Isaiah 9:1-7 (8:23-6 Hebrew and Czech Bibles)
(This message was preached shortly before Christmas, 2003, in a church in the Czech Republic, my wife Marcela’s native country. The message was translated into Czech.)
In a week and a half’s time it will be Christmas. What does Christmas mean to you? Hopefully, if you are a follower of Christ, it means a celebration of Jesus Christ being born. Jesus who was not just man, but God. Jesus, who after growing up and ministering for three years, died on a cross – for us. Jesus, whose death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead, brought eternal life for those who believe in Him. But what do people outside this church think of during this Christmas season? What does Christmas mean to them? The Catholics, like us, celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus. But do they really believe in Him as the one who has died for our sins? Others also believe in Jesus, but not in the Jesus we know. They believe in a Jesus who comes and gives gifts on Christmas – but this is not the Jesus of the Bible. For others, Christmas is a family time. For others, it is a time for parties and exchanging gifts. Christmas is also becoming increasingly commercialised. It is hard to see the real Jesus in Christmas for most people. This problem is not just at Christmas. In fact, most people in the world don’t pay much attention to Jesus at all.
Since we were last here in Oldrichovice in early 2001, many things in the world have changed. Later in 2001, the world was shocked as hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Centre in New York. In retaliation, the Americans invaded Afghanistan, and then Iraq. Many people in the world today feel a lot more insecure that they did a few years ago. There is talk of terrorist attacks and weapons of mass destruction and Al-Qaida has become a household term. The world certainly appears to be in the shadow of darkness. Now of course, people in countries racked by war and destruction know that darkness more than we do. But still, in places like the Czech Republic and Australia, people do feel that the world is a worse place that it was a few years ago. The world is a dark place. We live under the shadow of potential destruction. Yet where do people turn to in these times? Do they turn to God? A few do, but most don’t. Some turn to the false gods of other religions. Some turn to the occult, seeking mediums and tarot cards for answers. Others turn to inner enlightenment and human self-help methods. But is there any true light in these dark times?
Today we are going to look at a passage of the Bible which describes a similar situation. Well, actually, a situation that was a lot worse than what we live in, but perhaps something similar to the situation in many of the war zones of our world. Would you please turn in your Bibles with me to Isaiah. We are going to read from chapter 8 verse 23 through to chapter 9 verse 6. Marcela will read now from Isaiah chapter 8 verse 23.
[Is 8:23-9:6 (Czech & Hebrew), 9:1-7 (English & Greek)]
As you heard this passage being read out, I expect that many of you immediately thought of the birth of Christ. Yes, it is very true that this passage is one of hope, prophesying the coming of Jesus the Messiah. But to truly understand the hope of this passage, we need to understand the context it was set in. This passage is surrounded by other passages predicting God’s judgement on Israel. At the time of this prophecy, the northern part of Israel was about to fall to the invading Assyrian armies. In fact, the Assyrians were so close that the edges of the kingdom, that is, the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali around the sea of Galilee, had already been taken over by the Assyrians. This was a disaster for the Israelites. The takeover of the Galilee area by the Assyrians was only the beginning – for very soon the whole of the northern kingdom of Israel would be overtaken by the Assyrians. Things were hopeless. As verse 1 says, the people walked in darkness.
Our passage is placed in the middle of judgements against Israel – judgement which Israel had brought upon herself because of her sin. In chapter 8, God’s judgement is prophesied against Israel. The Israelites, in all their trouble, were not calling out to the Lord. In verse 19 of chapter 8, we read that the people were seeking spiritists and spirits of death instead of God. Little has changed. Today, most people are also seeking after spiritists and spirits of death – and all sorts of other things – when they should be seeking after God. The passage after the one we are looking at also speaks of judgement. In the last half of chapter 9, Israel is again judged for her arrogance and for not seeking the Lord. This is what makes our passage so significant – in the middle of all these prophecies of judgement – in the middle of all this doom and gloom – light appears. And what a light it is! Despite Israel’s turning from God – despite their wickedness – despite their ignoring Isaiah’s calls to repent – God promises to send a great light.
In verse 1 of chapter 9 we see this. In Hebrew, the same idea is often repeated for emphasis. We can see this in verse 1 – the people who walk in darkness, see a great light. Those who live in the shadow of death, have a light shone upon them. The use of the contrast of darkness and light is a common theme throughout the Bible. Darkness generally speaks of sin, and light speaks of God’s righteousness. The theme is used by John in the New Testament when he speaks of Jesus coming into our world. John chapter 1 verse 5, says, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” The light in our passage in Isaiah, is also speaking of Christ. Although the people in Israel will go through a period of great darkness, God speaks of one day in the future – when light will come to them in their darkness. We know that this passage is indeed speaking of Christ, because in Matthew’s Gospel, in chapter 4 and verses 15 and 16, Matthew quotes these verses as being fulfilled in Christ. Christ is the great light of our passage.
