December 29, 2024
December 29, 2024
Steven W. Schenewerk / General
One Final Gift
Isaiah 9:6 HCSB
For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Christmas 2024 is over. Now we start the process of taking down the decorations. We take down the trees and begin the never ending task of vacuuming up the needles (even from artifical trees) which takes somewhere near 11 months!
However, there is one more gift – do you see it…way back under the tree…you may have to reach for it… somehow it was overlooked…
Isaiah 9:1–7 HCSB
Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future He will bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before You as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. For You have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as You did on the day of Midian. For the trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.
What is ‘The Gift?’
In vs 1 God reminds His audience that the northern section of the Promised Land, which had already been defeated by Assyria has a future!
In vs 2-5, God assures His people that though their present appeared dark, there was coming a time of light.
In Isaiah’s day light was a precious commodity. Lamps fueled by oil, fires built with wood or animal dung were the primary sources of light after sundown.
In the hearts and minds of God’s people light was a symbol of God’s power and presence.
But ‘light’ is not the gift.
Vs 3 reminds Israel that God has in the past been the protector and provider.
Vs 4-5 promise a time military victory, the enemy that threatens will be defeated as Midian was defeated in the days of these Israelite’s ancestors.
Neither of these are the gift. More properly we are to understand that these blessings and benefits are consequences of the gift.
The Gift:
For a child will be born for us…
Genesis 4:1 HCSB
Adam was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the Lord’s help.”
Genesis 4:26 HCSB
A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh.
Samuel, born to Hannah after years of barrenness. Elizabeth, the wife of an aged priest, was gifted the ability to bear a child after years of barrenness.
This ‘child’ however is no ordinary child. He is a promise that God fulfills His promises.
This child, Isaiah will later reveal, is the ONE whom God promised David several centuries previously (see 2 Sam 7:14).
I have a list of people and families I pray for that are in the midst of indescribable pain, loss, and challenge.
My prayer: may the know the God who has the power to raise the dead fulfill His promises!
Two people at the temple- one man and one woman – recognized in this child a divine nature, imparted to him via the conceiving power of the Holy Spirit.
The Gift:
…a son will be given to us…
The promise of a child to be born tells us of his human nature.
The assurance that this child is ‘given’ to us calls attention to the divine nature of this child.
Gifts are not earned. Rather gifts are acts of mercy, love, grace.
A. “the government shall be on His shoulders…”
2 Samuel 7:16 HCSB
Your house and kingdom will endure before Me forever, and your throne will be established forever.’ ”
B. The titles assigned to the one to be born, the son who is given
Luke 2:13–14 HCSB
Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!
REFLECT AND RESPOND
Unwrapping the final gift is not just for people far from God, it is for those living near to Him.
But the gift of God is for all:
Those who are struggling with sin that seems inescapable;
those who are in grieving loss;
those living in families that fit under the word ‘Disfunction’ in the dictionary;
those who bear pain – physical and emotional – too deep to express…
Literally the list of those for whom God’s gift is given is endless!
Matthew 11:28–30 HCSB
“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
receive Him by trusting Him as Savior…
give yourself over to His lordship…