Sunday, January 24
Why does Isaiah 9:1 begin with a word (But/Nevertheless) that indicates a contrast to what precedes it?
Isaiah 8:21, 22 describes the hopeless condition of those who turn to the occult rather than to the true God: wherever they look, they will “behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; And they shall be driven to darkness” (Isaiah 8:22). By contrast, there will come a time when “the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation” (Isaiah 9:1). The people of the Galilee region are singled out here as receiving the special blessing of “a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). The nation will be multiplied and rejoice because God will have broken “the rod of his oppressor” (Isaiah 9:4).
The region of Lake Galilee is depicted here because it was among the first territories of Israel to be conquered. In response to Ahaz’s request for aid, Tiglath-pileser III took the Galilee and Transjordanian regions of northern Israel, carried some of the people captive, and turned the territories into Assyrian provinces (2 Kings 15:29). So, Isaiah’s message is that the first to be conquered would be the first to see deliverance.
Whom does God use to deliver His people? Isaiah 9:6, 7.
When and how was the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-5 fulfilled? Matthew 4:12-25.
Not by accident, Jesus’ early ministry was in the Galilee region, where He gave hope by announcing the good news of God’s kingdom and by healing people, including delivering demoniacs from bondage to the occult (Matthew 4:24).
Here is where we see a perfect example how the Bible takes events that happened in Old Testament times and uses them to prefigure things that will happen in New Testament times. The Lord mixed images from one era with those of another, such as in Matthew 24, when Jesus mingled the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 with the destruction at the end of the world.
If someone were to ask you, What has Jesus delivered you from, what would you answer? What personal testimony can you give regarding the power of Christ in your life?
