Expository Summary - Isaiah 9:6-7

A Concise and Expository Summary of Isaiah 9:6-7 by Jordan Branch on Pilgrim's Toolbox. For more scripture summaries visit www.pilgrimstoolbox.com.

My wife and I have both given and received birth announcements. The announcements serve as more than just information about the birth of a child, they are given to share the excitement of a new life. We have sent birth announcements to our friends and family because we want them to hear of the opportunity my wife and I have to love, care, nurture, and provide for our new child. Imagine receiving a birth announcement that describes a child who is going to love, care, nurture, and provide for YOU! This is exactly what Isaiah describes in 9:6-7. These two verses are loaded with meaning, and are rightly referred to often, particularly during the Christmas season. But they do not come to us in isolation. Let us set the context by looking at the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy.

Chapter 1 pronounces judgment but also gives hope, hope of salvation and deliverance. Upon reading, you see that by chapter five, there is a question mark as to the hope given in chapter 1. Is there hope for the rebel? Chapter 6 gives us the picture of Isaiah’s cleansing of sin, and thus the hope that God’s people as a whole will also receive deliverance of sin. In Isaiah 7:1-11:16, hope for God’s people focuses even sharper. Yes, God will rescue, but he will do it through a future messiah. Isaiah 7:14 concentrates on the deliver’s birth, and 11:1-16 describes the deliverer’s kingdom. Isaiah 9:6-7 focus on the person, the character and nature of the messianic deliverer.

In Isaiah 9, verses 1-3 gives the hope of deliverance, that “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…” In verses 4-7, Isaiah explains that this hope of deliverance is in a messiah-king. What we first see about the messiah is that he will come by way of a child. The rescuer will be one of us. This is the same child that has already been foretold as Immanuel in 7:14 and 8:8. He will not only be a messiah, but also a king. “…and the government shall be upon his shoulder,”. The nature and character of this child is given in his name. When God gives a name, he teaches us about the nature and character of that person. Isaiah gives us four names for this child. The first two titles match the earlier given name of Immanuel, and the second two note the conditions that this messiah-king will bring about.

Isaiah says that “He will be called Wonderful Counselor. This name conveys the divinity of the messiah-king (Judges 13:18). Isaiah 28:29 describes God as “wonderful in counsel.” His counsel will be supernatural. Unlike the kings of that time, He will possess wisdom from God. He will not need counselors or a cabinet of advisors. He will have the wisdom to rule, for His wisdom will be God-given. His wisdom will be infallibly wonderful.

He will also be called Mighty God. He will be mighty in power. He will be like God because he is God. He is the Immanuel described in 7:14. Isaiah 10:21 states “A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.” He will be a mighty warrior and bring victory and provide the power to rule His kingdom (Deut 10:17; Psalm 50:1).

His third title is Everlasting Father. Some mistakenly believe that this is referring to God the Father, denoting a oneness rather than a distinction of persons in the Godhead. No, Isaiah is communicating a description of the messiah-king’s character. He will be paternal, concerned for the helpless, wise, faithful, and corrective. Ps. 103:13, "Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him."

Fourthly, He will also be called Prince of Peace. As Prince of Peace, this messiah-king will bring about the condition of his name. He will bring peace personally, making us whole. He will bring about peace relationally by creating harmony and unity. Most importantly, He will bring about peace toward God. He will reconcile us to God and bring peace to the creation (11:6-9; 53:5).

Those who heard this message did not see this promise fulfilled in their day. They were given the opportunity to look forward in faith to a time when this promise of a messiah-king might be fulfilled. Hundreds of years after this promise a Nazarene carpenter made a bold claim. He was in a Galilean synagogue and was reading from a scroll. He found a place in the later part of Isaiah’s prophecy (a place that we today identify as Isaiah chapter 61) and read it aloud. His claim, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21). The man who said this is the one in Isaiah 9:6-7 described as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. For those who know Him, we simply call Him Jesus (Matt. 1:23; Luke 1:35; 2:11; John 1:14). Jesus is the messiah-king!

Isaiah says, “…of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end,.” Where God rules there is peace, for true peace comes from knowing and serving the true and living God. This messiah-king is the only one who can bring true peace in our hearts, for He is the Prince of Peace. Where is your security? Who or what do you trust most? Finish the sentence: “I will feel more at peace once I_________.” Popular radio financial counselor and author Dave Ramsey makes a point in every radio show to state that the only way to true Financial Peace is to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. Is Jesus, the Everlasting Father, your security? He loves and cares for us and knows what is best for us. His relationship with those who believe in Him will last forever. He will never turn his back on us or leave us. He will shepherd us forever.

His promises are sure because He is God. He is mighty to save. He will deliver his promises. 1 John 5:20 states “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” God the son, the eternal, 2nd person of the triune God is the child, the son promised in Isaiah 9:6, and at the pre-ordained time, he was incarnated as a man named Jesus. The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Jesus is wonderful because he is both God and man. He is God the Son incarnated according to the eternal counsel and will of God, and who now lives forever as the wonderful counselor teaching us the eternal counsel of God. That is glorious, that is wonderful!

The messiah-king, a Son given to us, is also an act done for God, for Isaiah says at the end of verse 7 “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” This should cause us to stand in wonder. Here, as in other places in scripture, we are reminded that God’s passion for His glory, and our good are not at odds, but are intimately tied together. One of my favorite thoughts that relates to the incarnation, comes from the prayer ‘Gift of Gifts’ in the book Valley of Vision. The prayer states, “Herein is wonder of wonders: He came below to raise me above, He was born like me that I might become like Him. Herein is power: when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart He united them in indissoluble unity, the uncreated and the created. Here is Wisdom: When we were undone with no will to return to him, and no intellect to devise recovery, He came, God-incarnate, to save us to the uttermost, as man to die my death, to shed satisfying blood on my behalf.”

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