a simple desire

”The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  (Isaiah 9: 2-3, 6 )

(It took some time to “wrestle” with these verses. This is dated for the day these verses appeared, not the day I wrote it.)

There is much in this verse, and it seems to me that both the historical setting of these verses and the modern day understanding of these verse needs to be given equal attention.  Scholars have identified passages such as these as referring both to a general hope for the people of Israel, and as prophetic pointing to Jesus. ‘Those who walk in darkness’ is a timeless metaphor, for us as well as for the people living when this was written. It is a hope that both we who live in the present, and those who lived in the past, cling to; that there will be a light to dispel the darkness.

Verse 3 speaks of enlarging of a nation and the ways joy will be increased. Verses 4 & 5, which are not cited here, refer to victory in war and that the memories of war will be obliterated. The events of these three verses seem to be accomplished because of the birth of this “child” as prophesied in verse 6. But these events do not seem to reflect the complete nature of Jesus’ mission and message.

Granted, part of Jesus’ ministry was victory and the memory of past sorrows will be erased. But setting verse 6, while prophetic in nature, does not pinpoint a timetable for this. The writer of Isaiah was writing for and to a people who were looking for hope in the near future, not for a hope that was several generations away. The modern day commentary (Matthew Henry’s) on this passage reflects the idea that believers will be cleansed “from the power and pollution of sin, would be by the influence of the Holy Spirit, as purifying fire.“

But this commentary was written with the knowledge and in the context of knowing that Jesus had come. As I said above, the writer of Isaiah is writing in the hope that something will happen, hopefully in the near future, to liberate and aid the Israelites. We must appropriate this same sort of faith that the writer of Isaiah was commending to his audience. And we must keep in mind how these verses remind us what Jesus has done for us. There should be a balance: the faith referred to by the writer of Isaiah that will sustain us and the knowledge of what Jesus has done. Both are needed for our present situation and for the future.