To us a Child is Born - Part 1
Isaiah 9v1-2
4th December 2020
In the run up to this Christmas, I thought we might look at one of the great Messianic prophecies.
Isaiah 9v1-7
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he
humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honour
Galilee of the Gentiles, by the Way of the Sea, along the Jordan —
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of
deep darkness a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people
rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the
bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined
for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
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 Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with
justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
The historical context of this prophecy is important. The chronology of the Old Testament is subject to some dispute, but these are the best dates I have.
On the death of King Solomon in 930 BC, Israel split into two countries. The southern kingdom was called Judah and the northern kingdom was simply called Israel. Almost immediately, the Northern kingdom fell into idolatry. Its first king, Jeroboam I, built shrines at Dan and Bethel, where the people worshipped golden calves, and throughout its short history, that kingdom went from bad to worse. Its decline and fall is a tragic story.
The beginning of the end came when Jeroboam II died in 753 BC. He was succeeded by his son Zechariah but after just six months Zechariah was murdered by a man called Shallum, who took the throne. Shallum was murdered in turn just a month later by Menahem. Israel was descending into civil war.
During Menahem's 10-year reign, Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria, invaded Israel. Menahem taxed the Israelites so he could give Tiglath-Pileser 1,000 talents of silver – about 34 tons – to persuade him to leave.
Menahem was succeeded in 742 BC by his son Pekahiah but two years later Pekahiah was assassinated by Pekah, one of his chief officers. It seems Pekah represented a faction that stood against Israel's submission to Assyria, and had built a power base in Gilead. Pekah formed an alliance with Rezin, King of Aram, to resist Assyria. They fought a war against Judah, their fellow Israelites, probably because Judah refused to join their resistance movement. 2 Chronicles 28:6 tells us Pekah's Israelite army killed 120,000 Judean soldiers in one day. How God and his people must have wept!
Rebelling against Assyria wasn't a good plan. In 732 BC Tiglath-Pileser III came back. He conquered Gilead, Naphtali and a number of other Galilean towns, and made them Assyrian provinces. He deported their population 1,000 miles east to Assyria (2 Kings 15:29). Soon after, Pekah was also assassinated, by Hoshea, who was to be the last king of Israel.
At first, it seems Hoshea submitted to Assyria but later he, too, rebelled. He withheld the tribute and sent envoys to try to make a treaty with Egypt, Assyria's rival in the region. In response, the new Assyrian king, Shalmaneser V, laid siege to Samaria, the capital city of Israel, for three years. In 722 BC the city fell, and almost the entire population of Israel was deported to Assyria and Medea. After many decades of idolatry, war, assassination and poverty, the land was left desolate.
Isaiah would have been about 18 years old when the northern kingdom finally fell. He lived in Jerusalem, in the southern kingdom of Judah, but he would have known all about the terror, hunger, slaughter and captivity that the northerners had suffered. Soon after, he brought this prophesy. It begins:
Isaiah 9v1
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the
past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he
will honour Galilee of the Gentiles, by the Way of the Sea, along the Jordan —
The phrase "along the Jordan" here should probably be translated "beyond the Jordan", as it is in the ESV. This prophecy concerned the north and east of the Northern kingdom. The territories of Naphtali and Zebulun lay in Galilee, to the west of the Sea of Galilee. The Way of the Sea was a highway running along the west side of the sea. Gilead was east of the sea and of the River Jordan, which flows south out of it.
When Isaiah prophesied this, Galilee and Gilead were in a desperate state. They'd been taxed and subjected to forced labour under Israel's evil kings, and they'd born the brunt of the Assyrian attacks. They'd suffered many deaths, and the destruction of their crops and homes. The Assyrians had invaded twice, wrought havoc and removed most of the people.
It seemed Israelites would never recover the land, and God would never be worshipped there. It seemed God had turned His back on Naphtali, Zebulun and Gilead. But God can redeem any situation, and nation, any person. It's never so dark that God can't bring light.
Galilee is called "Galilee of the Gentiles" because the Assyrians populated its empty lands by transporting people there from other parts of the empire, people who didn't know God. Even in Jesus's day, the population was still much less Jewish than many of us tend to think.
In the wake of all the devastation that had come upon Galilee, Isaiah prophesied that God would honour that land. And what great honour He would show them! This is the beginning of one of the great Messianic prophesies. More than 700 years later, Jesus came to fulfil it.
In Isaiah's day, Galilee lay in deep spiritual darkness. The unthinkable had happened. The Promised Land was no longer in Israel's hands. God's people had been moved out and idolatrous nations transported in.
In Jesus's day, too, Galilee lay in great darkness, mostly populated with Gentiles, occupied by the Romans, and – like most occupied countries – in great poverty, because of the heavy taxation the Romans had imposed. Its people were desperate for hope. Some found hope in the various Zealot movements – seeking to overthrow the Romans by violent revolt. Others were looking and waiting for the Messiah to come. They knew their Old Testament. They knew Daniel had prophesied that the Messiah would come about this time.
And then Jesus came. He is the light of the world.
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood [or
overcome] it.
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Seven hundred years after Isaiah prophesied this, it was fulfilled. Jesus, the Son of God, the light of the world, began His earthly ministry in Galilee. The lands that had been depopulated of the people who worship the true God was visited by God Himself.
Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the
land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
And whatever darkness is in your life, or your heart, or your past, or our nation, Jesus comes to shine His divine light. He comes to restore what has been lost, to bring life and peace and power to every person who will receive Him.
We'll continue with this wonderful prophecy next week.