Isaiah 9:6: Gloom to Glory

I'm going to be reading out of Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1 -7 this morning with a concentration on verse 6 in your pew bibles that's page 692. I'd actually like to just sing that hymn again. Isaiah 9 starting at verse 1.

Reading Isaiah 9:1-7 and Praying for Illumination

Here now God's inspired word. But there will be no more 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 later time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shone. You have multiplied the nations. You have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

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. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle to molt and every garment rolled in blood will be turned as fuel for the fire.

This is our verse. For unto us a child is born. Unto 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.

Of the increase of his government and of the 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 the hosts will do all this.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we do thank you for your zeal. Because if it was up to ours, Lord, we'd fail over and over and over again. So Father, as we come to you, we pray that your spirit would illuminate the text.

That it would bring revelation to our hearts and minds and bring transformation. Father, may you be glorified. Get me out of the way. And may we hear the voice of our Savior loud and clear. It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Please be seated. Well, some of you know that I'm Italian. That wasn't the funny part. I had the blessing of growing up on Long Island celebrating Christmas Italian style. Christmas wasn't just a one day affair.

You had from the day after Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. And then we added an additional three for my father's birthday to celebrate. Shop, cook, eat, visit to enjoy ourselves. So right after Thanksgiving, you began the anticipation.

Oh, it's coming. We have Christmas Eve coming. And then we have Christmas Day. So we get to Christmas Eve. First, we have the fish. We have mussels. We have clams, baked and fried. We have calamari, arrabbiata and fried.

We have shrimp, parmesan.

Stop it.

We have crab legs. We have scungil. We have pulpo, which is octopus. We have bacala. We have zupa de beige. We have spaghetti. We have 18 loaves of bread. Then you go to sleep, if you could. When you wake up, it's now Christmas morning.

You open the presents with your family. Presents on top of presents. Right out of the consumer's distributor's manual or the service merchandise manual, if you remember that one. Then after that, later, the company came and we had the meal.

It started with antipast. Soup with asad.

Stuffed peppers.

Puccini peppers.

Roasted peppers.

Banana peppers.

Artichoke hearts. Olives.

Green, black, kalamata. Mozzarella. Sun-dried tomatoes. And breadsticks. Then mannigot or lasagna. Or mannigot and lasagna. With meatballs.

Sausage. Brasol.

Italian bread. Then a 10-pound ham with sweet potatoes, string beans, and carrots. More Italian bread. Then salad, followed up by fennel, which in Italian is fenoic. Now this is something that looks like celery but tastes like licorice.

And it's supposed to aid in digestion. As if that would help. What we ate over the past two days. After that, you always had a tray of nuts. Walnuts. Peanuts.

Chestnuts. Pistachio nuts.

And an assortment of others. Then dessert, if you were still alive and lucid. You'd have cannoli. Napoleon. Rum cake. Streufelie. Schfouilladelle. Biscuit. Pignoli cookies. Pizzelles.

Butter cookies.

Toblerone.

It was a feast.

Christmas was and still is my favorite time of year. And some of yous are saying, I'm connecting the dots with Pastor Anthony.

All right?

The anticipation of Christmas for me as a young kid growing up left an indelible mark on my soul. I remember waiting for Santa to come, right? Opening the gifts and then celebrating and eating with my family.

The buildup and the anticipation I experienced was because I knew something good was coming. Christmas was special. So as we look at our verse today, we need to understand what the people in the verse were anticipating.

We need to know the context. We need to know the surrounding circumstances that precipitated this portion of scripture that we read from Isaiah this morning. So we know Isaiah is a prophet of God, and he's addressing Judah, which is the southern tribe of Israel.

And it's with a prophecy after the nation of Israel has split. There were 12 tribes, but the northern tribes have rebelled against the God who delivered them out of Egypt and slavery and brought them into the Promised Land.

They have not obeyed God nor lived up to their calling. The split of Israel comes after Moses, after the period of judges, after Saul, David, and Solomon. We're now at the point in Israel's history where Solomon's son Rehoboam is becoming the king.

