Wonderful Counselor

The Jews anticipated the arrival of a Messiah for a very long time. Even before God made His covenant with Abram, back in Genesis 3:15, as He was punishing Adam and Eve for their sin, He spoke to the enemy, proclaiming his defeat and the salvation of the world. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[a] and hers; he will crush[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.” This was the first promise of a Savior, a Messiah.

And I picture a young Isaiah in 4th grade at Hebrew school. His teacher announcing one day that the theme upon which the students were to write was, “What do you think the Messiah will be like?”

Now, everyone knows that when you write a theme, especially in elementary school, Hebrew or otherwise, you don’t just sit down and write it. One of the pre-theme assignments is to make an outline. First, you have to start with an introduction, to tell them what you are going to say, a body, to say what you need to say, and then a conclusion, to tell them what you said.

So young Isaiah went to his desk in his room and stared at the walls, the blank sheet of paper, and finally, wrote his outline. The teacher was so impressed, Isaiah was asked to come to the front of the class and read his outline and the teacher gave him an A++. His mother hung it right there on the refrigerator in their kitchen. And the outline is included in his prophetic book, Isaiah 9.6, which says, “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 theme he wrote didn’t fare quite so well and only got him a B, but he never forgot the look of pride in his parents’ eyes, every time they went to the refrigerator and saw his outline with the A++.

Now, here we are, over 2000 years later with Isaiah’s outline in hand, entering the season of Advent. And advent means the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. Advent is the beginning of the Christian year and the season which reminds us that we who are here today are waiting for the return of the Messiah. As Christians, we affirm that Jesus was born as a baby, lived and died, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven. And we now wait for the promised return of Jesus Christ.

For the next four weeks, we are going to look at Isaiah’s outline and consider what the Messiah looks like and what this means for us. And the first characteristic Isaiah saw embodied in the coming Messiah was “wonderful counselor”.

Now I don’t know whether you have ever been to see a counselor. Many people have and there’s nothing wrong with talking to someone about things that are causing you difficulty. But everyone has some image of what it’s like. The counselor sitting in a chair with a legal pad on their lap, a chair or couch where a person sits and pours out their heart.

Occasionally the counselor may ask a question or maybe a series of questions intended to dig deeper at a particular issue but depending on the length of the relationship or knowledge of the client, a counselor will use general techniques to get the client to open up. Tell me more about that. How does that make you feel? What kind of relationship did you have with your mother, your father, your sibling?

And the whole time, the counselor is writing things down on the legal pad. The counselor is taking notes about what you are saying. And do you know why? Because the counselor you went to see doesn’t really know you but wants you to feel that he or she cares about you, so when you come back for the next appointment, they can review their notes, recall the things you talked about, and pick up wherever you left off. Why? Because they don’t know you. Because if they are a good counselor, they may see a lot of people, and they may eventually remember you, and part of your story, they won’t remember everything. And they certainly won’t know everything.

But Isaiah doesn’t say the Messiah will be a “counselor”. He says the Messiah will be a “Wonderful Counselor”. So let’s dig just a little bit into what this means. The Bible says that God knows everything about us. For instance, Psalm 139, begins this way, “1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” I encourage you to read the rest of it today. And Jesus, in talking to His disciples says, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered”. And the author to the Hebrews affirms, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Heb. 4.13.

God, the Messiah knows everything about us. Which means he knows our past, our present, and our future. He knows the things we are proud of, and the things we are ashamed of. He knows our hopes and our fears. He knows our victories and He knows our struggles. Unlike a human counselor, He doesn’t need to be reminded of who we are or what we’ve talked about. He knows.

And because He knows us completely, His counsel is wonderful. It’s exactly right. It’s just what we need. John in writing to the church says, “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (I John 3:20). Unlike a human counselor who might challenge us to try something based on what we have told them, God, our Messiah knows what we should do. He counsels us to follow Him. He told His followers “28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Isaiah said the Messiah would be a “wonderful counselor”. His counsel is wonderful because He knows us fully and because He loves us He is a wonderful counselor.