MY SHORT REPORT ISAIAH 9-41
The link that brought you to this page and the page title are a bit of a misnomer, because this short report is not long enough to cover so many chapters of the Bible. What the link and the title do, however, is track where we are in our plan to read through the entire Bible in 1 year. May each report pique your interest and help you to draw near to God. The Bible, James 4:8, tells us if we do so God will draw near to us. Works cited are at the end of the report. Internal links provide additional information.
BIBLE READING—WEEK 31—ISAIAH 9 - 41: Last week’s report looked at one of the shortest and most unique books of the Old Testament, the Song of Songs, and noted, among other things, that when viewed from a God-Israel / Jesus and His bride context it fits well with the rest of Scripture. This week’s Short Report focuses on the book of Isaiah. Not only does Isaiah tell of God’s coming judgment on Israel and the surrounding nations, he also prophesies about events that will happen after God restores the remnant of Israel. On July 30th we started with Isaiah chapter 9, so we got a little “Christmas in July” (and now into August) as we read about God’s Divine Providence among the nations and the coming Savior.
Halley is certainly correct when he calls Isaiah “the Messianic Prophet because he was so thoroughly imbued with the idea that his nation was to be a Messianic Nation to the world; that is, a nation through whom one day a great and wonderful blessing would come from God to all nations” (p. 285). Reading about the promised Messiah in the book of Isaiah one gets the feeling he is reading the Gospel according to Isaiah! While it speaks about other subjects, too, this is a must read, along with Psalms, for any Christian that wants a deeper relationship with his Savior.
Isaiah 9:2 tells us, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” And in verse 6 we read, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Many versions of the Bible use the phrase land of darkness, but I like how the King James Version (KJV) and New King James Version (NKJV) prefer the phrase land of the shadow of death. Not only is this reminiscent of the 23rd Psalm, but Luke (1:78b-79) uses the phrase, and ties it together with Prince of Peace, in his telling of the Christmas story when John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, prophesied saying, “The sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The English Standard Version (ESV) uses the word sunrise, but the KJV and NKJV use Dayspring—both words speak of that time of the morning when daylight breaks forth and shatters the darkness, which we sing of in “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (LSB 357:6).
Consequently, Isaiah revealed (prophesied) the promised Messiah is the Light of the World, and in John’s Gospel Jesus proclaims, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (8:12). And from the first chapter of Luke we are reminded that the followers of Jesus follow the Prince of Peace and walk in the way of peace.
This promise of Christmas (Peace and Salvation) should come to mind on Sunday mornings when we sing the Nunc Dimittis—the Song of Simeon—which is a part of the Christmas story. Not only should we depart in peace, we should do so fully aware of the promised Messiah—who is the Light of the World and our Salvation goes with us. Nunc Dimittis comes to us from the first words of this passage, Luke 2:29, in the Vulgate, a Latin translation of the New Testament which supplies the meaning "Now you dismiss" (Wiki).
In Matthew 4, after Jesus hears of John the Baptist’s arrest, He starts His 3 year ministry in Galilee in keeping with the words of Isaiah 9:1, “In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.”
This area by the Sea of Galilee was the tribal land of Zebulun and Naphtali, which fell first to the invading Assyrian army. Halley, and others, are quick to point out that the “same region would one day have the proud honor of giving to the world the Redeemer of Mankind.” (p. 292).
Still looking at the title Prince of Peace, what peace do we find in Christ Jesus? Foremost, we find peace with God, who is holy and finds all sin to be an abomination—something that goes against the core of who God is. Through Adam’s fall all of mankind fell into original sin, yet through Christ’s obedience many are made righteous (Romans 5:19). For those in Christ there is no condemnation; we have been set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2). Thus Jesus stands in the gap between holy God and sinful man giving us access to our Creator and peace with our Father.
Wonderful Counselor is another title for Christ in Isaiah 9:6. Because the NKJV follows the pattern of the KJV they place a comma between Wonderful and Counselor. I have not seen this comma used in other modern translations which list four two-word titles, like Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God, rather than Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, etc.
