First Sunday of Advent: Hope
Isaiah 9:2-6 - The prophet Isaiah brings a message of hope for Israel and eventually all mankind.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 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.”
Isaiah 9:2-6 NIV
Yesterday (December 1) was the first Sunday of Advent for 2024. As we go through the weeks leading up to our celebration of the birth of Jesus, I thought it would be very appropriate to look into four sets of Bible verses that proclaim His coming. This is the first.
Today’s verses come from the book of Isaiah, in the chapter titled (in the NASB translation) “Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace”. Here the prophet Isaiah foretells the coming of the Messiah; after a somewhat gloomy chapter 8, he brings a message of hope for Israel and eventually all mankind.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Isaiah is talking about the northern part of Israel and the first tribes to suffer from the invasion by the Assyrians. God’s merciful plan is to give these people the first opportunity to see the great light of the Messiah. In Matthew 4:13-16, this passage is shown to be fulfilled by Jesus’ ministry in the same area around the Sea of Galilee. God was providing a special blessing on this region.
You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
The coming of the Messiah was going to bring great joy to Israel, and the people would rejoice as they would at the time of harvest, when all of the hard work of tilling, planting, and caring for crops would pay off in a bounty of food. Israel would rejoice as the victors in a war would rejoice when dividing up the spoils.
Isaiah goes on to describe one of the glorious victories of the past, Gideon’s victory over Midian (Judges 7). The Messiah will bring an even more wonderful victory — in His case, over sin and death!
Image created by Dall-E 3 AI.
What’s all this about burning warrior’s boots and bloody garments? In the time of the prophet, if you had won a decisive and complete victory over your opponent in war, you burned the the blood-soaked gear in a bonfire celebrating the fact that you would no longer need the battle-worn garments. Peace had been won, the battle was finished.
Jesus brought joy to His people for all time! While the people of Israel saw an end to slavery (“the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor”), the Messiah was bringing complete victory over all enemies, eternally.
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.
These words specifically reveal the eventual birth of Jesus about 700 years later. To our ears, the words “the government will be on his shoulders” may sound odd. This part of the prophecy is still to come in Jesus’ reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
These verses end with a list of titles for Jesus, more appropriately attributes of His character:
Wonderful Counselor - In the words of Charles Spurgeon,
“Why, you may have a friend that talks very sweetly with you, and you will say, ‘Well, he is a kind, good soul, but I really cannot trust his judgment.’ You have another friend, who has a good deal of judgment, and yet you say of him, ‘Certainly, he is a man of prudence above a great many, but I cannot find out his sympathy; I never get at his heart, if he were ever so rough and untutored, I would sooner have his heart without his prudence, than his prudence without his heart,’ But we go to Christ, and we get wisdom; we get love, we get sympathy, we get everything that can possibly be wanted in a Counsellor.”1
Mighty God - To quote David Guzik in Enduring Word, “He is the God of all creation and glory, the LORD who reigns in heaven, the One worthy of our worship and praise.”
Everlasting Father - By saying that the Messiah is the everlasting Father is not to say that He is God the Father. Rather, it’s showing Jesus as the Creator Himself as one of the Trinity, the source of eternity.
Prince of Peace - The Messiah is the source of peace between God and man.
We’ll wrap up this enumeration of Jesus’ attributes with this wonderful explanation by John Calvin:
“Whenever, in short, it appears to us that everything is in a ruinous condition, let us recall to our remembrance that Christ is called Wonderful, because he has inconceivable methods of assisting us, and because his power is far beyond what we are able to conceive. When we need counsel, let us remember that he is the Counselor. When we need strength, let us remember that he is Mighty and Strong. When new terrors spring up suddenly every instant, and when many deaths threaten us from various quarters, let us rely on that eternity of which he is with good reason called the Father, and by the same comfort let us learn to soothe all temporal distresses. When we are inwardly tossed by various tempests, and when Satan attempts to disturb our consciences, let us remember that Christ is The Prince of Peace, and that it is easy for him quickly to allay all our uneasy feelings. Thus will these titles confirm us more and more in the faith of Christ, and fortify us against Satan and against hell itself.” 2
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord, as we enter the season of celebrating the wonder of Jesus’ birth, may the words of Your prophet Isaiah resonate in our modern times, filling us with wonder and praise at the Word made flesh. AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)
Calvin, John "Isaiah: Calvin's Commentaries" Volume 7 (Isaiah 1-32) (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979)