Well good evening everyone and welcome to my fiftieth episode. In the previous episode, we discussed the benefits of podcasting and we took a look at Isaiah chapter nine. Tonight, I want to do something a little bit different. I’m going to work through the same chapter, Isaiah nine, but I’m going to do it verse by verse. My aim is to develop a detailed understanding of what is going on in this chapter. This is a different kind of study from my normal, principle-oriented work. I think it can be beneficial to go deep into the text and to study the historical context of any given passage. So, let’s just jump into the text and parse it out as close to one verse at a time as possible.
9:1 Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.
So what exactly is going on here? This is a picture of an Assyrian invasion of the northern kingdom of Israel. And Assyria actually attacked Israel in three waves. The first wave happened under Menahem. Menahem was not a good king over Israel and he was remembered for doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight. In 743 B.C., Israel, under Menahem, was attacked by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser. In the original Hebrew, Tiglath-pileser was known by the name Pul. When Tiglath-pileser took the throne of Assyria, the Assyrian Empire was becoming a world power, and the nations of Aram, Israel, and Judah were in decline. When Menahem heard that the mighty king Tiglath-pileser and the Assyrian army was coming for him, he decided to try to pay him off. Menahem offered Tiglath-pileser 37 tons of silver. Which would be 1,000 talents in the original Hebrew measurement – or 34 metric tons. This was a lot of silver. Menahem didn’t just have all this silver in his back pocket either, he had to extort this money from the rich of Israel. He actually demanded that each of them pay 50 pieces of silver to the king of Assyria. Tiglath-pileser accepted this bribe, held back from attacking Israel, and did not stay in the land. So Menahem and his people had now become a vassal state of Assyria. You can think of this as God’s first warning to the people of Israel.
The second Assyrian invasion happened during Pekah’s reign. This time Tiglath-pileser and his army captured the towns of Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor. He also conquered the regions of Gilead, Galilee, and all of Naphtali, and he took some people from the northern border back to Assyria as captives. Now, you should know that it was common practice for these ancient empires to remove captured people from their homelands and homogenize them or scatter them with people of other cultures and religions. This helped to prevent unified uprisings against the empire. So, you can see that this second invasion was a little bit worse than the first one. This invasion was a stronger warning from God. But the people still remained opposed to him. After these first two invasions, they should have learned their lesson and turned back to God. But they doubled-down in their sinful efforts instead. That brings on the third and final invasion.
The third invasion happened when Hoshea was king of Israel. And we think Shalmaneser V, who had become king of Assyria after Tiglath-pileser, was the one who carried out this invasion. Shalmaneser’s reign lasted from 727 – 722 B.C. Shalmaneser attacked and besieged Samaria, which was the capitol of Israel, and this siege lasted for about 3 years. You’ll notice that 722 B.C. is the final year of Shalmaneser’s reign and it is also the year that Israel fell to Assyria. What happened was, Shalmaneser died right before the siege brought down Samaria. Shalmaneser’s successor, Sargon II, took credit for capturing the city, destroying the nation of Israel, and carrying away its people. The people were settled in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. The Assyrians resettled Israel itself with foreigners. All of this happened in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign.
These three invasions are a picture of God doing exactly what he said he would do in Deuteronomy 28. He told Israel that if they turned away from him then he would scatter them among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. He told Israel that in those places they would worship foreign gods that neither them nor their ancestors had ever known – gods made of wood and stone who could not hear them and could not help them. You see, God had given Israel ample warning; they knew what would come, but they still ignored him. At this point Israel was so badly warped that they were no better than the pagan nations they themselves had destroyed in the days of Joshua. God brought judgment because Israel had turned sour and had rejected its original purpose – to honor God and be a light to the world.
But notice how in verse one it says this darkness and despair will not go on forever. There’s foreshadowing here about the coming of Christ when it says that Galilee of the Gentiles will be filled with glory. That’s where we pick up in verse two:
9:2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
It’s important to notice that in the original Greek this verse translates a land of deep darkness as a land where death casts its shadow. This particular idea is quoted in Matthew 4:15-16. Matthew wanted to point out how Jesus was fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies. This would be especially helpful for his Jewish readers, who were familiar with these Scriptures. This also shows the unity of God’s purposes as he works with his people throughout all ages. Luke comments on this idea of Christ being a light for the people when he says that Jesus is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel. In chapter 42 of Isaiah, God references this idea of Christ being the light when he describes his purpose. God’s plan was to become incarnate as Jesus so that he could demonstrate his righteousness. Jesus would give himself to the people of Israel as a symbol of God’s covenant with them. He would be a light to guide the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, and to free the people who were captive to their dark dungeons of death, despair, and sin.
It’s our job to share in this mission of spreading his light throughout the world. How do we do this? Jesus tells us that we must let our good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise our heavenly Father. I want to point out that he’s being very intentional when he says to “let our good deeds shine out” and not to “let us shine out for our good deeds.” A lot of people get this reversed. When they do something good, they want the praise and the attention to be on themselves for doing it. Some people won’t even do a good deed if they know that there’s no one around who will praise them for it. Jesus said that if we seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, then he will give us everything we need to do this work. Paul affirms this when he points out that God said “let there be light in the darkness.” And that God placed this light in our hearts so that we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
9:3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder.
This verse describes a future where God would expand the nation of Israel and make it great. He would extend their borders and they would give him glory for it. This description also makes reference to Christ’s future reign and his kingdom here on earth. In chapter 35 we see Isaiah speak about a highway that is called the way of holiness. This is a future road, whether literal or metaphorical, that will lead into the new city of Jerusalem when it is under Christ’s rule. Isaiah says that evil-minded people will never travel this way. He says there will be no more danger, no more sorrow, and no more mourning. Those who have been ransomed and redeemed by the Lord will be the only ones who walk this way. He says they will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. You can find this scene in Revelation 21:3-4 as well, where John says, “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” That is what it will be like to be the people who are rejoicing before God.
9:4-5 For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.
Okay, so Isaiah is making reference to the time when God helped Gideon destroy the army of Midian in the book of Judges. If you remember, Gideon had something like 300 men divided into 3 groups stationed outside of the encampment of a vast Midianite army. When each detachment of Gideon’s men blew their ram’s horns, the Midianite army was thrown into confusion and they began attacking each other until they were all wiped out. The idea here is that it is better to be on God’s side and have the odds stacked against you than it is to be in opposition to God with the odds in your favor.
Notice how it says, “You will break their yoke of slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.” A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. The yoke attaches to the piece of equipment that the oxen are supposed to pull. A few examples of heavy burdens or yokes of slavery that people might carry with them today are: sin, excessive demands of religious leaders, oppression and persecution, or even weariness in the search for God. We see this idea of Jesus breaking the yoke of slavery and lifting the heavy burden in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
9:6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Here is another prediction of Christ’s birth to go with the prophecy found in chapter 7. Remember in chapter 7 when Isaiah told king Ahaz to ask God for a sign and Ahaz declined. Isaiah said, “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).” The names given to God in this verse give us some insight into God’s character. In Deuteronomy chapter 10, God is described as the Lord of lords and the God of gods. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God. He shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. So we have this almighty, creator God who loves even the smallest and most insignificant people among us. Nehemiah understood this when he petitioned God by saying, “And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors – all of your people – from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now…”
We know that Jesus is Mighty God because he tells us in Matthew 28 that he’s been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Paul discusses this further in 1 Corinthians 15:21-28:
So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)
Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.
It’s important to remember that God the Father and God the Son are equal. One of their distinctions, however, is that each has a special work to do and an area of sovereign control. Christ is not inferior to the Father, but his work is to defeat all evil on earth. First, he defeated sin and death on the cross, and in the end he will defeat Satan and all evil.
We also see God being named Prince of Peace. Isaiah talks about this in chapter 26 where he says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. Lord, you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you.”
9:7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!
This is a verse that makes reference to God’s eternal Kingdom. In the book of Daniel, Daniel had a dream of a statue made of various materials which represented the earthly kingdoms. The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the Babylonian Empire. The silver chest and two arms represented the Medo-Persian Empire, which conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. The belly and thighs of bronze were Greece and Macedonia under Alexander the Great, who conquered the Medo-Persian Empire from the years 334-330 B.C. The legs of iron represented Rome, which conquered the Greeks in 63 B.C. The feet of clay and iron represented the breakup of the Roman Empire, when the territory that Rome ruled was divided into a mixture of strong and weak nations. The type of metal in each part of the statue depicted the strength of the political power it represented. In Daniel’s dream, he saw a rock cut out from the mountain that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The rock was not cut out of the mountain by human hands. The rock from the mountain represented the kingdom of God. Daniel said that during the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed or conquered. It would crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it would stand forever.
Luke also talks about Jesus establishing his kingdom. Luke says, “He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” So we should know that regardless of how far astray our world leaders go, God is the one who is in control of the outcome of history. We can trust that his kingdom will arrive and that it will never end. Also notice how verse seven says, “The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” Everything in this world, even our very lives, are given to us and upheld by God’s passionate commitment to us. He is the final authority.
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