Isaiah 9
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The nation of Israel’s darkest days began ca. 740 BC with the invasion of the Northern kingdom by Tiglathpileser III and his Assyrian host. The region of Galilee in the tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali was the first to go dark, but it was soon followed by the rest of the Northern kingdom, and eventually by the Southern kingdom as well.
This was all foretold by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 9. But with the bad news came the promise of a child to be born. This child would be called Wonderful Counselor. He’d be called the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.
Specifically, this child would bring light to a darkened nation, beginning in Galilee, where the darkess began. He would bring light to the dark (v. 2), growth to the decimated, and joy to the sorrowful (v. 3). He would bring freedom to the oppressed (v. 4) and peace to the war-weary (v. 5).
This child would change the course of human history when he founded a new empire that would never stop growing (v. 7). Napoleon Bonaparte famously said: ”Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I myself have founded great empires… upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this day millions will die for Him…. In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ.”
The Jews were never wrong in their concept of a conquering Messiah who would come to deliver them from bondage and re-form them into a great nation. That Messiah is Jesus Christ, who came and conquered sin and death. He gifted deliverance to each of us, and is currently building an empire that will never be overturned. One day He will return as the rightful King over that empire.
This Christmas, as I celebrate again the coming of the Deliverer, I am thankful as never before to have a part in spreading the empire of my King, Jesus Christ.
David
I recently posted a page describing what I believe God has planned for my future financially. You can read it here.
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