Light in the dark
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Introduction
Introduction
When I was in college, I lived in this double wide trailer. This is a season of my life that I will not share every detail, but for illustrative purposes allow me one anectdote. Christmas lights to light up the place.
Why do we decorate everything in light? Why do we have candle light service? Well sitting in a room much like this…my grandparents always taught it was because he was the light of the world. And where his light shone…there was no darkness. Now truth be told....Christians in the 1800s were still preaching against the pagan practices of decorated trees.
Bigger than any symbol…this text.
Text - General
Text - General
Isaiah is written hundreds of years before Jesus would walk the earth and we often talk about the prophecies that are fulfilled in this text. One of the more often quoted is the one we just read and are focusing on today. Fulfilled prophecy is tricky. Sometimes we look at it like it was some where hidden answer key that everyone missed. I think prophecy in the OT is something we should spend some more time studying because I believe it will help us understand more of what God is doing in the present. See this text was meaningful for the people when they heard it AND it took on new meaning in the coming of Jesus.
The first verse serves as introductory and paints the scene for context. The context is the land of Naphtali, Zebulun, and Galilee. These regions during the Assyrian campaign were hit the hardest. Wiped out. Literal extermination camps. The ultimate darkness. It is in this darkness does God through the prophet proclaim something so powerful. Hope is screamed into the shattered dreams and lost nation.
Verses 1-3: Hope described
Light versus darkness:
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
I love that the first line, the first word in the middle of destruction is…look up there is light in front of you. And notice that this in the past tense here. One commentator put it this way:
Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary iv. The Royal Hope (9:1–7)
It is a sure hope—so sure that, according to Hebrew idiom, it is even written in past tenses as though it had happened already.
Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary iv. The Royal Hope (9:1–7)
It is a sure hope—so sure that, according to Hebrew idiom, it is even written in past tenses as though it had happened already.
Biblical hope is very different than optimism, biblical hope looks to God’s character alone as a basis for trusting that the future will be better than the present. Because we believe in the light that has already come.
Hope described continues: enlarged nation, like harvest time and warriors rejoicing.
When this light arrives (both in time and individually) then it is like harvest time or the feeling of warriors dividing up their plunder.
For those in the kingdom, there is plenty. Enough to share. Enough to live sacrificially. For those in the kingdom there is victory even when things look bleak.
So How is this so? For the ones standing in the land of Naphtali, Zebulun....how can this be? What is this light? Now the prophet explains this hope:
This is the fulfilment of our history: Remember when....
Isaiah 9
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.
He points to their past
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.
And remember what happened with Midian’s defeat…, when my people were surrounded and I delivered them.
“The yoke is suffering endured, the rod is suffering inflicted and I delivered my people from both....I will do it again.”
So what will it be like? It will be consistent with who I am, who I always have been.
And as a side note for just a second…Jesus is the fulfilment of history. No one denies his existence anymore. Preach this out....In , Jesus comes out of the desert temptation and he quotes this text. Matthew is interpreting Jesus as the answer to this prophecy.
Now consistent but new, I am going to give you a king:
Isaiah 9:
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.
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.
Couple of points really quick then I want to spend some time on these titles:
A child is born, a son is given…ponder these words.
the people of this king: their shoulders are delivered when his shoulders accepts the full responsibility.
Wonderful Counsellor: Literally “a wonder of a counsellor” no this does not mean Dr. Phil. This phrase is the closest word Hebrew has to supernatural. It is the ultimate wisdom of God. Wisdom far beyond our own grasp. The full answer for our lives. The wisdom literature in the Bible: proverbs, ecclesiastes, job…books wrestling with the world and our purpose in it....Jesus becomes the ultimate expression of this.
Mighty God: Full strength. The first time in prophetic words that I can tell in Isaiah that this coming king is called God.
Everlasting Father: In Israel’s history, they longed for a king. then they longed for a king like David....now the promise of a king that will reign for evermore. And father…not in the familial sense but by way of His concern, care and discipline for those entrusted to him.
Prince of peace: We think of some prince crowned in royalty but this term is not meant to denote that, instead this corresponds closest to our english word for administrator. And this peace is not a cease fire, but a healing and restoring action.
Friends, the incarnation of God, Jesus coming, Wonderful counsellor, mighty God, Everlasting father, prince of peace....is the true dawn of light over the darkness of the world. This is what we tie ourselves to in this season:
CS Lewis:
But you cannot possibly do that with Christianity, because the Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again, bringing nature up with Him. It is precisely one great miracle. If you take that away there is nothing specifically Christian left. There may be many admirable human things which Christianity shares with all other systems in the world, but there would be nothing specifically Christian.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
So what land of Naphtali or Zebulun are you walking through right now?
that second verse:
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
The land of deep darkness is the “shadow of death.” This is the darkness before Christ’s light is shone.
What shadow of death are you passing through?
loss?
dreams
bad expectations
marriage
maybe something in you. an addiction that you are pretending is not there
Maybe your life in general
There is a light that has already dawned. He is the one who brings supernatural wisdom and purpose. He is the administrator of our wholeness, He is the mighty warrior fighting on our behalf....and he reigns forevermore. He is the fulfillment of our lives, he is the fulfilment of history.
Does the shadow of death sound familiar?
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.