What were your favorite gifts you got growing up? Along with the run of the mill gifts of Lincoln Logs and Tinker-toys, a few gifts stand out in my memory as favorites: the GI Joe with the missile launching jeep - I thought I could fend off the onslaught of the dreaded Hun with my well armed soldier, with that tell tale scar on the cheek. It was great, but its fun lasted a short while. By the time I reached 12 my interest in GI Joe took a turn toward experimenting with demolition and my GI Joe collection made for great target practice. The jeep succumbed to several M-80 and cherry bombs and other home-made explosives attached to the back. On the more intellectual side, a microscope and chemistry set were wonderful gifts with which I could discover a new viral strain, the cure for the common cold, or with the sulfur and phosphorus, I could make more explosives. It seemed no matter what I got for Christmas, as wonderful as it was, it was never enough to completely satisfy. It only left me longing for something more, something better. The Flintstone Building blocks, the Fire Engine (complete with helmet for me), the models, all were great gifts, but in time they lost their luster. But that is as we should expect. Things are fun and they're fine, but they never really satisfy. It is unfortunate, however, when we find ourselves losing interest in the greatest gift we are given. Better than anything under the tree, this year or any year, is a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is hard to image that our Christian faith could wane, but yet, so often it does. I’ve spoken to countless people, myself included, who have started off the Christian life with great anticipation, only to find the excitement of their faith tarnished, the joy gone, the fun dissipated. We find ourselves in the same old maze of life, waiting for the next time gifts are handed out, hoping that this time around, God will make a big difference in our lives. Why do we find ourselves unsatisfied with the gift of faith in Christ? The reason is simple: we don’t understand the gift God gives us. We need to be reminded once again what is entailed in the gift of eternal life. We have to come back once again to understand what we have when we have Christ. BUT there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. 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. 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. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. Isaiah 9:1-5 What does the gift of Christ give us? THE GIFT OF CHRIST GIVES LIGHT (Verse 1-2) Light reveals the darkness in our lives. The chapter begins by pointing back to the previous chapter with the word “nevertheless.” Last week we saw in Isaiah 7 that the people are under terrific pressure. Attack is imminent. The northern territories are defeated. The Syrian army is marching toward Jerusalem. Ahaz, King of Judah is fortifying the city. Even though God, speaking through Isaiah, promises utter destruction of their enemies, Ahaz chooses the Assyrians for his hope. He signs a treaty with them. In exchange for their protection all he has to do is engage in a little cultural sensitivity training; he places their idols in God’s Temple. Chapter 8 explains that since the people placed their trust in the mighty armies of Assyria to protect them rather than in God’s faithfulness, they will get exactly what they wanted. They chose Assyria to be their protector, so Assyria will swoop down on them like a hawk and carry them off as well. Isaiah predicts that since they refuse to trust God, the people will become desperate. They will look everywhere for answers to their problems, everywhere but God. In verse 19 the people will give Psychic Friends Network a try instead of God. But where should they go? Verse 20 gives the only place we should go for answers to our questions: to the Law and the Testimony. Without that, there is only darkness. But the condition of the people is obvious (verse 21), distressed and hungry. Their only communication with God is in the form of curses. Since their gaze is earthward, all they see is the distress and darkness and fearful gloom. What a powerful description of each of us when we, faced with uncertainty and fears, turn to anything and everything for advice and counsel, but reject God’s wisdom. When you find yourself in a turmoil, anxious over what to do, how to respond, the simple question should always be: “What does God’s Word say?” But (verse 1) God will not leave His people in this state forever. That wonderful word “nevertheless” reminds us that He will move us from distress to rest by the revealing of His own light. In the past He humbled. The area of Galilee, the land in northern Israel, was first destroyed and depopulated by Tiglead-Pilesar. This area for centuries was often known for its mixture of population. It was always considered a second class area, far from Jerusalem and often invaded. Even in New