should properly read “Thou hast increased their joy,” in agreement with all other English translations and the majority of Hebrew manuscripts.

Significantly, the Isaiah scroll from among the Dead Sea scrolls, the earliest Hebrew manuscript we have of the book, uses the Hebrew word meaning “his” or “their”; v. 3 in the Isaiah scroll reads, in translation:

“You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the plunder.”

Nevertheless, the debate about v. 3 still continues on today by the “King-James-only” folks, who dismiss every English version other than the King James as false and a product of Satan. They regard the King James Version as inspired by the Holy Spirit the same as the authors of the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.

The NIV and other modern English translations offer the accurate renderings of v. 3: “You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy…”

That God would enlarge the nation after its many catastrophes, no doubt sounded remote at the time Isaiah wrote it, but the promise was partially accomplished as Israel and Judah recovered and grew…and was fully accomplished with the advent of the Savior to preach the gospel. His people eventually will enjoy peace and prosperity under His blessing. Both the farmer and the soldier have their times of joy at the climax of their work, and these provide illustrations of the joy that is to come to God's people.

In v. 4, Isaiah reminds the Israelites of a rescue God orchestrated in the past as a way of assuring them He would eliminate the present threats from the Assyrians:

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.

Here is the background:

The Midianites had a mixed past in their relationship with Israel. They descended from Abraham but eventually became hostile toward Israel.

V. 4 refers us back to the miracle found in Judges 7. The “…day of Midian’s defeat…” in v. 4 is when God vanquished the Midianite army surrounding Jerusalem through a mighty defeat by a small group of 300 men under the leadership of Gideon and armed with torches and trumpets.

We read about the day of Midian’s defeat in Judges 7:

…Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” ²¹ While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. ²² When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords (Judges 7:20-22).

It was no ordinary military victory; it was a miracle from God and a reminder that God would still deliver His people.

Isaiah goes on to vividly picture the renewed peace in Israel and Judah in v. 5:

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.

Vv. 4-5 depict a celebration of victory and God’s grace to His people Israel.

Isaiah also has in mind the ultimate salvation of God’s people Israel as he moves on to vv. 6-7, where he transitions from the then-current deliverance of Israel from the Assyrian threat to a prophecy about the advent of the Messiah, a far-more important deliverance to come in the future.

Vv. 6-7 is a brief passage that has been cited by Christians since the earliest days of the church. Isaiah gives us in those two short verses a ton of information in his prophecy of the advent of the Messiah…details about His birth and His identity…and he predicted all this a full 700 years before the Messiah’s would come.

In vv. 6-7, Isaiah writes:

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.

Until 1947 A.D., skeptics claimed vv. 6-7 had to have been added sometime after Jesus’ birth because of the detailed accuracy of the prophecy. No such details could have been known, the skeptics said, 700 years before Jesus’ birth when Isaiah prophesied.

But in 1947, a scroll of the book of Isaiah was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls which had been written in antiquity long before that holy night in Bethlehem, gave us irrefutable evidence of the prophecy’s existence long before the Savior was born.

As a brief aside, let me say Isaiah 7:14 is usually quoted alongside Isaiah 9: 6-7…

The background to Isaiah chapter 7, is Judah’s wicked King Ahaz having rejected the opportunity to ask a sign from the Lord. Isaiah told him, in 7:13-14:

“¹³…Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

The ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy goes far beyond King Ahaz…to announce the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus Christ. We know this passage speaks of Jesus because the Holy Spirit says so through Matthew, in Matthew 1:20-23

“²⁰…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ^23 ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).”

Through Matthew, the Holy Spirit assures us that its fulfillment is found in the virgin birth of Jesus. Mary is the foretold virgin through whom God gave us Jesus.

Isaiah 7:14 speaks of Jesus, the One who would be known as Immanuel. “Immanuel” (עִמָּנוּאֵל), of course, is the Hebrew word meaning “God with us” or, literally, “with us is God.” Immanuel expresses the wonder of the incarnation, as John aptly explains in John chapter 1, that God “…became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” (John 1:14).

About Isaiah 7:14, John Calvin wrote: 

“He  (Jesus) is…called God with us, or united to us; which cannot apply to a man who is not God...it denotes not only the power of God, such as he usually displays by his servant, but a union of person, by which Christ became God-man.”

I bring up Isaiah 7:14 because this same emphasis on the dual God-Man nature of the coming Messiah child continues in Isaiah 9:6, and inevitably the two references are quoted together in sermons at Christmastime.

The words of Isaiah 9:6 comprise one of the most powerful prophecies testifying plainly and clearly that the promised Messiah to come would, in fact, be God Himself born in human flesh.

Isaiah writes: “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, where Luke reports in 2:6-7 the birth, and in 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 9:6 some of the roles the Messiah would fill. Isaiah prophesied:

“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.”

The word of Isaiah about the future Messiah came long before our Savior’s advent, more than seven centuries before Mary would give birth in the humble stable to that one true King.

We are entering the season of Advent…a time of preparation as we celebrate God becoming man and living as one of us. His desire is to be with us and save us from the consequences of our rebellion.

Isaiah prophesies extensively about the future Messiah, in v. 6, giving us four names for the coming Messiah…each one showing us the plan of God for His people…and the Savior who would change the world.

Isaiah tells us we have in the Messiah, our Wonderful Counselor, our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, and our Prince of Peace.

Wonderful Counselor

Isaiah calls the Messiah 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 choice of the translation 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” was a government term in the ancient near east and referred to the counselors or senior advisors every king employed. Isaiah intended his term “Wonderful Counselor” to tell us the Messiah would do powerful, miraculous works only God can do.

The term “Wonderful Counselor” to the Hebrew mind had much more depth than we modern westerners may realize.

When we hear the term counselor today, we may think of a good psychologist or just someone who can give us good advice. But Isaiah means much more. His reference to the coming Messiah as being “Wonderful,” means “beyond understanding, immeasurable,” and “profound.”

Christ defies the expectations of humanity, for the counsel that He brings to us is the very plan for our salvation, filled with wonder beyond our ability to really comprehend.

The wonderful counsel and plan that God provided was a way for us to deal with our sin nature. God’s people cannot pull themselves out of their own sin. Jesus became human and bore the burden of common temptations, and only by bearing the full weight of mankind’s sin would God be able to save His people. So, God became man to with His people, enduring everything we endure. But He was different. He resisted temptations and was thus able to redeem the world by sacrificing Himself.

Everyone who tires of his or her own efforts for security may come to Christ freely, because He is our hope of salvation. All of this stems from the great and enduring love of God for the people. We are His creation, and He longs so much for a relationship with each of us that He became a man to live among us, give us the opportunity to know Him, and to offer Himself for us.

It is no surprise that Isaiah called Him “Wonderful” …meaning “beyond understanding, immeasurable, and profound.”

Mighty God

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.”

A name Isaiah gives for the child that is born, the son that is given in v. 6 is “…Mighty God…,” revealing to us that the Messiah would be, literally, God Himself. We refer to Him as “God the Son” or the “Second Person of the Godhead.”

The term phrase here translated “…Mighty God…” is the Hebrew word אֵל (El), with the addition of the adjective גִּבּוֹר (gibbor), meaning strong or mighty, hence the English translation, the “Mighty God.” The Hebrew, “el gibbor,” expresses mightiness and the omnipotence and deity of the coming Messiah, truly God with great power and strength.

Isaiah did not stop writing about el gibbor in 9:6, however. In vv. 20-21 of very next chapter, he says:

²⁰ In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ²¹ A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to (el gibbor) the Mighty God.

