Have you had enough of American politics yet? Do you yearn for something better? I recall how the original Superman TV series (1952-1958), starring George Reeves, opened with the announcer declaring him a warrior “for truth, justice, and the American way.” Those were the days!
In the early chapters of Isaiah, the people of Israel needed a hero. King Ahaz was an awful leader, but merely the most recent example in a line of human kings whose policies led to disaster for the people. Against this desperation, Isaiah declares a coming perfect kingdom, led by a perfect King:
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 the Lord of hosts will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:6-7).
God here promises that a child would be born to the nation and that would become its ruler. Thus, God’s efforts to save would not be intangible nudges from beyond, but the flesh and blood of a real person who would be born to the people of Israel. It would be Jesus the Christ!
This is, of course, a continuation of older promises: that the Savior would be a human being born of woman (Genesis 3:15), of the descendants of Abraham and specifically Israel (Genesis 28:10-22, John 4:22), and that His reign would be a perfect version of the Davidic kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-17).
What a blessing to know that God had not forgotten His promises, and would bring them to pass despite the sins and shortcomings of the people and their rulers! He Himself would send a divine Son capable of bearing on His shoulders the full weight of the government of the kingdom. As Isaiah would later declare of this King:
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked (Isaiah 11:1-4).
And what a blessing to know that we are the recipients of these great promises, we who welcome this King Jesus. His kingdom will last forever, firmly upheld on justice and righteousness, and bringing about peace. Satan will never prevail against His church.
Jesus is therefore called the “Wonderful Counselor,” emphasizing His role as both author and mediator of the covenant. Jesus startled people as He went about “teaching as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Matt. 7:29). Jesus possesses divine wisdom, and He delivered it to man in the New Testament. And because He hears our prayers and sees our troubles, Jesus continues to lend assistance to those who seek Him (Hebrews 2:17-18). Our Lord Jesus is the primary source of life-giving counsel.
Jesus is called “Mighty God, Eternal Father,” showing His unity with God. Despite the constant efforts of the Jehovah’s Witnesses to reduce Jesus to the status of an angel, this passages affirms that Jesus is divine God (Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:5-11).
Jesus is called “Prince of Peace,” demonstrating his mission to bring peaceful reconciliation between God and man. He is at the same time one with God and one with His people, and brings them together in harmony by the sacrifice of His own body. As the angels shouted at His birth, “on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14), let us proclaim the good news of Jesus to the world around us. Oh, what a Savior God has sent to us! —John Guzzetta