The Birth of the King: Isaiah 9:1-7 - Part VII

The King brings light because he fulfills the messianic promise, and because he fits the messianic profile. The King also brings light because he finishes the messianic program. God gave his King a messianic program to finish, and that program is his kingdom or his government. Isaiah says, “…and the government shall be upon his shoulder” (verse 6). He also says, “Of the increase of his government and of 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 righteousness from this time forth and forevermore” (verse 7).

Let’s make three brief observations about the kingdom of this coming King.

It is a progressive kingdom. Isaiah speaks about “the increase of his government,” which means that the kingdom grows. It does not come overnight. There is development. There is progression. Jesus said it was like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds but grows to become the biggest of all plants. Jesus also said it was like a little leaven that leavens throughout the whole lump of bread.

It is a perpetual kingdom. Isaiah says that “of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,” and he says that he will establish his kingdom “from this time forth and forevermore.” It is perpetual. It is eternal. The kingdom is the unstoppable rule and reign of God through his anointed King. “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6).

“Jesus shall reign where’er the sun does his successive journies run; his kingdom stretch from shore to shore till moons shall wax and wane no more!” (Isaac Watts, 1719)

It is a perfect kingdom. I suppose there are a hundred reasons why this kingdom is a perfect kingdom. One of the many reasons is that it rests on the shoulders of a perfect Messiah. “And the government shall be upon his shoulder.” It is also perfect because it is established and upheld with justice and righteousness. It is also a kingdom of perfect peace and happiness.

So when the King comes, he will bring light because he will finish the messianic program. He will establish and uphold a progressive, perpetual, and perfect kingdom. And I must say that although this includes our personal salvation, it is much greater than our individual salvation. In the words of Isaac Watts, “he comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found” (“Joy to the Word,” 1719).

You see – a King is coming who shall finish the messianic program. He shall crush the serpent’s head, defeating sin and death and reversing the effects of Adam’s original sin. He shall restore the whole earth to its original creation design. He shall lift the curse (Revelation 22:3), and God himself will dwell again with his people, and they shall be his people, and he shall be their God (Revelation 21:3). In that day, we will no longer need the sun because the Sun of Righteousness will have come in his fullness, and when he comes, he brings light (Revelation 22:5).

The Birth of the King: Isaiah 9:1-7 - Part VI

The King brings light because he fulfills the messianic promise, but the King also brings light because he fits the messianic profile. In the OT we find a composite profile of the Messiah. Isaiah contributes to that messianic profile by providing the four names of this coming King.

Verse 6 says, “…His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” These names are not personal names, but they are more like titles. We should think of these four names as royal titles. Let’s look together at these names in order to understand how the King fits this messianic profile.

First we have Wonderful Counselor. This speaks of his wisdom. Literally, it means, “Wonder of a Counselor.” The word “Wonder” means inspiring awe or amazement, and the word “Counselor” speaks of a king who provides wise instruction or teaching. Taken together, “Wonderful Counselor” speaks of a King who would inspire wonder and awe with his teaching.

In the OT, Solomon is the paragon of a wise king. Solomon prayed for wisdom, and the Lord granted his request (1 Kings 3). Solomon’s fame spread throughout the whole earth, and it reached the ears of the Queen of Sheba. The Queen of Sheba traveled from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom, and when she saw his wealth and his wisdom, she was breathless (1 Kings 10:4-5). Solomon’s wisdom inspired wonder and awe.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus said, “Behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42). Jesus was talking about himself because he recognized that he was the Wonderful Counselor from Isaiah 9:6.

When Jesus was twelve years old, his parents found him teaching the teachers in the temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-52). His teachers were amazed at his answers to their questions. Later in life, Jesus awed the crowds with his teaching, and he confounded the wisdom of the scribes, lawyers, Pharisees, Sadducees, and other learned men of his day. People continually said of him: “No one ever spoke like this man!” Indeed, Jesus was and is the Wonderful Counselor!

So then, let us come to Jesus, sit at his feet, and receive his counsel. Let us be like Mary who sat at the feet of the Wonderful Counselor, not like Martha who was too busy serving Jesus to learn from him (Luke 10:38-42). Yes, service is important, but rushed, busied, and hurried service, does not glorify our Wonderful Counselor. Our service must be informed by the doctrine of our Lord. If we want to keep his commandments, then we must seek his counsel. He is our Wonderful Counselor! Let us come to our Wonderful Counselor, read his Word, and seek the illumination of his Spirit, that we might please him in every way.

In addition to Wonderful Counselor, we also have the name Mighty God. If Wonderful Counselor speaks of the King’s wisdom, then Mighty God speaks of his power. Before speaking about his power, however, I must mention that this is an unequivocal assertion of the Messiah’s deity. The King who is to be born will be called “Mighty God.”

