I have heard it said time and time again over the years by Christian and non-Christian alike, that we are living in dark times. When we speak of darkness it could refer to the evils of untold suffering, catastrophes, cruelty, corruption, and malevolence. We have seen evil taking place on a global level, on a national level, and many of us have experienced it personally. What is the solution or answer to the problem of evil? Since life can be quite complex, the answer may not be straightforward. People place their hope in the sciences, technology, and governments as they look for answers. But as important as these things are, we know that the sciences, technologies, and governments unguided by moral principles have led to some of history’s greatest human atrocities. Some place their hope in various types of spiritism, occult or faith in God. Others believe that answers come from within themselves. But if your ultimate hope is in anything but God Himself you will be greatly disappointed. Václav Havel, philosopher and the first president of the Czech Republic said, “the Pursuit of the good life will not help humanity save itself, nor is democracy alone enough,’...A turning to and seeking of . . . God is needed. He said that the human race constantly forgets that they are not God.
The question for all of us here today is what do we put our hope in, in times of darkness?
Please turn with me Isaiah 8:19 - 9:2, 6-7
19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. (SLIDE) 21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.(SLIDE) 9:1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Just like the Israelites back in 700 BC, You can place your hope:
In human strength and wisdom
In the occult
In God
Human strength and wisdom
In Isaiah 8:19-22 he described what was happening to the people of Zebulun and Naphtali (present day Galilee) in 722 BC. Isaiah said that God’s own people made no place for Him in their hearts (8:6). They rebelled against God’s word and instructions and instead sought the answers to life’s problems through human explanations and means, making God and what He had to say unimportant and insignificant. They put more stock in the power of Kings and the opinions of people than in an Almighty God.
It is no different in today’s culture. People say, “Religion is only for the weak, we do not need a God, we can save ourselves.” Atheists claim that the cosmos came into being all on its own, out of nothing, that you and I are accidents of nature. If there is no God as Bertrand Russell held, man is the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system.
How comforting is that? During the time Isaiah wrote this account, the northern Kingdom had consistently rejected God, His Word and His wisdom while Assyrian invaders were approaching their land. This only increased their gloom and anguish. They knew that the Assyrain army would bring devastation, yet they turned away from God when they actually needed Him most.
The nation of Israel, God’s people, also placed their hope in:
The occult
19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
In their attempts to alleviate the immediate context of their suffering they sought guidance, comfort and hope from spirit mediums, fortune-tellers, astrologers, witches and all other occult sources. In verse 19 God is saying “why are you seeking guidance, comfort and hope from the spiritually dead, they have no power to change your future.” If you listen to them it will only lead you farther away from me and into greater darkness and despair. Seek the living God let Him speak through His living Word.
They looked to human strength and wisdom for deliverance and when that didn’t help and they looked to the occult for the answer. Neither of these could deliver them so they were spiritually bankrupt, burned out. They didn’t have the power or ability to help themselves or others.
20 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God.
Jer 2:13 My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
In v. 21 They were physically starving but they were also experiencing serious spiritual malnourishment in their souls and instead of honestly assessing their situation they became enraged and blamed God.
Proverbs 19:3 says:
People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.
They didn’t want any part of His Person or His plan for their lives. They were not interested in listening to His answers or instructions. Yet they were enraged when they began to suffer the consequences for putting their hope in everything but God and yet they blamed God for their hardships. They were blind to the fact that they themselves were ultimately to blame. They could not change their situation, they could not find solace in people, nor from themselves. They only found distress, darkness and fearful gloom. Every attempt to find hope failed.
Even though that was their present reality, in chapter 9 vv. 1-2, we see that because of God’s mercy and overarching plan, it was not the end of their story. How many have we been brought to this place where our only hope can come from God!
Even in the midst of this time of great darkness in the nation, Isaiah wanted the people to, once again, recenter their hope in God. Isaiah prophesied that in Galilee, in that place of deep darkness and suffering, a light would dawn on them. When we speak of light we mean life, hope, truth, beauty and joy. The Christmas message is that “on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” It doesn’t say that the light would come from the world or worldly wisdom, but upon the world a light has dawned. It does not say the light comes from within, the light has come from outside of this world.
God promised to bring hope, truth, beauty and joy into the midst of their darkness. God would send a Savior who would deliver them out of their darkness. Their sin, rebellion and unbelief would not keep God from making Himself known to them. Their actions would not stop God from keeping His promises. 700 years after Isaiah recorded these prophecies, Jesus came into the world as the light of the world to save us from our sin, rebellion, and unbelief (John 8:12).
He was born in the small, insignificant town of Bethlehem, in a time of darkness - during the time of the Roman occupation. It was a time of violence, injustice, abuse of power, homelessness, refugees fleeing oppression, families ripped apart, and bottomless grief. People were living “without hope and without God in the world”(Eph 2:12). That was their reality but it was not the end of their story.
Isa 9 vv. 1 and 2 says that, He would honor Galilee of the nations by way of the sea beyond the Jordan, The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. He shall make it glorious and bring salvation for the world. This is such a picture of God’s Grace!
At the age of 30, Jesus began His public ministry preaching in the synagogue in Galilee, saying that the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord was on Him, because the Lord had anointed Him to proclaim good news to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to release prisoners from darkness. This was recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy 700 years earlier. Jesus brought life and a future hope to the world, because He made peace possible between God and man through His ultimate sacrifice. Through His death and resurrection He conquered sin, death, and the devil. Our hope is in Christ, He is our hope and our peace.
In John 1:12 -13 God made a promise...
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave 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.
Maybe you are going through a time of darkness because of the loss of a family member - we just had a memorial service this afternoon for our dear friend and brother, Bill Gerken, and we are mourning our loss. Maybe you are in a stressful workplace, are experiencing financial challenges, broken relationships, personal failure, or sickness. Does your situation seem dark, overwhelming, confusing, or painful? Do you feel like you’ve been in a deep fog. Are you tempted to find the easiest way out to alleviate your pain and not necessarily the right way out? How tempting it is to tune out, withdraw, give up and hide.
But this is the time you need God the most. This is the time you need to hear the hope of the gospel, the hope of salvation and deliverance, no matter how discouraged you may be. We can make right choices even in the midst of darkness. To be encouraged and strengthened with words of faith. Your present situation is not the end of the story.
Martin Luther King said:
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
There is Hope in the Midst of Darkness. God wants us as His people to know the rest of the story - what our future reality will be. As we read in Is 9:6-7 the One who was born to be the Savior of the world (Emmanuel) - will one day return as divine King to rule, bring an end to the wars and establish true peace and freedom on the earth. We place our hope in this Wonderful Counselor whose council is unfailing in His depth of wisdom. Our hope is in this Mighty God, invincible in battle. He is our Everlasting Father who has given Himself for His children, our Prince of Peace who made peace between us and God.
Our hope is in Christ, the King of all kings, whose reign will never end and as God’s people, we will be with Him forever and ever.
Gilbert Beenken: ‘Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope.’
