Christmas is a time of great joy and rejoicing in the Lord. Spirits are lifted to God as the mind embraces the reason for the season. Christ has come to the earth. He has taken on flesh. He has dwelt amongst us. The Christian must see Jesus each day of His life, and no day is more important than the next. However, there is no escaping the atmosphere that Christmas ushers in. Christmas is a time of meditations on the Lord’s incarnation.
Why don’t we look into Isaiah 9:6-7 and think upon Christ this Christmas?
A child is born
Scripture says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given… ” (KJV, Is. 9:6) . The book of Isaiah is filled with Messianic prophesies. Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would be a descendant of Jesse (11:1,10), empowered by the Spirit of God (11:2; 42:1), a light to the Gentiles (42:6; 49:6), and highly exalted (52:13; 53:12). But this short list of Messianic propheciesmerely scratches the surface of everything that God revealed to His people concerning the Messiah in this book of the Bible.
In Isaiah 9:6-7, we see a number of prophecies which consist of purposes for Christ’s coming to the earth, as well as the way in which Christ would come to the earth. It is important to pay close attention to the words that Isaiah uses when he says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given… ” (Is. 9:6) . Isaiah was of Jewish descent and therefore spoke from that vantage point.
He tells us that unto the Jews, a child would be born, and unto them, a Son would be given. Here, we see that Christ would come as a Jew. This is important for us, as it is a part of a string of prophecies and therefore does not stand alone.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). This was the first Messianic prophecy concerning Christ. During the time of Abraham, we are told that through Abraham, the nations would be blessed. Thus, the initial prophecy in Genesis 3:15 is narrowed down to the line of Abraham. The prophecies continue through Isaac, and then on to Jacob, who is later named Israel.
The Israelites are all descendants of Jacob, and the promised Messiah was come through him. In the verse at hand, we read that God had not given up on His people. Instead, God assured them that a Son would be born unto them, and it would be through this Son that deliverance would come.
His rule will increase
Of the Son, it was said that His rule would increase. Scripture tells us, “Of the increase of His government… there shall be no end…” (Is. 9:7) . Christ came to rule as the King of the land. Psalm 2 is a helpful commentary on the portion of Scripture at which we are looking.
In this psalm, the psalmist tells of the heathen in the land and the way in which they oppose the rule of God. The psalmist speaks of the kings and rulers taking counsel to come against God’s anointed One. In this psalm, we can see Christ and what would occur when Christ would come to the earth in His first and second comings.
When Christ came, He came as God’s anointed One. In Israel, it was required that a king would be anointed into the position of king. When Christ came, He came as One anointed by God.
Psalm 2 also tells us of the desire of the people to be freed from the rule of Christ. These people would look upon Christ’s rule as restrictive and desire that their “bonds” would be burst apart and their “cords” would be loosed.
Nevertheless, God is said to be in the heavens laughing. It is a ridiculous thing to oppose the living God. Finally, we read, “I will declare the decree: The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Ps. 2:7-8) . God the Father looked upon the Son and decreed that the Son’s reign would increase to the uttermost parts of the earth.
His peace will increase
Not only will the rule of Christ increase, but peace will increase in the land, as well. Christ did not just come to rule; He also came to establish peace. In Isaiah 9:6, Christ is said to be the Prince of Peace. Here, we see a ruler with an objective. There is a purpose behind Christ’s rule that goes beyond ruling for the sake of ruling. One of Christ’s chief desires in His reign is for peace to be upon His people.
In Daniel 9:13-14, it is said of the Son of man that He would be given a kingdom in which all the people of the land would serve Him. This kingdom is one that will never be destroyed and will thus last throughout all eternity.
When Christ came to the earth, He came to declare peace. For those that receive Christ before His second coming, they will be ushered into Christ’s kingdom of peace. When Christ returns to establish His kingdom, He will come in judgment.
He will sit upon the throne of David
Christ, the long awaited Messiah, came as a descendant of David. This is vitally important information for the world to know. The Jews were meticulous in their record keeping. Genealogies can be seen all throughout the Bible. The Jews kept these records in order to establish Jewish descent for various reasons, to include the office of king.
In 2 Samuel 7, we are told of a promise between God and David. The promise is often referred to as the Davidic Covenant. The covenant consisted of a descendant of David sitting upon the throne of David and establishing the throne for all time. Scripture says, “… upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it…” (Is. 9:7) . Christ came as the One to fulfill the prophecies concerning the Davidic Covenant.
Justice and judgment
Yet again, we see a reason for Christ’s rule. We already saw that Christ came to rule as the Prince of Peace. However, Scripture also tells us that Christ would establish His throne, “… with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever…” (Is. 9:7) . Justice and proper judgment is a staple of God’s heart toward His people.
God gave the Israelites strict rules to follow concerning proper judgments. The book of Proverbs is filled with references to justice and what appropriate forms of judgment will look like. When Christ came, He came in peace to establish His kingdom of peace that will be characterized by justice and proper judgments.
His zeal will perform
But how does the Father fulfill His purposes for His Son’s coming to the earth? Scripture says, “… The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Is. 9:7) . Here, we see that God is a zealous God. When the Bible uses the word zeal, it uses the Hebrew word kinaw, which denotes jealousy or envy. God is jealous for His people with a righteous jealousness.
God will not sleep, and He will not falter in His pursuit of His people and purposes. There is no greater place to see the zeal of God than in the incarnation of Christ followed by the death of the only Begotten Son. God was filled with zeal to the point of wrapping Christ in flesh and causing the Son to walk upon the sin-stricken earth. God was filled with zeal to the point of orchestrating the events of time to fulfill His sovereign plan, to send His Son to redeem mankind through nothing less than the shed blood of His one and only Son. God, by His zeal, will carry out His plan. The hardest part of the plan has already been done.
Final prayer
Father, thank You for the shed blood of Christ. Thank You for sending Your Son to the earth to die in my place. In Jesus’ name, Amen.