The King who is born is called Mighty God. On the one hand, he is man because he is born, but, on the other hand, he is God because he is called Mighty God. Here then is the profile of the Messiah: he must be God, and he must be man. Yes, brothers and sisters, the messianic profile that we receive from Isaiah is that the coming King will be the very incarnation of God himself! As Charles Wesley (1719, “’Hark!’ The Herald Angels Sing”) said, “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’ Incarnate Deity!” The great Puritan, Thomas Watson, also said, “In creation man is made in the image of God, but in the incarnation God was made in the image of man.”

Jesus of Nazareth is the only person who fits this messianic profile. Again and again, he demonstrated that he was and is Mighty God. He walked on water. He spoke, and the thunder ceased to clap and the lightening ceased to strike across the midnight sky. He turned water into wine. He cleansed lepers. He healed the lame, the blind, the deaf, the dumb. He fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. He raised people from the dead. He raised himself from the dead, and I could go on. Jesus is the Mighty God that fits this profile. Make no mistake about it!

Now combine this title with the previous title. The coming King shall be Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God. With the exception of one unnecessary scene, one of my favorite movies is Braveheart. It tells the story of the mighty William Wallace who fought for the freedom of Scotland. Well, there is a scene in that movie where the boy William Wallace asks his uncle to teach him how to use a sword. The young Wallace awkwardly raises a sword and says, “Uncle, I want to learn to use this.” And his uncle points to Wallace’s head and says, “First learn to use this,” and, pointing back to the sword, “and then I will teach you how to use this.” In other words, power must be informed by wisdom and knowledge in order for it to be useful. So it was for William Wallace, and so it is for our great King. And the fantastic thing is that he has both. He is Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God. My brothers and sisters in Christ, there is nothing that Jesus Christ cannot do. He has the wisdom and the strength to accomplish his mission, and he will surely do it.

Now we come to the title Everlasting Father. This speaks of the compassion of the coming King. Now we need to be careful when we call the Messiah an Everlasting Father. In the language of the Trinity, the Messiah is emphatically not the Father, but he is the Son. However, Isaiah is not using the language of the Trinity. The language of the Trinity speaks of who the Messiah is in relation to God, but Isaiah speaks of who Messiah is in relation to us. This means that Messiah is still the Son of God in relationship to the Godhead, but as he relates to his people, he is Everlasting Father.

Jesus is like a Father to us. He is not our Son. He is God’s Son, but he is like our Father. Indeed, quite literally, he is the “Father of Eternity” because he is the author of our eternal life. He promises us that, if we believe in him, we have eternal life.

O how precious it is that Isaiah speaks of the Messiah as a Father! Aristotle called God “the unmoved mover,” but Aristotle’s “unmoved mover” doesn’t move me. Could you imagine a young woman highlighting the phrase “unmoved mover” in her Bible (if it were there of course) after discovering that her father had deserted her? I knew a girl in high school, and her father deserted her and her mother when she was very young. And I happened to glance over her shoulder at her Bible only to see where she had underlined, highlighted, and circled all the passages that spoke of God as Father. I especially remember the phrase, “Father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5), which she had highlighted, underlined, circles, and star-ed.

Take heart, my friends, the messianic profile speaks of an Everlasting Father. Will you not come to Jesus? He will receive you with the tenderness and affection of a good father. Please, say to yourself, “I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in his arms. In the arms of my dear Savior, there are ten thousand charms!” Sinner, he extends his nail pierced hands to you, and he says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

The other title we must mention in this messianic profile is Prince of Peace. Obviously, when the King comes, he brings peace. The Messiah is the Prince of Peace. There is no question about it. However, I am afraid that the peace that Messiah brings is often misunderstood. The Prince of Peace first brings peace between God and man, and then he brings peace between man and man (the end of wars, etc.).

Unfortunately, the Jews of the first century misunderstood this distinction. They thought Messiah would bring peace between man and man first. But this is not what Isaiah tells us. Isaiah was very clear that peace with God is the fountain from which all other peace flows.

Later in his prophecy, Isaiah would tells the people of Judah how this Prince of Peace would achieve peace between God and man. Listen to what Isaiah says, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5).

Here is what Isaiah is saying: The Prince of Peace shall become a suffering servant in order to atone for the sins of God’s people. God is holy, and man is sinful. And this Prince of Peace would take upon himself the punishment (chastisement) for our sins. Messiah would die in our place as our substitute. He would secure peace between a holy God and sinful man by a violent death in the place of everyone who believes in him. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

Friend, do you have peace with God? You can only find peace with God through the Prince of Peace. And you can have the Prince of Peace as your Savior and Lord, if you will receive him. He will receive you; will you receive him? Believe that he died in your place. Receive his forgiveness. Receive his mercy that comes through his blood, and you are right with God.

