For Unto Us A Son Is Given - Isaiah 9:1-7 (Sermon)
-min.png)
This last week, my kids told me that Dude Perfect came out with a new episode, The Mystery Detective Battle. It was a blast to watch. They did mini competitions and ran around a mansion to discover who took Sparky, with what, and in what room.
I bring this silly show up because the Old Testament prophecies are like a real-life game of clues. All these pieces make sense, looking back. But when they first come up, they can be pretty confusing. For example, we have been looking at the book of Isaiah in December. We have sentences like:
“Every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low” (Isaiah 40:4, ESV).
And, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, ESV).
And, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his root shall bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1, ESV).
What do the valleys, mountains, children, stumps, shoots, branches, and fruit mean? They start to make sense when we zoom out.
We have the privilege of having the entire book of Isaiah, the Bible, and time on our hands. We can zoom into Chapter 9, ask questions, look at the context, and then zoom out to see what God is saying. The bottom line is that we will discover the best Christmas gift in these verses: Jesus. Let’s dive in.
I have asked L.T. to read for us. Would you please stand with me in honor of God’s Word if you can? We will be reading from Isaiah chapter 9, verses 1 through 7:
But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:1–7, ESV)
Thank you. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, I need your help. Please help me write this message. Help it be relevant, fun, clear, powerful, and Spirit-led. In Jesus’s name, I pray, amen. You may be seated.
Context
The prophecy L. read continues what Isaiah spoke to King Ahaz. He was predicting the future and telling Ahaz not to worry. The year was about 733 B.C. Ahaz was an evil king. Although he was the king of God’s people, he did not act like it. He rejected God and his laws. He sacrificed his sons to the gods of the nations. Other countries threatened to conquer him. Isaiah was reassuring him that God would take care of his people. He didn’t have to rely on other gods or nations. In chapter 7, Isaiah predicted a miraculous virgin birth of a child named Immanuel, which means God with us. In chapter 8, God told Isaiah to take a wife, have a child, and call him “the prey hastens,” and judgment was coming. Last week, we jumped ahead to chapter 11. In it, we read about a child from David’s line, full of attributes similar to the child in chapter 9. God was doing something extraordinary with the most vulnerable, unbelievable solution.
Structure
I see three sections in these seven verses culminating in the Christ child.
Verses 1-2 contrast the past with the future: the way of anguish with the way of glory.
Verse 3 - tells us there will be future joy.
Verses 4-7 give three reasons for that joy, concluding with the birth of an extraordinary son.
Main Idea
The main idea of these verses is that God is doing a fantastic thing with eternal, spiritual ramifications for his people. Let me say that again. God is doing a fantastic thing with eternal, spiritual ramifications for his people. Let’s walk through the text.
Verses 1-2
Look at verse 1.
https://www.stvchurch.org/2017/07/06/vigil-2017-hour-five-is-this-an-isaiah-moment/
The first shows Ahaz’s kingdom, the southern kingdom, called Judah. Top sections are the other tribes, collectively called Israel or the Northern Kingdom.
The second map shows each tribe and some of the surrounding nations. Jacob had twelve sons. Each possessed a portion of Israel except Levi. So, there are sections named after every one of them, including Zebulun and Naphtali.
Galilee is the lake above the tribe of Issachar. This is where Jesus spent much of his ministry.
The lands of Zebulun and Naphtali are west of the Sea of Galilee.
The Jordan River runs north and south on the nation's eastern border.
The word for nations is interchangeable with the gentiles. God has a heart for the non-Jewish people. In Genesis 12, we read that God promised Abraham he would bless all nations through his descendants.
Verse 2 tells us what happens in this glorious way.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2, ESV)
What is the light Isaiah predicted? What is the darkness? 700 years later Jesus answered that question.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12, ESV, italics mine).
He also said,
“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5, ESV, italics mine).
To a crowd asking who the Son of Man was. He announced,
The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. John 12:35–36 (ESV)
Jesus is the light of the world. His follower John agreed. He wrote:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1–5, ESV, italics mine)
Later he wrote in relation to Jesus’s conversation at night with Nicodemus:
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. (John 3:19–21, ESV, italics mine)
The Apostle Paul echoed this,
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6, ESV)
We see God’s light through Christ by the Spirit resident in us. Jesus is the light to the nations. Matthew wrote:
Now when he [Jesus] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:12–16, ESV)
We live in a dark world and need Jesus. Look at the headlines. I wrote down a few of the words I skimmed this week:
VERSE 3
God is doing a fantastic thing with eternal, spiritual ramifications for his people. Jesus was born into this darkness. He is the light of the world. That is good news. It should warm our hearts, even though he didn’t fix it immediately. Some of this prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. Not only did Isaiah predict the light for the world, but he also predicted a growing nation and increasing joy. Jump to verse 3.
