Prince of Peace

English Standard Version Chapter 9

9  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.

2  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.

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.

4  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.

5  For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult

and every garment rolled in blood

will be burned as fuel for the fire.

6  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.

7  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.

During this advent season we’ve been following the clues to Christ as he is revealed in the Old Testament, particularly through some of the major types that point us to someone like them but greater. We saw how God gave hope to Adam and Eve after their fall in the garden through the promise of the seed of the woman that would one day crush the head of the serpent. We saw how this seed of the woman was also a son of promise, pointing to a miraculous birth, the great love of the Father, and a resurrection from the dead. We saw how he would be the great servant of the Lord who deliver God’s Word and radiate the glory of God. Last week Jonathan showed you how King David was a type of Christ, fighting to prove God’s honor and deliver His people. David typified the work of Christ as conquering king.

This week we consider the Son that was promised to David. He would be a prince of peace.

Introduction

It amazes me how common depression is during the Christmas season. It is reported that calls to helplines to report depression increase by 10% during this time of year. As many as 1 in 3 people experience an episode of depression at some time in their life. How might you know if you are depressed? Experts tell us the symptoms are:

depressed mood

mood

loss of interest in life, even in favourite hobbies or sports

loss of pleasure - getting no feelings of enjoyment, even from things most people would greatly enjoy

tiredness and fatigue

impaired concentration

thoughts of suicide

changes in appetite, either increased or decreased, including either weight gain or weight loss

changes in sleeping patterns, either never getting out of bed or roaming around all night and day

agitation and tetchiness or, alternatively, extreme placidity, which may go as far as physical slowing down

constant physical problems with no return to feeling well despite treatment

If you look up depression in the medical journals there is not a lot on the specific causes of depression. They focus more on the various kinds of treatment. The causes that are mentioned are believable but not terribly enlightening. They mention such things as heightened awareness of loneliness for Singles; close quarters of family members that may not get along that well. Etc. Christmas doesn’t cause these problems but rather brings back to the surface that fact that unresolved problems already exist in our lives. Christmas forces us to face them. We lack peace and Christmas seems to be that pricking reminder that answers are missing. Isaiah paints a picture in chapters 8 and 9 of circumstances in Israel that will heighten their awareness that they also lack answers and lack peace. In the text before us, Isaiah gives us the answer to the anguish. He tells us of the coming of a child to be born and who he will be. This child is the answer. Let’s look at the various names he’s given to understand how.

Wonderful Counselor

Isaiah spoke his words to a nation that had lost its excitement of being God’s people. They practiced their religion but it had become little more than going through the motions. When God brought difficult circumstances to bear on the nation, He was pushing the object of their true faith to the surface. He was exposing what they truly trusted in to save them. The temptation for King Ahaz and the people of Israel was to turn to the powerful nations of Egypt or Assyria to come to their aid as they stood on the brink of destruction at the hands of Syria and Ephraim (the Northern kingdom of Israel). While this may seem to be an act of prudence on the part of Ahaz, it was not. Ahaz was given specific instruction to trust in the Lord for deliverance and not in the nations around them.

In chapter 8 verse 6 we read that Israel had “rejected the gentle waters of Shiloh.” The waters of Shiloh was a picture of God’s promised Davidic line of kings and ultimately the Son of David that would have a permanent kingdom established. So a rejection of the waters of Shiloh was a rejection of the provision of God. As a result of that rejection Isaiah declares, “bind up the teaching and the testimony!” The unique flow of revelation from God to Israel would cease as judgment for their disbelief. They would grow so desperate that they would demand Isaiah seek word from the necromancers and mediums. The decimated land (the Northern kingdom was wiped out and taken into exile by the Assyrian army) is described as a land in darkness because they would have no answers. Living without God’s Word is to live in deep darkness.

But Isaiah says a child will be born, a son given who will be called Wonderful Counselor. A counselor is someone who gives answers. When he comes, verse 1 and 2 describe his work as Wonderful Counselor.

English Standard Version Chapter 9

2  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.

This son will deliver them from their deep darkness. Literally, this son will be the revelation of God. John opens up his gospel with the words,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The writer of Hebrews opens his book with the words,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

The revelation of God, while coming veiled through prophets in the past, will be unveiled in the birth of this Son. Before Pilate Jesus said that he came to testify to the truth. In , Jesus said to his disciples that he was sending them the counselor who would guide them into all truth.

When faced with trying circumstances we should be ready to see them as something that pushes us to find out what we are really trusting in for answers and deliverance. The words of Isaiah tell us that the answers come from Jesus, the light that penetrates the deep darkness and the source of all truth.

Mighty God

Next, he is called Mighty God. What does this mean for the people of Israel? We find the answer in verses 3-5.

