Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 9. It’s the passage we have been memorizing as a church, as you know, and we’ll read verses 2 through 7. But while you’re turning there, let me remind you of our series. A couple of weeks ago, Gary preached of the coming Messiah who would fulfill the office of Prophet for God’s people. As John tells us, He is the Word. He is how God reveals Himself. Last week, Scott taught on Jesus fulfilling the role of Priest, our sacrifice; the sacrifice for the sins of His people. The final sacrifice. And tonight, we come to the third Messianic office, the office of the Anointed One, and that is His office of King. Israel had many good and bad kings in their history, but here in Isaiah chapter 9, we have a glimpse of the promised King, the King in the line of David who would reign on the throne forever.
And as you’ll see when we read, this is fundamentally a passage of hope. The hope that we have here, if we were to define the word “hope,” we would say it is a perspective that we can’t see now, we can’t see now, but we believe or we know by faith that we will experience it in the future. Think about this question before we read. “Where do you place your hope? Where are you placing your hope?” Are you looking to an experience in the future that you can say you know is coming? What are you relying on to get you through the here and now? And even if you were to say, “My hope is in God,” have you been living in light of that lately? What this passage teaches us tonight is to place our hope in the King, to place our hope in the Messiah. And it gives us three reasons. Place our hope in the King because He is a King of light, because He is a King of victory, and because He is a King of wisdom.
Before we read the passage, let me take a moment to pray. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we know it is true that if it weren’t for You giving us the light of Your Word, the light of the Messiah, the light that comes with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, Lord, we would be stumbling in darkness. And so we pray tonight again that as we read Your Word, as we consider it, that You would give us that light that we would understand it and know it and trust it and live it. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray, amen.
Isaiah chapter 9, starting in verse 2. This is God’s Word:
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
This is God’s Word.
When I was in college, actually the last time that Ole Miss was in the Peach Bowl, there was a quarterback that played for Ole Miss, his name was Bo Wallace. And Bo Wallace became sort of a meme in the sports world because sometimes you could rely on Bo Wallace to do a good job of playing quarterback, and other times you couldn’t rely on him to be able to throw a football. And so it became such a thing that sports networks, ESPN, started running these highlight reels where they would say, “Okay, here’s good Bo over here, and here’s bad Bo over here,” and they would show highlights where he was throwing these amazing passes and hitting the receivers right in the hands and then they would show bad Bo and they would show, “Is this guy really supposed to be a quarterback?” And it’s thinking about those kind of things, where we put our hope sometimes – maybe sports teams, maybe it’s relationships – where we think, “I really want to be able to rely on this. I want to be able to rely on this person. I want to have full confidence, I want to have full hope that this is going to work out for my team, for my life, whatever it is.”
And over and over in these things, maybe you’re a cynical sports fan like I’ve become, they let us down – wealth, relationships – they let us down if we put our ultimate hope in them. But here tonight we have a King promised that we can put all of our hope in, that will never let us down, and that is good news. And so place your hope in the King. Place your hope in the King first because He is the King of light. We see this in verses 2 through 3. To give some context, Isaiah in chapter 8 was warning his fellow Israelites of coming judgment, saying in the last verse of chapter 8 – you can look at it with me – that those who rebelled against God would be “thrust into a thick darkness,” like Zebulun and Naphtali in verse 1 who had been taken over by Assyrian rule.
And it’s in this place of seeing fellow Israelites taken captive, northern lands devastated, that Isaiah offers this word of hope. Look at verse 2. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” Notice that he is talking about a people; he is talking about a nation. These are the people of the King, the people of the Anointed One. And this is the experience of those people who were in darkness but have entered light, have had light shone on them. And we see these themes of light and darkness in Scripture, over and over. To live in the darkness is to live in ignorance. To walk in the darkness is to walk in your sin. It’s to live a life of sin. And notice those two words in verse 2, “deep darkness.” The word that’s translated “deep darkness” there is the exact same word in Psalm 23 that’s translated “shadow of death.” And I wonder if you’ve ever given that much thought, that phrase, “shadow of death”? The shadow that death casts; the shadow that is cast by the consequences of sin. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, there was this death shadow that was cast over the whole human race. Sin destroying, sin bringing chaos. The shadow that drowns the world in darkness. And I’m sure because you live in the world that you’ve experienced that shadow. You’ve experienced sin destroying. You’ve experienced the chaos that it introduces into our lives. You’ve experienced the effects of the fall – the suffering, the hurt, the death, the sickness.
