Is. 9:1 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

The word “nevertheless” is not in the original, but is a proper connector to the preceding thoughts. This verse is continuing the thoughts from the last chapter. (Chapter and verse separations were inserted by men at a later time to help us find things more readily.) This seems to be saying that the people who were first captured by Assyria (the land of Zebulun and Naphtali and the Galilee) must have considered their situation totally hopeless.

Is. 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Is. 9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

It seems to be saying that those who now feel hopelessness and despair will at some point “see a great light.” Matthew 4:15-16 quotes this portion of Isaiah and indicates that Jesus would be that light. Jesus’ ministry was greatly focused in the area of the Galilee, the land where they were feeling despair as a nation at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy. I think Isaiah is saying that although the number of Israelites will multiply and seem to be prospering, they will not experience true joy, exceeding gladness and pleasure. They will rejoice in accordance with their circumstances—was the harvest good? Were the spoils of war great?

One commentary (Believer’s Bible Commentary, by MacDonald) made the statement that when Jesus came the first time, He was the light to His people; when He comes the second time, He will bring joy to His people.

Is. 9:4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

Isaiah is letting the people of Judah know that they will again break the yoke of oppression as they were able to do of old. The time being referenced is related in Judges 6. The Lord delivered Israel into the hands of the Midianites for seven years. Finally, they called out to the Lord for help, and He delivered them miraculously through the leadership of Gideon and 300 chosen men in such a way as to ensure that they knew it was God who had delivered them. (1/09) It jumped out to me as I was reading through this section again, that the reference was to deliverance after 7 years of oppression. I can’t help but make the connection to a similar time in the future after the 7-year tribulation.

Is. 9:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.

This seems to be saying that the ultimate deliverance of Israel from its enemies will involve fire instead of the type of warfare they were used to—that of hand to hand combat and its associated chaos and noise and evidence of bloodshed. This would be a reference to Armageddon. The Hebrew for burning references cremation, which certainly makes connection with atomic warfare.

Is. 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Is. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah begins to speak of the deliverer to come—Jesus, the Son of God, Who will come to rescue Israel once for all at Armageddon. He will be born as a child, a human, a male. The Son is not only a result of birth, He is a gift from God the Father.

(11/05) As I was reading a book by Ravi Zacharias, The Lamb and the Fuhrer, I came across a statement that applied here that took me to another level of understanding. In this passage Jesus is the speaker.

“The child is born…the Son is given. Do you see the difference? The Son was not born. I am the Son and I eternally existed in relationship with My Father.”

Jesus came to earth in the form of a child, a human. Why? What did that involve?

Heb. 2:6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Heb. 2:7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

Heb. 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

Heb. 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Heb. 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Verses 6 and 7 in the Hebrews passage establish men as a creation “a little lower than the angels” in the hierarchy of creation. Then verse 9 tells us that Jesus “was made a little lower than the angels.” This states that Jesus, the Son of God, willingly became a man to “taste death for every man” and bring “many sons to glory.”

Heb. 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

Heb. 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Heb. 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

These verses tell me that Jesus “in all things” was made “like unto His brethren.” He chose to lay aside His Divine power and authority and live according to the leading and empowering of the Spirit. (6/07 - See comments in Journal for Philippians 2:7.) I believe this is the same status with wich Adam was created (and then forfeited) and the status we now enjoy as believers today. Only by living a sinless life as a man could He qualify as the acceptable sacrifice for man’s redemption that was necessitated by the fall into sin of the first Adam. That is why Jesus is identified as the “last Adam” in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

1Cor. 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

“The government shall be upon His shoulder” – This is speaking of the time that Jesus will rule on earth as King as the son of David.

He will have many names:

• “Wonderful” – marvelous, a miracle, perform. This seems to have reference to His birth first of all. His birth was a miracle; He was born of a virgin. It could also have reference to His ministry on earth—a doer of miraculous, marvelous things.

• “Counsellor” –to advise, to guide. He is already serving in that capacity through the scripture and the Holy Spirit. When He rules in the millennium, I believe His advice will be eagerly sought by the masses compared to the small percentage comprising the church that seek Him now.

• “the mighty God” – These words are descriptive of His power, and the fact that it is the power of God, the greatest power. Although the article “the” is not in the original, I think it is clearly understood. There is only one God, and Jesus is that God.

• “the everlasting Father” – The Father who will never die, Who encompasses eternity.

• “The Prince of Peace” – prince = captain, keeper, lord, master, ruler.

Peace = safe, well, health, prosperity, rest. He is the one who can ensure our safety, health, wealth, and contentment. During His reign on earth, the world will experience a time of peace such as it has never come close to knowing.