English Standard Version Chapter 9

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.

4  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.

5  For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult

and every garment rolled in blood

will be burned as fuel for the fire.

Midian was a nation that plagued Israel not long after they had entered into the promised land. Before Israel had a king the Midianites gained strength and began to oppress the Israelites. They would at various times and raid their cities, taking whatever food and goods they had. If you’ve seen the movie “A Bug’s Life,” the Midianites were the grasshoppers. Yet in that day, Israel cried out to God for deliverance and he called upon a man named Gideon, an unlikely hero, to lead the people out of oppression. Gideon, a reluctant leader, calls together an army of Israelite men. But God wants the people to see that it was by His hand that they were rescued and not their own might, so He tells Gideon to send any home that are frightened. Two thirds of the men went home. Still there are too many so He instructs Gideon to have the remaining soldiers drink from the river and those that lap the water are to remain. The rest are sent home. Only 300 men remain to face an army of 10s of thousands. Yet God puts such fear and confusion into the Midianites that they are wiped out and the people are set free from their oppression.

This son is the mighty God that will wipe out all that brings oppression upon His people. While the first step in facing depression or trying circumstances is to look for answers in the light, from the Counselor, the next is to look for deliverance from the Mighty God. The WSC asks, “How is it that Jesus is King?” By conquering all of His and our enemies.” What do you find yourself oppressed by? Do you believe that Jesus is the Mighty God who holds the power to free you from your oppression?

Prince of Peace

This son is also referred to as Prince of Peace (I’ll get to Everlasting Father last). We look to verse 7 to see this name explained,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

7  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.

There is a clear reference back to King Solomon in this passage. King Solomon was the Prince of Peace of the Old Testament. He foreshadowed the ultimate kingdom of justice and righteousness, a place of unsurpassed prosperity and wisdom in the history of the world. After the Queen of Sheba’s visit, she went away declaring that Solomon’s wisdom exceeded even what she had heard about him,

English Standard Version Chapter 10

6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”

Solomon ruled as the Prince of Peace following David’s bloody campaign which expanded the kingdom of Israel. It is a government established after the enemies of God are wiped out. While Jesus’ kingdom is present, it is not yet in its full glory. That is still to come when Jesus returns again. We still have this to look forward to. There will be a day when all of the injustice of this world will be made right. On that day, as in the day of Solomon when he became king, all of the remaining enemies of the king will brought before him and put to death that a time of everlasting peace may ensue.

But how can justice be established and the guilty given hope at the same time? Where is the hope for those who are now the enemies of this king to be saved?

Everlasting Father (a son is given)

We must stop and marvel at this name. Isaiah just told us that a child to be born will be called “Everlasting Father”. These two things don’t exactly go together, yet here they are nearly side by side. The name, Everlasting Father, is also interestingly sandwiched between “Mighty God” and “Prince of Peace.” These two names imply the exercise of judgment. These names point us to what so many think of as the God of the Old Testament. The God of the Old Testament is a God of judgment and war. At the same time, people prefer the God of the New Testament, the God of love who knows us as children and wants us to call him “Father.” Isaiah shows us that the Mighty God/Prince of Peace is also the Everlasting Father, and that the two come together in the Son who is given. The answer as to how God can be both just and merciful at the same time, how there can be hope for those who are now enemies of God can only be found in the Son who was given.

For God to be just is to ensure that every wrong is punished and every enemy put down. Only in such a world can there be true righteousness and justice. Only in such a world can He truly be the Prince of Peace. For God to remove the anguish and gloom of justice for those who stand before Him guilty of wrong means that He must endure the loss. But the only way for God to exercise justice upon His people and yet preserve His people meant He had to become one of His people and receive upon himself the judgment that they deserved. He had to be made like his brothers in every way so that he could be a true representation of the people. Isaiah goes on later to write that the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all and that by His wounds we were healed.

The answer to how God can be both Mighty God/Prince of Peace and Everlasting Father at the same time is found in the fact that He is also the Son who was given – given to bear the penalty of our wrongs upon himself.

Conclusion

Jesus is that Son. Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor – guiding us into all truth. Jesus is the Mighty God who breaks the hold of oppression and sets us free. Jesus is the Everlasting Father who demonstrates His love for us by taking upon Himself the punishment that we deserved. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, establishing a kingdom of justice and righteousness, of unfathomable prosperity. Jesus is the child that was born, the Son that was given. Will you look to Him when your circumstances bring to the surface that which you trust in most for your life? Will you bow before Him as the Mighty God who sets you free from your oppression? Will you anticipate with joy the promised peace that He will one day usher in forever? Finally, will you delight in Him as your Everlasting, loving Father? He is all of those things.