Yet look at the experience of the people of the King. In the midst of the shadow of death, He shines a great light. In Him, there is no darkness at all. John tells us, “walk in the light as He is in the light.” Peter tells us that “He has called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light.” But that’s not all the experience. With God’s light illuminating our paths, we find joy as well. God multiplies His nation like the expansion of Solomon’s kingdom in his day. Look at verse 3 again. It says, “you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you.” You see how God increases the joy of His people and so they rejoice. He increases their joy and so they rejoice. And that may not seem very profound to you, but isn’t that the opposite of the way that many people think about Christianity? It’s pie in the sky. It’s opium of the masses. It’s just your imaginary escape from reality. That way of thinking, those ways of thinking about life in the light is a perspective of the shadow of death. Those are perspectives of ignorance. The fact is that God multiples His people through His chosen King. He calls a people, a nation, to Himself out of darkness and into light. And so we rejoice before Him because in Christ we have access to our heavenly Father.
J. Alec Motyer, says that, “These descriptions of this joy you see in verse 3, harvest and victory, cover two spheres of adversity – one of nature and one of history. In other words, the Messianic day promises deliverance from adversity brought through circumstances or by people.” Think about the adversity in your life. Circumstances of people pretty much covers it all, doesn’t it? The promised King will rid us of these hardships brought by circumstances or people. We do rejoice and to a much greater extent we will rejoice in the promised King, Jesus Christ, who brings this joy.
When I was growing up, my dad was a campus minister at the University of New Mexico State. And we went to Carlsbad Caverns. It’s a national park near where we lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico. And if you’ve never been there, it’s these huge cave systems, majestic, and they had this thing – maybe you’ve been there and you’ve experienced this, I hope they still do it, where they would say, “Alright everyone, we are in the deep of the cave. We’re going to turn off all the lights. We want you to put your hand in front of your face and try to see it.” So we did this, and we put our hands in front of our faces and I would wave my hand and feel the air coming off my hand but I could not see it. No matter how hard I strained, I could not see it.
You realize that that is life in the shadow of death. That is life without the lamp to our feet. That is life without the Messiah. You cannot see except with eyes of faith. And so what interpretation of reality will you live by? One of faith or one that can only see darkness, can’t see the hand in front of your face? When you look at your situation, when you look at your life right now, do you look remembering God’s mercies of the past, looking to His promises of the future? The darkness is true, the darkness is real, but it is not the final word. Your present suffering is real, but it is not the last word. Hope in the King because He is the King of light.
Secondly, place your hope in the King because He is the King of victory. He is the King of victory. Look at verse 4 with me. You may notice the words “yoke,” “burdens,” “oppressor.” This is clearly exodus language; this is clearly salvation language. Verse 4 also mentions “the day of Midian.” You may remember from Judges when God saved the Israelites from the oppression of the Midianites. Gideon called an army to fight because the Midianites were oppressing, and something over 30,000 soldiers came to fight. And God said, “There are too many soldiers. There are too many for me to deliver Midian into your hand.” And after a couple of episodes like that, going back and forth where they get rid of some soldiers, and God again says, “We have too many,” they end up with 300 troops, 300 soldiers down from over 30,000. In the actual battle, you may remember they light their candles, their jars, and they blow their trumpets while the Midianites are sleeping in camp and they wake up in confusion they start killing each other and fleeing.
Now think about it for a second in verse 4. What’s the common denominator here? Notes of the exodus and the day of Midian – what happens in both of those narratives? All of the activity is on God’s side. God’s power is what gives victory to His people. God breaks the suffering. This theme continues in verse 5. Look at it with me. “For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.” I know this was the verse that everyone was excited to memorize this quarter! This is a metaphor. It’s a metaphor of kingly conquest. The equipment for the war will all be burned because the coming King, Jesus Christ, will end war as an activity for humans. Because of Jesus Christ, because of the coming King, war has an end date. His victory means an end to warfare. We know this is a metaphor because Jesus’ conquest wasn’t one of fighting flesh and blood. The military hardware is burned because the death blow has been dealt to the serpent by Jesus Christ on the cross. He has already defeated death. And if your faith is in Him, you will too; you will overcome death in the resurrection. But remember, we didn’t fight this battle. Just like the Israelites didn’t fight the Egyptians in the exodus, and Gideon’s men didn’t really fight in the day of Midian, God gave the victory, Jesus Christ is the King of victory for God’s people.
One of my favorite things over the past couple of years has been getting involved in the jail ministry here at First Pres. There’s a group that goes weekly to the Rankin County Jail. And I remember very vividly one of my first items going. I preached on Ephesians 2 which is a great passage to go to for clear Gospel explanation. And I remember after, usually we separate into these small groups and anyone who wants to talk more we talk with them, and these two men sat at my table in their cell block. And I just said, “Hey listen, do y’all believe what I was just talking about?” And these two guys, very rough looking, they looked at me and they said, “Yeah. Yeah I do.” And so I said, “So you would call yourselves Christians?” And they said, “No. No, definitely not.” And I said, “Well why not?” And they said, “My sin. My sin. It’s too much; it’s too big.” And I said, “No! That is what qualifies you to come to Jesus. He is not interested in those that think they can fight the battle on their own. You cannot overcome sin.”
Jesus overcame sin like the day of Midian. You see, these men, they were trying to shoulder the burden on themselves. It can’t be done. It’s too heavy. It’s too heavy of a burden. Jesus shouldered the burden. Will you place your hope in that King, Jesus Christ, who shoulders the burden for His people? He became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He was punished for the sins of His people yet death could not hold Him. If you haven’t cast your burdens on Him, do it tonight. Come to Him if you are weary, if you are carrying a heavy burden. His yoke is easy; His burden is light.
Place your hope in the King because He is the King of light, He is the King of victory, and lastly, because He is the King of wisdom. We get a third reason here. If you’ll look at the structure of the passage with me, in verses 2 and 3 you see this experience, this experience of the people of the King, of Jesus’ people, of light and joy. And then you notice right after that – maybe this will help you memorize – three “for”s in the next phrases. Why do Jesus’ people have this experience? Because Jesus breaks the affliction, bearing the burden, verse 4. Because there will be no more war in the wake of His victory, second “for.” And here in verse 6, because of the birth of a child. “For to us a child is born.” Notice it doesn’t focus on what the child will do, although we just mentioned it – His light of righteousness and death for His people – it just mentions the fact of His birth and the results. When God sets out to do something, nothing can thwart His purpose. The details are a mystery at this point in redemptive history, and we know from reading the New Testament that that mystery is revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ in His Gospel of peace to mankind. He is God, born man, because a mere man could not accomplish this. What are some of those results of His birth? The government will be on His shoulder. His rule, His dominion will be on His shoulder, carried with Him.
Now I say He is the King of wisdom. There are a few reasons to say that from this passage. Incarnation is one of them. He is the God-Man. But another is that there are only two kings in Scripture that God gives names to. One is Solomon, who we see many notes of in this passage. His God-given name was Jedediah. His name given by David was Solomon. He was known for his wisdom. The other is Jesus Christ. God gives us some names for Him here, but these aren’t just some nicknames. There was actually a custom among Israel’s neighbors of giving throne names to their kings. These names were names that were meant to establish what this king is about, what his rule would look like. What is this king’s program? That’s where you get his throne names. This would be like us giving our preachers preaching names that define something about their preaching like Wiley would maybe be “The Preacher Poet.” David Strain – you can tell I had fun coming up with these – David Strain would be “The Wordsmith Wizard.” David Felker, “The Preacher of Sports.” No, I’m kidding on that one! Maybe, “Preacher to the Heart” would be a better one for him.
But let’s consider these names. What are Jesus’ throne names? What are the defining characteristics of Jesus’ rule? How He rules His kingdom. The first is “Wonderful Counselor.” Wonder means something like supernatural. It’s above me and so it causes me to wonder in it, to revel in it. His counsel is not our counsel. It’s better. Isaiah prophesies later in the book in chapter 55, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” I mentioned it earlier, that we have a tendency to hope in things, to have confidence in things and say, “I don’t want that to let me down” – wealth, reputation, whatever it is. Those things let us down. And I think the question that comes up often is, “What about when I’m tempted to say, ‘Jesus is letting me down’? What about when I say, ‘This is a good thing that I want. I’m a Christian and Jesus is not letting me have it. Is He letting me down?” This is the answer right here. His counsel is wonderful. It’s above us. It’s so far higher than us that what happens in our lives ultimately is for our good. It’s for His glory and our good. Nothing can happen to you that ultimately is bad for you if your faith is in Christ. In an ultimate sense that’s always true. He will never let you down.
The people got a taste of this kind of counsel in Solomon. Scripture says, “And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered and they stood in awe of the king because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.” To do justice. When you think of the plans of God, when you think of His counsel for you found in His Word, do you think about it like that? It’s better than what I think I should do. It’s better. It’s higher.
