By Jim Barnette, Ph.D.
Samford University and Brookwood Baptist Church, Mountain Brook
Isaiah’s Prophecy
Isaiah 7:10–14; 9:6–7; 11:1–5
Advent reminds us that God’s Son is the answer to all of our trials and travails. Isaiah predicts a coming, mysterious somebody who will be our ultimate deliverer. That coming somebody would be Immanuel, God with us.
God promised a son — Immanuel — would be born of a virgin. (Isa. 7:10–14)
Our world, as in Isaiah’s time, is troubled because there is no relief without belief. “If you do not stand firm in your faith,” warns the prophet, “you will not stand at all” (Isa. 7:9). God reminds us that our belief is the only relief from fear. To assist us in our faith the Lord God invites us to look for a sign from Him “whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights” (v. 11). His ultimate assistance to our faith is the sign of Immanuel, a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. The birth of this baby is the visible promise that God will save His people. John Wesley commented on the power of this sign as the ultimate answer to all of our battles: “This promised birth supposed the preservation of that city, and nation and tribe, in and of which the Messiah was to be born, and therefore there was no cause to fear that ruin which their enemies now threatened.”
God promised a child would be born who is the mighty God. (Isa. 9:6–7)
In Isaiah 7, Immanuel is a baby more potent than all of our battles. In Isaiah 9, He is the prince of the four names. He will be “wonderful” in that His person and His performance excite awe and amazement. He will be “Counselor” in His office as the ultimate administrator of God’s truth and the fountain of all wisdom. He will be the “Everlasting Father” as the One who made and gives eternal life. His principality will be one of peace. In summary, He is the “Mighty God,” sovereign over all things created.
The birth of the Prince of Peace is accompanied with the promise of universal peace, proclaimed both in Isaiah and in the Gospel of Luke. The prophet declares that “every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning” (Isa. 9:5). The Christ child is our only hope for peace. His coming means the rejection of all instruments of war. While humans parade them and put them in museums, Isaiah assures us that these tools of destruction will be “fuel for the fire.”
God promised a descendant of David would judge with righteousness (Isa. 11:1–5)
At least six of the Old Testament prophets are quoted in the stories of Jesus’ birth recorded in Matthew and Luke. Among them Isaiah offered some of the most powerful words about how this infant would restore hope and save those who confess faith in Him. In this passage Isaiah exhibits both insight and foresight. He had the insight that David’s mighty dynasty would fall, becoming as hopeless as the rotting stump of a cut-down tree. But Isaiah also had the positive foresight that out of this deteriorated stump would someday come a new tender shoot of life. As David was taken from the house of Jesse to usher in a period of greatness in Israel’s history, so a second David would spring forth and transform all history. Just as God’s Spirit was upon David, so will His Spirit rest upon this second David. The coming Christ would have faculties of perception, practical application and insight into the character of God that no one else ever could possess. Furthermore, the Christ child would identify with the poor and the meek. For the oppressed and downtrodden, He will advocate for their deliverance.
Share with others: