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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 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 forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. 8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. 11 Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; 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. 13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts. 14 Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day (Isaiah 9:6-14).
These verses contain both the best and worst news in scripture. And they are connected for a reason. The first verses are a clear messianic prophecy, a prophecy of the coming of Christ. Verses 6 and 7 are frequently quoted during the Christmas season as a sign of hope for the world. Indeed Christ is the hope of the world. But we always stop our quoting after verse 7. Verses 8-14 are verses of warning and judgment. I will emphasize too that these warnings are both individual and national. The verses warn us against going our own way and thinking that we can achieve lasting good without God. Verse 10 is the epitome of pride. We are to rely on God, not our own strength. So why are the verses of hope and warning connected? Because apart from the reliance on Christ, we are doomed to our own way and our way will not lead to life. But the good news of the Gospel is the salvation of our souls through the work of the Son of God, not by our might but by His. Rely on God and God alone.
These verses contain both the best and worst news in scripture. And they are connected for a reason. The first verses are a clear messianic prophecy, a prophecy of the coming of Christ. Verses 6 and 7 are frequently quoted during the Christmas season as a sign of hope for the world. Indeed Christ is the hope of the world. But we always stop our quoting after verse 7. Verses 8-14 are verses of warning and judgment. I will emphasize too that these warnings are both individual and national. The verses warn us against going our own way and thinking that we can achieve lasting good without God. Verse 10 is the epitome of pride. We are to rely on God, not our own strength. So why are the verses of hope and warning connected? Because apart from the reliance on Christ, we are doomed to our own way and our way will not lead to life. But the good news of the Gospel is the salvation of our souls through the work of the Son of God, not by our might but by His. Rely on God and God alone.
RSS Feed