You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil. (Isaiah 9:3, ESV)
From the early days, God said that the nation of Israel would expand. True Israel, God’s people, will be represented by every country. It is not limited to the shade of one’s skin, the color of one’s eyes, the shape of one’s nose, height, weight, age, personality, or ancestry. Christianity isn’t a white man’s religion. If anything, it was a Middle Eastern one. But it is not that either. It is multicultural and pangeographical (I made that last word up). It isn’t limited to one culture or one location. It is spreading fastest in Africa and Asia. Isaiah predicted this growth not only because he saw increased joy in the future. It reminds me of the song from 1719 by Isaac Watts, Joy to the World. There are so many reasons to be happy.
YOU JOY
What brings you joy? A good meal, pleasure, friendship, fun? There are so many things that bring momentary delight. Sunrises, warm days, excellent meals, and smiles can lift our spirits. However, God has something greater in store for his children. It is like there is one more present you haven’t opened, and it is incredible. It is like a deed to the Grand Canyon, a check for Warren Buffet’s bank account, a mansion on the lake, or one of a sports car for each month. God’s gift is more significant than anything you can imagine. No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, what the Lord has prepared for those who look forward to his second coming. Let’s taste and see his goodness. What does he promise his people?
ISRAEL’S GIFTS
One gift people in Isaiah’s day probably wanted was relief from their enemies. In Isaiah chapter 7, Syria and the tribe of Ephraim joined forces, threatening Judah’s occupation and Ahaz’s death. Historically, we read in 2 Chronicles that they waged a campaign that took the lives of 120,000 men and enslaved 200,000 women and children. Then, Assyria conquered Israel. After that, the Babylonians conquered Assyria and Judah. After that, the Persians conquered Babylon. Then, the Greeks defeated the Persians. Then, the Romans conquered the Greeks. Israel was a pawn and puppet state under the oppressive thumb of foreign rule. Israel has suffered from her earliest days. First, it was the Canaanites; then, the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Moabites, the Edomites, the Ammonites, and all sorts of parasites harassed them. Today, they suffer under the threat of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. Recently, they suffered under Stalin and Hitler. But Isaiah promised relief in verses 4 and 5.
VERSES 4 and 5 Describe the End of violence
Let’s look at verses 4 and 5 to see this play out.
For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire. (Isaiah 9:4–5, ESV)
The yoke of suffering will break as in the day of Midian.
MIDIAN
When was that? In Judges 6 through 8, Israel didn’t have a king; they had a judge: Gideon. He was a warrior. Midian had oppressed God’s people for seven years. 135,000 Midianite men were threatening to crush them. God heard his people’s cries for help. Gideon amassed 32,000 troops to fight back. God told him that he had too many. He commanded him to send home all those who were fearful. 22,000 left. They still had too many. So God had all the men go down to the river to drink. The ones who lapped like a dog were the ones who would fight. That left 300. How in the world would 300 survive, let alone bring victory? They didn’t fight with bows and arrows, swords, or spears. They fought with musical instruments and lamps. They surrounded the enemy at night, lit their lamps, and blew their horns. The enemy woke up confused and killed each other. God routed them, and Israel won the day. It was a miracle. What God did before, he will do again. How? “Every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.”
VERSE 6-7
God is doing a fantastic thing with eternal, spiritual ramifications for his people. Here is another puzzle. Listen to this song. What is it? https://mdundo.com/song/8525#google_vignette
It is our next set of verses, by Frederick Handel in 1741. Look at verses 6 and 7. I see four names of the Christ child and three characteristics of his reign.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7, ESV)
God is the best gift ever. In contrast to the faithlessness of Ahaz, this child will be the light and joy of the world. He will be:
The king
Wise
Mighty
Fatherly
Ushering peace
Ruling forever
Reigning with justice and righteous
Let’s walk through each.
