Isaiah 9: 1 – 21
He Is Wonderful
In our last study we had only managed to reach verse 5. So, today we are going to continue to review this awesome chapter of the Bible. So, to properly maintain our understanding of God’s Word revealed to us in chapter 9 of Isaiah let us start reading from the beginning of the chapter.
1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; They rejoice before You according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, and garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. 8 The Lord sent a word against Jacob, and it has fallen on Israel. 9 All the people will know— Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria— Who say in pride and arrogance of heart: 10 “ The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.” 11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and spur his enemies on, 12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still. 13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, nor do they seek the LORD of hosts. 14 Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, palm branch and bulrush in one day. 15 The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. 16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed. 17 Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still. 18 For wickedness burns as the fire; It shall devour the briers and thorns, and kindle in the thickets of the forest; They shall mount up like rising smoke. 19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up, and the people shall be as fuel for the fire; No man shall spare his brother. 20 And he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry; He shall devour on the left hand and not be satisfied; Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm. 21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they shall be against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.
Never try to out figure the Lord because as Isaiah declares for the Lord in chapter 55, “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.” How did He Who Is El Shaddai – God Almighty – All Powerful, All Knowing, Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent conquer the darkness that was described in the beginning of this chapter? . He gives His answer in one of the most beautiful passages in the Scripture
6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
Do you see the significance of the first part of this verse, ‘6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given’? You don’t see it? Our Majestic Father Is again pointing out how the Messiah will be born of a ‘virgin’. I see you all staring at your bible’s trying to figure that it. Let’s look at it together. First of all our Great Holy Spirit says, ‘For unto us a Child is born’ Okay so far – a baby is born. So, what does it mean ‘A Son is given’? Some so called biblical experts merely say that this portion is just identifying the child as a boy. That is partly true. But what does the word ‘Given’ mean?
Sorry, but let me give you a little background so you can see our Lord’s Awesome Wisdom. In the book of Jeremiah chapter 22 we read where the kings of Judah had become so wicked that our Lord had enough of His Long Suffering in putting up with them, so He did something that convinced Satan that the Lord had to end the Davidic line of succession.
24 “As I live,” says the LORD, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; 25 and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die. 27 But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return. 28 “ Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol— A vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his descendants, and cast into a land which they do not know? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD! 30 Thus says the LORD: ‘ Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling anymore in Judah.’”
Satan and his bunch of fallen angels are high hand slapping and having a party on this occasion. For they believe that the Lord has put Himself in a box and sealed it shut. ‘For none of his descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling anymore in Judah.’” That’s it. No more descendants who come from the lineage of Coniah, who happens to be a descendent of David will be allowed to be king. Hymm?
There is no match to the Great Blessed Trinity. When will fallen men and angels give up trying to outguess our Supreme Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – One God.
The answer, which our Lord plainly told to everyone is in Genesis chapter 3. He shows everyone the answer then has to go back and remind us that He had already told us. Remember, when He was talking to Satan, “15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” To remind you of the human anatomy, the males produce the ‘seed’. Our Lord says what? - and her Seed” The answer ‘virgin birth’
Okay so far, now let me paste this together. We read in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 1 the legal lineage from David. You thought this chapter was not worth the time of reading, but it contains gold nuggets,
“1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” 24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.”
Joseph was the legal descendent of David who came from Solomon and so forth. Because of the curse, he could not be king, so if Jesus was his natural son, our Lord Jesus would also be disqualified from legally sitting on David’s throne. Now, have you ever read the Gospel of Luke chapter 3? At first is seems a repeat of Matthew chapter 1 doesn’t it. But it isn’t
“23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat,the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
In this chapter the ancestry line is reversed. As you can see in verse 23 our Awesome Holy Spirit informs us that our Lord Jesus was only supposed to be a natural born son of Joseph. If you compare this lineage with Matthew you find the names do not match fully. How come? The answer is because this lineage is from Mary.
Joseph was in the royal legal line from Solomon, the son of David. Mary was also born of the lineage of King David but from his son Nathan, who was not in the curse. So, here is the answer for ‘Given’. Being born of the virgin Mary, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was adopted or ‘Given’ into Joseph’s family. By being ‘Given’ or adopted, He obtained the legal royal rights as a child of Joseph but was not part of the blood line curse. Therefore, He Is legally entitled to be the rightful heir of king David. Is that neat or what?
Many people list the names of God’s Messiah in two’s. For example they list our Lord and Savior’s name as ‘Wonderful Counselor’. He Is Truly the Only Counselor, yet we miss out of the Beauty of our Lord’s description by grouping these terms.
I want to give you a theological term. It is called a ‘Theophany’
Theophany, from the Ancient Greek (meaning "appearance of God" It refers to the appearance of a deity to a human or other being, or to a divine disclosure.
I do not know why but for some reason our Holy Supreme Majestic Creator wants to hang out “with us. In the book of Judges chapter 13 we discover this amazing fact.
1 Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. 2 Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5 For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” 6 So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. 7 And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’” 8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.” 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!” 11 So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.” 12 Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?” 13 So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.” 15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.” 16 And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.) 17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?” 18 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— 20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. 21 When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD. 22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.” 24 So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.”
Do you catch that? Who Was the angel? He Is none other than our Precious King, our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Is Incomprehensible as the book of Colossians chapter 3 states, “2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Now, how about the title Counselor? He Is truly the Best Counselor. The only One Who can be depended on to help change a person. In the book of Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12 we read, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
As His representatives it is our duty to point people to His Word. Anyone who tries to combine Psychology with the Word of God is wrong. It is light verses darkness and how can you combine the two? You can’t. It is called Psycho heresy.
Our Lord and Savior Is called the ‘Mighty God’. Our Lord Jesus Is God. He Is with the Father and the Holy Spirit as One in essences and unity. He Is Invincible. In chapter 10 of Isaiah we read that the remnant of Jews who survive the Assyrian army’s brutal siege will return to Jesus, “21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God.”
Then we read how our King is also ‘The Everlasting Father’ Now as we look at the Gospel of John in chapter 14 we see more clearly our Lord Jesus’ interaction with Philip, “7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”
Mankind has thought that they can live in peace. The truth is that for every year of peace there has been over 20 years of war and bloodshed. In Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love, we call it a good day if the murder rate is only in the single digits. There will be no true and lasting peace until the “Prince of Peace’ comes back to earth. As the book of Revelation chapter 22 prays, let us also seek His return, “17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
