Bulletins - Brookdale Baptist Church

Angels From The Realms Of Glory
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Silent Night! Holy Night!
Away In a Manger
Isaiah 9:1-7
The winter solstice – also called the hibernal solstice. This is the day each year on which the Earth’s pole reaches its furthest distance from the sun. On this day, we experience the shortest period of daylight and the longest period of darkness. This year, it will be Dec 21. Another more ominous name for the winter solstice could be “the day of the longest night” or more simply “the darkest day.”
In both history and fiction, "the darkest day" often describes moments or periods of profound challenge, despair, or change, whether literal or metaphorical.
For instance, on May 19, 1780, an unusual event caused daytime darkness over New England and parts of eastern Canada. This was likely caused by a combination of forest fires, thick fog, and heavy cloud cover. Historians call this “New England’s Dark Day,” and it was so dark that people had to light candles from lunchtime until late nighttime the following day.
Other more serious events have also been called “the darkest day,” such as the WW2 attack on Pearl Harbor or the Civil War Battle of Antietam, in which approx. 23,000 soldiers died in one day, making this the bloodiest day in U.S. military history.
Have you experienced any dark days? What day or period of your life might you be able to call your “darkest day”?
God’s people were experiencing dark times.
When we read Isa 9:1-7, we’re reading a message – a prophecy – which the prophet Isaiah spoke to Israel during a dark time in their history. He spoke specifically to a smaller, narrower group within Israel at the time. This group was not just the northern 10 tribes of Israel, which were a separate kingdom from the southern 2 tribes (of Judah and Benjamin), but it was a cluster of 2 tribes – Naphtali and Zebulun – who were situated at the northeastern tip of Israel.
How did they get into this dark time? Israel had repeatedly disobeyed God for generations, so he arranged for them to be invaded and taken captive by two foreign empires. The Babylonian Empire would eventually invade and take captive the southern 2 tribes (Judah and Benjamin), but the Assyrian Empire would first invade and take captive the northern 10 tribes. Assyria would invade northern Israel in multiple campaigns or waves, and their first invasion took place at the northeastern region of Israel, Naphtali and Zebulun.
So, Isaiah gave this prophecy to his people when they were experiencing an especially dark day. They were being invaded by a foreign nation and taken captive to a foreign land. How would you feel if this were to happen to you and to us? In the face of this overwhelming problem, Isaiah provided a message of hope, much like the warm sunlight of springtime brings joy after a long, dark winter.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. (Isa 9:2)
This reminds me of the Latin phrase, post tenebras lux, which means “after darkness, light.” This was a common motto of the Reformation, as churches and believers recognized the errors and corruption of Roman Catholicism which undermined the gospel and had brought about the Dark Ages.
So, like the Reformers calling people to the light of grace alone, in Christ alone, through faith alone, Isaiah called the people of Israel who were entering darkness to look with hope for a Savior who would bring light that overpowered the darkness. He told them that:
A special king was going to save them.
In making this announcement, Isaiah drew upon previous interventions by God from their history. This deliverance would resemble God’s deliverance of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt and would also resemble God’s deliverance of people from this same region from Midian oppression through the leadership of Gideon.
Isaiah refers back to God’s great deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt by using a variety of words that Scripture uses elsewhere (such as in Exodus and Psalms) to describe Israel’s suffering in Egypt. Words such as: yoke, burdens, shoulders, and oppressor. The “yoke of his burden” refers to oppressive conditions in general, the “staff of his shoulder” refers to the exhausting physical labor that they had been forced to do, and the “rod of his oppressor” refers to the actual physical blows of their taskmasters who beat them with rods.
Isaiah also refers back to God’s great deliverance of people from this geographic area during the period of the Judges. At that time, people from nearby Midian oppressed the people there, looting their crops and fields and keeping them in poverty. God called a man named Gideon to build an army to defeat these oppressors, a band of soldiers which included men from the tribe of Naphtali. Against great odds (300 to 15,000), Gideon won a miraculous victory as a result of smashing clay pots to reveal bright lights and scare the enemy away. This previous historical victory is especially effective here because it featured “smashing,” the darkness of night and oppression, and “bright light,” both of which are concepts Isaiah uses here as well to describe how God would defeat the enemies of his people yet again and how doing so would change their darkness to light.
About this darkness of oppression and death which they had endured, Isaiah prophesied that they would see “a great light” instead and that a “light” would “shine upon them.” This envisions a magnificent sunrise chasing away the darkness of a long, horrible nightmare.