KING
We first read that the government will be on his shoulder. That means he will be the king in 2 Samuel chapter 7. Samuel predicted that David would have a descendant that would be God’s son. His kingdom will never end. There will be no more debates, primaries, fundraising, commercials, polling, or voting. He will win, hands down, with no recount or recourse. He will be the King of kings and Lord of lords. Paul tells us:
God has highly exalted him [Jesus] and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9–11, ESV)
WISE
This child will be an excellent counselor and one with outstanding counsel. He will embody wisdom. The Bible tells us that David’s son, Solomon, was the wisest of all. The child would be wiser still. The Apostle Paul called Jesus the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). He knows the hearts of men and women. He knows the more profound things that reside in the soul. He knows the future as well as the past. He is wise.
MIGHTY
This child will be strong. He will be no ordinary kid. He is the supernatural, God-man. He could stop a storm with a word, provide food for thousands, cast out a demon, and heal the sick. He could even raise the dead. He raised himself from the dead and will never die again. He is more powerful than anyone who ever lived or will live. Through him, the world was made. And the world continues to exist by his decree.
Fatherly
This child will also bear a fatherly mark. He is not a replacement for the Father God. They are the same substance but different persons. He offers his people guidance, direction, and protection just like a father does for his children. In a sense, he is the everlasting father.
Ushering Peace
He will usher in peace. He is the Prince of Peace. This is a massive benefit in a world of anxiety, worry, confusion, and stress. We have so much conflict. Who doesn’t want peace?
Jesus said to his followers:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27, ESV).
The Apostle Paul wrote:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7, ESV)
Jesus came to bring peace to Earth for those who trust in him. He is the Prince of Peace.
Eternal
This child’s kingdom will last forever. It will not end. What is that like? It is hard to picture.
Plastic takes 20 to 500 years to decompose.
Pop cans take 200 to 500 years to biodegrade.
Glass bottles take 4000 years to disintegrate.
Our clothes wear out, our cars break, our food expires, and our kingdoms fall.
The Empire of Japan lasted 1700 years
The Byzantine Empire lasted about 875 years
The Holy Roman Empire lasted about 850 years
Zhou Dynasty lasted about 800 years
The Ethiopian Empire lasted about 675 years
The United States is 247 years old and will eventually fall, like the others.
Yet this child’s kingdom will never fall. There will be no end.
Justice and Righteousness
What will his kingdom be like? Perfect. In a world of injustice and evil, the king will bring a beautiful alternative—no more infighting or politicking. There will be no more corruption, backroom deals, pandering, bribery, fraud, theft, scandal, lies, or betrayals. This future king will grow up and be different from the short-sighted, corrupt, immoral, and wicked King Ahaz. Jesus brings justice and righteousness. For those of us who are aware of our sin, justice can be scary and righteousness insurmountable. That is why Jesus came, lived a perfect life, died a sinner’s death, and rose from the grave. He died so that we might live. He died to forgive us our sin. We have mercy and his righteousness through faith.
BABIES
As a parent launching my kids, I have hopes and dreams for them. We have aspirations and desires. We long for their success, health, and safety. However, this son Isaiah mentions in chapter 9 has shoes only God can fill. That is why he is the same person born of a virgin called Immanuel, God with us. He is also the “shoot” coming out of the stump of Jesse, David’s ancestral line. He is royalty. Zooming out, we see he is Jesus. God is doing a fantastic thing with eternal, spiritual ramifications for his people.
CHRISTMAS
This Christmas, we can enjoy the gifts we get and give. But at the end of the day, the most significant reason for joy and light is Jesus. By faith in him, he shares his lasting blessings of wisdom, strength, peace, justice, and righteousness with us. Do you believe that?
If you believe that, let us let it sink in for a minute more. Where do you need his wisdom? Where do you need his strength? Where do you need his peace? Where do you need his fatherly care? Where do you need his justice and righteousness? God doesn’t want fence-sitting.
Where is your hope when you don’t know what to do? Where is your strength when you don’t have strength? Where is your peace and comfort? How about remembering the gift of Jesus this Christmas? He is the greatest treasure of all, more significant than family. He puts us in the heavenly family. He is more important than good food, satisfying our spiritual hunger. He is more significant than fun, offering us a joy that doesn’t end. He is more significant than any gifts and treasurers we amass, offering us Heaven.
I visited with one of our saints who will soon be with the Lord. A thin veil separates her and Heaven. She will know quickly what we look forward to but too often need to remember. We need to recall these promises. They are here for our encouragement.
If you are far from God, you don’t have to be. He came to be with us. He left to go to Heaven, but he sent his Holy Spirit. He longs for you to turn to him this day, this season, this new year. I challenge us all to remember the son whom God has given.
Let’s Pray
Let’s pray.
-min.png)
.png)
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment