Transcript

Well, grab your Bibles and turn off your electronic stuff. We were, um, somewhere the other day and “Sweet Home Alabama” started playing on somebody’s phone. That’s a good way to get your picture on the screen up here. And you know what I’ve learned? You know what’s funny is the senior adults are the worst. It’s got an off button. I do know that much. I don’t know much more.

Isaiah 9. We, we sang about the Messiah in the song a while ago and tonight the choir’s gonna lead us in singing a lot more about God’s Messiah and I’ve entitled the exposition of this section “God’s Great Messiah,” because he is God’s Messiah. He’s for us and to our benefit but he’s for God’s purpose and God’s glory primarily, and what a powerful portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ and the promised Messiah to Israel we see in Isaiah 9. Now when you’re looking at Old Testament messianic prophecies, it’s important that you always understand your interpretation must have made sense to the people of that day even though it has its ultimate and full fulfillment in Jesus who’s coming in the future. So we’ll remember both of those and we’ll be talking about both of those as we go through.

Isaiah writes in Isaiah 9:1, going down through verse 7,

1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. 3 You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. 5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. [And here’s how this gonna happen.] 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Just earlier in chapter 7, the Bible says that King Ahaz, king of Judah, now the kingdom’s split for most of this, the northern kingdom called Israel which represents more of a sinful rebellion in carnality, and the southern kingdom, Judah, which was supposed to represent the godly remnant though they were compromising and backslidden also. But the northern kingdom’s threatening to destroy Judah and King Ahaz of Judah and all the hearts of Judah, the Bible says, their, their hearts are shaking like the tree limbs when the wind blows through. The time of darkness, it’s a time of fear, it’s a time of war, and not just the northern kingdom attacking the southern kingdom, as time plays out, mighty terrifying Assyria is threatening both and indeed will bring its warring machine against both. And in this context, God tries to encourage and also at the same time reprove Israel, and I’m using Israel now generically for the north and southern kingdom, encourage and reprove Israel through a child motif, a metaphor of a child.

For example, look at chapter 7 with me. Turn back a couple of pages and look at verse 3. Ahaz is going out to check out his water supply because in that day a great way to defeat someone is to cut their city off concerning their water. Verse 3, ” Then the LORD said to Isaiah,” the prophet, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field. Now Isaiah, I want you to go talk to Isaiah for me.” Isaiah is God’s spokesman here and what God’s saying to Ahaz, the king, through Isaiah is this, “Trust Me. Trust Me. Don’t look to Assyria to protect you. Don’t look to anything in the world. Look to Me and trust Me.” So he says, “Isaiah, when you go,” it’s interesting he doesn’t tell him exactly what to say, he’s just, “Make sure you take your boy with you, your little boy, your child.” His name is Shear-jashub. You know what Shear-jashub translates out as? “A remnant shall remain.” So every time Isaiah walks up, there’s this little boy and just when he shows up, a remnant shall remain is God’s message. It’s just, just ironic, it’s so paradoxical, these mighty warring enemies and all of Judah shaking with fear and God brings a little child and the little child’s name means “a remnant shall remain.” In other words, you’re not gonna be devastated by these people. You’re not gonna be destroyed by them. God’s gonna take care of you.

Well, not only that one, look over to chapter 8, and in chapter 8, look at verse 3. This is another child. “So I approached the prophetess,” this is Isaiah’s wife, “and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, ‘Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz,” y’all remember Maher, don’t you? We preached about him before. Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Maher-shalal-hash-baz is the little boy whose name means “swift to the plunder, speedy to the spoil.” So just by having this boy with him as Isaiah goes throughout the country, God is saying paradoxically, ironically through a little child, “swift is the plunder, speedy is the spoil.” Here’s what he’s saying, “Israel, don’t fear the nations. Don’t trust in the nations. Trust in Me because I’m gonna swiftly plunder your enemy and give you their spoils.” They’re little children making this announcement.

Then there’s this different child mentioned in our text. Look at it again. Well, first of all, go back to chapter 7. We’ll connect chapter 7 to it. Chapter 7 and look at verse 14, “Therefore,” 7:14, “the Lord Himself will give you a sign.” Ahaz is playing coy, he’s playing, um, spiritual because he’s already decided to dishonor God and trust in an alliance with Assyria to protect him from the northern kingdom and God’s been telling him, “Don’t do it.” God knows he’s already done it but he hadn’t really told anybody he’s done it but here’s what God says. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Now this is different. Immanuel. Now I know I’ve preached this before and I, I like to say that Maher-shalal-hash-baz and the Immanuel child are the same child. They may not be. They may be but it doesn’t change the doctrine or the teaching of the text either way. But anyway, there is a uniqueness here that we didn’t see in the other two. This child’s name is Immanuel which means “God is with us.” There’s gonna be a special protection. There’s gonna be a special preservation. There’s going to be a special peace and prosperity for you, Israel, because God says, “I will come Myself and make sure it happens, but I’ll come in the embodiment of a little baby.” Interesting.

Now when we think about this and then over in our text go to Isaiah 9:6, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us,” this is 9:6, and notice this, “the government will rest on His shoulders; His name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. No end to the increase of His government or of peace.” And we read all those things and we think, “Wait a minute, this can’t be King Hezekiah. Matter of fact, this can’t be any human king that’s ever reigned in Israel or will reign in Israel. This can only be fulfilled in Jesus Himself. This has to be a prophecy which has its final ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ Himself.”

So let’s look at this text and let’s talk about God’s great Messiah. I. Let’s look at the messianic redemption, that this great one who will come as a child is a great Redeemer. The messianic redemption and the first subpoint A is he comes with illumination. Chapter 9, verses 1 and 2, “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.” Now this is interesting, this region is the northern part of what we call the nation of Israel and it was the darkest part of the nation, but here God says, “You’ve done everything humanly to fix your problems, you’ve done everything humanly to protect yourselves, you’ve done everything humanly to find peace and prosperity in the earth, but I’m gonna do something and finally get the job done. I’ll bring this day of illumination.” These people are presently living in death’s shadow, the darkness they’re realizing right now had been absolute. I mean, they see no hope on this horizon, on the horizon rather. These are hopeless and pitiful people and God says, “I’m going to come in and give you a glorious hope.”

Now it’s not because God must do it, not because man in his wisdom found some key way to force God or some mantra to manipulate and buy into God pouring out his power. No, it’s merely God’s choice in love and grace. Remind yourself, child of God, that judgment is never the end for God’s people. God never permits a humiliation for which there is not a corresponding exaltation planned. This illumination, this bright hope is coming to this darkest of land because the north, northern region rather is where Assyria had most dominated and taken the people captives, and so in every way that region was viewed as the most depressed area and God said, “That’s the area I’m gonna bring the brightest light.”

He calls it here Galilee of the Gentiles, that region of the greatest sin, that region of the greatest woe and darkness. Does this not point to the Lord Jesus Christ who is often called the stranger of Galilee? He is this sin-darkened world’s glorious hope and his ministry was primarily in that northern region called Galilee. It was a region of, of half- breeds, a lot of Gentiles there, some intermarrying there. So, so the rest of Israel even to the day of Christ 700 years after this prophecy, the Israelis kinda looked at that region with disdain. They’re in such darkness but that’s where Jesus showed up, and then after his resurrection, Matthew 26:32, he says, “after I am resurrected, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” So in this darkest of regions, are you in a dark place now? Maybe everything outside of you is really okay but in your heart and mind there’s just darkness, despair, discouragement, doom, “What am I gonna do?” I want to tell you, God will step in and bring the light. In the darkest region of Israel the prophet said, “There’s gonna be a light come on.” That’s the prophecy of Jesus’ coming and pouring his ministry out primarily through the regions of Galilee.