Back in Isaiah verse 2 we see some of the joy that comes with the coming of this light. Verse 2 is full of words describing joy. A number of metaphors are used of events that brought great joy in ancient Israel. We see that this joy is compared to the joy of the harvest. In agricultural societies like ancient Israel, the harvest time was the big time of the year. It was the time of the year when all the effort of sowing and tending the fields paid off. The joy is also compared to the victory of battle. The Israelites were often under constant threat of military invasion, where foreign armies would come and rob the Israelites. The phrase, “as men rejoice when they divide the spoil” speaks of victory over the foreign armies. So we see here that two images of great delight in Israelite life are used to give some idea of the great joy this light will bring.
Verse 3 is very interesting. Three phrases describing the oppression by foreigners that the Israelites felt, are given one after the other: “the yoke of burden”, “the staff of his shoulder” and “the rod of his oppressor”. The three phrases are piled on top of each other to show a picture of terrible oppression. In those days, foreign domination was not like it always is today. For example, when the Americans invaded Iraq, they didn’t make the Iraqis their slaves. The oppression in our passage was probably more like what we had in World War II. When Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland, the people felt dominated by the Germans. In the part of the world where I come from, during World War II, the Japanese would forcibly enlist people from the Asian countries they had overpowered, and force them into virtual slavery. Stories are still coming out now of terrible atrocities as people were forced to build railways and roads in terrible conditions, and women were forced into prostitution for the Japanese soldiers. This is the sort of oppression we see here. It is heavy. It is hard. It is oppressive. Isaiah builds up these images to paint a dreadful picture of tyranny. And then all of a sudden, he tells us that God has broken that oppression! The verb form used in the Hebrew is one of intensity – so it means more than just broken – but shattered! God has shattered this oppression. This light has shattered the burdens of oppression! Now at the moment in this country, although you have in the past, at the moment you don’t experience foreign domination. So is this passage relevant to you in the peaceful Czech Republic, and me in peaceful Australia? Yes it is! We may not be under military domination, but our unsaved friends, family, workmates, fellow students – anyone who does not have the light of Christ – is under the domination of sin. They have no hope in their lives. They may not always realise it, but they live in darkness. And once we lived in darkness. Before I became a Christian, I lived in darkness. I was fearful of the future – fearful of my eternal future. What would happen to me when I died? And I was a slave to sin. But that was broken – and still is being broken – when the light came into my life. Most of you here probably have a similar experience. But what about the people we know who are still in darkness? Who will tell them of this light? Who will tell them of the one who can break the yoke of bondage they are under?
Verse 4 continues the description of what will happen when this light comes. We have here images of war – the footwear of the soldiers and their blood stained clothes. These images speak of the horrors of war. They will be burned and no longer be used for war. Yes, this light will bring peace!
So far, these verses have been speaking of this wonderful light, which is going to bring the people out of darkness. Now we know this light is Jesus Christ. But remember, the people who heard this prophecy in Isaiah’s day didn’t know this. Imagine hearing this for the first time. In the midst of prophecies about judgement because of their sins, Isaiah gives this wonderful promise of light to eliminate the darkness. Can you imagine what they are thinking? What will this light be? What is this light like? Is this light a person, and if so, who? Is it a king, or some military ruler? Is it the Messiah? Surely it will be some powerful figure! Surely, that’s what one would expect! But no! - it is a child! Verse 5 : “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.” Now I hope as Christians we celebrate and thank God for sending Jesus all through the year. But at Christmas, we focus attention on his birth, when He was just a little baby! We have a five month year old baby, our dear little Anežka. Can you imagine Jesus that size? The light of the world! Yes, indeed, the Messiah. Yes indeed, a king! And yes indeed, God Himself. But God came in the form of a human being. Jesus was once a baby, just like we all were. The light of the world, came to live amongst us, to eliminate our darkness.
But if we just see Jesus as a child – only a child – then we have fallen far short of who He really is. Many people at Christmas just see the baby Jesus, without recognising that this baby grew up to become the saviour of the world. Verse 5 tells us that the government will be on His shoulder. Previously, the Israelites had been often been led by their own bad kings, and had often faced foreign domination. They had experienced bad government. Now, all rule and authority would be with Jesus Christ. Now of course, we have to realise that this prophecy looks forward to Jesus’ coming. We know that Jesus has two comings. The first coming was 2000 years ago in a manger in Bethlehem. And the second coming is still in the future, when Christ shall return in glory. But this prophecy, given before both comings of Jesus, sees the two comings together. But we know that we live in between His two comings. So while a great light has indeed come, and it has come in the form of Jesus Christ, we must still wait for the full outworking of some aspects of this. Yes, the government is on Christ’s shoulder – but we also know that we still live in a fallen world, with bad governments and evil rulers. But Christ will one day, when He returns again, rule supremely and there will be no more bad government. For us as Christians, Christ should already be our ruler. He should be our government, the one to whom we obey.
Verse 5 also contains some wonderful names that Christ will have. Let’s have a look at them. Firstly, we have “wonderful counselor”. Notice that this is not everyday wonderful – this is extraordinary wonderful! The two words together of “wonderful counselor” speak of the ideal ruler – that is the Messiah. They also describe God’s dealings with His people. Yes, His dealings with His people – the way He has forgiven our sin despite our stubbornness – this is too wonderful to describe. And this happens through the light – the light who is Jesus Christ.
Also notice another name for this child is mighty God. It couldn’t be clearer – this child, this light – is God Himself! Yes, Jesus Christ is not just a god as the Jehovah’s Witnesses would tell you. He is not just a prophet as the Muslims say. He is not just a good man as the humanists would say. No, He is more than all that. He is God! Mighty God! This light, come into the world to save us from our sins, is God Himself! He is even called everlasting Father in verse 5. His reign over us, His children, is based on fatherly love and care.
And Jesus is the Prince of Peace. What a contrast to the chapters surrounding this one, that speak of war and destruction. There will come a time, when there will be perfect peace, and Jesus, the prince of peace, will rule over that peace. The word here for peace is the Hebrew word shalom, which you may have heard of. It means more than just the absence of conflict. It means completeness, soundness, welfare, peace. Jesus, the prince of shalom, is concerned to make us whole. He is concerned about our welfare. And under His rule, we will live in complete harmony with God and with each other. Now, while the complete fulfillment of this will occur after Christ’s second coming, His reign has started already in our lives, if we are His followers. If we have been born again, we have been made right with God. We have also been made right with our brothers and sisters – fellow followers of Christ. We ought to live in harmony with them.
Now it is true that not all of the Jewish kings were evil. Some were good. In our Bibles, we read of the good reigns of kings like David, Hezekiah (Chizkiáš) and Josiah (Jošiáš). But their reigns did not last forever. David was succeeded by Solomon, who led the country into idolatry. The good king Hezekiah was followed by his evil son Manasseh who undid all the good he had done. And Josiah was followed by Johoiakim (Jójakím ) who tried to kill the prophet Jeremiah. But Jesus is different. In verse 6 we read that His reign will never end. It will go on forever. There will never be a bad king to follow Jesus. Jesus will always reign.
Now what do you make of all this as I speak? What do you think the Israelites thought of all this? It sounds very wonderful doesn’t it? It really is too wonderful to grasp. It is absolutely extraordinary. But the Israelites had a guarantee – our passage closes with “the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this”. Yes, this is not human wishful thinking. This is not politicians making wild promises hoping to get elected. No – this is God – the Lord of the universe. He will do it. And for us who live later than Isaiah – we know He has done it! Jesus Christ has come! He has been born! God has performed it! In fact, He has been zealous in performing it. Sending Christ was not something impassive for God. It is not something that just seemed like a good idea at the time. It is something He was zealous about, something He is zealous about!
So what has this all got to do with us? Quite a lot actually! Firstly, when we see Jesus Christ so clearly prophesied by Isaiah, hundreds of years before His birth, it affirms our confidence in the accuracy of Scripture. Also, we can see that sending Jesus was not an afterthought of God’s. It was something planned from the creation of the world. This is not the only Old Testament passage to tell of Christ’s coming – the Old Testament is full of the promise of His coming. Christ is the centre of God’s plan of salvation for mankind.
From this passage we can also see what a wonderful salvation God has brought about for us. While we live in between His two comings, we have a foretaste of these wonderful things. And we know that when He comes again, we shall have perfect peace with God and other people.
But what I really want you to take home today is that Christ is the light of the world. This world lives in darkness. Some unbelievers know they live in darkness, others try and ignore that they live in darkness. But the fact is, whether they know it or not, everyone outside of Christ is in terrible darkness. They are slaves of sin. If they continue in their sin, one day they will face judgement for their sin, and they will suffer forever in Hell. But the light has come, and this is what we celebrate at Christmas. But do the unbelievers around us know that the light has come? Do they know that Jesus Christ is the light? Do they know that through Him they can have shalom – perfect peace – with God? If they don’t know, how will they find out? In Matthew 5:14, Jesus calls us to be the light of the world. As we follow Christ – that is, reading His word and obeying it – we show Christ’s light to the world. The way we live is a testimony of the light of Christ. And the words we speak, as we tell people about what Christ has done for us, also show the light of Christ. Maybe some of you here today are not believers. You may not have heard of this light before. Or maybe you have heard but you doubt. I want to urge you – you need to turn from your sin, and ask God to forgive you. Then God will take you from the darkness into the light. And you can have perfect peace with God. If you want to do that, or you want to ask more questions, please come and talk to Pastor Pavel or one of the church leaders. If you know English, feel free to talk to me also!
So as we approach Christmas, what are your thoughts? What are your actions? For you, is it just a time for good times with family? Is it just a time to receive gifts? Or is it something more? I urge you this Christmas – appreciate the Saviour. Appreciate the amazing gift of Christ. And don’t just keep this wonderful news to yourself. In the way you live, and in what you say, tell others about Christ. Tell others about the light to take them from their darkness.
