Justice and Righteousness

December 19, 2021 Background Scripture: Isaiah 9:1 - 7 Lesson Passage: Isaiah 9:1 - 7 The nation of Israel enjoyed success and prosperity under the leadership of her first three kings, Saul, David, and Solomon, respectively. After their reigns, the nation divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The two kingdoms coexisted for about two hundred years until the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the invading Assyrian army. The devastation brought dark days for the people of God living in Israel. After two hundred years, their government had failed to protect them. Their enemy came in and plundered them and carried most of them away captive. A once proud and independent nation was put under the yoke of slavery in a foreign land, This was a fate their ancestors who established the sovereign kingdom thought would never happen. We understand this today from looking at their historical record. However, the kingdom of Israel was warned by God of her impending fate. God sent His prophet, Isaiah, to declare to Israel what was imminent. The historical events unfolded according to the prophetic word of Isaiah. This was Isaiah's prophecy to Israel in the previous chapter to our Lesson's text. Just as God showed the prophet what was coming, He also showed him what would come beyond that time. The opening of our lesson is a continuation of the prophetic message from Chapter 8. The land of Israel would indeed experience a time of darkness. However, that darkness would not last forever. God was going to shine a great light upon them from within. From those dark regions around Galilee, the Light of the world would come. He would have the qualities of the divine as well as the qualities of humanity. The Light would be born as a baby into the world of darkness. His arrival would signal the yoke of bondage being broken. He would govern the people with justice and righteousness. Unlike the previous rulers, His kingdom will never end; it will continue to increase until it encompasses the entire world. The names Isaiah ascribed to the Light were indicative of His dual nature, divine and human. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. In His humanity, He would be a wonderful counselor and even a prince (or promoter) of peace. In His Divinity, He would demonstrate that He is a Mighty God and declare Himself to be an Everlasting Father. Just as the fall of the glorious kingdom of Israel must have been difficult for them to fathom, trying to wrap their minds around the dual nature of their Deliverer must have been even more difficult. No one had ever known such a one. Today, Christians look back through the lens of the gospel message and praise God for what He did! God wrapped Himself in human flesh and was born into the world that He created. He was fully Divine and fully human. He was worthy to be worshiped, yet He did not come to be worshiped. He came to save mankind from our sin. He came as a sin offering to bear the punishment of sin in our stead. As a child and a man, He lived up to the righteous requirements of the Law, In His relationship with people, He defended the righteous justice of God. In becoming a sin offering, He set aside His righteousness and took on our sin. As sin, He submitted Himself to the divine justice of God in receiving the punishment for sin. He died a sinner's death. But God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Now, He has been given a name that is above all names. He is the Light for all who walk and live in the darkness of this world. He alone rules injustice and righteousness. Robert C. Hudson November 18, 2021