Isaiah also describes this area as “Galilee of the Gentiles” and a nation who had been “multiplied.” This seems to refer to how when Assyria invaded that region, they had taken disobedient Israelites away as prisoners and replaced them with foreign settlers from other places. While Israel would have viewed this as a bad development, God viewed it as a positive development – adding Gentile people to the blessing of Israel, a concept which foreshadows what God intended to do in a global way through the gospel as he would tell all his followers to take the gospel to every people group in the world. This is also the area (Galilee) in which Christ himself spend so much time – both growing up as a child and traveling in public ministry. Coincidence? In light of this prophecy, I think not.
Isaiah also describes the way that his people would feel and respond when this deliverance happened. They would increase in joy and rejoice greatly before God. To describe what this joy would be like, he uses two illustrations: (1) how people in a farming culture celebrate an unusually abundant harvest and (2) how people in that kind of culture would celebrate when they saw the massive collection of spoils brought home by their soldiers from a victorious battle. Such joy and rejoicing would have been ecstatic, energetic, and unusually excited.
How would you feel or respond if someone presented you today with a check for $10-million dollars or told you that the person on the other side of your most difficult, broken relationship was ready to be restored? That’s the idea.
Isaiah also describes this moment as when all of the military gear used in a battle is thrown into a burn pile after the battle and incinerated, because the battle was so decisive that the military gear won’t need to be used again.
So, if you are also “sitting in darkness” right now, you need to be encouraged by this prophecy from Isaiah over the next four weeks of this Christmas season. If you believe on Christ, he will add you to this joyful celebration!
When will this victorious moment occur? When will your suffering, oppression, temptation, and persecution end? Isaiah doesn’t actually give the timing of this triumph specifically. But he does speak about it as though it had already happened. By doing this, he uses what we call a “proleptic future.” This is just a fancy way of describing how we portray future events as already happening in a certain way, even though the events haven’t actually happened, yet. We do this to express a strong degree of certainty and confidence.
I’ve seen people using the proleptic future on Facebook this week, saying things like, “I’m calling it now – Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs are playing in the Super Bowl.” The Super Bowl hasn’t happened yet – so why are they saying this? Because they are confident this is how it will be. That’s what Isaiah is doing here. He is speaking to people who are experiencing the early stages of what is going to be a long, drawn-out invasion, making confident, dogmatic statements of triumph in the present tense to announce what God is going to do in the future. So, what exactly was God going to do in the future to bring an end to their suffering and oppression?
He would give them a special king – one who would save them. This child would not be Moses, and it would not be Gideon. In fact, it would not be a king like their most recent king, Ahaz, either – more on that in a moment. But this king would come to save them. He would end their battles once and for all and would bring them from darkness to light.
Isaiah prophesied about this already in an earlier part of his message to these people:
The Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isa 7:14)
In this prior prophecy, Isaiah foretells of a child who would be born as a king of Israel. This king would be born of a virgin – making this a miraculous, supernatural birth, not a normal, natural one. And his name would be “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”
This prophecy was given to provide a stark contrast with the current king of Israel, named Ahaz, who was not obedient to God and who did not give or receive good counsel in the decisions that he made. He decisions had only led Israel away from God not towards him and his choices as king had only placed Israel in greater harm and trouble, leading to their invasion and oppression by Assyria.
So, this is where Isa 9:6-7 comes into play. This prophecy gives us more information about this coming child who would be born as “God with us.” Matthew connects this prophecy in the NT to the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmastime.
she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matt 1:21-23)
Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus is this Savior, this child, this king of whom Isaiah prophesied. Matthew also connects Christ to the prophecy in Isa 9:1-7:
Leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” (Matt 4:13-16)
Jesus is the child, the Savior, the King of whom Isaiah prophesied. He is the one who would bring light to expel the darkness, would be the cause of great rejoicing, and would deliver them from their distress once and for all. How could they know he would do this?
This king would give exceptional guidance.
The book of Isaiah is known for assigning meaningful names and titles to people, names and titles that teach something important about the character, nature, and purpose of the person who is given the name. Here, Isaiah gives us four titles that describe this special child who we know as Jesus Christ: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
Over the next four Sundays – including today – we’ll familiarize ourselves with what these names teach us about Christ. In doing so, we will encourage ourselves with the hope, confidence, and peace that comes to our hearts and minds because of who Christ is and what he will do for us – even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death and the growing darkness which surrounds us.
So, what about this first title, Wonderful Counselor? It combines two concepts. The first is that of doing supernatural, extraordinary things. One songwriter rephrased this as the “amazing counselor.” Counselor, then, means giving wise advice and making good plans.
This is an important detail in Isaiah’s prophecy here because kings getting and giving bad counsel was a major reason for why the people of Israel were invaded by Assyria. Not only had their kings made bad, selfish, sinful, ill-advised choices for generations, the latest king, Ahaz, had made some terrible, unwise choices. Very recently, he had outright refused to follow God’s instructions for how to overcome an invasion of some neighboring invaders (Isa 7:1-13). To make matters worse, he set out to ally himself with Tiglath Pileser of Assyria, hoping that he would help turn away the neighboring invaders – only to have Tiglath Pileser and Assyria invade Israel instead. What terrible counsel and plans!