And Jeroboam, who's a de facto from King Solomon's cabinet, also becomes a king. We now have competing kings in Israel. Jeroboam is ruling in the south, in Judah, with Jerusalem as the capital. And Jeroboam is ruling in the northern kingdom, called Israel, with Samaria as its capital, as directed by King Amri.

Now, King Amri was a bad king. He led the Israelites after worthless idols. So what we have is the northern kingdom, 10 tribes, and the southern kingdom, 2 tribes. What we have is division. We have a division in God's people.

The nation of Israel, the 12 tribes that were set apart by God, chosen, delivered, and blessed, are now divided and in a civil war with each other. Not only that, but there are now 3 capital cities for all the tribes.

The northern tribes set up 2 new temples against God's law, one in Dan and one in Bethel, while in the south, in Judah, the original temple remained in Jerusalem and continued as the center of their worship.

The northern tribes of Israel are apostate. They have gone the way of the world and are going to be judged by God for their disobedience. Their anticipation is judgment. And God is going to use the nation of Assyria to do it.

Assyria, the largest, most powerful, most brutal nation known to mankind at that time, is going to be the ones that God uses to judge Israel. The Assyrians were known to impale people, taking spikes and sticking them through them out their mouth.

They would flay people. They would take their skin off them while they were alive. They were a brutal people. Israel has become a nation divided against itself and divided from God. They are a nation rebelling against the God who delivered them and they are headed for disaster.

This is where we find ourselves this morning at this verse. Chapter 9. Now, we're going to go through 8 chapters real quickly because we need to know the context. It's here in Isaiah's prophecy that he details the coming disaster on Israel and then warns the southern tribe of Judah of its wickedness as well.

So if you want to follow along, I'm going to read out of Isaiah chapter 1. We're going to read verses 2 through 6. And Isaiah tells them, Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken.

Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know me. My people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity.

Offspring of evildoers. Bringing us back to Genesis 3 .15. The offspring of the devil. Offspring of evildoers. Children who deal corruptly. They have forsaken the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel.

They are utterly estranged. Why will you be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick. The whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head. There is no soundness in it.

Verse 21. How the faithful city has become a whore. She who was full of justice. Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderous. That's just in the first chapter of the opening of Isaiah's prophecy. If you're anything like me, you're thinking, What hope do they have?

What could they possibly be anticipating at this point? In the first chapter, Isaiah lays out the verdict of Israel and Judah's condemnation. Guilty as charged. Doom and gloom. In fact, in verse 9, Isaiah says, If the Lord of hosts had not left survivors, Had not left us a remnant, We would have become like Sodom.

And become like Gomorrah. So beginning in chapter 1, the prophet is going to lay out a chronology. A running account of Israel's rebellion. So in chapters 2 through 5, Israel tells them of the mountain of the Lord.

And the day of the Lord, which is judgment. And the judgment of the Lord. Although he also tells them of the future glory of the Lord through a righteous branch. Even though the vineyard will be destroyed, a righteous branch will come forth.

In chapter 6, this is where Isaiah is called and commissioned by the Lord as a prophet. In that glorious vision where he sees the Lord seated on the throne. And the temple fills the throne room. And the train of his robe fills the temple.

And Isaiah says, send me. I will bring the message to your people. Then in chapter 7 and 8, Isaiah delivers the news to King Ahaz of Judah. Southern tribe. That Assyria is going to invade the northern tribe.

And try to invade the south tribe as well. But he tells King Ahaz, be faithful. Isaiah 7 and 9. If you're not firm in the faith, you will not be firm at all. He also says, do not dread the Assyrians. But dread Yahweh, whom you shall honor as holy.

Let him, God, Yahweh, be your fear. And let him be your cause for trembling. And it's here that God, knowing King Ahaz's unbelief. Announces that he's going to do something merciful to Ahaz and Judah.

He's going to give them a sign. A virgin will give birth. And his name will be Emmanuel. Beginning of anticipation of something hopeful. Now finally we get to chapter 9. Remember, you cannot appreciate the good news until you understand the depth of the bad news.

The good news is not really that good unless you understand how bad the bad news really is. And it's really bad. The ten northern tribes of Israel are going to be destroyed forever. They're going to be deported and diluted by Assyria and never recover.