Once Jesus assumes His throne on planet earth in His kingdom, His time of government will never end. There will be no elections, no alternatives. Although many will rebel and join Satan at the end of the first 1,000 years of His reign (the millennium), those in rebellion will be immediately defeated, and never again will an enemy of Jesus be a part of His kingdom.

What are the characteristics of His kingdom? It will be ordered (stable, prosperous, perfect). It will be established according to God’s law and will reflect morality, virtue and prosperity according to His law. Its foundation and constitution never will sin be allowed to prosper within its confines. It will be perfect from the beginning and will never be polluted by sin. It will continue for eternity, time without end. How will this be accomplished? By God’s zeal, His jealousy, His envy. God will not share His authority with another. He was very clear about this early in the history of the nation of Israel.

Ex. 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

Deut. 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

Is. 9:8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

Again, the words of Isaiah change from encouragement to warning of judgment to come—specifically directed at Israel, the northern kingdom.

Is. 9:9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,

Is. 9:10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

Ephraim is another reference to Israel, the northern kingdom, as the dominant tribe, and Samaria was the capital of Israel. The people will recognize this judgment as from the Lord, but they evidently think it is not going to last very long—after all they are God’s chosen people. In their pride and arrogance they will plan to rebuild their kingdom so as to be better and stronger than ever. What had been built of bricks would be replaced with buildings of hewn stone; where there had been abundance of sycomores, they would replace with fields of cedars.

Satan is so successful in deceiving us and blinding us to the truth staring us in the face. Once we choose listen to his lies and deceptions the first time, it becomes easier to deceive us the second time and on and on. Because of our pride and arrogance it isn’t long before Satan doesn’t even have to enter the picture; he can just sit back on the sidelines and watch us destroy ourselves by thinking we don’t need God.

Is. 9:11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;

Is. 9:12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

As Isaiah begins to warn of the defeat of Israel, the point is made that it is the Lord who will “set up” (make strong, exalt) their enemies.

The enemies of Rezin are going to join forces against Israel. We learned in chapter 7 that Rezin, the king of Syria, was an ally of the king of Israel. Assyria attacked Damascus and killed Rezin. Syria/Assyria then became an enemy of Israel and would join forces with the Philistines to destroy Israel; like hungry lions devouring their prey. (This makes me think of the current connection of Syria and the Palestinians.)

The last phrase of verse 12 is repeated several times in upcoming scripture. The solemn warning it carries is that this will only be part of the judgment God is going to inflict on His people; there will be more to come.

Is. 9:13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.

The sad thing is that the people will incur further judgment because they refuse to turn to the Lord in repentance for deliverance from His wrath. Do not parents employ the same logic? Would they let continued disobedience go unpunished?

Is. 9:14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.

Is. 9:15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

Is. 9:16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

Isaiah now speaks of more severe judgment to come. He first speaks of the fate of those who are responsible for the spiritual leadership of the nation—1)those who were older and held positions of honor and leadership and 2) the prophets who should have been sharing the message of God but were speaking lies—the head and tail respectively. The word for “err” implies that the people were seduced by their leaders.

That is such an applicable truth concerning our world today, not just America. People in leadership have a powerful influence on a majority of the people they lead. There are still many cultures where the elderly are honored and respected by their society. Sadly, many of these nations are those that embrace Islam, Buddhism, etc. In America we have already gotten to the point that we just tolerate the elderly; we certainly don’t look to them with respect for leadership. The prophets would equate to those in spiritual leadership today. False religion is still dominant in our world as a whole, and their leaders command great respect. Sad to say, in the “Christian” world, many who claim to be church leaders are going against the truth of scripture—saying that the Bible just contains God’s words but you can’t believe it all--and blatantly repudiating God’s word (accepting homosexuality and abortion).

Is. 9:17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Although God holds those who should have been leading and directing the people responsible, He does not ignore the responsibility of the individual—no matter what their station in life is. Everyone, from the young men to the fatherless and widows, has been found to be hypocrites (soiled/defiled by sin) and evildoers (good for nothing, wicked). Their hearts are reflected by their words.

Matt. 12:34 for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Again, the sad statement that there is more judgment to come.

Is. 9:18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.

Isaiah compares the spread of sin/evil to a burning fire. As the flame burns the kindling, it gathers more strength and spreads more quickly until there is a major forest fire sending up clouds of smoke into the heavens. This reminds me of the truth in Galatians--

Gal. 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Is. 9:19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.

Is. 9:20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

Is. 9:21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

The Lord is the One bringing this time of darkness and judgment on the land, but the people will add to their own destruction. Because of the hard times, the selfishness of men will cause them to turn on each other. One tribe will attack another in an attempt to meet their physical needs. Yet, not one word is uttered in repentance before the Lord. Because of their lack of repentance, there will be yet more judgment to come.