God With Us

“Gloom” doesn’t get the final word; “nevertheless” does. We open Isaiah 9 and watch a hard prophecy turn a corner from judgment to joy, tracing how a devastated land and a discouraged people are met by a great light that rises in the most unlikely place: Galilee. From there, we follow the thread straight to Jesus, who steps into history as both child born and Son given, carrying a government that brings justice, mercy, and peace.

Across the conversation, we unpack what Scripture means by darkness and why Isaiah’s language still fits our cultural moment of confusion, fear, and restless striving. The promise lands with four names that aren’t slogans but lived realities: Wonderful Counselor for those carrying grief and questions, Mighty God for those trapped in patterns they can’t break, Everlasting Father for the lonely and discarded, and Prince of Peace for hearts and nations addicted to conflict. Along the way, we explore the Midian reference and why God’s habit of winning through weakness and dependence matters for anyone trying to walk by faith when the odds look brutal.

This is a message for people who need more than a pep talk. It’s for the believer asking how to stand in trial, the skeptic wondering if hope is anything more than spin, and the exhausted soul who keeps polishing armor that was meant for the fire. If the government rests on his shoulder, then our burdens don’t have to rest on ours. If his peace increases without end, then our hope doesn’t have to shrink with the headlines. Listen, reflect, and share with someone who needs light for their next step.

If this helped you see Jesus more clearly, subscribe, leave a review, and pass the episode to a friend who’s walking through a dark week. Your support helps this light reach more hearts.

Chapters

• 2:37 Ominous Judgment And Assyrian Threat
• 5:40 Nevertheless: Promise Of Great Light
• 10:24 Galilee Honored By Messiah’s Presence
• 14:20 What Darkness Means In Scripture
• 19:05 Joy Multiplied And People Protected
• 23:20 Breaking The Yoke Like Midian
• 27:18 The End Of War And True Peace

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:23

Pastor Timothy Matt.