In fact, they will become known as the lost tribes of Israel. In other words, their identity and genealogy as God's people will become diluted and fade out. As they intermarry and find their new identity in foreign gods and worldly people, places and things.

They will become genealogically indistinguishable from the Gentiles. Remember, the Israelites were very concerned about genealogy and tracing their lineage back to being the chosen people of God. Now once you start intermarrying, that lineage gets diluted to the point where the ten tribes are now not even known as tribes.

Now if you lived in Judah in the south, can you feel the weight of what the people in the southern tribes will be anticipating as they see the Assyrians devastate their fellow Israelites to the north?

They might be saying, we're next. Is God going to relent? What's going to happen? And so finally in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 1, we hear a glimmer of hope. Look at verse 1. But there will be no gloom for her who is in anguish.

In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Nethali. But in the later time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The Hope of Judah and the Coming Glory in Galilee

So Isaiah is starting off chapter 9, this prophecy with there will be no more gloom. And this is important for a few reasons. First, there will be no gloom for her who is in anguish. Her being the remaining Israelites in Judah.

In other words, there is hope. Their gloom will turn into joy at some point. Why? Because of their good behavior? No. But because of God's mercy and grace. He just laid out their condemnation. They are guilty as charged.

But now in chapter 9, we see the introduction of the plan that God has for Judah, which begins with grace and mercy. And second, another reason this is important is the region. We went through this in the Sunday school this morning.

Zebulun and the land of Nethali was the land. The conduit between Assyria in the north and Egypt in the south. When the Assyrians went to come conquer Egypt, they went through Zebulun and Nethali. That was the first stop for any invader coming from the north at that time.

It was a very familiar battleground. It was a place of intense fighting and conflict continually. Think of the Gaza Strip right now. That's exactly what this place is. It's constant conflict and fighting.

But here in Isaiah, God tells them, in the later time, he'll make glorious that way, the way of the sea. Galilee of the nations. Galilee was in Zebulun and Nethali. Galilee. God will take the area that was in continual conflict, Galilee, and bring glory out of it.

Anyone know someone in the New Testament from Galilee?

You better.

That was an Italian accent. You better. Matthew does. He says in chapter 4,. And leaving Nazareth, Jesus went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Nethali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled.

The land of Zebulun and the land of Nethali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light. And for those dwelling in the region, a shadow of death on them, a light has dawned.

This is the advent, the coming of Messiah into the world. And Matthew is pointing that to them. And from that time on, after that, Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, the kingdom of God is at hand.

So for the true Jews in Judah, the New Testament Israelites, Isaiah 9 is unfolding, manifesting itself right before their eyes. It is taking place. The prophecy that Isaiah issued 700 years previous to that is now being fulfilled.

And the text says it's in Capernaum, no less. Most scholars think Capernaum is the village or the home of the prophet Nahum. Now, when we went through the study on Nahum, Nahum's name means comfort and compassion.

Capernaum, or we can call it Capernaum, the villaging of Nahum, the village of comfort and compassion, becomes the headquarters of Jesus's ministry. It's where he begins, it's where he starts his ministry, in comfort and compassion.

It's at this start that Isaiah 9 .1 was prophesying and point us to. The place of conflict will now become the place of comfort and compassion for his people. Listen to what Isaiah says next in chapter 9, verse 2.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelled in the land of deep darkness, on them a light has shone. And here in verse 2, Isaiah is foretelling us of the true light that would be coming into the world, Jesus.

It's Jesus himself who says, I am the light of the world. Now keep in mind when Isaiah wrote this, it's prophetic language. And he speaks of this event in the past tense, as if it's happened already. Today, we see it as past because we're fortunate enough to live on this side of the cross.

But not for them. They were living in anticipation. They didn't know the cross was coming. They didn't know that Jesus was the Prince of Peace at that point. So this great light that the people have seen is none other than Jesus.

The one the Apostle John describes for us in his gospel. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word, God, became flesh and dwelt among us. This is the incarnation.

This is what we celebrate at Christmastime. John, in chapter 1, verses 5, he says, The light, Jesus, shines in the darkness. John came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him.

John was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. This is Jesus. John's gospel is filled with references to light and darkness.