According to the Olive Tree ESV Concordance Wonderful is translated from פֶּלֶא (p̱ele’) and has to do with things that are extraordinary, or hard to understand, such as God's acts of judgment and redemption. Counselor is translated from יָעַץ (yâ‘aṣ) and comes from a primitive root meaning to advise. Taking together p̱ele’ and yâ‘aṣ provides us with the idea of Divine Wisdom.
This can also be viewed by cross-referencing Bible verses that teach the same subject. For instance, Isaiah 28:29 reads, “This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.
Mighty God is translated from גִּבּוֹר (g̱ibbôr), which means powerful and אֵל (’êl), which means mighty and can be used of any deity. When used to designate God it is often translated Almighty, but not always. This form of אֵל (’êl) is also used in Isaiah 14:13 where it is again translated as God.
Everlasting Father is translated from עַד (‘aḏ) and means properly, but by implication is used to show duration in the sense of advance or perpetuity together with אָב (’âḇ), which is a primitive word meaning father and has various applications, such as of God as the Father of His people.
Before closing for the week a quick look at Isaiah 25:8 where Isaiah prophesied that death would be swallowed up, saying, “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in Christ (Mark 16:6). Although other people had returned from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24, etc.), they were foreshadows of things to come. As Jesus taught, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live (John 11:25). And speaking of the Father, Jesus taught, “He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32).
Paul teaches about the Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, saying we believe in vain without the Resurrection. And he paraphrases Hosea and Isaiah when he says, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (cf. Hosea 13:14)
Looking at Isaiah 25:6-9, in the People’s Bible Commentary, John Braun says, “Isaiah shifts our attention away from the world where God’s people are in conflict with the enemies of God. … The unbelievers fade away, and we see only the believers for a few verses.” At this point Braun notes the work is being accomplished by the Lord on our behalf, and he adds, “He will ‘prepare a feast,’ ‘destroy the shroud,’ ‘swallow up death,’ ‘wipe away the tears,’ and ‘remove the disgrace.’ … He has provided rich blessings for all people—all of humanity of all time. Such is grace” (p. 257). To that I add, “Amen!”
This week we looked at Isaiah and noted he was a Messianic prophet that provided many perspectives of the promised Seed of a Woman during a time when God was judging the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and setting into motion His Judgment on the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the surrounding nations, yet He was also providing hope to the Nation of Israel and people everywhere of all time.
Halley is certainly correct when he calls Isaiah “the Messianic Prophet because he was so thoroughly imbued with the idea that his nation was to be a Messianic Nation to the world; that is, a nation through whom one day a great and wonderful blessing would come from God to all nations” (p. 285). Reading about the promised Messiah in the book of Isaiah one gets the feeling he is reading the Gospel according to Isaiah! While it speaks about other subjects, too, this is a must read, along with Psalms, for any Christian that wants a deeper relationship with his Savior.
Isaiah 9:2 tells us, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” And in verse 6 we read, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Many versions of the Bible use the phrase land of darkness, but I like how the King James Version (KJV) and New King James Version (NKJV) prefer the phrase land of the shadow of death. Not only is this reminiscent of the 23rd Psalm, but Luke (1:78b-79) uses the phrase, and ties it together with Prince of Peace, in his telling of the Christmas story when John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, prophesied saying, “The sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The English Standard Version (ESV) uses the word sunrise, but the KJV and NKJV use Dayspring—both words speak of that time of the morning when daylight breaks forth and shatters the darkness, which we sing of in “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (LSB 357:6).
Consequently, Isaiah revealed (prophesied) the promised Messiah is the Light of the World, and in John’s Gospel Jesus proclaims, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (8:12). And from the first chapter of Luke we are reminded that the followers of Jesus follow the Prince of Peace and walk in the way of peace.