Suddenly like the suddenness of dawn, unexpectedly the glorious light of hope will shine upon them and these people groping in darkness will suddenly find themselves blinking in the light. They were like Ephesians 2:12 said, “having no hope and without God in the world.” That’s the way they were. That’s kinda the way they saw things. That’s the way they felt. And then as verse 2 of chapter 9 tells us, then “The light will shine on them.” The Bible reminds us, John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world.” That’s who Jesus is. He is the great one, he is the great Messiah who is the great Redeemer, who comes to sin- darkened, desperate, hopeless people. A light comes on. I don’t know if you would have found a darker soul in February of 1978. I turned on my radio and heard a preacher and I’m telling you, the, before I knew anything about this text, the best thing I can tell you, I’m driving my car hearing the Gospel and the light came on. It came on inside of here. This is about Jesus.

The messianic redemption. First of all, we see illumination, secondly, let’s notice emancipation. What a powerful picture this is of our Christ. The emancipation. Go to verse 4 and referring to this promised Messiah, this one that’s gonna come as a child but somehow as a child he will also be this powerful emancipator. Verse 4, “For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.” Now this, this yoke, this burden that was Israel in time and space history 700 years before Christ, that was the Assyrians. The Assyrians boasted of the brutality and the heavy yoke they put on their slaves they’d taken captive when they conquered opposing countries. The Jews are now under this. They’re feeling this. But not only is this yoke about ancient Assyria’s oppression of ancient Israel, this is a picture of the yoke and the burden of the law that all sinners find themselves under.

You see, we have transgressed God’s law. Here’s what’s wrong with you people, here’s what’s wrong with you, you don’t grasp the holiness of God and you don’t grasp the holiness and absoluteness of the law of God, so far too many of us, it becomes a small thing that God crushed the rod of our oppressor. It’s not a small thing. Here we were as transgressors of the law of God and our, our, our faces crushed down under this overbearing and damning yoke of slavery that we have, the yoke pushing our faces into the dirt and the darkness of gloom and anguish. That’s why Peter preaching talked about the Jewish leaders of the day and how they just heaped law after law on the people and Peter says in Acts 15:20, “a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear.” It’s a yoke. It’s a burden. It’s an oppression. There’s nothing wrong with the law, we’re the problem.

Here we find ourselves under this yoke, this oppression and what does he say in verse 4? Does he say we shake off the yoke? No. Does he say we hold up under the yoke? No. He said, “You shall break the yoke of their burden.” Look at the imagery here of the old Assyrian soldiers beating the rods down on the back and the shoulders of their captive Israelis and the staff on their shoulders. You’ll break “the rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.” So here we see Assyria but we also see how this speaks of us being under the guilt and the condemnation of sin.

Look, look over at, um, Isaiah 10. Matter of fact, I think it’s gonna be on your screen but in Isaiah 10:24-25, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, ‘O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction.'” God says, “I’m gonna break the oppression off of you.” Pagan nations have always been symbolic, they’ve been a, a type of Satan, if you will. So here we see this picture of the oppressor and here we are under the law, bowed down, and Satan walks up with his rod of oppression. Satan takes that rod and he says, whack! “You’re a transgressor.” And takes, Satan takes that rod again and says, whack! “You’re guilty.” And Satan takes that rod again and he says, whack! “You’re condemned.” And whack! “You’re doomed.” And whack! “You have no hope.” Just beating us down. We’re finished.

But he says God’s going to take care of this oppressor for us and he’s gonna do it, notice what the text says, “as at the battle of Midian.” Now what does that mean? Well, who won the battle of Midian? Well, Gideon did. You remember the story of Gideon? God wouldn’t let him have but just a little army and yet he defeated the mighty Midianites. He was from the, he was the youngest, he was from the smallest family, and he couldn’t have very many fighters but God used him with a great victory. God says, “I’m gonna take what the world would think is weak and insignificant and I’m gonna use that to defeat your oppressor.”

This points to Jesus, baby Jesus. He came in weakness and he came in meekness. Then he grew up and they crucified him in weakness, but he arose in power over Satan and death and hell and the grave. And so Jesus walks up and he takes his rod, a rod of omnipotence, he says, “Satan, come here.” If you think Jesus and Satan are fighting over men’s souls, you’re a fool, you are fooled. Jesus can only do or Satan can only do what Jesus allows him to do. “Satan, come here.” And Satan bowed down and Jesus said, “Satan, you’re the enemy of Me and of My children.” Whack! “You’re a transgressor.” Whack! “You’re guilty.” Whack! “You’re doomed.” Whack! “You’re condemned.” And whack! “You’re finished.” Only Jesus can do that. He emancipates us from the yoke of our slavery unto the law and the guilt and the condemnation and the, the damnation that we walked under.

Well, not only illumination and emancipation, but the great Redeemer, the messianic Redeemer brings us celebration. You can’t know this and experience this and go on home and just eat cornbread. Just can’t do that. Something changes in you when you grasp what God’s done for you through his Son Jesus Christ. Look at back at verse 3 and he says because of what this promised Messiah who is Jesus Christ is gonna do for you, verse 3, “You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; and they will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As when men rejoice when they divide the spoil.” As a result of God being among them, Immanuel, God is with them, there’s gonna be a great sweeping of an abundance of joy from this messianic, this Messiah as he establishes his kingdom.

Now for ancient Israel in this context, before their nation was in decline but now there’s gonna be a multiplication. Before their harvest was meager but now it’s going to be abundant. Before the nation was spoiled and now it’s going to enjoy the spoils of victory. But ultimately this is picturing Christ’s kingdom because now his nation is multiplying because it’s not just Jews but now the Gospel of Christ goes to the Gentile also. That’s us. And God’s multiplying his nation and there’s a time of gladness that’s being ushered in, and it’s like a gladness we’ve never seen before.

Psalm 30:11 says he’s “turned for me my mourning into dancing.” Proverbs 10:28 says, “The hope of the righteous is gladness.” And when the early church was starting in Acts 2:46, they were taking their meals with gladness, the Bible says. There’s a sense of celebration in the hearts of the child of God and in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, when we meet together and we sing, there’s a sense of joy and celebration in what we have because he’s broken the rod of our oppressor. We’re freed from all of that.

Now here’s what I like to say: the church gathered together has a limited celebration because we’re still down here and there’s the limitation of the flesh and the sinful world. Now look, all we have to look forward to is increasing celebration the closer we get to glorification. And then I’m convinced when you get in glorification, all of eternity is filled with increasing joy and celebration because the more we celebrate what he’s done, the more it glorifies him who did it. I don’t know, some of you need to work on your celebrator a little bit. Maybe you can just say, “O God, help me to see the serious weightiness of my condition as a transgressor before Your holy law.” And then cares, correspondingly, “Help me to grasp the wonder of the wisdom, the power, the glory of this unmerited favor that You would come and break the rod of oppressor off of me. Help us to celebrate.” He says they will rejoice, in verse 4, “As when men divide the spoil.” You know what comes to my mind? I sometimes like to read about pirates and I’m not sure why but I do, and pirates, they really were like this. Have you ever seen a movie where pirates capture a, a ship carrying great treasure? You know what they do? Woo! They’re just throwing it everywhere. Gold chains and gold beads and jewels and gems, and they’re just drinking and just celebrating. God said, “That’s what it’s like when you realize what I’ve done through My Messiah’s redemption for you.” My goodness.

Celebration. Christ came as the Light of the world, illumination. Christ came to redeem us back from slavery and the yoke of slavery, emancipation. And Christ came that we might now and forevermore know celebration over what he has done.

I love Christmas. In a way, I don’t want to be trite here, but in a way when Jesus is born, it’s like the party’s starting. Have you ever really looked forward to going to a party? Now for me it’s all about the food but if I know the lady of the house really knows how to cook, it’s like, “Hot dog! When do we get there?” It’s like, “Boy, it’s time. I’ve worked all day. I’m done. We’ve got this done, we’ve got that done. Now it’s time to go, the celebration is starting.” When Jesus came it’s as if God said, “The celebration is starting. It’s just a matter… nothing can stop My great Messiah.” He’s going to the cross and, boom, and break the rod of the oppressor against you. He’s gonna rise proving your justification. He’s gonna go to the right hand of the Almighty and faithfully intercede for you – and listen to me – he’s going to bring every one of his children home for the great great great glorious eternal celebration that’s out in front of all of us.

Do you believe this stuff? Messiah is the great Redeemer. The messianic redemption. Now let’s go a little bit further here. I’ve only got two points. The messianic reign. The messianic reign. We’ve been, we’ve been getting over on that but let’s talk about it a little more particular here. Subpoint A. Notice the conquest and we see this in verse 6. He said here’s how it’s gonna happen. Here’s how he’s going to make conquest of the enemy and give us the victory. ” For a child will be born to us.” Wait a minute, God, we’ve done been through this. Maher-shalal-hash-baz and Shear-jashub, we’ve had the children before. Isaiah ran all around. We could, we had to see him all the time and remind ourselves all the time and you’re bringing another child? Yeah, but this one’s different. He’s the Immanuel child. He’s God with us. He’s not someone God sent, he’s God. This is different.

There’s gonna be a child born. Notice the phrases “to us.” Verse 6, “a son will be given to us.” God had promised Israel victory over her enemies and God says, “I’m gonna send you a new sign, a little child,” and he’ll be God’s agent of victory. But obviously this child is not just a sign of promise like Shear-jashub was, like Maher-shalal-hash-baz was. They were signs of victory. This child’s the Immanuel child. He’s the Messiah. He’s God in human form. This one is not a promise of victory, this one is the victory. He’s not the promise of victor, he is the victor. No wonder Paul wrote, “Well, if God be for us, who could be against us?” If God came down here to secure my salvation, who can fight that off? Who can defeat that? Who can question that? Who can thwart that?

I mean, if someone has promised to come and break the yoke of your burden and break the rod of your oppressor, you’d expect them to come with greater oppression and greater aggressiveness but when God comes to deliver us from our yoke and our oppressor, he comes humanly speaking in great power and might? No. Only God would come as a meek and humble baby to conquer his foe. Jesus, of course, is the fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy, he’s the physical embodiment of God with us. He came as a little baby in the promise of victory over our enemies, sin, death, hell and the grave, the virgin and the child of Isaiah 7:4 referred to again in Isaiah 9:5 are types of Mary and Joseph, and how difficult it was for Ahaz and Judah to trust that a helpless child was the assurance that God would bring them the victory. Now maybe if God like he had done before in Isaiah 37, he said an angel of the Lord one night and one night that angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Now one, one angel with that kind of might, now that might give you some encouragement but this is just a baby. But as the virgin Mary and the child are types of Mary and Jesus, so Ahaz, the king of Judah, and Judah are types of modern man.

They just couldn’t believe it, just couldn’t trust that, just needed more than that visually. We’ve just gotta see more than this baby. Isn’t that the way man is today? Jesus came in a way they didn’t expect him to come and then he said he was going to bring them victory and the next thing they know, he’s arrested and he’s being punched and his beard is being pulled out and they’re spitting in his face, and a few faithful disciples at that point abandon him and he’s only surrounded by the Gentile dogs and the vile Pharisaical leaders of Israel, and they scourge him with a cat of nine tails, and they put a rugged beam on his back and they march him down the Via Dolorosa and take him to the place of the Skull with common thieves and criminals and crash mighty nails through his feet and mighty nails through his hands, and hang him up suspended between heaven and earth, and they thrust a spear in his side. Everybody said, “This is not our Messiah. Weakness. Humiliation. Shame. Not what we’re looking for.”

Well, that’s 700 years earlier what Ahaza and the people of Israel said. “God sent us this promise of protection and peace and prosperity and victory and break the rod of our oppressor through this baby?” Oh, they forget as Isaiah said in Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” God said, “You, you don’t get it.” As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he said, “You’re just thinking like mere men. You’re just thinking like a person would naturally think.” Don’t you understand, child of God, when you become a Christian you have the capacity with the Spirit in you and the book before you to think supernaturally naturally? You have the capacity to think spiritual thoughts.

