|
Sermon by Rev. Tommy
Allen
“The Promise” Isaiah 9:2-7 2
The people who walked
in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep
darkness, on
them has light shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you
have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as
with joy at the harvest, as
they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the
rod of his oppressor, you
have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior
in battle tumult and
every garment rolled in blood will
be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 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. 7 Of the increase of his government and
of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his
kingdom, to
establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from
this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (ESV) Remember, purpose of the book of Genesis: to remind Israel of the Gospel. ·
God promised them that he would deliver them from Egypt,
the land of their oppression and into the Promised Land. The book of Isaiah has a similar purpose, except now,
instead of talking about delivering Israel from their bondage in Egypt, he
talks about God’s promise to deliver Israel not from Egypt but from exile. ·
You
see they were in bondage in Egypt because of their birth—they were in bondage
in exile because of their behavior. Here’s
the situation: after their experience
in Egypt, Israel eventually made it into the Promised Land and, because of the
wickedness of Solomon, the kingdom was divided into two parts: Israel in the
north and Judah in the south. ·
As
time went on, Israel’s and Judah’s existence became less and less defined by
their relationship to God and more and more defined by their relationship and
worship of all the gods around them. ·
Because
of Ahab’s wickedness in the north, God sent them into exile. ·
What
this means is that the Assyrian army came into Israel and dragged them out
[many with hooks in their noses] of the land of promise. ·
These
are the people to whom Isaiah writes and what he gives them is exactly what the
New Testament gives us—bad news [you are separated from God because of your
sin] and good news [in spite of your sin, God has done everything it takes to
reconcile you to Himself]. Isaiah’s original audience was exiles.
Christmas
time is when a lot of exiles show up in church. They, at some point, had an experience with God or religion, but
have long ceased, practically, to be defined by those things. My guess is that that is where many of you
are. He
reminds them in 8:22 of the state of their exile—defined by gloom and darkness. As
bad and as dark as it gets—nevertheless… I.
The Promise of
Redemption. 2
The people who walked
in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep
darkness, on
them has light shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you
have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as
with joy at the harvest, as
they are glad when they divide the spoil. A.
The Joy of the Promise. 1.
Like Christmas morning. ·
Light,
harvest, and plunder. ·
People
who live in the shadow of death have seen a great light. ·
They
rejoice before you like people who have just had a great harvest or like
warriors who have conquered a wealthy city and are now dividing it up. B.
The
Certainty of the Promise. 1.
Prophetic
perfect tense. ·
Prophet
speaks of future events in the past tense because of the fact that they are as
sure as completed. C.
The
Wonder of the Promise (4-5). 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the
rod of his oppressor, you
have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior
in battle tumult and
every garment rolled in blood will
be burned as fuel for the fire. 1.
God
is going to accomplish your joy and your deliverance in a fashion that seems
foolish in the eyes of men and women. 2.
Midian
[’s defeat] refers to the story of Gideon
in Judges 7 where God defeats the vast armies of Midian with only 300
men. 3.
The
warrior’s garments will be burned. This
signifies completion of the job. The
battle’s over. That
is the promise: complete deliverance
from bondage and oppression and joy and intervention into your darkness. The
question we’re tempted to now ask is how, but that’s the wrong question. We should be asking who? II.
The Incarnation of the
Promise (6-7). 6 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. 7 Of the increase of his government and
of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his
kingdom, to
establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from
this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. A.
Wonderful
Counselor. 1.
A
“counselor” in the Ancient Near East was simply a king or a general who would
devise some plan of action. 2.
The
adjective “wonderful” means that this counselor’s plans will cause the world to
marvel. a.
Covenant
of Redemption. ·
Deal
with Father and Son. ·
Save
his people from their sins. B.
Mighty
God. 1.
To
the people in the Ancient Near East, kings who were given the title “mighty
god” were divinely appointed warriors who would carry out the counselor’s plan. ·
He
knew what He was getting into—Revelation 13: the Lamb Who was slain before the
creation of the world. ·
Jesus
waged war against the greatest enemy of all—death. ·
Acts
2:22-24. Once
God has delivered His people, then what? He
provides for and protects them. C.
Everlasting
Father [kingly title]. 1.
Once
God had delivered them from exile in Assyria, it was a long walk back to
Jerusalem. Embodied in the Promise is the fact that He will see them through to
the end as their loving father—the agent will be this child. 2.
In
other words, being delivered from captivity is only one part of being
delivered—making it to the Promised Land is the other. God promises us that if He has saved us, He
will see us through to the end. 3.
We
need to hear this because often times the walk back to Jerusalem is harder than
it was in captivity. ·
Translated—often
things become harder after we become Christians. D.
Prince
of Peace. 1.
As
a king, His rule will bring wholeness to society because He not only reconciles
men and women to God, but He reconciles brother to brother. ·
Ephesians
2. ·
Jesus
preached the gospel to those who are far and those who are near and breaks down
the dividing wall between the two. Little
Drummer Boy ·
Utterly
bitter. ·
His
lamb is killed. ·
He
walks up to one of the Magi and asks for help, but the answer he receives is: I am only a “mortal” king. Perhaps the Babe in the manger can help you. ·
The
crowd parts; he sees the aura and approaches—open-handed. ·
Narrator:
“…and as he approached he saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen and his
heart was changed forever.” As
you enter into Christmas don’t just remember the Baby in the manger, but
remember the Promise He embodies—a changed heart and life and the promise that
if you trust Him, He’ll never let you go. God
promised His people He would deliver them from their sin and bring them
home—the name of the promise is Jesus. |