This promise of Christmas (Peace and Salvation) should come to mind on Sunday mornings when we sing the Nunc Dimittis—the Song of Simeon—which is a part of the Christmas story. Not only should we depart in peace, we should do so fully aware of the promised Messiah—who is the Light of the World and our Salvation goes with us. Nunc Dimittis comes to us from the first words of this passage, Luke 2:29, in the Vulgate, a Latin translation of the New Testament which supplies the meaning "Now you dismiss" (Wiki).
In Matthew 4, after Jesus hears of John the Baptist’s arrest, He starts His 3 year ministry in Galilee in keeping with the words of Isaiah 9:1, “In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.”
This area by the Sea of Galilee was the tribal land of Zebulun and Naphtali, which fell first to the invading Assyrian army. Halley, and others, are quick to point out that the “same region would one day have the proud honor of giving to the world the Redeemer of Mankind.” (p. 292).
Still looking at the title Prince of Peace, what peace do we find in Christ Jesus? Foremost, we find peace with God, who is holy and finds all sin to be an abomination—something that goes against the core of who God is. Through Adam’s fall all of mankind fell into original sin, yet through Christ’s obedience many are made righteous (Romans 5:19). For those in Christ there is no condemnation; we have been set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2). Thus Jesus stands in the gap between holy God and sinful man giving us access to our Creator and peace with our Father.
Wonderful Counselor is another title for Christ in Isaiah 9:6. Because the NKJV follows the pattern of the KJV they place a comma between Wonderful and Counselor. I have not seen this comma used in other modern translations which list four two-word titles, like Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God, rather than Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, etc.
According to the Olive Tree ESV Concordance Wonderful is translated from פֶּלֶא (p̱ele’) and has to do with things that are extraordinary, or hard to understand, such as God's acts of judgment and redemption. Counselor is translated from יָעַץ (yâ‘aṣ) and comes from a primitive root meaning to advise. Taking together p̱ele’ and yâ‘aṣ provides us with the idea of Divine Wisdom.
This can also be viewed by cross-referencing Bible verses that teach the same subject. For instance, Isaiah 28:29 reads, “This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.
Mighty God is translated from גִּבּוֹר (g̱ibbôr), which means powerful and אֵל (’êl), which means mighty and can be used of any deity. When used to designate God it is often translated Almighty, but not always. This form of אֵל (’êl) is also used in Isaiah 14:13 where it is again translated as God.
Everlasting Father is translated from עַד (‘aḏ) and means properly, but by implication is used to show duration in the sense of advance or perpetuity together with אָב (’âḇ), which is a primitive word meaning father and has various applications, such as of God as the Father of His people.
Before closing for the week a quick look at Isaiah 25:8 where Isaiah prophesied that death would be swallowed up, saying, “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in Christ (Mark 16:6). Although other people had returned from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24, etc.), they were foreshadows of things to come. As Jesus taught, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live (John 11:25). And speaking of the Father, Jesus taught, “He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32).
Paul teaches about the Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, saying we believe in vain without the Resurrection. And he paraphrases Hosea and Isaiah when he says, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (cf. Hosea 13:14)
Looking at Isaiah 25:6-9, in the People’s Bible Commentary, John Braun says, “Isaiah shifts our attention away from the world where God’s people are in conflict with the enemies of God. … The unbelievers fade away, and we see only the believers for a few verses.” At this point Braun notes the work is being accomplished by the Lord on our behalf, and he adds, “He will ‘prepare a feast,’ ‘destroy the shroud,’ ‘swallow up death,’ ‘wipe away the tears,’ and ‘remove the disgrace.’ … He has provided rich blessings for all people—all of humanity of all time. Such is grace” (p. 257). To that I add, “Amen!”
This week we looked at Isaiah and noted he was a Messianic prophet that provided many perspectives of the promised Seed of a Woman during a time when God was judging the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and setting into motion His Judgment on the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the surrounding nations, yet He was also providing hope to the Nation of Israel and people everywhere of all time.