He's constantly contrasting both of them. Nicodemus came to Jesus first in the dark. Next time you see Nicodemus come to Jesus, it's in the light. In other words, the deep darkness the Jews were in would be shattered, pierced, as God's Son enters into the world and shines his light on them.

In other words, God did not forget his people or his promise to Judah. Remember, the Jews have not had a word directly from God in over 400 years at this point. They are in darkness. They're under Roman occupation and feeling abandoned, hopeless.

The only thing they're anticipating is judgment. However, in Isaiah 9 .3, we're told, The nation experiences joy like that of an abundant harvest. In fact, this nation will grow. It will be multiplied.

But the ten northern tribes would shrink and disappear. However, Judah is going to grow. In the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus says, The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man has took and sowed into his field.

It's the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown, it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that even the birds of the air come and make its nest in its branches. The kingdom of God was being inaugurated, planted, and watered using the garden imagery right in front of their eyes by Jesus.

All of a sudden, you can start to feel the anticipation, the tide turning. Is this the Messiah? Verse 3 says they would be rejoicing, and so there was. There were people who did recognize Jesus as Messiah and rejoiced.

In Luke 2, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ, the Lord's anointed.

When the parents brought in the child Jesus, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory of your people Israel.

It's unfolding. The Jews who recognized Jesus as Messiah were crying out, Hosanna, right before the Passover. There was rejoicing going on in Israel. Verse 4, the yoke of his burden, the rod of his oppressors you have broken.

What would Jesus say?

My yoke is easy. My burden is light. Come to me, all you who are heavy laden, weary, and I will give you rest. With the advent of Jesus coming into the world, true rest is here. There is a way out from under your oppressors.

And Jesus would address the oppressors of Israel at that point. To the oppressors he would say, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, and recognize the scribes and Pharisees were the most religious people on the planet at that point.

Just because you have religion doesn't mean you're in right relationship with God. He calls them hypocrites. For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces, for you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte. And when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Religion doesn't save you.

Religion is a system. You don't work the numbers and get in. That's not how this works. Jesus comes to break the Pharisees' stronghold on the people and free them from their oppressors. He fulfills Isaiah 9 .4.

He gives them his yoke and takes their burdens upon himself. The anticipation is building. In verse 9 .5 it says,. The boot of the soldier and his bloody garments will be burned as fuel. Now boots, soldiers, bloody garments, these are all things associated with war.

But the soldiers and their bloody cloths are said to be no more. In other words, there will be peace coming. The war is going to cease because Jesus is going to bring peace between God and man. We know elsewhere Jesus came to make peace by his blood on the cross.

Ephesians 2 .14,. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. He came to bring peace between God and man. We, the children of God, those who have placed their faith and trust in him, have peace with God through Christ Jesus.

For the believer, the war between God and man is over. Finally we get to verse 6. I know that was kind of a short but long journey to that point. It took a long time to get to this verse. But think of the faithful Jews who had to wait centuries before they would see the fulfillment of this verse.

What was their anticipation like? Their longing, their yearning and hoping would eventually be satisfied in the most unbelievable of ways. Isaiah 9 .6,. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son will be given.

And the government will rest upon his shoulders. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Unto us a child is born. Yahweh's answer to this prophecy is a child.

A baby.

Ray Ortlund says it like this. God's answer to everything that has ever terrorized us is a child. The power of God is so far superior to the Assyrians and all the big shots of this world that he can defeat them by coming into the world as a mere child.

So what exactly happened to the Jews who comprised the southern tribes of Judah in this verse and us by extension? Well, this becomes Christmas morning for them. This becomes Christmas morning for the believer.

Christ is born. So first, God gives them a person. Not a set of instructions but an instructor. Not a system but a Savior. God takes on flesh himself and becomes a person. Luke chapter 2, we know this very well because you watch Charlie Brown.

For unto us is born in the day, in this day, in the city of... Yeah, I got that wrong. For unto us, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you.

You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts, armies, praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.

For the Jews who recognize this, their gloom would go from gloom to glory.

This is glorious.

The human child would be the gift from God the Father to his people. It was the first and best Christmas ever. Why? Unto us a child is born. As a child, he's a human being. Jesus would now fulfill the Davidic covenant and be an heir to sit on the throne.