SPEAKER_01: 0:26

Amen. Isaiah 9. We're going to be reading 1 through 7 today. Isaiah chapter 9. Even though there is trouble and darkness and gloom and anguish, and they're driven into darkness. Nevertheless, verse 1, chapter 9. Nevertheless, the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed. That's when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. Those are two tribes from the twelve of Israel. It's talking about tribal areas in the northern part of the Holy Land. Middle of verse 1. And afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in the Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You, meaning God, you have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you, according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For you have broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor. You've broken those things. As in the day of Midian, for every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle, and their garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. We'll stop here. This is God's word. Now again, the situation is this. In the previous chapter, chapter 8, we didn't read it all, but in the chapter, chapter 8, everything looked ominous. Everything looked hopeless. It's it's darkness across the land. A spirit of anguish and distress gripped the hearts of the people. That's the situation. They were completely helpless, for they were living in a war-torn nation. Most of the nation had already fallen to the Assyrians, who were the enemy of Israel. And they had swept across the land like the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates River. That's the words that's used in verse 7 and 8 of chapter 8. It's a metaphor. Like the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates River. They, the enemy, has swept across the land. It was indeed a dark, dismal, and hopeless day for the people of Judah. And we need to know that this devastating invasion by Assyria was actually a prophecy that was being predicted by Isaiah. It had not happened yet. But he's saying this is what's coming. And rather, he's warning the people that their sin, their sin, their rebellion against God would bring this terrible judgment upon them. Their wickedness would be the cause of these terrible days of anguish and distress. I don't know about you today, but I in my heart, oh, how people need to be reminded today that there will be real consequences for their sin. People need to be reminded of that today. That the holy, Almighty God, who is creator and judge, will not allow sin to go, ultimately go unpunished and unjudged. He won't. It's coming. As the old Baptist preacher years ago said, there will be a payday someday. There will be a payday someday. And it's either for you and me, it's either that Jesus has paid for it, and we've trusted his death for our payment, or you're going to pay for it. Eternally. But Almighty God will not allow sin to ultimately go unpunished and unjudged. Not only in individuals' lives, but even in a nation. Even in a society. He will not allow it to go unpunished and unjudged. Nevertheless, as Isaiah says in verse 1, nevertheless, Isaiah closes this part of his prophecy. There's a lot more. As you know, it's a big book. He closes this part of his prophecy with a most wonderful promise. And that wonderful promise is that the people would be delivered by God's light, his presence, shining in this agonizing despair in the world. In spite of the people's fear and apprehension, a bright and glorious future lay ahead. Look at verse 1 again. Nevertheless, the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed. And when at first he, meaning God, lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan. So this there will be a day come, a day is coming when all the darkness and gloom and anguish and despair would be erased. That's what he's saying. The extreme devastation and the extreme suffering caused by the Assyrians and others down through history, by the way, would never happen again. Not in that day that is coming. In the past, the Lord had been forced to discipline his people due to their terrible evil. We have the word of God in Hebrews that tells us God disciplines. He chastises to use the old King James word. God disciplines those that he loves. And he will discipline his people. And in the past he had been forced to discipline his people. And soon he would allow Assyria to invade the promised land to humble his people. I want you to know this morning, sometimes God will allow some stuff in your life to humble you. He'll send it your way to force you to your knees. Because we need that. We need to be humbled and depend on him and forsake our sin. When the Assyrians launched their invasion, the very first to feel the brunt of that attack would be the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. The northern part. Which afterward would become known as the Galilee of the Gentiles. That we know the word Galilee from the New Testament. There's a famous what? Body of water. A sea, it's called. It's a massive lake. The Sea of Galilee. A lot happened around there in Jesus' day. And although Isaiah referred here to only these two north tribal territories, he's obviously using them as examples of what God was going to do for all oppressed lands and all people. A glorious, dramatic change was coming to the promised land of Israel and to the world. And to all the world. One day in the future, the land that had been so devastated would be greatly honored by the Lord. All the land of Galilee would be honored. This, ladies and gentlemen, this is a clear prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. It's a prophecy that was fulfilled, actually, when Jesus chose his apostles and he carried out a large part of his ministry in Galilee, in the Galilee region, the northern part. You say, I'm not sure where that is. Well, if you get you a hard copy book of the Bible, you turn to the back section of your Bible, it's affectionately known as the maps. Right? The maps. You can find the Sea of Galilee right there on that map of the Holy Land. And that region where Jesus did so much of his ministry and called most of his disciples. And so the Messiah, the Son of God Himself, honored this land by his very presence and by his very ministry. And so the hope for this bright, glorious future will be found in, it says, in a great light. A great light. Verse 2. The people who walked, I'm sorry, uh, yes, verse 2, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Again, this is reference to Jesus Christ. He is the great light of the world. We heard Michael last week, our Jewish believer friend, who got saved by God's grace, and he talked about Hanukkah and how that really just foreshadowed the coming of Jesus. And how in John chapter 8, Jesus is standing in the temple just a few weeks before Hanukkah was remembered. And Jesus himself declared, I am the light of the world. I am the light of the world. And amazingly, Isaiah is making this prediction about Messiah some seven hundred years before Jesus came to earth. Seven hundred years. And when Messiah came, four wonderful blessings would be poured out upon the world. First of all, verse two, the Messiah would give light to all who were held in bondage of darkness and death. All who were living constantly under the shadow of death. Verse 2, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light is shining. Listen, a person who walks in darkness is a person who cannot see where he or she is going. A person who walks in darkness is a person who can't see where they are, even, or where they've come