Testament times it was poorly viewed. But that would not always be the case. God would for a time humble, but then He promised He would honor. Through this whole process God would show the people for what they really were. The humiliation would not be forever. It was necessary for them to see that they could not trust in anything or anyone else except God. Light dispels the shadows in our lives (verse 2). The darkness would give way to dawn. The Assyrians would come and destroy, but that is not the end. Other armies over the centuries would likewise invade, slaughter and plunder, but that too was not the final chapter. Speaking with prophetic certainty, Isaiah describes a people who finally will understand. The darkness of their own sinfulness would give way to a light which God would shine on them. We’ve all felt those times of darkness - live in Wisconsin during November and December and you know what I mean. We need to sense the darkness of our own soul as well. Isaiah is not just describing a time of a more stable political climate. The movement from darkness to light is the movement from seeing the depravity of our own heart and the grace God gives. The darkness of sin can only be dispelled by something that is its very opposite, namely, light. Light itself is a gift of God; it cannot be produced from a human heart which itself is in darkness. When did this change take place? It was in Matthew 4:12-17, when Christ began his work. It is that work of Christ which we must turn to, which we must trust in if we are to move from the misery of our sin, from the darkness of our own hearts to find the hope we need in Christ. Look at the message Christ preached from that time on: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Living in the land of the shadow of death: what stands between you and Christ today? What blocks your opportunity to see the loving face of your Savior? The gift of Christ becomes old hat when we allow the truth of the gospel to become old hat. When the truth of Christ’s death for me is nothing more than a pair of comfortable slippers I got last year, I’ll quickly allow all the shadowy problems in my life to block out His grace. I know the Father’s love for me is certain. I adhere to all the right doctrines. Yet the shadowy figures stand between me and the Son. I’ll forget the Father’s smile is constant because of Christ. When the shadows come, I immediately begin to think: “What is it I must do to make God like me more?” What is described for us here is what we call the new birth, regeneration. The image of the light bulb going off over the head of someone in a cartoon is somewhat the idea, except the light is not coming from within, but comes from a loving God who shines His grace on us. It is the bright light of Christ shining on Paul on the road to Damascus. It is that same thing you may have experienced in your life when you recognize the horror of your own unworthiness before God, but then God, rather than leaving you wallow in your misery, points you to Christ. Have you experienced the transformative power of Christ? If you are sensing that load of oppression, that weight which is more than you can carry, that gloom which seems to follow you everywhere you go, the Father’s gift to you is Jesus Christ who is the light of the world, who will remove that shadow of death and give you the light of day. THE GIFT OF CHRIST GIVES JOY (Verse 3) If we stop at verse 2 with the appraisal of a sinful people on whom light shines, what would you expect the response to be? When noise emanates from my boys' room late at night and I sneak up the stairs, throw open the door and flip on the light, the two of them have three responses. Sometimes they’re like deer in headlights, not knowing which way to turn. Other times they’re more like cockroaches, scurrying to hide under the covers. Another option they think will work is the excuse. When they are to be sleeping and the light comes on, they are afraid. When God reveals to us our sin, when the lights are flipped on, how do we respond? We either run and hide or stand there, too afraid to move. Maybe you’re good at rationalizing, so you start explaining your sin away. But notice the response in verse 3; the nation is enlarged and there is joy. Joy is not a response we immediately think of when sin is revealed. But the light which reveals our sin is the light that shows us the answer, the solution to our sin. That light shows us Christ. In this passage that light is what brings many people in. The nation is enlarged. When Isaiah spoke this, the nation was fragmenting. The division of Israel into two nations continued the process of splitting more and more. Now the northern nation was ready to invade the southern kingdom. But what will take place in the future is growth. With this growth is an increase in joy. The joy described here is even greater than the excitement on children’s faces when the they come down the stairs on