Who is this remnant to return to? To the Lord, the one true God of Israel. Here He is plainly called the “Mighty God” (el gibbor) in the very same prophetic context as Isaiah 9:6. Indeed, only a chapter apart from it. Jehovah is el gibbor, the Mighty God. The Messiah is el gibbor, the Mighty God.

Other prophets concur that Jehovah is el gibbor, the “Mighty God.”

Jeremiah, for example, writes in his prophecy that God is our:

…Great and mighty God (el gibbor), whose name is the Lord Almighty… (Jeremiah 32:18).

Similarly, Zephaniah writes:

…The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior—literally, “…Yahweh your God in your midst, the mighty (gibbor) One.... (Zephaniah 3:17).

God is rightly called “mighty” by the prophets. He is the living God, the only God in existence. And Jesus, our Savior, is the “Mighty God”—the el gibbor—on whom we have the right and privilege to call.

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.” Alternatively, a well-known 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 Father” means “eternal, in perpetuity” or simply “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. 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.

The word “Father” in the context of v. 6 describes the Messiah as benevolent and just. In chapter 22, Isaiah uses “father,” in the sense of “a fatherly ruler,” where God applies the description to Eliakim, who was prime minister of Judah under King Hezekiah:

“²⁰ In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. ²¹…He will be a father (literally, “a fatherly ruler”) to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah.”

The idea here in 9:6 is that as “Everlasting Father” the Messiah would fill a kind of fatherly role to His followers forever, not only ruling, but also providing for His people.

I should note that “everlasting” is an adjective that the Old Testament writers never use to apply to any merely human ruler. It is, of course, equivalent to Isaiah’s prediction that the Messiah’s rule will be forever.

Isaiah makes that prediction in 9:7, referring to the Messiah, who will reign on David’s throne “…and over his kingdom…from that time on and forever…,” clearly referring to the “…Everlasting Father…” of v. 6. The Messiah will guard and sustain His people, preserving the throne of David, provide and protect His children with wisdom and compassion eternally.

This child that Isaiah spoke of 700 years before His birth would show us both the power of the Mighty God and the heart of the Everlasting Father. Under his care, his protection, and his provision, we are safe and will be satisfied for all eternity.

Isaiah is not teaching us that God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, is the same person as God the Father. Isaiah did not have the Trinity in mind at all, because the concept of the trinity had yet to be introduced. He writes about the Messiah’s character toward His people, His father-like in his treatment of those that believe.

Isaiah addresses eternity more than any other prophet. He speaks of God as “…the high and exalted one…He who lives forever…” (Isaiah 57:15; literally, “…the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity…”). Here in v. 6, he refers to the Messiah in the same way.

Isaiah could not have seen the full glory of Jesus, the Messiah, and I doubt if he understood very well the full import of the Messiah as Mighty God and Everlasting Father. But today, if you want to know what God is like, just look at Jesus, the perfect image of God and the exact representation of his being.

Jesus alone makes the Father known. He told us:

“…I and the Father are one…” and “…the Father is in me, and I in the Father…” (John 10: 30, 38), “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), and “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9).

Jesus, the Mighty God and our Everlasting Father, came into a broken and sinful world to fill our hearts as our one and only Savior…save us and teach us how to love God and one another. And once we are His, it is forever…no goodbyes…nothing will be able to separate us from his love…not even death itself.

We can praise God for our eternal security in Christ, our Everlasting Father.

Prince of Peace

Isaiah also describes the future Messiah as the “…Prince of Peace.” The phrase “Prince of Peace” is the Hebrew שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם (shar shalom), which literally is translated “the prince or ruler of the peace.”

Like every generation before us, we live in a world filled with hatred, unrest, violence, and wars. Some people may wonder how Jesus could be the all-powerful God who acts in human history as the embodiment of peace…in the face of mankind’s behavior.

Earthly kingdoms advance through greed, war, and oppression. God’s kingdom advances through righteousness and peace (Jn 14:27) — peace that will exist forever in God’s new heaven and new earth.

