Good Monday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Today we enter two very special weeks… the final days leading to Christmas and the final days of this year 2022. I wonder what significant things will occur in your life over these next two weeks.
In our continuing 30-day journey toward Christmas let’s pick up where I left you yesterday with Mr. Isaiah more than 700 years before Jesus was born. Isaiah was writing a powerful prophetic message the Spirit of God was giving him which pointed forward to that first Christmas and Jesus. You’ll find it in Isaiah 9:6,7 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor’, ‘Mighty God’, ‘Everlasting Father’, ‘Prince of Peace’ …” These words were almost beyond imagination for the people of Israel who had watched way too many government and religious leaders fail badly. But with God there is always hope, and so yesterday we looked closely at that first title, “Wonderful Counselor”, and today let’s continue.
Unlike any other nation in the world Israel is a people who can claim a time in their past when their nation was a “Theocracy”. It means a nation with only one, supreme, sovereign, perfect, holy leader… Almighty God Himself! It began with Abraham and God’s promise to create a new nation of people, all descending from Abraham, Sarah and their son Isaac. (Genesis 15) As you know that promise was repeated to Isaac and his wife Rebecah and then their son Jacob. (Genesis 26:24) From Jacob and his wives came 12 sons and they are the heads of the 12 ‘tribes’ of Israel. (Gen. 50) When God delivered their descendants from Egyptian slavery, He led them to Mount Sinai where He made this proclamation: “You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I brought you to Myself. Now, if you obey ME fully and keep My covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.“ (Ex. 19:4-6) Those words established the Theocratic nation of Israel with God as undisputed and Holy Sovereign over His people. 
You’ll recall those Hebrew slaves spent nearly one year at Mount Sinai receiving from God the law and all the instructions that would define their society, their culture as unique from all other people on earth… a people of God, living for the glory of God and under the guidance and authority of God. But you probably also remember that it took only a matter of days and the people turned away from God constructing a golden calf, calling it their god! (Exodus 32) Finally, many years later, as Samuel came to the end of his life, the people of Israel demanded a human king, rejecting their theocracy, stating they wanted to be like all other nations with a human leader. (1 Samuel 8)Throughout the Old Testament God repeatedly proved His love, His mercy, His patience with His rebellious, cantankerous people. Frequently Almighty God unleashed His miraculous power to provide for them or protect them from their enemies. One of the names of God the Hebrew people cherished is “El Gibor” which means “Mighty God”. As Isaiah was writing his powerful prophecy and used the title “Wonderful Counselor” that would have awakened memories of the supremely wise King Solomon and the people would have found great hope in hearing God would one day send a leader as wise as Solomon!
But when Isaiah wrote the title “Mighty God” many other wonderful memories from their past would have flooded the minds of the Israelites… The 10 plagues “Mighty God” had unleashed on Egypt to free the Hebrew Slaves. (Ex. 8-12) God’s powerful opening of the Red Sea to guide the fleeing Hebrews THROUGH the sea, while then closing the walls of water over Pharaoh’s army. (Ex. 14) God’s daily, miraculous provision of both water and food in the desert over a period of 40 years! (Deut. 8:2-4) God’s empowerment of the Israelites as they followed Joshua in conquering the Promised Land. (Joshua 6-20) And many, many, more such stories which had been passed down from generation to generation. (Ps. 78:1-7)
This title “Mighty God” would have especially generated hope because the three great military powers of those days Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, were all flexing their muscles frequently. They were invading and conquering smaller nations and finally in 722bc Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and after killing thousands of Israelites took back to Nineveh thousands more as slaves. About 100 years later those who read Isaiah’s prophecy would have found hope because both Egypt and Babylon were harassing Jerusalem and finally in 586bc Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah was conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar and Jerusalem was destroyed, while thousands were taken captive back to Babylon.
In the time when Jesus was born, of course it was the mighty Roman military machine which had conquered most of what is today, Palestine, north Africa, central Asia, eastern Europe and much of western Europe! So, when the angels announced to the shepherds that “Today a Savior (deliverer) has been born to you, He is Christ, the Lord… Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:12,14) You can imagine those shepherds would have thought this was an announcement of a mighty warrior being born who would become a powerful leader to finally lead Israel to freedom from Roman domination!
A few years later, when Jesus began doing His miracles, of course we can easily imagine many Jewish people, remembering Isaiah’s prophetic words, would have watched to see when Jesus would start mobilizing His army. If He can heal sickness and blindness, (Matt. 9) then He could heal any wounds from battle. If He can raise dead people to life, (Luke 7:14; John 11) then His army would be invincible! If He can feed thousands of people with one little boy’s lunch, (John 6:11) then keeping an army supplied and well fed would be easy for Jesus! If Jesus can calm storms and walk on water, (John 6:19) then He could control everything in nature!
Can you see my friends, how Jesus would have been easily received as fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy? But when He did not mobilize an army and didn’t lead a rebellion against Rome, can you see how confusing that would have been for the Jews who desperately wanted deliverance?
Instead, Jesus spoke of Peace and Jesus was a peacemaker always defusing conflict and even when He Himself was arrested, refusing to unleash His mighty power to defend Himself or to turn against His attackers! Jesus said “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) Jesus explained that anyone who fully trusts in Him will have the Holy Spirit of God, in all HIS mighty power, living within them and that is how a person can live at peace when all around them turmoil abounds. Knowing that life for Jesus followers can be very difficult and filled with persecution by those who reject Jesus and His Gospel, Jesus said: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated ME first! If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. But I have chosen you out of the world and that is why the world hates you… They will treat you this way because of My name, for they do not know the One who sent Me…” (John 15:18-23)
Does that cause you to remember that Isaiah had also used the title “Prince of Peace”? From the moment of the first angelic announcement of the advent of Jesus, PEACE was a central theme. God was sending a “Wonderful Counselor” who had all the power of “Mighty God” and would therefore defeat all evil and be the PRINCE OF PEACE! But very few people understood that news then, do you understand it now?
On that night before Jesus went to the cross, Jesus lifted His eyes toward heaven and prayed for His disciples and all of us who would trust in Him: “Father, I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours… I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your great name, the name You gave Me… While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by the Name You gave Me… My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… As You have sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world. My prayer is not for them alone but for all those who will believe in Me through their message...” (John 17)
Let’s pause right here my friends. Do you have the deep inner peace that only Jesus can give you no matter what is happening around you? Do you feel the protection of Almighty God when the evil world around you is persecuting you and the darkness and wickedness seems suffocating? Is the Holy Spirit of God within you assuring you that Jesus the “Mighty God” is your protector at all times, and He wants to be your “Prince of Peace”? The worship song I’ve selected for today wraps all these great truths together as a glorious Christmas gift!
Today’s Scripture is Isaiah 9:6-7.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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