Read Isaiah 9:6-7

Jesus was and is the fulfillment of the promised child and prophesied son. Now we see that this same Jesus bears the weight of the government. But which government, that of the church? The country? The world? Yes. To these and anything else in this age or the next.1

The burden of this tense earthly political climate rests on Jesus. And He doesn’t share the weight – His yoke is easy for us because He is on the other side of it. We have no need to panic when things heat up because Jesus reigns. “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” He is in control, and yet . . . we still feel the effects of a broken political system all around us.

In our study of Exodus, we are about to see how God leads the Israelites on a very roundabout path to the Promised Land. Looking back, map in hand, we might wonder why He chose such a circuitous and difficult route when the direct route – the route we would take – would be so much faster. But we will also see throughout Exodus that God was intentional with their journey. Like the loving father He is, He led His children in the path that would ultimately be best for them.

Could it be that God is working through His Son now in this very same way for our ultimate good? On the way to the new earth and final defeat of death, we are in the wilderness. The path we are walking includes political sparring, injustices, and even the atrocities of war. It can be a hard waiting game. In Luke, Jesus compares the spreading of the kingdom of God to yeast leavening loaves of bread. It takes time to rise. It doesn’t happen instantaneously.

But in our waiting, we do have an opportunity to respond. Just as the Israelites were called to repentance (over and over again), so are we. Repentance can seem like an odd reaction to accusations of racism or threat of national terrorism, yet it is the very solution that will get us out of the mess we are in.

Written by Emily Davis

Read Isaiah 9:6-7

A son: an heir.  An heir to the human king, David.  A king who was adored, remembered fondly, a man after God’s own heart.  Also an heir to the heavenly King, The Great I AM: Eternal, father, creator, sustainer.

That human king was longed for, but flawed.  He was inherently a failure.  The divine King, though spotless, was largely ignored.

A chosen people, with lack of proper focus, had opted for nostalgia.  They longed for the powerful figure who would return them to earthly power.  They looked for one to rise up against their foes; one to enter triumphantly.  They sought a son—an heir—to take back the status that was rightfully theirs.

We are no different. Whereas their error was nostalgia, ours is complacency.  We have the Son, we have the Heir. He has come, and we look not towards Him but to our own works and idols to sustain us.  Even in our earthly pangs we look towards the temporal to provide respite.  We long for a spouse, a friend, a politician, a cherished item to lessen the effects of sin.

All the while we have the Heir to the throne of heaven who was given that we may have hope; that we may know peace and receive grace.

Given.

Not just a son, not just an heir, but one who was given.  The child was born, but the son was given.

Again, the people wanted a powerful king who would rise up to free them.  Their hearts—our hearts—are not enslaved by men; we are instead held captive by sin.  We need not a man to defeat our foes.  We will not be saved by the idols we put our hope in.  We do not need to rely on the sacrifice of animals for our sins to be forgiven.  Instead, we need (and have) a perfect sacrifice, given to cleanse our hearts and make us acceptable to the King.

Written by Jr McGrath

Read Isaiah 9:6-7

How do you know when the Christmas season has begun?

Answer: Not until you hear, sing, or hum, “Silent Night.” True? The sweet lullaby swells up in us all those warm feelings that signals the season has arrived.

Now, that’s not wrong, it’s just not close to the real story behind that not-so-silent-night.

On that holy night Jesus arrived on earth, the angels spilled out over heaven’s doorway and filled the night sky with shouts and cheers. Literally, Scripture said “they let loose.”

Perhaps they had been perched on the edge of heaven, waiting, too long. Long ago in the Garden of Eden God had promised a plan that would ransom man back from evil. Perhaps since then, rumors in the halls of heaven had whispered of a heavenly invasion, hell-bent on destroying evil in the world. And when it finally had begun, all heaven broke loose.

To us, it’s sweet baby Jesus lying in a manger. To them, it was God Himself, wrapped in flesh. Mystery personified in humanity. Come to wage war. Come to buy back a hijacked creation.

A baby’s cry from the manger signaled the beginning. A Child was born. A Son was given. And the metanarrative of history turned.

Sometimes wonder is in the mystery; other times wonder is in the understanding. The angels understood what was happening.

This Child—this Son—was God Himself. Deliverer of mankind. “Unto you is born this day, a Savior.”  How wonder-full.

This year, let’s reclaim that wonder for ourselves. Together for these days leading to Christmas, we will explore what the prophet Isaiah whispered on the pages of prophecy about this promised Messiah—about the Jesus that God revealed to him to be: Wonderful counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace.

Pause and let the wonder in.  Explore it in your head. Let it comfort your heart. Bow to His majesty.

Written by Barb Peil