Isaiah 9:1-7

The Government of the Child Text: Isaiah 9:1-7

Introduction: The Dawn in Despised Places

The promises of God are not born in the sterile, well-lit laboratories of human optimism. They are born in the dark. They are spoken into gloom, into anguish, into the lands that have been treated with contempt. Our text begins in a place of deep historical darkness, the northern provinces of Zebulun and Naphtali. These were the badlands of Israel, the first to chase after the idols, the first to get their doors kicked in by the Assyrians, the first to be dragged off into exile. This was the periphery, the land of compromise and syncretism, what would later be called Galilee of the Gentiles. It was a place of shame.

And it is precisely here, in this despised and forgotten corner of the world, that God promises a great light will dawn. This is a foundational principle of the gospel. God does not begin His great work of restoration in the centers of human power and prestige, not in the Jerusalem temple, not in the courts of kings. He begins it on the margins. He brings glory out of contempt. He brings light out of the deepest darkness. This is a direct affront to all our pride, to all our attempts to build our own towers of Babel and then invite God to bless the penthouse suite. God starts in the basement, in the darkness, where the walking dead live.

Isaiah is prophesying a specific historical deliverance from the Assyrian threat, but the language he uses strains the historical boundaries and pushes forward, far forward, to a greater deliverance and a greater King. This passage is not primarily about Assyria. It is about the government of a Child, a Son who is given. It is about how God intends to fix the whole broken world, not through a committee, or a political platform, or a military coup, but through the birth of a baby. And the establishment of this government is not left to chance or human effort. The final line tells us that the white-hot, passionate, all-consuming zeal of Yahweh of hosts will see to it. This is a promise that cannot fail.


The Text

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. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, The light will shine on them. You shall multiply the nation, You shall make great their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their taskmaster, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. 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. 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 Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.
(Isaiah 9:1-7 LSB)

From Contempt to Glory (v. 1-2)

The prophecy begins by naming the place of deepest shame and promising a radical reversal.

"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. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, The light will shine on them." (Isaiah 9:1-2)

God Himself had treated this land with contempt because of their apostasy. The Assyrian invasion was not an accident; it was the rod of God's anger. But the promise is that this very place of judgment will become the place of glory. This is not God grading on a curve. This is God choosing the place of absolute spiritual bankruptcy to display His unmerited grace. Hundreds of years later, the apostle Matthew quotes this very passage to explain why Jesus began His public ministry precisely in this region, in Capernaum, in the forgotten lands of Zebulun and Naphtali (Matt. 4:12-16). The light did not dawn in the holy city; it dawned in the sticks. The gospel goes to the darkest places first.

The description of the people is not flattering. They are not seekers on a noble quest. They are people who "walk in darkness." Their native environment is "the land of the shadow of death." This is the biblical diagnosis of the human condition apart from Christ. It is not just that we make mistakes or are imperfect. We are spiritually dead, walking corpses, living in a dark valley overshadowed by death. And notice, the light is not something they generate. It is not a spark they fan into flame. It is a "great light" that they "will see." It shines "on them." This is a sovereign invasion. This is the unilateral grace of God breaking into a world that is not looking for it, a world that in fact loves the darkness (John 3:19). This is the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.


The Joy of a Conquered Peace (v. 3-5)

The result of this dawning light is an explosion of joy and a decisive, liberating victory.

"You shall multiply the nation, You shall make great their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their taskmaster, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire." (Isaiah 9:3-5)

Christian joy is not a quiet, dignified, stained-glass emotion. It is boisterous. It is the gladness of a farmer at a bumper harvest and the exultation of soldiers dividing up the loot after a total victory. The joy of harvest is the joy of seeing God's faithfulness produce overwhelming abundance. The joy of spoil is the joy of seeing your mortal enemy utterly crushed and his weapons plundered. This is the joy of the gospel. We rejoice because Christ has won the decisive victory over sin, death, and the devil. We are not just forgiven; we are on the winning side of a cosmic war.

And how was this victory won? God "shatters" the yoke of slavery. The language is violent. This is not a negotiated settlement. The instruments of oppression are broken. The historical parallel given is the battle of Midian. You remember the story of Gideon in Judges 7. God deliberately whittled Gideon's army down to a pathetic 300 men so that when they routed the massive Midianite army, there would be no question about who got the credit. The victory was absurdly, miraculously divine. This is how God saves. He does not need our impressive numbers or our clever strategies. He saves through weakness, so that the glory is His alone. The cross was the ultimate Gideon moment, where the apparent foolishness and weakness of God triumphed over all the powers of darkness.

The victory is so complete that the very implements of war become fuel for a bonfire. The warrior's boots, stained with the mud of battle, and the cloak, rolled in the blood of the slain, are ceremonially burned. This signifies the end of the war. Peace has been accomplished. This is what Christ did. He did not just call a ceasefire; He absorbed the full violence of God's wrath against sin, disarmed the principalities and powers, and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Col. 2:15). The war is over.


The Child Who is God (v. 6)

Now, the prophet reveals the identity of the warrior who wins this peace. And here is the great paradox.

"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." (Isaiah 9:6)

The foundation of this worldwide, cosmos-altering victory is a birth announcement. A child is born. A son is given. The entire weight of cosmic government, the administration of the universe, will rest on the shoulders of this baby. This is the glorious absurdity of the incarnation. The infinite has become an infant. The hope of the world lies not in a parliament, but in a person, and that person starts out as a helpless child.

Then we are given His royal throne names, and they are staggering. Each one is a direct claim to deity.


An Ever-Increasing Government (v. 7)

Finally, Isaiah describes the nature and certainty of this child's kingdom.

"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 Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this." (Isaiah 9:7)

This is the great engine of Christian hope and the mandate for our cultural engagement. The government of Christ is not static. It is not in retreat. It is a kingdom of ever-increasing influence and peace. The mustard seed is growing into a great tree. The leaven is working its way through the whole lump of dough. This kingdom is the fulfillment of God's covenant with David, but it is far greater. It is established and upheld not by political maneuvering, but by "justice and righteousness." These are the pillars of God's own throne. Christ's kingdom advances wherever true justice and righteousness are established.

And what is the guarantee of this final, total victory? Is it our evangelistic zeal? Our political activism? Our faithfulness? No. The guarantee is this: "The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this." God's own passionate, fiery, intense commitment to His own glory and to the promises He has made is the unstoppable force driving history to its appointed conclusion. God has a personal investment in the success of His Son's kingdom. He is zealous for it. And what the zeal of the Lord of Armies sets out to do, it will most certainly accomplish.


Conclusion: The Zeal of the Lord

This passage is a declaration of the victory of Jesus Christ, from start to finish. It begins in the darkness of human sin and judgment and ends in the eternal light of His ever-increasing government. The whole project is initiated, defined, accomplished, and guaranteed by God Himself.

The government of this world, with all its turmoil, its pretensions, and its anxieties, truly rests on the shoulders of that Child. He is the Mighty God who has already won the decisive battle. He is the Prince of Peace who has already made peace by the blood of His cross. Our task is not to establish His kingdom in a panic, as though its success depended on us. Our task is to live as loyal citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, a government that is constantly and inevitably increasing.

We are the glad soldiers dividing the spoil. We are the joyful farmers bringing in the harvest. We do this by proclaiming the names of our King, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, and by living lives of justice and righteousness. We do this with confidence, not because we are so zealous, but because the zeal of Yahweh of hosts has accomplished it, is accomplishing it, and will accomplish it, until the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the sea.