THURSDAY 16 December 2021 “A Divine King?” Isaiah 9:6,7

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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

Would you believe about 380,000 people, all around the world, are celebrating their birthday today! Let your mind absorb that for a moment… 380,000 people, and today is no different from any other day!! There are about 7.8 Billion of us now, and yet God says no two of us are exactly identical, nor are we identical with any other person who has ever lived, ever!! So what distinguishes you from every other person on earth? What will be distinctive about any of the 380,000 babies born today around the world?

These days we’re on a journey toward Christmas and we’re looking at what God was saying about Christmas hundreds of years before it happened! The prophet Isaiah recorded some amazing messages he received from God around 725bc. Isaiah lived in Jerusalem and his messages were aimed initially at the people of Israel, and yet in Isaiah 9:6 he wrote a message from God for the entire world. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders.” (Is. 9:6) It’s safe for us to assume that Isaiah’s listeners responded in the same way you and I respond when hear the word “government“! No matter where you live in the world, I’m sure you’d be very grateful if some officials in your government would call upon God for HIS wisdom, HIS leadership as your government faces the challenges of our world in the 21 century, right? It was the same in Isaiah’s day!

The thought that God would create a newborn child who would rise up to carry the government on His shoulders, in a God honoring way… well that was beyond anything the people then or now could imagine! In Isaiah’s day, the Jews understood this to be a clear prediction of their “Messiah”! But when would he come? How would they recognize Him, especially as a child? We looked at that day before yesterday as we considered Isaiah’s words in Is. 7:14 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.” A virgin pregnancy would be one unique way this child would be identified.

I’m sure the people assumed the phrase “…the government will be on his shoulders” meant this child would be born into the royal family, live his young life as a prince, in line to be king one day, and finally wear the crown. In the days of Isaiah the Hebrew monarchy had survived since the days of King David, already over 200 years, so yes they could imagine this as a possibility. During Isaiah’s lifetime he watched three more young princes ascend to the throne… Ahaz, Hezekiah and Manasseh. But then in 586bc when Jerusalem was destroyed and the throne destroyed by the great King Nebuchadnezzar and the ferocious Babylonian army, hope for this miraculous prediction was lost forever.

But Isaiah’s message from God was not to happen in that generation, or any of the generations for 7 more centuries! As Isaiah continued, he added four remarkable names, each of which defined God honoring attributes of this future “Messiah” leader: “And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Now we could spend an entire day on each of these, couldn’t we? And it’s not difficult for us to see how each of these attributes, if found in a senior government leader today, could bring revolutionary change to any earthly kingdom, right? In fact a King like this would make the words Jesus prayed become reality, don’t you think? “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) In fact as Matthew heard Jesus teach His disciples that prayer I’m fairly confident he thought immediately of this prophecy from Isaiah 700 years before. This is one of the reasons the Jewish people of Jesus’ day struggled accepting Jesus as their “Messiah” when He did NOT pursue political or government roles, as they expected Him to.

But as Isaiah and the people of his day, and all people ever since, have contemplated these four titles, it becomes quite obvious they cannot apply to a normal human being. Only a God anointed Counselor can provide ‘wonderful‘ counsel every time. The title “Almighty God” simply cannot be attributed to any human being under any circumstances. “Everlasting Father” can only apply to an immortal patriarch of a family, and the title “Prince of Peace” could never be applied to any fallible human, for in all of us anger or worry or fear lurks just below the surface. So these titles left Isaiah and the people befuddled, confused. Who could God ever raise up who could fit the descriptions of these four titles?

Of course from our perspective, 2700 years later, we can see that Jesus Christ is the ONLY person, in all of time, who fits these titles, right? In the upper room with His disciples on the evening before He went to the cross, Jesus said to them “I will ask the Father and He will send you another Counselor to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth…” (John 14:16) In the language Jesus was speaking, that phrase “another counselor” means, ‘another counselor just like ME’. And of course we know “The Spirit of Truth” of whom Jesus spoke is none other than the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus had also said “It is God the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. Believe Me when I say the Father is in Me. Believe on the evidence of the miracles I do.” (John 14:10,11) So that helps us see how the title “Mighty God” fits with Jesus.

We know Jesus never married and never had any biological children, but by adoption into God’s family, when we trust Jesus to be our Savior, we become His children. John wrote it this way: “to all who received Him (Jesus), to those who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:9) This is how Jesus becomes “Everlasting Father“, for as God’s children we live eternally with Jesus in heaven after death!

Finally we might ask, ‘how is Jesus the Prince of Peace‘? Well, do you remember the announcement of the angels at His birth: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth PEACE to men on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14) And do you remember what Jesus said in the upper room when He calmed His troubled disciples as they contemplated what He was saying to them when He explained the need for Him to give His life in payment for our sin debt? Jesus said “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to 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)

You and I, my friends, looking at Isaiah’s words from the vantage point of December 2021, and with the advantage of having the New Testament…well it all fits with Jesus doesn’t it? But for Isaiah and those of his day, or anyone living in those next 750 years, until Jesus lived Isaiah’s predictions… well those words seemed unrealistic, impossible, simply theoretical words of an overly religious man, Isaiah the prophet.

But then Isaiah continued… “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end…” (Is. 9:7) I suspect Isaiah paused, put down his writing stylus and walked over to the open window of his house and looked out over Jerusalem pondering the preposterousness of this line. Kings Saul, David and Solomon each reigned 40 years, and many of those were really good years. But since those days most kings didn’t last that long and very few were hailed as great kings. A never ending, great kingdom seemed unrealistic. But again from our perspective, we understand the kingdom of God does reign supreme and will never have an end, and Jesus reigns from His throne in heaven over it all, so YES this is true, with Jesus!

And finally Isaiah wrote: “The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this!” (Is. 9:7) For the Hebrew people, they understood all about the ‘zeal of the LORD Almighty‘! They celebrated this every year in their Passover celebration as they recounted how God delivered their ancestors from Egyptian slavery by the powerful plagues on Egypt, and then led them through the “water tunnel” of the Red Sea! Oh this gave them great hope my friends, that God had NOT given up on them and one day, in God’s time, He would send a Savior, a Deliverer, a Messiah!

None of them in Isaiah’s day lived long enough to see it, but as we approach Christmas, you and I and our whole world can celebrate that God did fulfill His promises when He sent Jesus to be all that Isaiah predicted He would be! May I as ask we close today, is Jesus all these wonderful things for you my friend? Is every detail of Isaiah 9:6&7 happening in your relationship with Jesus this Christmas? Here’s a great Christmas song to help us celebrate these great truths!

Today’s Scripture is Isaiah 9:6, 7.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

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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