Scripture describes some people as especially wise counselors. King David received counsel from a man named Ahithophel (2 Sam 16:23), a man Scripture describes as being like an “oracle of God.” King Solomon was described as having “the wisdom of God” within himself (1 Kgs 3:28). Even these men had flaws and died, though. But this special king who was coming would be a Wonderful Counselor, one whose advice and ability would be such that it was able to care for, guide, and guard the kingdom of his people with peace forever, not one whose counsel and decisions would lead them into yet another national crisis and disaster. His counsel would be wonderful, supernatural, and amazing.
This is what makes any new U.S. President’s cabinet appointments so fascinating and crucial. We want our Presidents to choose people for their cabinet who will give effective, good, and wise advice. Our nation’s safety and wellbeing depend on it.
But government and politics aside, what about our personal lives?
This year, 2024, the American Counseling Association conducted a Counseling Workforce Survey, to compare to a similar survey they conducted ten years earlier. In this survey, they reported that the U.S. behavioral health sector is expected to grow by $49.3 billion in the next 10 years, reaching $136.6 by 2032. People who seek out counseling are rising, too. In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported nearly 2,250,000 people are employed in the mental health sector, an avg. of 45,000 counselors per state and a ratio of approx. 1 counselor for every 150 people, with the demand for mental health counseling jobs rising much faster than the rise in demand for other jobs, by a rate of 3 times faster than all other US jobs over the next decade.
Why is there such a rising demand for paid counseling? Because what we call “mental health” is declining at an alarming rate. But why? We can blame many things. The COVID pandemic. Gender dysphoria. Drug and alcohol abuse. Poor dietary choices. Information overload. Pornography. Dysfunctional homes. Overmedication. Humanistic psychiatry. Overeating. The list could go on for hours. But whether we trace the problem to the private, public, or government sectors or even to our own hearts and homes, the root problem is that our lives, communities, and nation are entering into greater spiritual darkness due to bad counsel. We are following advice and making decisions rooted in bad guidance not good counsel.
What is the solution to all of this bad counsel? It’s not a better psychiatrist, new pill, new president, new podcast, or another NY Times or Amazon bestseller. The answer is Jesus Christ. He is Jesus Christ, who can save you from your sins, who is God with us, and who is the most amazing counselor ever.
About Christ’s counsel, Mary, the mother of Jesus, said this early in his ministry: “Whatever he says to you, do it” (John 2:5). Then later on in Christ’s ministry, he asked his twelve disciples if they wanted to find another counselor and teacher, since other people who choosing to do that very thing. Peter answered and said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:58).
Let us embrace the words of Christ as the light for our way.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psa 119:105)
And let us spread the light of Christ’s salvation to those around us who walk in darkness.
whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 4:4-6)
What about you today? Are you like King Ahaz, refusing to receive counsel and guidance from God’s Word, and like the people of Naphtali and Zebulun, experiencing a time of darkness and discouragement in your life, in need of comfort and hope about the future?
As we enter into this Christmas season, we do so, recognizing that there is great darkness in the world. Yes, we are entering into the darkest days of winter so far as sunlight and weather are concerned, but we are also in an era of moral, social, and spiritual darkness. At the same time, some or many of us may also be facing our own “darkest says,” as we face personal loss, loneliness, health challenges, and reasons for despair.
But take heart, for Isaiah's prophecy speaks directly to us in times like this. Just as the light follows the longest night, the Wonderful Counselor, Jesus Christ, brings hope and guidance into our lives. His counsel is not just wise; it's miraculous, transforming our darkest times into opportunities for growth and change.
As we celebrate this season, let us be warmed and encouraged in knowing that just as Christ has already come as a baby in a manger, that light is still on the horizon as we get closer every day to his future and final victory, when all instruments of evil and warfare will be gathered together and burnt, once and for all.
As we wait for this full and final deliverance, let the title "Wonderful Counselor" resonate in your heart. Seek Christ’s wonderful guidance and comfort through regular reading, study and prayerful reflection upon his Word in Scripture. Rather than relying upon the unreliable counsel of paid psychologists, pundits, and politicians, allow the wisdom of the gospel guide your decisions, heal your wounds, and illuminate your path. As you face whatever darkness lies ahead, remember that Christ, the Wonderful Counselor, has already triumphed over it. His light shines in our darkness, and no night, no matter how long, can extinguish the dawn of His love and guidance in our lives. Let us celebrate the light of his wonderful guidance and plans for us this Christmas season.
Emmanuel

God’s people were experiencing dark times.

A special king was going to save them.

This king would give exceptional guidance.