Highlights:
God sings a love song to His beloved Israel (Is. 5:1-7). The brilliance of His holiness reveals the darkness of our sin (6:5). Send me (6:8) . . . Will you go ? A divine principle: God always leaves a seed (6:13)! A prophecy of Jesus, the Light of the world (7:14-16; 9:1-7). Whatever the circumstances, keep trusting God (8:20).
The prophet Isaiah foretold the judgment of God against the kingdom of Judah for the people's sins. Ahaz, king of Judah, was facing war. The prophet appealed to him, saying: Ask thee a sign of the Lord (Is. 7:11). Although Ahaz refused, Isaiah spoke a glorious prophecy of the true King of kings who was yet to come. The sign Isaiah offered was the declaration of a special Child: A virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His Name Immanuel (God With Us) (7:14). Seven hundred years later, the Angel Gabriel confirmed to the Virgin Mary: The Holy Ghost (Spirit) shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy Thing (One) which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). In fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, Jesus, the Son of God, was born. To reject the virgin birth and question either the deity or the humanity of Jesus of Nazareth is to miss the significance that Jesus was both Holy God and sinless Man because only He could qualify to substitute for you and me to atone for our sins and redeem what Adam had forfeited when he chose to disobey God.
The prophet Isaiah received another glorious revelation of the eternal King of kings of whom he foretold: Unto us a Child (Jesus Christ) is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6). We recognize the fulfillment of that prophecy in Jesus, who was born of the virgin and later crucified, providing eternal life to all believers by His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins, and by His triumphant resurrection from the dead. Not only was His first advent (coming) declared, but also His second. We can rejoice as we look forward to the time when He will reign in righteousness on earth as the most Wonderful Counseller.
Jesus is the Second Person of the Godhead. The Same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:2-3; see also Heb. 1:3).
Thought for Today:
O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever (I Chr. 16:34).
Christ Revealed:
Isaiah reveals that a Child shall be born; a Son shall be given; and that the government shall be upon His shoulder (Is. 9:6). The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever (Rev. 11:15).
Word Studies:
5:1 vineyard =the Israelites; 5:5 go to =listen to Me; 5:23 reward =bribes; 7:16 abhorrest =hate, despise; 8:21 hardly bestead =sorely distressed, hard pressed; 9:9 stoutness =arrogance.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Staff: Ilene Wallace • Government Officials: Rep. Dan Boren (OK) and Rep. Michael Ross (AR) • Country: St. Lucia (154,000) in the eastern Caribbean • Major languages: English and French patois • Religious freedom • 83% Roman Catholic; 13% Protestant; 2% spirit worship • Prayer Suggestion: The Lord is a shield for you in times of trouble (Ps. 3:1-3).
Optional Reading: Hebrews 10
Memory Verse for the Week: 2 Corinthians 4:11