The Hope of All Mankind

Isaiah 9:1-7

Isaiah 9:1–7 NKJV

1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian. 5 For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah’s prophecy was of doom and gloom. One would ask ,”Is it always going to be this way for Israel? Isaiah tells us the answer to that question.

The Doom and Gloom (Vs 1-2)

Isaiah 9:1–2 NKJV

1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

Isaiah tells the nation it won’t always be this way.

Verse one starts by Isaiah telling us that there will come a time when gloom and darkness will pass. The gloom on the Northern Kingdom came as a result of discipline and the judgment of God. God humbled Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.

Interestingly enough this is the very region in which Jesus was raised and began His early ministry. Isaiah tells of a time when that area will be filled with His glory. Isaiah gives us the place where it would happen, but when would it happen?

Verse 2 tells us it would happen when the people of God were in a dark place. From the darkness a light would shine.

It is very clear that Isaiah is talking about the coming of Messiah, The Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew understood this and said distinctly that this light was Jesus.

Matthew 4:13–16 NKJV

13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.”

Isaiah now turns his attention from the curse of the darkness to the Light.

Isaiah 9:3–5 NKJV

3 You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian. 5 For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

The Light (Jesus) would increase their joy, like the joy of the harvest when they divide the crops. Their burdens and yoke would be broken and lifted, the instruments of war will be destroyed because they will not be needed.

Isaiah then tells them the way this help and hope would come. there is only one way this deliverance would come and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah tells us five distinct things about the coming Messiah.

Isaiah 9:6–7 NKJV

6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

He was to be born a Child.

A Son was to be born into the nation of Israel. The Son was given to us.

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

2. He will rule over God’s people.

Isaiah 9:6 NKJV

6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The government shall be upon His shoulder. This refers figuratively to the kingly robe worn by the Messiah.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary says: “As King, He will be responsible to govern the Nation. In Isaiah’s day Judah’s leaders were incompetent in governing the people. But Messiah will govern properly.”

3. He will have 4 names that reveal His character.

Isaiah 9:6 NKJV

6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Wonderful Counselor

Wonderful is a noun which speaks of His person and work. It regularly means supernatural or miraculous. Counselor is often used in parallel with the King. So the emphasis is kingly wisdom and implies that of a God-like wisdom. God gifted us His miraculous wisdom and the comfort of His counsel.

Mighty God

El is always and only used of God, never man. This emphatic declaration of the deity of God.

John 1:1 NKJV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Everlasting Father

Many are confused by this name. How could the Son be the Father?

Slide by Bible Knowledge

Prince of Peace

The One who bring true lasting peace.

Romans 5:1 NKJV

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

4. He will rule and reign from the Throne of David.

Isaiah 9:7 NKJV

7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

We are told that the rule and reign of Christ will be an eternal reign. One of peace and prosperity. One of complete Justice.

This brings us to the when? When will this happen? Obviously part has already been fulfilled and part yet remains to be filled. Like many of the other prophets, Isaiah did not understand the great time gap between Messiah’s two comings. Isaiah thought the Child would grow up and assume the throne in one Advent. But we understand that there is a gap between His first coming and His second coming.

What Isaiah reveals to the people is their only hope and help is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The same message applies to us, our only help and hope is the Lord Jesus Christ. We know He has come the first time and we await His Second Coming.

The hope and help of Israel is the same help and hope for us, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ.