Carey's Bible Study Notes
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a child is born
life of christ: isaiah 7; 9.6-7; 11.1-5
a child is born
introduction
Before we look at the specific passage before us today, we need to focus once more on the major flow of thought in the Bible according to the apostle Paul. According to Paul, the history of the Bible hangs upon 4 tent posts: (1) Jesus Christ creating the world and creating mankind in His (Jesus') image, (2) the Fall of mankind which brings about the curse, (3) God's contract/covenant with Abraham-Christ which undoes the curse by bringing in the blessing, and (4) the fulfillment of that covenant in the life and ministry of Jesus. Everything which occurs between #3 and #4 enhances or explains the concept of the blessing.
One of the major ways the OT develops the concept of Jesus being the blessing is that God promised Abraham-Christ that He would make of Abraham a great nation. Moreover, kings would hail from Abraham's grandson Judah. God is so pleased with David, the first king to emerge from the tribe of Judah, that He promises to make of David a dynasty which would be eternal. God would fulfill this promise by giving David a descendant who would be nothing less than God's own Son who would reign forever.
context
The passages we're studying today have a common historical context-threat to the continuation of the line of David. After David's son Solomon passed away, Solomon's son Rehoboam was so arrogant that 10 of the tribes which made up the nation of Israel balked and set up their own kingdom to the north of Jerusalem. This northern kingdom acquired the name "Israel"; on the other hand, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin along with the Levites formed the southern kingdom, "Judah." For the next 200+ years, these 2 kingdoms constantly were at each other's throats. The story in Isaiah 7-11 occurs at a time when the northern kingdom Israel along with Syria launched a campaign to destroy Jerusalem and its king, the direct descendant of David named Ahaz.
Ahaz is a political realist. He understands that his tiny nation is no match for the combined forces of Israel and Syria; therefore, after strategizing, he decides to enlist the aid of Assyria, the world's superpower at that time. (It would be like Mexico and Nicaragua fighting today and one of them asking for the help of the USA.) Although on paper this strategy looked good, it was ill-conceived. For all practical purposes, Assyria was looking elsewhere and was not paying any attention to these petty kingdoms which lay to her west. Ahaz was running the risk of getting Assyria involved and staying involved.
Ahaz makes a critical error here for another reason. Israel and Syria ultimately were no match for the tiny kingdom of Judah. Although they had the numbers, Judah had God's promise. God had promised to preserve the line of David, of which Ahaz was a part. His security did not lay in some foreign power but in the promise of God. In fact, Isaiah tells Ahaz that the destruction of the house of David "shall not stand nor shall it come to pass" (Is. 7:7). Isaiah approached Ahaz to warn him of the critical error in judgment that he was about to make. He came to encourage him to trust in the Lord rather than in Assyria.
In order to give Ahaz the assurance he would need to trust Him, God commanded Ahaz to ask of Him any sign he so chose so that He could prove to Ahaz that He was going to be with him. No sign was too great. If it meant Ahaz ascending to the highest of heaven, so be it. If it meant descending to the depths of the underworld, so be it. God would fulfill it. Ahaz, however, refuses to ask for a sign. On the surface it appears that Ahaz is expressing great humility by refusing to ask God for a sign: "I should not tempt the Lord by asking for a sign, should I? Of course not!" The truth though is that this is nothing less than a mock display of humility and piety. Although Jesus commanded us not to tempt the Lord, the Lord Himself is commanding Ahaz to ask Him for a sign-one which could very well have benefited him. Rather he disobeys God's command because he does not want God to be involved in this affair nor in his life for that matter. He wants to rely upon Assyria and not upon the Lord. He is wicked and wants to have nothing to do with Him.
promise of the child (7.14-25)
The sad thing about this whole affair is that Ahaz could have asked for a sign for God's help which would have benefited him. He could have asked for riches, wisdom, power, etc.; however, he rejects God's offer. Now God informs him that He will indeed give Ahaz a sign, just not one which will benefit Ahaz. Isaiah promises that God is going to give a virgin-a young maiden who at this time is not married-a son whose name will be Immanuel, which translated means "God with us!" By the time the virgin has gotten married, conceived, had a son and by the time this boy has been born and almost reached the age of accountability (the ability to know right from wrong), the 2 kings which are threatening Judah will have perished. The Assyrian might will have made its presence known in these 2 hostile countries, resulting in the liberation of Judah. Moreover, though Judah will have been freed from the oppression of Syria and Israel, she will nevertheless face oppression from the Assyrians. Ahaz could have had the Lord's help; however, because he had decided to rely upon Assyria, God was going to give him Assyria.
When we read Isaiah 7:14, we immediately recognize it as one of the great prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. In its immediate context though, this passage is not dealing with the Messiah. It is predicting the coming of a little boy whose presence will show that God was with the nation of Judah and the Davidic dynasty. Although the maiden was a virgin and not yet married when Isaiah made the prophecy, she would nevertheless most likely get married and then have this son. In other words, by the time Isaiah made the prophecy and the prophecy was fulfilled, approximately several years had passed. The little boy in question here might be none other than Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz whom the Bible claimed was the greatest king ever to reign over Judah. The little boy might also have been a son born later to Isaiah. No matter who the boy was, before he reached the age of accountability, the 2 northern kings would have been destroyed.
There is more to this verse though. When we read the OT, we discover many times that one passage will have more than one layer to it. It's like when we were in school and our teachers used transparencies to show to us how the USA started on the east coast and moved progressively across the North American continent. The first transparency would show just the 1st 13 colonies. The second transparency would show only the area west of the Alleghenies. The third would show only the Louisiana Purchase. When you laid one transparency down on top of the other, you would see how the country grew geographically.
Well, the same principle is operating here. Our first transparency shows the birth of a little boy during the time of Isaiah whose birth showed that God was with Judah; however, our second transparency shows more. The second transparency speaks about the birth of another boy whose existence is nothing less than God being with us in an ultimate fashion. Although the virgin in Isaiah's day most likely got married and then produced a child, a day was coming when another virgin would bear a son-this time without getting married, and her son's existence would be nothing less than God being with us in an ultimate fashion. How? According to Luke, the Spirit of God would come upon the virgin Mary and produce within her Jesus, God the Son. This second Son was not going to be God's son in the sense that he was special to God; rather, He was going to be God's Son in the sense that by nature God was truly His Father. The first son born was God's sign to show Ahaz that He was going to save His people and the Davidic dynasty by rescuing them from the 2 northern kingdoms. This second Son would save His people in an ultimate way by defeating Satan, sin, and death by dying on the cross and rising from the dead to reign eternally on a throne beside God the Father.
second promise regarding the son (Is. 9:6-7)
The second interpretation of the previous verse would probably seem strained if it were not for the next 2 prophecies regarding the Son. By the time the second prophecy rolls around, focus has completely shifted from the birth of Hezekiah (the first transparency) to the birth of God's Son, Jesus (the second transparency). This second prophecy explains more about what kind of impact He is going to make upon His people and the world.
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.
And the government shall be upon His shoulders;
And His name shall be called, "Wonderful Counselor;
The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
There will be no end to the increase of the government or of peace
On the throne of David and over his kingdom.
'To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
For then on and forevermore
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Isaiah characterizes this Child as being a wonderful counselor. By wonderful, Isaiah is meaning that in Jesus we get a lot more than we bargained for. We have high expectations for this Child; however, He is so wonderful that He totally surpasses any expectations we place upon Him. I feel like whenever we begin to understand how wonderful Jesus is, we respond to him like my son Nathan responded the first time he saw E.T. He was only 4 years old and had never seen anything like it before. When it looked like E.T. and Eliot were in danger, E.T. saved them by making the bicycle they were riding fly through the air. Nathan's mouth dropped wide open; his eyes got as big as saucers. He said, "Woooooow! Daaaaaad!" He couldn't believe it. That's the way we would respond if we really understood how wonderful Jesus really is.
He is counselor in the sense that He provides wise guidance for His people. Right now we're in the midst of a presidential campaign, and we're wondering who will be Gore's or Bush's counselors. Colin Powell? Bush's dad, George H.? Every president is made or broken based on the counselors he assembles around him. In Jesus' administration, He is not only the ruler but also the counselor. He needs none to counsel Him because He is ultimately wise. His counsels cannot be improved upon. Remember last week's lesson in which David gave some counsel to God about the construction of a house. Well, God's counsel was far superior because He was going to build David a house which would be eternal.
The fact that we are dealing with more than just Hezekiah or Isaiah's son is abundantly clear with these next descriptions. This Child was not going to be just any human being; He was going to be the Mighty God. Although Jesus was man in every sense of the word, He was more in that He was God. He might have been God the Son; however, He was nevertheless, God. He is as much God as God the Father is God. He is the eternal Father. He is eternal because He is God.
When Isaiah calls Jesus "Father," he is referring to the way He relates to the people He rules. He treats us in a fatherly fashion. Whereas being a father means that He has to discipline us from time to time, the truth is that His being fatherly towards us means that everything He does in our lives is coming out of a motivation of love and care. As the Prince of Peace, Jesus brings peace and prosperity to His people. Whereas the USA was technically in a state of peace after the Vietnam war, the truth is that we as a nation did not really enjoy peace until the collapse of the Soviet Union. For the past 10 years, this nation has enjoyed peace and prosperity on an unrivaled scale. The lives of even some of the poor in our nation surpass the lives of the Caesars: in transportation, communications, education, etc. Yet all the peace we experience now gives us only a taste of the peace and prosperity we shall enjoy when Christ returns.
What will bring all this to pass? The zeal of the Lord of hosts. Although mankind has done a good job of progressing on its own, it can never accomplish all that Isaiah promises us. Right now we live in peace, and yet that peace is still only relative. Terrorists threaten our people abroad. Oklahoma City and the World Trade Towers incidents show us that our safety is tentative. We enjoy peace right now; however, all of this could change in a heartbeat. Our economic situation seems secure; however, we are now so tied to the rest of the global economy, that a serious downturn overseas could jeopardize our economy. None of this though is true of the peace and prosperity that Christ will bring. We won't need Alan Greenspan checking the economic indicators everyday to make sure that the situation is not getting out of control. We won't have to worry about traveling abroad. We shall experience the kind of peace and prosperity that only God can give.
third promise regarding the child (11:1-5)
The last passage about the child emphasizes 2 more elements about Him and His reign: (1) the presence of the Holy Spirit and (2) the predominance of righteousness. Whatever else was true about this Child, He was going to be filled with the Spirit of God. Everything He said and did was going to be nothing less than the words and actions of the Spirit of God operating through Him. It is by no accident when we read the birth stories of Jesus in Matthew and Luke that we see an emphasis on the Holy Spirit. For at least 400 years the Holy Spirit had been silent. With the coming of Jesus though, He once more begins to operate in order to show us that Jesus was none other than the Child Isaiah predicted would come.
Finally, Isaiah writes that His reign would be one of righteousness. His reign is not based on a superficial analysis of the situation. Right now we are in the process of electing a president. What will shape our opinions about the 2 candidates? Slick campaign ads? Who has the best style? If so, we are so superficial. What Isaiah promises us though is that Jesus will reign in true righteousness. Being God, He has the ability to see through all our facades and judge us accurately for who we truly are. He will exalt those who have truly sought to follow Him, whereas He will remove from His presence those who rendered unto Him lip-service or even outright rebellion.