A child will be born for us, and then he says in verse 6, “a son will be given to us.” A son given. This speaks more directly of Jesus in his death. He was the Son of God but Jesus loved to use the phrase “I am the Son of man.” In other words, “I’ve become one of you that I might save you.” As the Son of man and as the Son of God, we think about how he was like God but no, more, he was fully God. And he was like man but even more, he was fully human. He was both the Son of God and the Son of man.

He grew to be an adult man while he was here on the earth but he did not resort to man’s methods to be a victor. They looked at Jesus and thought Jesus grossly disqualifies. As far as they were concerned as he hung on the cross, he was useless. But they knew not the wisdom of God for in that selfless, humble, meek act of dying, he was actually taking the place of his children and on that cross he completely conquered our enemies: sin, death, hell and the grave. 2 Corinthians 13:4, ” For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him because the power of God directed toward you.” And then 1 Corinthians 1:25, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Wow.

King Ahaz would say, “Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah, three babies, three babies, three babies you’ve brought to me, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, Shear-jashub, and now the Immanuel baby. Three babies and do you not understand the terrifying, brutal, mighty Assyrian army is kept, is camped at our border?” Isaiah was saying, God was saying through Isaiah, “Ahaz, Israel, the weakness of God is stronger than men. Trust Him. Trust Him.” Because this Jesus does indeed conquer and banish the enemies of his people through meekness and through humility, but just think, child of God, what it’s going to be like when he comes the second time, unleashing his mighty wrath and retribution against those who are not his.

And as Ahaz did not have the wisdom of faith so he did not trust in God. He did make an alliance with Assyria. So that’s where men are today that are lost, they’ve made an alliance with Assyria. We’ve looked to the world and we’re gonna trust the world. One of the ways they may say that today in the modern world is this, “Trust the science.” Well, I’m not against science. Just as a side note, I’d appreciate it if they’d really do the true scientific method before they call it science. The scientific method requires it to be observable and repeatable and you always get the same conclusion, not, “Wear a mask. Everybody wear a mask.” Not science. It may be the best guess of a scientist and that’s okay, I can get that. Or they might have been manipulating us like little sheep they want to tend and corral together. I don’t know. I’m not an anti-science guy. I think science is a wonderful gift from God. Do you know who had the greatest scientists in World War II? Germany. You know what they did with that great scientific knowledge and ability? They did experiments on Jews and destroyed them by the millions and took every little baby they could find that they didn’t deem as perfect and they killed that baby to purify the race. Science said yes to all of this. Do you know what our country is doing in the name of science? We’re taking our scientific knowledge and we’re killing little babies in the wombs of their mothers because it might be some sort of burden on the momma to carry a baby. Science says that’s good. Morality and character and virtue and godliness says it’s wrong. Trusting in Assyria. Trusting in Assyria and looking to the world because God’s way just doesn’t seem good or right. A people to save us.

Well, his conquest. Notice, secondly, not only his conquest, notice his character and I’m done. Oh, what a child this is. Verse 6, “the government will rest on His shoulders.” Here’s what happened, God said, “Here’s what I’m gonna do. This Messiah will come and in His reign He’ll regain the kingdom of the earth from all of those who misused it, to whom it had been entrusted.” He’s gonna take it back for God. There’s gonna be this radical change on planet earth. Up until the time the Messiah returns in his reign, Satan has controlled this world and he’s controlled it through God, ungodly men. But Jesus Christ will take the throne of planet earth and he’ll rule as King and he will rule as Lord and all the elements of governing will rest on him.

When it says the government will be placed on his shoulder, you know what it means? It means he’s up to the task. He’s up to the task. Vote for Joe Biden, he can handle it. Vote for Donald Trump, he’s up to the task. Well, you’ve gotta vote for somebody. We do the best we can, amen? But there’s only one who will say, “Put it on these shoulders right here. I can carry it all. I can handle it all.” He’s up to the task.

When he sets up his kingdom and it’s all placed on him, all the judgments will have been passed and all that is left is love and peace and his all-wise direction, which we see in the other part of his character, he’s also called the Wonderful Counselor. I like to say as the scholars say, it means he’s a wonder of a counselor. A wonder of a counselor. I’ll never forget, I’ve told you this one time before. I was listening to Barbara Walters. Y’all know who Barbara Walters is? Probably the most esteemed interviewer of the last 50-70 years. And it was toward the end of Barack Obama’s second term and she was not tongue-in- cheek, she was not telling a funny, she said seriously, “What happened? We thought Barack Obama was the messiah.” Now she didn’t really mean sent from God, she just thought, “We thought he would be the best and wisest there could ever be.” Then she said, “What happened?” We keep being disappointed time after time after time after time, but under Jesus’ administration nobody will be disappointed. Men will see his divine wisdom and it’s so far above merely human wisdom and over and over again Jesus will come and speak to all in his kingdom and we’ll all walk away saying, “My goodness, my goodness, what a wonder of a counselor He is. It’s a marvel how he makes everything perfect.”

Not only the government will rest on his shoulders, and not only a wonder of a counselor, but the verse says he’s Mighty God. Now this can’t be a human king, this has to be Jesus. He’s Mighty God. He emphasizes that he has the infinite might to carry out the wisdom of his counsel. What he devises, he will be able to achieve.

The government will rest on his shoulders, he’s the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, and then the Eternal Father. It was common for kings and it’s still used some today, that a king is the father of the country, but often those kings aren’t good fathers, and sometimes when they seem good, they always seem to die on us and then we get a bad one later. That’s why he’s the Everlasting Father. He’s good and he never goes nowhere. If you had a good dad, there’s nothing like coming home maybe you’re in a difficult season and sitting with a good dad who’s always there for you. That’s the way he’s gonna be. The Eternal Father.

It also emphasizes his paternal nature, it’s not going to be one of imposing authority. In today’s world we say we’re gonna bring all this equality and this, uh, the injustices are going to be cured and the oppression’s gonna be removed but they’re doing it by more force and more pressure. Not this kingdom. That’s not the way he does it. He’s superior to need to do it that way. He will give the people the kind of father who would care for them in love and give them fatherly security and even would sacrifice for them, which he has done through his Son.

Then he’s the Prince of Peace, a fitting and climatic conclusion to these characteristics of the Messiah’s reign. Matter of fact, this is what was proclaimed at his birth. Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” He is the Prince of Peace. Friend, let me remind you. Bob Dylan said this, there will be no peace because the world won’t cease until he returns. He is peace. Jesus came in peace. He came, you know, is there anything more peaceful than a quieted resting baby in the arms of its mother? Peace. He lived peace. He even made peace on the cross by conquering his enemies and making them his friends, and will establish his earthly kingdom one day and it’s going to be a wonderful peace. It’s gonna have a vertical and a horizontal concept to it. Vertically all will be at peace with God and that will allow us to finally to all horizontally be at peace with one another when he returns.

And then verse 7, “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom.” You can’t say it’ll ever end because there is no end. His kingdom starts but it never ends, it never has a back to it. He’s the final King. He’s the King of all kings.

And just one quick thought on that phrase, “To establish it,” verse 7, “and uphold it with justice and righteousness.” His will finally be a kingdom of justice and righteousness and it’s only possible because of who he is. It will not be a kingdom of mere might and force over others but a kingdom that has satisfied the terms of justice and righteousness. His citizens are not oppressed into some external form of submission and so-called peace. The citizens are those who have been, sorry, are those who have been made new by the King’s transforming power. They’re glorified by him and recreated in his image. Therefore from their innermost being they embrace the holy justice and righteousness of their King. They love the peace of this kingdom, they love the joy in this kingdom, they relish the satisfaction of the kingdom and the great prosperity of the kingdom, but they love the King most of all.

Just a little bit about God’s great Messiah. The Messiah’s redemption and the Messiah’s reign. I hope and I pray you know this Messiah. Are you his? Have you turned to him in faith? You must do that and trust him as your Lord and as your Savior.