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Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given
Isaiah 9:6
“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this”
(Isaiah 9:6, 7).
This birth announcement was written rather early, more than 700 years before the birth!
This can refer to no other than the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ, the Great King predicted by the prophets. And there is only one person in history who has fulfilled these predictions, Jesus of Nazareth.
Isaiah had already written: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
The Hebrew word can mean either ‘virgin’ or ‘young woman’. In the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament, made 300 years before Christ, Hebrew scholars translated this word with the Greek word for ‘virgin’ (παρθένος) that does not have another meaning. When this text is quoted in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit also used the Greek word for virgin (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31). The alternate meaning in Hebrew leaves room for a double fulfillment, one as a regular sign for king Ahaz, plus a deeper meaning relative to the Messiah. The Messiah would indeed be born of a virgin.
The virgin’s Child will be called ‘Immanuel’, which means ‘God with us’. His name will be called “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6), a designation that is used for Jehovah in Isaiah 10:21, “The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God.”
The titles of this Child are based on His deity.
The Child is called, ‘Wonderful, Counselor’. The Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, the father of Samson: “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” (Judges 13:18). In Isaiah 28:29 we read: “This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.”
The Child is also called ‘Eternal Father’.
In what sense can the Messiah be called ‘Father’? A son can also be a father. The word does not always have exactly the same meaning. Joseph said, for example, that God had made him a father to Pharaoh (Genesis 45:8). The Messiah would be a Father for His followers. In Hebrews 2:13, Isaiah 8:18 is quoted and applied to the Messiah: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.” Jesus calls His followers ‘children’ (Mark 10:24; John 21:5) and ‘little children’ (John 13:33).
It will be a kingly Child, “the government will be upon His shoulder.” His name will be called ‘Prince of Peace’. Among the thousands of monarchs who have ruled, how many can be called ‘a prince of peace’?
“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom” because He will “establish it with judgment and justice.” How many rulers establish their kingdom with judgment and justice?
How long will His government last? “From that time forward, even forever.”
The farther we read, the more amazing it becomes! An eternal kingdom! How is such a thing possible? We receive the answer: “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6).
A hundred years later, king Nebuchadnezzar is informed by the prophet Daniel: “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44). This would happen during the third great kingdom after the Babylonian kingdom, the Roman Empire.
In the New Testament we find the fulfillment of these remarkable predictions.
The Romans are in power. The angel Gabriel appears to a virgin and says: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).
“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:34, 35).
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins’” (Matthew 1:18-21).
“Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS” (Matthew 1:24, 25).
“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’
“So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them” (Luke 2:1-20).
“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’” (Matthew 1:22, 23).
“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this”
(Isaiah 9:6, 7).
Amen.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.
Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)
(http://www.oldpaths.com)