Isaiah encouraged the people to maintain hope that God’s peace would prevail in human affairs, but it would come in a future day inaugurated by the appearance of the Messiah. In Isaiah’s prophecies, his vision of the advents of the Messiah are sort of foreshortened. On the one hand, in His first advent, the Messiah would bring peace between mankind and God, and on the other hand, in His second advent, Isaiah pictured a day when peace will cover the earth and all pain will cease—the kind of peace John’s vision shows us in Revelation 21:4:

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Believers today have had the experience of peace with God, and we look forward to the hope of the end of human conflict at His second coming as well.

In His first appearance, Jesus came to earth to seek and save those who were lost and wandering from him…to establish a way for people to enter his kingdom and find the peace he offers. We who have come to Christ have peace with God, knowing our sins are forgiven and we can rely on the presence of a holy God in our lives now and forever. And we have the peace knowing that we will, one day, inhabit a world ruled by our Savior and Lord…a world that will be free from strife and violence.

But for us in the present, Isaiah is telling us that the Messiah came to deliver an inner peace through Christ. We find that peace in quiet moments, in worship and prayer, and in the sure knowledge that our future is in His hands.

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace because He is the only one who can bring true peace, restoration, redemption, and reconciliation between us and God. As Prince of Peace:

• He restores broken relationships.
• He gives us the opportunity for a pious and balanced life.
• He gives us the assurance of eternal life.
• He is the only one who can bring true peace, restoration, redemption, and reconciliation between us and God and people around us.

The Hebrew word for “peace,” שָׁלוֹם (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; as Paul wrote to the Roman church: “…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 in Luke 2, “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.

Isaiah concludes his brief description of the Messiah in v. 7:

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.

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.

In stating in v. 7 that “He will reign on David’s throne…,” the prophet makes it unmistakably clear that the ruler he is writing about 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.

The Lord made a promise to King David, recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 7:

“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me[b]; your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16).

The New Testament tells us repeatedly there is a connection between Jesus and David. The genealogies of the Savior, the book of Acts and the epistles, and especially the many gospel references to this relationship show that Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise to David. Fifteen times in the gospels, our Lord is called specifically “…the Son of David…”

Isaiah pictures Christ ruling over the people of God for all eternity. We know the baby in a manger, completely dependent on those around Him for His very survival, will judge and rule the world, as Isaiah tells us in v. 7, “… establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”

Unlike human governments which start corruptly, or which inevitably end in corruption, the reign of that child born in Bethlehem will be both righteous and with perfect justice eternally.

 

Conclusion

Isaiah’s prophecy of the future Messiah is simply amazing, encompassing both the first and second advents of the Messiah. We need to remember that the intervening gap between those two advents—the church age, which we are in now—was not visible from the hi perspective. Isaiah saw the grace and mercy of the sovereign covenant-keeping God of Israel at the forefront of his time and in the future.

 

Closing Prayer

Lord,

Thank you because you sent Jesus, Immanuel…God with Us. He came in the form of a human being, humbled himself taking the form of a servant, and was obedient to the point of death for our sins. You gave us Jesus, Father, and everything our soul needs and longs for is found in Him.

We pray that you will give us the faith to live like we have been truly redeemed…and a bold faith to be your witnesses to a fallen world. Help us to love one another and to do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility counting others as more significant than ourselves.

Help us not to look only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others. Help us be poor in spirit…help us be meek and merciful…to be pure in heart…to be peacemakers…and to live in such a way that people will see your love in us and be drawn to you.

Father, to put it simply, help us be like Jesus.

And thank you, Father, because, as we celebrate in this advent season the fulfillment of your promise, as we light candles and lights, and sing of the immense joy that fills our hearts, we are reminded of the glorious truth that changed the world, that changed our hearts, that changed eternity: Jesus has come to seek and to save the lost.

Amen