He's a human. He was the son of David through Joseph's lineage. So he fulfills the promise to David's line. But he's also a son. Unto us a son will be given. So this child was not just a human being. He was a son.

But a son of who? Matthew fills us in as to who this son is in chapter one. She will bear a son. You shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive a son and bear a son. And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. Oh, he's not just a child, a human being in the line of David. He's God in the flesh.

The one and only begotten son of God the Father. This is the miraculous virgin birth of God the Son. Come into the world as the sign that God promised them in Isaiah 7. He's Emmanuel, God with us. All humanity will now go from gloom to glory as they now receive God the Son.

The living sign. The virgin gave birth in their midst. He is God and he as is man. Verse 6 continues. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. In other words, this person, this son, will carry power.

Clout.

He will be our ruler.

Better yet, he will take dominion and he will represent us. Now we know living on this side of the cross, the government he's speaking of is God's government. Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God to earth.

Kingdom is government. Not anything like ours. This is a righteous government. This is a true, perfect government. Jesus is bringing the new heavens and the new earth. John 1 .1. In the beginning echoes Genesis 1 .1.

Right? This is a new beginning.

Why?

Because this is the last Adam. There's not going to be another. This is the kingdom of God come to earth. The new heavens and the new earth are being inaugurated in the beginning by Jesus. And where Adam failed to protect his bride and kick the demon out of the garden, Jesus succeeds.

He says in Luke 11, Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste and a divided household falls. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

One of the first things Jesus did when he came into the world was start casting out demons.

Why?

Because Adam didn't. You don't belong here. You don't go near my bride.

Get out.

When a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.

Whoever is not with me is against me. And whoever does not gather with me scatters. Strong words. Jesus is saying plainly, the kingdom is here and you're staring at the king. However, if you're not with me, you're against me.

Oh, that's great comfort for some, but a horror for others. Listen, everyone's OK with Jesus in the manger. Just not Jesus on the throne.

Oh, no, no.

He can't tell me what to do. Keep him as a baby in the manger. He's tame like the calf that they built. Why did they fashion it as a calf? Because a calf is easily led. I lead, it follows. I tell it what to do.

It listens to me. That's not true with Jesus on the throne. You will bow the knee to him. He will not bow the knee to you. Later in Isaiah chapter 22, Isaiah would say, and I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David.

He shall open and none shall shut, and he shall shut and none shall open. In other words, this king, this Jesus, has the keys to the kingdom. He can open the door and let you in, or he can shut and lock the door and keep you out.

If you're with him, you never need fear death because he holds the keys to death and Hades. If you're against him, he will lock the door. Now look at the second half of Isaiah 9 .6. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This child, this son, has four titles that he will be identified by. It's like four more gifts under the tree, four titles that are going to explain who Jesus is. The first title for Jesus is Wonderful Counselor.

We use this word wonderful in a very different way than Isaiah did. We say, oh, the food, it was wonderful. Oh, that show, it was wonderful. But that's not what Isaiah means. The word literally means miracle, marvel.

The child, the son who comes to the Jews unto us is miraculous. He's a marvel. Same word is used in Genesis 18, where the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh and say, shall I indeed bear a child now that I am old?

Is anything too hard? That's the word miraculous, marvel. For the Lord, is there any miracle too hard for God? Same word. At the appointed time, I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.

This is a foreshadowing of the miraculous birth of Messiah. The incarnation is the greatest miracle in the New Testament. Alongside the miracle of the creation of the universe out of nothing, ex nihilo, I don't know which is greater, creating everything out of nothing, or actually taking on flesh and coming into the world that you created.

I think it's a tie. Alan Harmon makes the point. This word wonderful would alert them to the fact that something is being described here that is beyond human capability. In other words, this isn't something that man conjured up.

This isn't something that man could do on his own. This is something that comes directly from the hand of God. Some Hebrew scholars hold that wonderful is used as an adjective that modifies counselor.

Alec Montier says wonderful literally is a wonder of a counselor. It is the nearest word Hebrew has to the idea of supernatural. Here bringing a wisdom far above the human, like but transcending Solomon, whose wisdom remained earthly.