Christmas morning. This joy is likened to harvest or a victory celebration when the spoils of war are divided. Why these two descriptions? Both are responses to joy after a time of working and waiting. After the seed is planted and the field is tended, then comes the harvest. After the long days of battle, only then can there be victory. A gift we far too often ignore in our lives is that of joy. As God graciously works in your life, showing you his lovingkindness, a response of joy should accompany that. But far too often the furthest we have is a smug satisfaction, a cerebral acknowledgment. Knowing your sins are forgiven, knowing that God has accepted you as His own should translate in your life to be joy, excitement. But perhaps we have so little joy because we so little understand the third and final aspect of the Gift of Christ. THE GIFT OF CHRIST GIVES FREEDOM (Verses 4-5) There is joy because of the freedom from oppression. Israel was like a beast of burden, on whose neck laid a heavy bar. We are not accustomed today to see animals doing this kind of work. Growing up in Lancaster County, PA, we were surrounded by Amish. Driving down the back roads you’d often see draft horses pulling a plow, often their heads lowered, the yoke around their necks; they would lean into the yoke to pull with their great strength. Through the occupation armies Judah would know that sense for hundreds of years. The bar across their shoulders probably refers to a staff used to beat slaves. But what Isaiah describes here is not just the physical torment the people suffer. Just as the light which is predicted is not just political freedom, but as we are told in Matthew 4, it points to the work of Christ; so also the oppression spoken of here is not just slavery to another person. Rather, the burden of their own sin and corruption is what is in view. We often don’t express the joy of having our sins forgiven; we do not recognize the light which Christ shines down in our lives, because the oppression and burden of one’s sin is so great. The weight of guilt is more than any of us can bear. God does not design for us to carry it. Notice what is to happen to that weight; it will be shattered and removed. There is a comparison made: "Just as in the day of Midian’s defeat." That is a reference to the time of Gideon in Judges 7 when Israel was under the oppressive power of the Midianites; but God raised up the most unlikely hero in Gideon. In order for God to demonstrate His power, He whittled down Gideon’s army from 22,000 to 300. But with 300 soldiers, God defeated the Midianites. Do you understand the freedom God has given you? You have been handed a gift in the form of a victory over your sin. That victory is won against an enemy which you could never have defeated. The power of sin in your life is now canceled. The guilt of sin is now gone. It is never to return. There is no condemnation. You can not defeat the sin in your life. No matter what tactics you use to try to ease your burden, you will only find yourself under its weight more and more. But Christ’s death on the cross canceled the law against you, it disarmed the powers and authorities. As you are free from the oppression of your own sin, you now can have joy because of the freedom of peace. There is joy because of the freedom of peace. Verse 5 gives a second reason why there should be rejoicing. Not only is there freedom because of the absence of oppression, there is also freedom due to the presence of peace. Peace follows such a great victory. This peace is realized in the unilateral destruction of the weapons of war. The heavy war boot worn by soldiers which could be heard in the march would be removed. The blood-stained outer garments will be burned. In the ancient world it was customary for the victorious army to go out onto the battle field and gather up all the armor of the defeated and burn it in a huge bonfire. During the Roman Empire, Vespasian, after finishing several battles, struck a coin on which he pictured the goddess of Peace holding an olive branch in one hand, and, with a lighted torch in the other, setting fire to a heap of armor. What Isaiah points to is not just overthrowing the oppression of invading armies. If that is all it is, the response will be like the kid excited at Christmas and having the "gimmies" by January. What once brought joy sits idle on the shelf. Rather, the joy is due to freedom found in something far greater than the removal of an oppressive political tyrant. It is not just the temporary, transitory peace which this world has to offer. The peace we have given us because of Christ is a peace which once and for all destroys the warriors' weapons, rids us of the uniforms we’ve bloodied in our battle against God. But do we understand what we’ve traded them for? What accomplished this peace, this joy? What was the cost of such a wonderful present? The cost was great. The cost is the life of God’s own Son. |