from. Darkness causes a person to stumble and fall, sometimes causing injury to self or to others. You need to know that in God's word, darkness is a symbol of sin and evil and ignorance. And so, therefore, the person who walks in darkness is in rebellion to and ignorant of God the Father. Is in rebellion to and ignorant of Jesus Christ who came to earth to reveal God the Father and the world's alienation from him. The person who's walking in darkness is in rebellion to and ignorant of the real purpose and the objective of life. See, natural man, that is to say, sinful man, stumbles and gropes about in the darkness of the world. That's what's happening today. That's what's happening. If you're in this room this morning and you're in this darkness, you are blinded to anything really beyond this physical world. How many of you know people like that? Folks who are really just blinded to anything beyond this physical world. All they think about, all they care about, all they know is this physical world. They know nothing. Unless it's something they've made up or they've heard from somebody else, they know nothing of the spiritual realm or dimension. Your only hope, if you're in this situation today, your only hope is the hope of living a long life before death takes you over. That's your only hope if you're in this darkness. Your hope is limited to what man can do for you, limited to the capability of other sinful human beings. Think about that. That's the best you've got going for you. And thus, you walk in darkness, ignorant of the truth about life now and the hereafter, and you're constantly walking in the shadow of death. However, the message proclaimed by Isaiah actually offered wonderful hope for a glorious future. He declared that God was going to give a great light to the world, the light of the coming Messiah and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And moreover, all who walk in darkness and live in the land of the shadow of death will have the opportunity to see a great light. No longer will they be forced to live in darkness or under the shadow of death, because a great light will come for the people. What else does it say? Verse 3. He says, You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. The Messiah would multiply the nation of believers. The word too in the Hebrew has the idea of not only multiply but protect. The Messiah would multiply the nation of believers and increase their joy. Now, due to the ravages of war, what will ultimately happen is the population will be drastically diminished. But the promise was that the population would thrive, would be multiplied when the Messiah came. And the Messiah would also bring great joy to the people. This joy would flood their hearts as much as the rejoicing over a great harvest, for example. He said, verse 3, you've multiplied the nation and increased its joy, they rejoiced before you according to the joy of a harvest. Just like you'd had a in this agricultural, in this agricultural time in this society, man, when harvest was good, folks were happy. When harvest was not good, folks didn't have much joy. But he said, you're going to rejoice when this light comes just as if you had a great harvest. Or he says, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. You know, when you've gotten plunder in wartime. When you divide the plunder among yourselves, there's joy. This is the kind of joy that is deep down within the soul. And notice it says that the people would rejoice before the Lord. That is to say, obviously in front of him, praising him for the light, the salvation that he had brought to them. Again, keep in mind that this is a prophecy predicted by Isaiah. How long before Messiah came? Say it again. How many? 700 years. Isaiah predicted this 700 years before Messiah came. That's incredible. Isaiah proclaimed that when the Savior came, he would provide protection for the people and fill them with fullness of joy. And I don't know about you, but I have found out that the Lord does protect his people. The Lord, he'll not lose a single one of them. He's got them in his hand. The Lord does fill us with the fullness of joy. He goes on to say in verse 4. For you have broken the yoke of his burden, the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor. So the Messiah will deliver all who are under the yoke of bondage and oppression. He says, as in the day of Midian. Just as, I love these Old Testament references that reference something else in the Old Testament. It has meaning behind it. I know I got on a rant a few weeks ago about reading your Bible. But this is another example of how important it is to read your Bible. Because Midian is all about another occasion that happened in the book of Judges. Something miraculous took place there. And God is saying here, just as God gave Gideon victory over the Midianites, so will he give ultimate victory to any who truly trust in him. No matter what the bondage is that enslaves a person. The Lord will infuse that believer. If you're truly trusting in him, the Lord will infuse that believer with enough power from the Holy Spirit to overcome it. Doesn't matter what that bondage is. And if enslavement is being forced upon a believer by others, the Lord will give the power to endure the suffering being inflicted upon them. Like it's happening around the world today. Do you know that today Christian persecution around the world is at the highest level than it's ever been in history, as far as we know. And even if the believer is being oppressed to the point of death, the believer will be given the power to conquer death. Because given quicker than the eye can blink, the believer will be escorted into the very presence of the Lord Himself. I was thinking about that when we were singing that song a little bit ago, 10,000 Reasons. And when my time is near, when that happens, I'm just going to start singing for 10,000 years and forevermore. Isaiah is proclaiming here that the Messiah will set the people free from the enslavement being forced upon them, from their enemies in this context. But he also has the power to break any oppression, any bondage that's weighing his people down. He will deliver those who trust in him. I'm telling you, I don't know what you're battling this morning. You may have an issue, you may have a struggle, but if you truly put your trust in him, if you reach a point that you'll stop depending on your own abilities, yourself, and you'll really depend on Jesus, you'll come before him. And if you're truly saved and born again, if the Holy Spirit of God lives inside of you, he will deliver those who put their trust in him. He'll break that yoke, he'll break that bar, he'll break that chain. And he'll do so for those also who persecute his people. That's going to happen one day as well. What else does it say? Verse 5. The Messiah, what's he going to do? He's going to bring peace to the people. And ultimately to the nations of the world. Verse 5. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle and every and all the garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and fuel of fire. All the military equipment and uniforms that are so often covered with blood in war will be cast aside and burned. Never again will the military equipment or uniforms be produced. Peace will sweep the earth. True peace within the human soul, both within the human soul and peace among the nations. Universal harmony will exist everywhere. Now, of course, this is referring to, this is a clear reference, to the future kingdom of the Messiah. The messianic kingdom that will be the kingdom of God. Now, some of these predictions in this passage were obviously fulfilled when God defeated Assyria and delivered Jerusalem, historically. But also, as the Apostle Matthew, New Testament, clearly states, other events found their fulfillment when Christ himself came to earth. Matthew 4, 13 through 16. He actually uses this passage to apply it to Jesus. But the ultimate fulfillment, ladies and gentlemen, of the prophecy regarding the bright and glorious future will be in the last days of human history during the reign of Christ upon earth. But for now, however, the emphasis is upon the peace that the Messiah will bring to human hearts when they repent and turn to him in genuine faith, and then ultimately to the nations of the world. And the person who will bring this glorious future to the earth will be the Messiah, Jesus Christ Himself. Isaiah here predicts five startling facts of. About the coming Messiah from verse 6 on through verse 7. First of all, verse 6, it said the Messiah will come first as the God man. Verse 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. That's a very interesting phrase, and it's nuanced a little bit, because what's happening here is both his humanity and his deity are predicted by the prophet, by this phrase. Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. They're different. The words a child is born actually refers to the Messiah's humanity. He will come to earth as a child. Born through the conception of a woman, a virgin specifically. The words a son is given points to the deity of the Messiah. The child's being given indicates that in some special way God will send himself, God Himself will send the child into the world. The words son refers back to what Pastor Jesse preached two weeks ago, Isaiah 7.14. The word son refers to Isaiah 7.14, which indicates that Emmanuel himself, God with us, will come to earth as the Messiah. And of course, all of this points to the coming of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to earth. The very thought of such a miraculous event staggers the human mind. Nevertheless, it was the clear prophecy of Isaiah. And this prediction was made how many years? 700 years before Christ actually came. If nothing else, you're going to learn that today before you leave. Isaiah predicted this. How far in advance? 700 years before Christ actually came. Yet, come, he did. Come, he did. And today, we are actually looking back upon this historical event, this pivotal point in human history. On the night that Christ was born, the very angel appeared to the shepherds. Who appeared to the shepherds, seemed to refer to these words spoken by Isaiah, Luke 2.11, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, which is Christ the Lord. As the Puritan commentator Matthew Henry says, he says, Christ being born and given to us is the great foundation of our hopes and the foundation of our joys in times of greatest grief and fear. He goes on to say in verse 6 that the Messiah will also come to govern. He will rule over the whole world, executing perfect righteousness and justice among the people. And there's many verses in the Old Testament that prophesy this. Micah 5.2, Zechariah 14, 9. Those are a few examples. The government will be upon his shoulders, he says. Which means that he will have the indisputable right to govern. He'll have the indisputable right to govern. He'll also set his shoulder to the task of ruling his people and the world. He will not shrink from the duty given him by the Father. And as exalted Lord, he will rule not as president. Look, you're not going to vote every four years. You're not going to wonder if there's integrity in the election. Because I'm going to tell you what, he's going to rule not as president. He's going to rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Messiah will have and has four very famous and descriptive names. What's interesting in the Hebrew is these are compound names, actually. Single names just are simply inadequate to express the extent of the Messiah's excellence or superiority. God gave Isaiah these words. The Messiah will be called wonderful counselor. You know, since Christ has come, I think we have a far better idea of just what this name means. Because Christ lived as a man, bearing all the trials and temptations of humanity. The Bible says he was tempted on all points as we are, yet without sin. He was suffered incomprehensible persecution and was eventually executed as a criminal, even though he was sinless and innocent. And due to his intense suffering, he is able to be the most empathetic counselor imaginable. He knows what it's like to endure pain. He knows what it's like to feel hunger and thirst. He knows what it's like to experience poverty and homelessness. He knows the feeling of being rejected, even by his own family. He knows the experience of being forsaken and left all alone, even by all those who said they were his friends and his followers. Those are the kinds of experiences that confront so many of us as we live out our lives. And because of that, we need a counselor. We need a counselor. And Christ, Jesus, is the one person who can feel what we feel. He's the one person who stands before us as the wonderful counselor. He's the one person who can comfort us, who can give us solid guidance about how to handle the problems we're facing. As the wonderful counselor, Christ can guide us. He can encourage us and strengthen us to conquer whatever trial or temptation is before us and confronts us. He, the wonderful counselor, as the wonderful counselor, he will teach us how to walk victoriously through life. But you must seek him in his word. You must seek him in his word by reading it, by meditating on it, by studying it. And you must talk with him and seek him in prayer. This is how this is how he speaks. Through his word, the Holy Spirit of God. As you pray and as you read and as you study, he'll counsel you through his word and by the Holy Spirit in prayer. And you'll find him to be a wonderful counselor. Not only that, the Messiah will be called mighty God. Mighty God. As predicted earlier in this verse, verse 6, the Messiah will be God, be divine. And so here he's actually called the mighty God. And as God, he will do things that no one else could conceivably do. For example, all the very things that are covered in this passage, and all the things that we see in the New Testament and the Gospels and so forth. And in addition, as God, he is omnipotent. That is to say, he's all powerful, he's omniscient, he's all-knowing. And now he's present everywhere. He's always been, although he was limited for a few years in a body. But he is able, I'm telling you this morning, because he is the mighty God, he is able to save any who cry out to him for salvation. And as the mighty God, he has the power and the knowledge to rescue his people from all trials and all temptation. He has the power to deliver people from any bondage or oppression, whether it's due to some enemy or due to some personal addiction or some personal sin. I am grateful that the power of the mighty God is not dependent on me, not dependent on you. It doesn't matter. Look, hey, when I'm good, he's God. When I'm bad, he's God. When I'm up and got it all together, he's God. When I'm down and falling apart, he's God. When I'm faithful, he's God. When I'm not faithful, he's God. I'm telling you, he'll never leave you nor forsake you. And he has the power and he has the knowledge in your life to handle anything you're facing today. He's the mighty God.

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