The second name given, the second throne name is Mighty God. He is a strong warrior. Not only does He give wise counsel, but He has the power and gives the power to live out His counsel. He gives the power through the Spirit, applying Christ’s work to us. And these latter two names shows the conditions of the King’s birth; the conditions that the King’s birth will bring. He will be called “Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.” You know, “Father” was not a title for kings in the Old Testament. It points us to a concern that Jesus the King has for the helpless, that Jesus the King has for His people. That’s the reason He disciplines us – because He loves us like a father. It points to our loyalty and reverence for Him. Just as someone who has a good father wants to do right by Him, wants to please, His rule follows a pattern of fatherhood. Old Testament judges and kings, like David said this morning, could not provide continuing security. Old Testament kings, even the good ones, they died. This King brings eternal rule. He’s the Everlasting Father. Security for His people forever.
He’s the Prince of Peace. What does that mean that He is the Prince of Peace? He will rule in peace. Peace, personally, has to do with fulfillment. When I have peace, it means that I am not anxious. It means that I am doing well. It means that I am free from all anxiety. To die from peace is to have lived a full life. Relationally, peace is harmony. It’s good will between groups. There’s no war, there’s no animosity, there’s no argument. And towards God, peace is a full realization of His favor. Peace with God. The rule of Jesus Christ will be defined by all of these in wholeness, in completeness. The rule of the King of wisdom.
And look with me quickly at verse 7. This kingdom will increase progressively until it occupies all, until every knee bows and tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. Solomon established his kingdom with bloodshed, but Jesus establishes His with peace. One theologian said it this way. “It is an empire indeed, but there is not imperialism. There is rule but no exploitation. Rather, the endless sharing of His own perfect fulfillment in bringing those under His rule to perfection, to perfection.” He is bringing His people to perfection. He is making us fit for this kingdom. The focal point is David’s throne. How can the son of David be called Mighty God and Everlasting Father? Because of what we celebrate at Christmas. Because God humbled Himself and took on the human body. And there is this moral foundation in His kingdom of justice and righteousness. The faithful city of God. The true Jerusalem. The city of peace where right principles are always executed.
And if you are reading in the original language, you see at the end here that Isaiah abandons the perfect tense and then moves to the future tense. And he says, standing where he is, looking forward, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” We can stand here tonight looking forward. Some of it has happened. It will all happen. God’s zeal will see to it. His zeal is His jealousy. It’s a component of all true love. Love for His people and especially God’s love, He won’t have rivalry in our idols. He sees His people in darkness, captive to sin, and He breaks the chains. He rescues. He is the king of victory. It’s His love that doesn’t allow idols. It’s not Him keeping us from something good, it’s Him wanting the best for us and He will cause you in His transformation of you to see things in the light, to see things as He sees them, to see things actually as they are to make your cause His cause, to make your passions that used to be for sinful things, passions for the causes of God. His nature is to save you from these things. “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
Will you pray tonight that His zeal would bring that about in your life? HIs jealousy for you. His love for you. I was texting my older sister. I call her my little sister, which she appreciates, but she is about four years older than me and we kind of bond over our love of different little nerdy English things. She was an English major and I was reading in Scripture and I saw this phrase that described God’s people, how God describes His people. And it’s that He describes us as “the apple of His eye.” Now maybe everyone in here knows what that phrase really means; you’ve heard it before, surely, but I didn’t really know what the meaning of that phrase really was. So I looked it up and I sent her this article that explained this actually is a Hebrew phrase and it means, literally, “the little man in his eye.” “The little man in his eye.” What’s the connotation? It’s like I was holding my son who was sick this morning and he was falling asleep and he was looking up into my eyes and I could see my reflection in his eye. “The little man in his eye.” And I texted my sister this and she said, “That made me cry a little because I need these reminders of how God loves me.”
Do you realize that if your faith is in Christ, you are the apple of His eye? You are in His laser focus. So we can say, “Whatever your pain, whatever your trouble, whatever your burden, whatever has you feeling like you are losing the battle, whatever the perspective that the shadow of death would have you believing tonight, look to the King, hope in the King, the King who was born, the King who is God, the King whose zeal for you will surely bring these things to pass. Will you pray with me?
Lord, we thank You for sending Your Son. Lord, we wonder in it. It is beyond us. We thank You for casting light in our darkness. We thank You that we can claim victory in the Messiah by faith. Lord, would You hasten the kingdom of righteousness. Would You use us to do that? Would You bless us and keep us, Lord? Would You make Your face to shine upon us and be gracious to us? LIft up Your countenance upon us and give us peace, peace that we know is everlasting. It’s in the name of the King, Jesus Christ, that we pray. Amen.