On them light has shined (Isaiah 8:11-9:7)
Isaiah 8:11-9:7 (NIV)
811 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,warning me not to follow the way of this people:
12 “Do not call conspiracy
everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread.
14 He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.”
16 Bind up this testimony of warning
and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.
18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
9 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
November 19, 2017 Sermon Notes
The lights were slowly going out in Israel. In the period of time between last week’s sermon and this week’s sermon the northern kingdom and the southern kingdoms have gone to war with each other. They were being used as pawns in a grand game between the superpowers of Assyria and Egypt. Alliances were shifting. Families were betraying each other, and the world that they took for granted was in danger of disappearing.
In many ways, it was a time just like today. The leaders of our world seem not care about the plight everyday people. The leaders of our country continue to be dysfunctional. Political alliances are shifting. Parties and institutions no longer stand for what they once did. Tension is everywhere. Violence seems to be winning. At least that is what we are led to believe.
In a period that looked so much like the world we are living in today, the prophet Isaiah tried to communicate a message of warning. He was speaking to the people, telling them not to give up. God had not forgotten them. God’s love was more real than anything they saw going on around them. In their moments of fear, God’s people had begun to see conspiracies everywhere. They were looking at the state of their world, and were beginning to retreat into fear and dread. It was a vicious cycle that was causing people to stumble, and their culture to fall apart.
Worst of all, Isaiah says, was the fact that in their moment of greatest need, the people were turning in exactly the wrong directions for help. In the name of security, leaders were making short sighted political decisions that put the nation in bed with their historical enemy. People were seeking out spiritual charlatans instead of relying on the God who had led them out of slavery and taught them how to live.
Easy answers, back room deals, and political maneuvering always falls apart. Quick fixes do not work. No matter what they tried, the darkness continued to press in. People were distressed and hungry. Israel was enraged at what they were experiencing and a sense of fearful gloom had taken over the culture. People began to curse and blame God for failing them, when, in truth, it was they who had walked away.
Darkness is not the end of the story
Nevertheless, Isaiah says, God will not abandon them to the darkness. God has not walked away, even if it felt like it at that moment. The time is coming, Isaiah says, when light will come back into their gloom. The people who have seen only darkness and death for so long will once again experience joy. The violence of oppressive neighbors will be no more. Israel will rejoice as the tools of war are eradicated. Lasting peace will be established once again.
That peace was to be provided by a baby of God’s own choosing. In language that has become familiar to us through the music of Handel’s Messiah, Isaiah describes a successor to the great King David who will be a just and righteous ruler. He will take the violence of the world upon his shoulders. Darkness will be overcome. Sin will be no more. Light will shine once more.
Isaiah declares David’s successor as a Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, an Everlasting Father, a Prince of Peace. The Christian faith proclaims this son who is given to us to be Jesus Christ himself. We traditionally use these words during Advent to remind ourselves of who Jesus is to us, and to prepare ourselves to celebrate his birth at Christmas.
What does this story ask of us?
In a time and place that looks so much like the world in which Isaiah lived, the question for us is simple. What do we believe? In what will put our faith?
Darkness is all around us. Sin, violence, cultural upheaval, and short sighted political leadership was just as common then as it is today. We too face the temptation to give in to fear, rage, and easy answers. We too blame God for problems we ourselves have created.
Isaiah’s invitation to us today is to recognize the great light which God has given us. Light has dawned in Jesus. Because it is still dawning, the light is not yet fully here. Even though darkness still persists, Jesus is at work. His light is seen a million small ways: a family’s love for each other in the midst of grief; the dedication of those trying to make the world a better place; and the perseverance of those putting their lives back together following addiction. Darkness is still real. Tragedy still occurs. Fortunately, the light is even more real, and all the more vital, when it shines darkest places of our lives.
Jesus calls us to have faith in him. He invites us rely on his wonderful counsel, to place our burdens on his shoulders, and to be instruments of his peace. Jesus’ reign is established from this time on and forever. Let us do as the prophet Isaiah invites us to do, wait for the Lord and put our trust in him.
