Waiting for the King

Introduction

Isaiah 9:1–7 ESV

1 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.

I bet that most of us at one point or another in our lives have been afraid of the dark. When our children were young we’d place a night light in their room so that when the lights were turned off it wasn’t pitch black. Kids, some of you may have a nightlight in your bedroom to help you go to sleep at night.

My mother-in-law is from Springfield, OH. And I recall the first time that Kim and I traveled out there together. We were still living in NYC at the time. And one thing’s for sure. When you live in NYC, it’s never really dark. There are street lamps that line every street. Because it’s the city that never sleeps, there’s always light from headlamps and the lights on top of police cars and fire trucks. So, even at night, there’s plenty of light coming through your window.

Well, on that first visit to Springfield, OH, we stayed at Kim’s grandfather’s house. When we turned off the lights to go to bed I couldn’t see anything! I couldn’t see Kim’s face. I couldn’t see anything in the room. Not only was I unable to see anything, there were all these noises! Crickets and other kinds of noise-making nighttime bugs! I wasn’t quite shaking in my boots, but I would’ve much rather had the noise of sirens and honking horns, with light, than the serenity of the country with darkness.

Now, you may be one of those folks who likes being out in the country where the only light at night comes from the moon and the stars (you folk who like pitching tents and camping out…). My point here is not to talk about you and how strange you might be to me… I simply want to bring out the fact that the dichotomy between light and darkness is a reality of life, both physically and spiritually. As much as many of us might be comfortable in the nighttime darkness of country life compared to the city, none of us want to live in that darkness 24/7.

So, it’s no surprise that the the Bible is enveloped by the image of light, both literally and figuratively. In the first chapter of the Bible, when darkness was over the face of the deep, God’s first words in the creation account are, “Let there be light.” In the last chapter of the Bible God obliterates all traces of darkness when it says in Revelation 22:5, “And night will be no more. The will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be there light.”

One of the things that is true of this Advent season is the reminder that God has broken in on us with his light. And that the radiant glory of his light will one day shine so brightly that there will be no more darkness.

In our text this morning the people of Israel are in distress. Their situation is dark and dire. They are experiencing the weight of God’s divine justice. They had loved darkness as evidenced by their idolatry and moral bankruptcy. Isaiah describes the darkness of their condition in v. 22 of chapter 8,

Isaiah 8:22 ESV

22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Darkness! The place where no one wants to live! And then, in our passage, the word of reversal comes from the Lord, “There will be no gloom for her who was in anguish” (Isa. 9:1).

Isaiah 9:2 ESV

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.

And the light is not coming by their efforts. No. The last word of our passage says, “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” That’s where our hope is sisters and brothers. If light is going to shine through the darkness, God has to do it. As one commentator on this passage puts it, “All the activity is on God’s side.”

The light in this passage is not described simply as brightness. No, the light is a person. The light is a son, who is a king. Who will take the throne of David as an eternal king. What’s his name? His name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… He is the King! I want to engage our passage with these two points,

The King’s Prestige and The King’s People

The King’s Prestige

A number of years ago early on in Barak Obama’s presidency comedian Jamie Foxx hosted the Soul Train Music Awards.

Trying to be funny and get a laugh he said,

"It's like church over here. It's like church in here. First of all, giving honor to God and our lord and savior Barack Obama. Barack Obama."

He caught a lot of heat afterward for saying that. Even though he was joking, the joke only had any punch because so many people were acting like Obama was the lord and savior. Millions of people in the country had him as the focal point of our national hopes and trust. Four years ago the script was flipped. In 2016 a whole other contingent of folk had Donald Trump as the focal point of our national hopes and trust. Millions were saying he’s going to make America great again. Well, guess what? Here we are in 2020 and millions of Americans are rejoicing while millions of Americans are enraged.

Here’s my point. It does not matter where we live or in what nation our citizenship resides, we know that there’s no such thing a people without a ruler. There’s no life in this world