Sermon for December 23rd, 2018

Isaiah 9:1-7

1 But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. 4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.

6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:1-7

1 But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. 4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.

6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King

A frog went to see a fortune teller one day. He wanted to know what the future had in store for him, in particular for his love life. The fortune teller, gazing deep into a crystal ball, told the frog "You are going to meet the most beautiful girl, who is going to be very interested in you and will want to know everything about you. She will want you to open up for her and you will give her your heart."

"That's great news!" said the frog. "Where will we meet each other? At a party?"

"No," said the fortune teller. "In her biology class."

When it comes to prophecy, it's good to remember that time, place, and context are just as important as whatever it is we think we want to hear. We've been talking for the past few weeks about prophecy in the Book of Isaiah, which is often read in churches this time of year in the lead-up to Christmas...and we are especially guilty of hearing only what we want to hear in the words of Isaiah, while ignoring the time, place and context in which the words were originally spoken.

In fact, if you look at most Advent and Christmas readings or sermons from Isaiah 9 (today's passage), you'll notice they almost always start at verse 2: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." And of course we assume ourselves to be those people who have walked in great darkness. Or perhaps, if we're in a more historical mood, we assume that the people who have walked in great darkness are the people living just before the birth of Jesus.

But you can't do that if you actually include and read verse 1, which tells you exactly who Isaiah is directing this prophecy toward:

"But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations."

Zebulun and Naphtali are lands to the North of Judah, the lands in between the Jordan river and the sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea (hence the way that leads to the sea). And in the time of Isaiah, they are the part of Israel that has been conquered by the Assyrian Empire.

Isaiah is writing all this from the relative safety of the Southern Kingdom of Judah -- you'll remember that last week we talked about how Judah's alliance with Assyria protected it from invasion and ushered in an age of peace and prosperity for the people of its capital city, Jerusalem.

But no such luck for Israel, in the North. But why does Isaiah (or by extension, God) care about what's happening in this country that just a few chapters earlier, was Judah's enemy, threatening to invade it before ultimately being invaded itself?

Israel and Judah are siblings who often fight, but ultimately belong to the same family. They share a common language, a common history and culture, common religious practices and beliefs. They're kind of like Texas and Oklahoma -- for all the jokes they make about each other and all the passionate rivalries, anyone from the East or West coast would have a hard time telling the difference between a Texan and an Oklahoman. And the only reason I can even make that statement without ducking tomatoes is because we're in El Paso--or as my dad referred to it, the largest city in New Mexico.

You get the idea. The fall of Israel is nothing for the people of Judah to rejoice over. It's their cousins, their neighbors, their ancestors. So Isaiah offers them words of hope and comfort. But there's something else at work here, too. When the Assyrians were taking over Israel, the people of Israel didn't just lay down and die. Many of them fled. South, to their cousins. Refugees from Israel poured into Judah and into the safety of Jerusalem. And that was seen as blessing to Judah. They knew what some countries today have forgotten--more people meant more prosperity, more labor, a bigger army, more prestige. Listen again to verses 2 and 3 in this light:

"The people who walked (literally--across the miles from Israel to Judah) in darkness have seen a great light (that would be Jerusalem, the shining city on a hill); those who lived in a land of deep darkness (Israel) — on them light (of Jerusalem) has shined. 3 You (Israel) have multiplied the nation (of Judah), you have increased its joy (and its population); they (the people of Judah) rejoice before you (the refugees from Israel) as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder."

In other words, you're bringing a lot to the table. We welcome you to our country. Prior to this time, Judah was the smaller, lesser, illiterate, backwoods, younger sibling to a far more culturally and technologically advanced Israel. But now all those skilled craftsmen, artisans, and tradesmen were bringing their talents and expertise to Judah, and this--as much as the peace Judah enjoyed--ushered in the golden age of Jerusalem and its greatest cultural achievements. This is the period of time in which most of the Psalms were written. This is the time when the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, first emerges in recognizable form.

“Light” is a metaphor suggestive of the presence of God, the approach of God’s grace, mercy, and peace. Isaiah refers to “a great light” (v. 2). The preacher may want to suggest that the light of Christ, while “great” indeed for those who have seen and welcomed it, was not “great” at its coming, in the sense of being a blazing or blinding light, and is not “great” in that sense now. It was and is now a gentle, modest light that Christ brings, so as not to overwhelm or coerce. Neither Isaiah nor the NT suggests that the light does away with the darkness. (See John 1:5.) Yet the light of Christ has proved to be tough and tenacious. So, however great the darkness—and sometimes it is very great indeed—the Christmas Eve congregation can be encouraged to trust that the light of God’s goodness and grace continues to shine, as well as to approach Christ with whatever darkness is within themselves.