ISAIAH

Isaiah 9:3-5

quote:

"You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. 5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire."

There are three possible fulfillments of this passage --

1) when God delivered Jerusalem (Isaiah 37)
2) the ministry of Jesus, the Messiah and
3) the second coming of Jesus

We know for certain that this prophecy refers to the beginning of Jesus' ministry in the Galilee area because Matthew quoted this scripture in Matthew 4:13-15. And Luke 1:78-79 quotes Isaiah 9:2 partially in verse 79,

"Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Isaiah says the nation itself would multiply and increase. It would be fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham.

Genesis 22:18
"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

Galatians 3:8
"The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU."

Though the first recorded convert of a Gentile to Christianity did not occur until Acts Chapter 10 with the conversion of Cornelius and his household, many Gentiles would come to know Jesus as their Savior and thus increase the nation of Israel. It would be pure joy for both Jews and Gentiles who received His blessings.

In verse 4 Isaiah gives the reason for such great rejoicing. Using the analogy of animals having a yoke upon their neck as they labored from their work, Israel was also burdened down with a heavy burden. Having departed from God and His ways, their sin had become a burdensome yoke of slavery. This was a spiritual battle that would be won, because a Child called Immanuel would be born. Jesus' act of delivering man from sin is to be considered an awesome mighty victory!

Again in verse 5, Isaiah reveals another reason for great rejoicing. Following the victory of deliverance, there is to be complete peace. This peace is expressed in a negative way by saying the clothing of warriors would be consumed, implying their weapons, too, would be destroyed. A Child would be born and His birth would bring peace to His People.

Luke 2:10-14
"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

The Child that was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 has come bringing salvation and peace on earth. Let Jesus, the only one who is able, remove the yoke of the burden of sin from us and give us reason to rejoice!