Isaiah 9

“Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.  But in the future, He will bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.  The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.  You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy.  The people have rejoiced before You as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.”  Isaiah 9:1-2 (HCSB)

Light shines through Isaiah’s words in several ways.

1) The People of God.  Isaiah refers to “the people” and “the nation.”  He means the people of God, the remnant from within Judah.  Though the Lord will shame them through Assyrian oppression, He will not forsake Judah entirely.  He will gather them again and, through them, bring to pass His promise.

2) The Light of Jesus.  When Jesus was forced to move from Nazareth to Capernaum (in the region of Naphtali and Zebulon), Matthew says that this was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy. (Matthew 4:14-16; Luke 4:14-30) The point of Matthew’s quotation was to indicate that people who had been living in darkness now had the light of God’s Son in their midst. “Galilee of the Gentiles,” so long despised by the Jews, was earmarked for evangelism by Messiah Jesus.

3) The Impossible is Possible with God.  Isaiah knew His Bible!  He remembered that in the time of the judges, God had whittled down Gideon’s army from 32,000 to 10,000 to 300 to do battle with the Midianites.  He was anxious to demonstrate the principle: not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit.  A surprise attack on the Midianite camp was enough to send them packing.  This is a message Isaiah takes up again and again.  Three pictures are brought together in verse 4 to remind Judah that Assyria’s oppression is nothing new.  They had also been this way in Egypt 700 years earlier.  Here, Judah is compared to an ox.  Poor Judah – to be a beast of burden.  But things can change!  The zeal of the Lord Almighty can change things if Judah would only listen.

4) An End to Warfare.  Assyrian men are seen lying dead from battle with blood-stained clothes.  Everywhere there is a stench of battle.  The enemy has been totally destroyed and disarmed.  The refuse of war is burnt, and there is peace.  It reminds us of the end of the Revelation.  And what was the cause of all this?  The birth of a child to the royal house of David.

The World promises the light of hope but can only deliver darkness.  The World is OUR Assyria.  The child, Jesus, however, brings peace and light.  Peace is the first fruit of our justification.  (Romans 5:1)