Week of December 3

Have you noticed that the greatest rescues often occur in the hour of deepest despair? I recently followed the stress-filled events following an under-construction road tunnel collapse in India where forty-one men were trapped for seventeen days. Hope hung in the balance as rescuers worked frantically around the clock to clear a path through 60 meters of collapsed shaft to rescue the workers.

There were fears that drilling a rescue passageway might strike water that would then flood the area where the men were trapped. The Himalayas also are a changing mountain typology according to experts, so rescuers were unsure if their efforts might cause a second collapse. And, at one point, the drill used to bore a passage to freedom broke, and it seemed like the attempt to free those trapped inside would fail. The fear those trapped miners and their loved ones must have felt is tangible.
 
Talk about terror and upset! Isaiah saw the bright light of hope even as the dark shadow of Assyrian conquest spread across Israel. He heard the people blame their apostate king and their God for their plight. The former was indeed partly to blame, but they were utterly wrong in associating guilt with God (cf. 8:21; ESV).
 
You may be trapped in a dead-end job, struggling beneath a pile of bills, or clearing away the debris of a failed relationship. Regardless the circumstances, you have entered the Christmas season long on fear and short on hope. Someone has written, “When we can see no hope and no way out, then faith rises and brings the victory.” We do well today to see what Isaiah saw that turned despair into hope.

Have you found yourself blaming those around you and even turning your upset toward God? We should look closely at the way that the Lord states the absolute certainty of what was being proclaimed by Isaiah. He uses “prophetic perfects,” past tenses, to speak of the certainty of future events that are planned by God.

Your eyes of faith will enable you to gain assurance of “things hoped for” even when your surrounding circumstances are bleak (Hebrews 11:1; EBC). How so? Matthew saw the fulfillment of this prophecy in the ministry of Jesus of Galilee (Matthew 4:15-16; cf. Luke 1:79; & John 8:12). Peace and prosperity under the rule of God was to be their future inheritance (8:3-5; cf. Isaiah 12).

Who is there to offer aid? The prophet presents us with a significant prophetic word in the first seven verses of Isaiah 9. There will be a coming Davidic king who will reign with light, joy, and peace. The ruler quite possibly provides us with a contrast to King Ahaz whose throne was best characterized by darkness, distress, and war (7:1-8:22; esp. 8:22; NAC). This coming ruler would show none of the sinful pride and oppression that was evident in Israel and Assyria and would lead to their downfalls (cf. 9:8-10:34; NAC). I am all for a lot less sinful pride and oppression today. How about you?
 
What will be his name? There also is a unique parallel passage in 7:14-15 where a Davidic son will be called Immanuel. The Davidic son in 9:6-7 will also be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.” If we examine the two prophetic statements, then we see an axis of security that will be experienced in relationship to this ruler.
 
What benefit does he bring? First, we see that his light disperses the gloom (9:1-2). The surprise is that God would send this ruler into the heart of the region that had experienced great oppression and gloom (9:1). This sign of light would mean that God had not given up on His people (9:2). A new day of hope would dawn at this time.
 
Secondly, joy would return (9:3-5). It will be evident because the people will leap with excitement when they see a great harvest. By this, we see that God will eliminate the enemy who had once domineered the people.
 
Thirdly, this ruler’s kingdom would never end (9:6-7). There would be eternal peace. God will be the one who does this for His people. This king will exhibit wise planning (Wonderful Counselor), be closely identified with God (Mighty God), be divine (Everlasting Father), and bring a total cessation of hostilities (Prince of Peace; cf. 2:4). No one will be able to challenge his authority (Philippians 2:9-11). We need this King! Hallelujah, we have this King!

It will not require too much imagination to envision our nation as being stranded inside a collapsed and dark moral and spiritual tunnel! Social miscarriages of justice surround us, thus depleting our spiritual vitality (e.g., border crisis; homelessness; abuses of women and children; mass shootings). We see the rising evidence of morally questionable political leadership in all branches of government that threatens to cut off any hope of escape for citizens.

We are weary as a nation of all the infighting and corruption. We may conclude by an honest self-appraisal that our land desperately needs God to bring a coast-to-coast rescue and renewal. He invites us to see the great Light and hope that He has provided us in the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Matthew 9:36). The light that guides our path is not to be kept hidden in this season or in the coming year (Matthew 5:14-16). Share it with others.

Self-rescue will fail, as we should all know. Christ alone can penetrate the darkness of our personal desperation and, on a larger scale, our nation’s spiritual condition. He brings about the light of repentance and renewal. Pray for His light to shine into your personal loss and our national darkness, then spread the light (Matthew 5:14-16).

Here is a link to daily advent readings that we believe will enhance your family worship time throughout this season.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock