“Progressively Perpetual Peace
(Provided by the Prince’s Passion)”
Rev. Randall G. Bennett, Jr.
Isaiah 9:1-7
December 4, 2016
Background: The prophet Isaiah (8th c. B.C.) began his ministry for the purpose of calling the nation of Judah back into an obedient relationship with YHWH. There is widespread scholarly debate as to the number of authors responsible for composing the Book of Isaiah. What is certain is that the wide variety of literature found throughout the book (i.e. narratives, oracles, songs, prayers, letters, messages, speeches, prophetic autobiography, etc.) is credited to him.Isaiah was one of the most prolific prophets of the Hebrew people. His office as prophet was well received in his early years. Like most prophets, when he began openly confronting the sins of the people of Israel, Judea, and the surrounding nations, his popularity waned. Isaiah was executed after 60 years of ministry during the reign of Manasseh around 681 B.C. The thrust of Isaiah’s message is simple: turn away from sin and return to God, lest you face the wrath of His judgment.
Exegetical Idea: Naphtali was the northernmost tribe of Israel, bordered directly to the southwest by Zebulun, and to the east by the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. The geographic location of these two tribes became known as, “Galilee” from the Hebrew word (gā·lîl, meaning “circuit” or “circle”). Galilee was also a lake (small inland sea) that, along with the Jordan River, created the fertile basin for which this region was named. The phrase, “Galilee of the Gentiles,” referenced the region’s close proximity to Gentile nations. The Assyrian Empire (in Tiglath-Pileser’s conquest of the Ancient Near East) hit hardest the region of Galilee. The Assyrian conquest of Israel and Judah wasn’t merely one of occupation, for the Assyrians also deported the Israelites from their homeland (2 Kings 15:29). “Besides the recent deportation by Tiglath-pileser, it had been sorely smitten by Ben-hadad of Syria, two hundred years before (1 Ki 15:20).”[1] Isaiah prophesies to an Israel whose home is no longer her own: darkness, distress, fear, and gloom – the fruit of war, captivity, and displacement – have come upon God’s people (8:22). To these people walking in darkness, God makes a promise: A Prince of Peace will establish a Kingdom where the instruments of war and the fruit of war will no longer exist. This Prince will be God Himself: a Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, and the Everlasting Father. The Prince will be a man from King David’s line who is fully God; a man from the region of Galilee who will restore honor to that decimated region, and broker peace between Jew and Gentile. His Kingdom of Peace will be ever-increasing and never-ending.
Sermon Notes
[1] Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), Is 9:1.