Isaiah 8:11-22; Isaiah 9:1-7

8:11-22

Isaiah’s word to Judah ,  as they faced the difficult days ahead, was that the people of Judah should honour and fear and hope in God rather than fear human enemies and opposition leaders. They should look in the Book of God rather than look to “mediums and psychics” for guidance. If they would trust God, he would keep them safe. If they did not trust him, the One who had been their “Rock” would become “a stone that would cause them to stumble”. Life would  then get a lot worse before it got better.

If they ignored Jehovah they could look up to the skies for relief but would find no relief there , and then in despair they could cast their eyes down to the earth to obtain help there and find this was equally in vain. The whole image is one of intense anguish, oppression, and affliction brought on the nation for leaving their one true counsellor the true God.

 to make his point Isaiah accumulates images. He piles words on top of each other to make them more anxious with each additional word, until they are totally enveloped in the gloom, and can only see terror and alarm on every side. They shall be driven into darkness that becomes terrible and frightful. The idea is that of a driving tempest or terrible storm. The prophet accumulates every possible idea of gloom and darkness. Nowhere in the Bible is there a more graphic description of gathering darkness and trouble, and of the terror of those caught up in it. The judgments of God are fearful and terrible are when he comes to punish sinners.

The choice is clear, “Fear the enemies and suffer twice, or fear and trust God.”

Isaiah 9:1

When we come to chapter 9 there is hope of a better day to come.

In spite of what is said in the previous chapter of the calamities that are coming upon Israel the darkness on the land will not last forever. Isaiah focuses on two regions as examples of the future blessings God has in store for His people. As the times past have dishonoured the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali so the time shall come to honour this region on the border of the sea, by the side of the Jordan , known as “ Galilee of the Gentiles”. The future shall not be unbroken darkness, and unalleviated calamity.  There is going to rise a great light that shall shine on the dark land of Zebulun and Naphtali.

The tribe of Zebulun was located between the sea of Tiberius and the Mediterranean . It extended entirely across from the one to the other, and because it was favoured with an extended seacoast, the people were more engaged in commerce than the other tribes, and they mingled more with surrounding nations.

 The region which was occupied by the tribe of Naphtali was directly north of Zebulun on the sea of Galilee.

The inhabitants of the region of Galilee were represented as walking in darkness because they were far from the capital, and from the temple and had few religious privileges. They had intermingled with their pagan neighbours, and were noted for their lack of manners and their coarse language. This is alluded to several times in the New Testament;

John 1:46 ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth ’? John 7:52: ‘Search and look, for out of Galilee arises no prophet;’

 The word walked here is synonymous with lived, and denotes that thick darkness brooded over the country, so that they lived, or walked amidst the darkness. This people from the land of darkness were going to have a great light revealed to them. They have seen a great light. Light is not only an emblem of knowledge in the Scriptures, but of joy, rejoicing, and deliverance. It is in opposition to moral darkness, and to times of judgment and calamity.  Judah would also be removed.

 The calamity that would afflict the nation would particularly affect the ten tribes of Israel -the northern part of the land, the regions of Galilee . Those tribes would be carried away and would not return. Yet this region also would be favoured with an especially striking manifestation of light. The Messiah would come to that dark region, and become both its light and its deliverer.

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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 Here is the reason for the victories that were predicted. The Messiah will come. The eye of the prophet is fixed on this great and glorious event. The scenes of coming times, like a panorama, or picture, passed before him. Most of the picture seems to have been of battles, conflicts, sieges, and thick darkness. But in one part of the passing scene there was light. It was the light that he saw rising in the distant and darkened Galilee . He saw the joy of the people; the armour of war laid aside; the image of peace succeeding; the light expanding and becoming more intense as the darkness retired, until he saw in this region the Prince of Peace-the Sun of Righteousness itself. The eye of the prophet gazed intently on that scene, and was fixed on that portion of the picture. He sees the Messiah and describes him as already come, and as born unto the nation.

Unto us, it is for our benefit the prophet saw in vision the darkness and gloom of the nation, and saw also the son that would be born to remove that darkness, and to enlighten the world.

The vision of the prophet is, that the long-expected Messiah is born, and is seen growing up amidst the surrounding darkness of the north of Palestine . Not that he was born when the prophet spoke but in prophetic vision, as the events of the future passed before his mind, he saw that promised son, the child, that would be born. Fixing the eye on him, he proceeds at once to designate his character by stating the appropriate names which He would bear.

The Messiah is represented as having been given, or sent as the rich gift of God. The Messiah was pre-eminently the gift of the God of love. Man had no claim on him, and God voluntarily gave his Son to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

The sense of this passage is that he shall rule. The government shall be vested in him. Various interpretations have been given of the phrase ‘upon his shoulder’.  The sense is that he will be a king, and that He will lightly carry the cares of ruling this world on one shoulder.

In contrast consider the load of carrying home one repentant sinner.

Luke 15:4-7  4 What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’  7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.  NKJV

And his name shall be called, to be called and to be in Hebrew, often mean the same thing. That is, his attributes shall make all these applications appropriate descriptions of his power and work.

Wonderful is usually applied to anything that is great or wonderful, such as a miracle. It is applied here to denote the unusual and remarkable qualities that distinguished the Messiah. It means that the person referred to, in his being and in his works, will be exalted above the ordinary course of nature, and that his whole life will be a miracle. The Messiah is separated from the ordinary course of events, and will cause amazement, wonder, and admiration, whether He performs miracles or not.

Counsellor is often joined with wonderful, to qualify it. This is one who is able to stand near princes and kings as their adviser. It is expressive of great wisdom, and of qualifications to guide and direct the human race. The Septuagint translates this phrase, ‘The angel of the mighty counsel’. Another translation is, ‘'The God of wonderful counsel’.

The mighty God, in some translations is ‘The mighty God of ages.’ This is one out of many instances in which the name God is applied to the Messiah; compare John 1:1; Rom 9:5;

The Messiah shall be called strength of God, or strong God, divine hero, in order to remind the people of the strength of God.

The everlasting Father. The Hebrews used the term father in a great variety of senses-as a literal father, a grandfather, an ancestor, a ruler, an instructor. The phrase may either mean the same as the Eternal Father, and the sense will be, that the Messiah will not, as must be the ease with an earthly king, however excellent, leave his people destitute after a short reign, but will rule over them and bless them forever or it may be used in accordance with a custom usual in Hebrew and in Arabic, where he who possesses a thing is called the father of it. So, the Father of eternity, is eternal. The application of the word here is derived from this usage. He is not merely represented as everlasting, but he is introduced, by a strong figure, as even the Father of eternity. It is as if even everlasting duration owed itself to his fatherhood.

The Prince of Peace is a Hebrew expression meaning that he would be a peaceful prince. The tendency of his administration would be to restore and perpetuate peace. This expression is used to distinguish him from the mass of kings and princes who have delighted in conquest and blood. In contradistinction from all these, the Messiah would seek to promote universal peace, and the tendency of his reign would be to put an end to wars, and to restore harmony and order to the nations.

In this respect, he disappointed all the hopes of the Jewish nation, who, in spite of the plain prophecies respecting his peaceful character. expected a magnificent prince, and a conqueror.The expressions used here imply that he would be more than human. It is impossible to believe that these appellations would be given under the Spirit of inspiration to a mere man. They express a higher New Testament meaning throughout. He would be divine. The Spirit of inspiration used these titles to demonstrate the name and character of the true God, and to show that all such titles belonged to him alone. In  the Scriptures these titles are not given to earthly monarchs. That this passage refers to the Messiah has been generally conceded, except by the Jews, and by a few later critics. The ancient Jews referred it to the Messiah. The later Jews, however, have rejected this interpretation, because the Messiah is here described as God.

Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

The word rendered "government" here means properly his government as a prince-his principality, and is a continuation of the idea in the previous verse, 'the Prince of Peace.' It means that his reign as a prince of peace, in extending and promoting peace, shall be unlimited.

[And peace] This means there will be no limit to peace, that is, that his reign should be one of unlimited peace. This is a description of a prosperous, wide-extended, ever-growing and unlimited empire of peace and that He should reign forever in accordance with the promise made to David. This promise was understood to refer to the Messiah. The primary idea is, that he should be descended in the line of David, and accordingly the New Testament writers are often at pains to show that the Lord Jesus was of that family; Luke 2:4. The uniqueness of the reign of David was, that he reigned over the people of God. He was chosen for this purpose from humble life; was declared in his administration to be a man after God's own heart; and his long and prosperous reign was a reign over the people of God. To sit upon the throne of David, therefore, means to reign over the people of God; and in this sense the Messiah sat on his throne. There is also a similarity in the two administrations, in the fact that the Messiah was taken from humble life and that his reign will be far-extended and prosperous. They  resemble each other chiefly in that the reign of each extended over the people of God. That is, over the kingdom of the people of God. It does not mean particularly the Jews, but all those over whom the divine administration should be set up.

This kingdom will stand because it will be built on a firm foundation. It will be an an administration that shall be just and righteous. Most kingdoms have been built on shed blood, by iniquity, and by the unjust overthrow of others. But the administration of the Messiah shall be established in righteousness, and shall be destined to extend and perpetuate justice and righteousness forever. The establishment of this Kingdom is an object of intense and ardent desire on the part of Yahweh. It is also implied that nothing else than the zeal of Yahweh could do it.

It seems that if Yahweh feels so intense a desire for this, then the subjects of the Messiah's reign should also feel this.

(2) If Yahweh feels this zeal, and if he will certainly accomplish this, then Christians should be encouraged in their efforts to spread the gospel. His purpose to do this is their only encouragement and a sufficient encouragement to excite their zeal in this great and glorious work.