Flowing from this fountain of peace with God is peace among men. When men have peace with God, then they begin to have peace with one another. But this never happens before man has peace with God. Nevertheless, this Prince of Peace will bring peace among men, and this means that he will end war. Isaiah makes it very clear that Messiah will cause people to “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not light up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

Friends, there is coming an end to war. I am not merely talking about the war in Iraq or the war in Afghanistan, but I am talking about war. Isaiah tells us that men will transform the accoutrements of war into the accoutrements of work. Indeed, Messiah is the Prince of Peace.

So here we have the messianic profile. “His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And Jesus Christ fits the messianic profile perfectly. When the darkness seems to overwhelm us, we must look to the person of Christ. His profile is found in this Book, and we will be encouraged by the light of his grace. His face is like the sun shining in full strength (Revelation 1:16). Look to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)!

The Birth of the King: Isaiah 9:1-7 - Part V

The King brings light because he fulfills the messianic promise. Verse 6 says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” These words reflect the messianic promise. It is called the messianic promise because it concerns the Messiah. The Messiah or Christ is the “anointed King” who was promised to defeat God’s enemies, deliver God’s people, and establish God’s kingdom.

This messianic promise is both ancient and absolute.

It is ancient. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God pronounced judgment on the serpent, but in the same breath, he promised salvation to Adam and his offspring.

God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). In other words, God promised salvation for the human race by means of an individual offspring (“he”) of Eve who would bruise the serpent’s head. God promised the coming of a serpent crusher. This would be a human King who would defeat Satan, sin, and death, reversing the effects of Adam’s transgression. The promise becomes the scarlet thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation, and it is developed throughout the biblical story.

As we read through the biblical story, we discover that this promise is developed further through the covenant that God makes with Abraham and his offspring.

Specifically, God said to Abraham, “…and in your offspring shall the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18, cf. Genesis 12:3). The promised serpent crusher would come from the line of Abraham, and he would spread the blessings of Abraham to all the nations of the earth.

By the time of David, this messianic promise is developed even further. God makes a covenant with David, and he says to him, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

By the time we arrive in the prophecy of Isaiah, we discover one more enormous development before we reach our text in Isaiah 9:6. And that development is that this King, who is the offspring of Abraham and David, will be born of a virgin: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Please note: the virgin conceives and bears a son, who is called Immanuel, which means “God with us” in Hebrew.

So then, as we come to Isaiah 9:6, we can see that this is an ancient messianic promise: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”

It is also an absolute promise. Stay with me in Isaiah 9. Notice the end of verse 7: “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” God’s zeal is his passionate commitment to his promise. Now if God is passionately committed to his promise, then it is absolute. It is sure and certain.

This messianic promise, then, is ancient and absolute, and the King brings light because he fulfills this messianic promise. In his book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis tells the story of how Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy came to Narnia in fulfillment of an ancient promise. Narnia was a cold and dark place, a place where it was always winter and never Christmas. However, there was an ancient promise that King Aslan, the great King of Narnia, would make all wrongs right when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve arrived in Narnia. When Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy arrive, then, they are expected. The creatures of Narnia have great joy in the midst of their gloom, and a glimmer of hope in the midst of their despair. They have light in the midst of the darkness. The promise of a coming King brings light, especially when it is fulfilled.

Brothers and sisters, do not allow the darkness in the world to overwhelm you this Christmas season. Look to the promise that has been fulfilled among us, and see light! On a practical level, let me suggest an activity for your Christmas devotion. Read through the first two chapters of Matthew and the first two chapters of Luke. Underline references to the messianic promise, which is fulfilled through Jesus. Include references to Abraham, David, covenant, promise, and so on. Notice the joy and celebration of the messianic promise fulfilled, especially in Luke (the songs: Mary’s Magnificat, Zechariah’s Benedictus, Simeon’s Nunc Dimittus, etc.). Circle references to light, joy, hope, and peace. I promise you that as you pray and study you will see that King Jesus brings light because he fulfills the messianic promise.

The Birth of the King: Isaiah 9:1-7 - Part IV

Having seen the historical and the literary context of Isaiah 9:1-7, and having elucidated the specifics of what would constitute fulfillment of this messianic prophecy, I now turn to a theological exposition of the passage.

Isaiah 9:1-7 has one main purpose. Here it is - the birth of the Messiah will bring light to a people walking in darkness. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined" (verse 2). The great light will be the birth of a great King: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given...Of the increase of his government and of 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 righteousness from this time forth and forevermore" (verses 6-7). The people of Judah and Jerusalem dwelt in a land of darkness, a land darkened by gross immorality (Isaiah 1:2ff.), political upheaval (Isaiah 7:1-2), impending war, and economic instability (Isaiah 8:21). However, in the midst of the darkness, God would give his Son to bring light.

Specifically, there are three ways in which this coming King (i.e. the Messiah) brings light:

(1) He fulfills the messianic promise.

(2) He fits the messianic profile.

(3) He finishes the messianic program.

The Birth of the King: Isaiah 9:1-7 - Part III

It is important to consider what would constitute fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy to his original hearers without assuming knowledge of the NT or later developments in the redemptive story.

First of all, although the text does not specify the Davidic descent of the King, this is certainly implied in verse 6. Isaiah envisions a Davidic descendant ruling on David’s throne (cf. 11:1ff.).

Second, the King will expand Israel’s empire (“You have multiplied the nation” - v.2 ).

Third, this expansion will be progressive. Notice the word “increase” in verse 6.

Fourth, the expansion of Messiah’s kingdom must also be perpetual. This is proven by the use of the word “forever” in verse 6. Alexander says, “The prediction, if fulfilled at all, could only be fulfilled in a reign which, after it began, was never interrupted, and has ever since been growing in extent and power.”[1]

Fifth, in light of the nature of the King’s kingdom and the lofty titles given in verse 5, it is also clear that the coming King must be divine. He must fit the profile of verse 5. Although it is not clear exactly how Isaiah or the people of Israel envisioned a divine-human King sitting on David’s throne, it is clear that this is the teaching of this passage, and it is the dominant OT picture of the Messiah.

Sixth, as this divine-human son of David rules progressively and perpetually on his throne, the result of his rule will be justice, righteousness, and peace (v.6).

Thus, these are the six aspects of what would constitute fulfillment of the prediction of the coming King.

[1] Alexander, Commentary on Isaiah, Kregal: 1972 (original 1867), 207.

The Birth of the King: Isaiah 9:1-7 - Part II

As already mentioned, the larger literary context of Isaiah 9:1-6 is the “Book of Immanuel” in Isaiah 7-12. The more immediate literary context for Isaiah 9:1-6 is Isaiah 8:23 (ET – 9:1; cf. the citation in Matthew 4:15-16). In this verse, it is clear that God has shined his light upon “the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.” Therefore, when reading Isaiah 9:1-6, these are the people that Isaiah has in mind in Isaiah 9:1 (HT).[1] Also, even though the passages employs perfect verbs, Isaiah 8:23 (ET – 9:1) proclaims what the Lord shall do “in the latter time,” indicating that the passage is eschatological in orientation. This is a critical component involved in the Messianic understanding of this passage.

*ET = English Text

*HT = Hebrew Text (In certain places the Hebrew versification differs from the English)

[1] Like the phrase “in the last days”(2:2), the phrase “in a latter time” (8:23) also refers to the time of the Messiah’s rule.

The Birth of the King: Isaiah 9:1-7 - Part I

In order to understand and appreciate the prophecy concerning the birth of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:1-7, we must begin with its historical and literary context. The references to the “days of Ahaz” (7:1) and the crisis posed by the Syrian-Israelite alliance (734-732 BC) require the prophecies of the so-called “Book of Immanuel” (chapters 7-12) to be dated around 734 BC.[1] In the north, the Syrians and the Israelites had made an alliance against Assyria, and they sought to include Judah in their political resistance to the potential threat of Assyrian invasion. However, instead of joining this ungodly alliance, Isaiah offers Ahaz, who was the king of Judah at that time, an alternative. Ahaz must ask the Lord for “a sign” (7:11). Ahaz refuses, but Isaiah provides the sign to the house of Judah in spite of the king’s obstinacy: “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (7:14). Although Isaiah’s son Maher-shalal-hash-baz (8:1-4) may “offer immediate evidence that the distant prediction will come to pass,” the birth of Isaiah’s son in no way fulfills the Immanuel prophecy of Isaiah 7:14.[2] Therefore, it is not surprising that Isaiah elucidates the birth of the child with the lofty language of Isaiah 9:1-6. In any event, both the political unrest in Judah caused by the Syrian-Israelite alliance and the fear of Assyrian invasion form the background of Isaiah 9:1-6, and it is in this historical context that the people receive Isaiah’s words of comfort about the assured victory of a future King.

[1] C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the OT Prophetical Books, Moody: 2007, 165.
[2] Bullock, 167.