1Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
In the Hebrew text of Isaiah, the first verse of chapter 9 is the last verse (verse 23) of chapter 8. This verse connects with the content of 8:21-22 and also connects with the content of chapter 9. Chapter 8 closed with the darkness that would surround those going into captivity, both from Israel to Assyria and from Judah to Babylon. The next verse (9:1 in our Bible) begins with a word of change: “nevertheless.” This verse states a contrast between two times (“at the first” and “afterward”) and two actions by God, both taking place in the Galilee region. Thus, this verse is speaking of the northern kingdom of Israel.
The first reference (“at the first”) is to the invasion by Tiglathpileser (the spelling of his name is not always the same in the Hebrew text):
“In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.” (II Kings 15:29). That deportation was the first stage in the carrying away of the population of the northern kingdom.
The second reference is more open to discussion. The two Hebrew verbs translated “lightly afflicted” and “more grievously afflict” are the words to be considered. The first verb is “he-qal” and means “treat as light.” The second verb is “hikh-biyd” and means “treat as heavy.” The first can be translated “dishonor.” The second can be translated “honor” or “glorify.” In fact, the second verb is translated “glorify” by the KJV in Jeremiah 30:19. Thus, the “afterward” of 9:1 may be translated, “and afterward did honor her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.” The change is from dishonor to honor. That’s why “the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation.” The darkness experienced by those going into captivity at the end of chapter 8, both in Israel and in Judah, will be changed to light, as the next verse of this chapter will say.
2The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
The first group of the Jews who went into captivity were those who lived in the Galilee region. According to verse 2, the people of that region “have seen a great light.” After the first deportation, the remaining people of Galilee were dwelling “in the land of the shadow of death,” but Isaiah foresaw a day when light would shine on the people of that region. After John the Baptist was put into prison, Jesus went from Nazareth to Galilee:
“And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:13-17).
The territories of Zebulun and Naphtali are on the western side of the Jordan River, but the blessing they would receive would also be felt “beyond Jordan.” Jesus began his ministry of offering the kingdom to Israel in the same place where Tilgathpileser first took captives to Assyria. The prophecy in verse 2 is in the past tense because God’s word is sure.
3Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
With no transition, verse 3 moves from a statement of no joy to one of great joy. It seems to follow the pattern of movement from dishonor to honor in verse 1. The nation of Israel had grown in number, but God had not blessed them with joy because their hearts were far from Him. Yet, as suddenly as “the people that walked in darkness [saw] a great light” (verse 2), the door to great joy was thrown open to them. God would shatter “the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor.” It seems significant that “oppressor” is singular. The object of the oppression is “the nation,” thus including both the northern and southern kingdoms. At the time of Isaiah’s writing, the threat to the northern kingdom was Assyria. The southern kingdom was under threat from an alliance between the northern kingdom and Syria. Later, the southern kingdom was attacked by Assyria and then by Babylon.
But when would the yoke, the staff, and the rod of the oppressor of the nation be shattered? The northern kingdom of Israel never had a mass return from Assyria. The general population of the southern kingdom remained in captivity in Babylon for 70 years, and only part of them returned when given permission to do so. Yet, the prophecy in verse 3 says that God would break the oppression upon them as He delivered His people “in the day of Midian.” Judges 7 tells about God’s miraculous deliverance of Israel under the leadership of Gideon. Gideon had with him only 300 men, but the LORD caused the Midianites to fight against one another. This battle is also spoken of in Isaiah 10:26. The deliverance spoken of in Isaiah 9:4 will be fulfilled in the future when the whole nation is under attack from a single oppressor. The deliverer will be the source of light spoken of in verse 2. His identity will be further declared in verse 6. The sequence of blessing in these verses is significant: light (verse 2), joy (verse 3), and freedom (verse 4).
5For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
Verse 5 describes a battle in which the oppressor of the nation will be judged. The second clause in the sentence begins with the words “but this....” As indicated by italics in the KJV, the word “this” is not found in the Hebrew text. The word translated “but” is a generic Hebrew conjunction, usually translated “and.” Thus, rather than containing a contrast between two battles, verse 5 describes the shakenness, the bloodshed, and the fiery outcome that will characterize this future battle.
6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Verse 6 begins with the word “for.” That means that verse 6 will explain the “how” of verses 1-5. How will light come to those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death? How will the joyless history of Israel be changed into a joyful future? How will the rod of the oppressor of the nation be broken? How will the future attack on them be defeated?
The answer is, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” A child is born to Israel. A son is given to Israel. The child came to be at a moment of conception. The son already existed. The child and the son are one and the same person. The “government” of this child and son is twice spoken of in these verses. He will be a king sitting on the throne of the Davidic kingdom. Thus, this child will be born in the line of David. Israel will be one nation under the rule of this king. His government will be one of right judgment and righteousness and will last forever. The zeal of God will make this happen.
The child and son spoken of in verse 6 will be called a person of “Wonder.” He will be called “Counsellor;” Isaiah 11:2 says that the Spirit of counsel will rest upon Him. He will be called “the mighty God.” Exactly the same title is found is 10:21: “The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.” He will be called “the everlasting Father.” In Deuteronomy 32:6, Yahweh is called the Father of the nation of Israel. The child to be born and the son to be given will be Yahweh. He is everlasting and is the Father of the nation. Isaiah called Yahweh the Father of the nation in 63:16 and 64:8. The child and son will be called “the Prince of Peace.” He is the one who will deliver His people from their enemies and bring unending peace on earth.
Jesus is the child born and the son given of whom Isaiah prophesied, but He said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:34-36). Jesus also said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), but the world mostly rejected the light that He was and is. There will be no peace on earth until the darkness is judged. Even within families, one family member may receive Him while another family member may not. The verse which preceded Isaiah 9:6 spoke of war, bloodshed, and consuming fire. That judgment must precede the establishment of Jesus’ government of true justice, righteousness, and world peace.
The words of Isaiah 9:6-7 are the climax of the revelation in the previous chapters concerning a child who would be called “Immanuel” (“God with us”). Isaiah told the house of David, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (7:14). God revealed to Isaiah that the outspreadings of the wings of the king of Assyria would “fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel” (8:8). Isaiah responded in recognition that the nations would fail in their plans to destroy Israel, “for God is with us” (“immanu el”) (8:10). Yet, until chapter 9 it was unclear whether the child to be miraculously born to the virgin would be only a unique Israelite giving testimony to the fact that God is with His people or whether this child would himself be God with His people. Isaiah 9:6 makes clear that the second is the case. Immanuel would be the mighty God. He would be Yahweh, the Father of the nation. The name Immanuel indicated that the child Himself would be God, come to dwell among us.
8The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 10the bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. 11Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; 12the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
In verses 1-7 of this chapter, Isaiah prophesied of a great deliverance for the nation of Israel, beginning from the region of Galilee. But in the verses that follow that section, Isaiah returns to address the sin and distance from the LORD that was present in the nation at that time. The focal point of this prophecy is the northern kingdom of Israel.
Verses 9-10 give us an on-site ear to witness the arrogance of the people in Ephraim (the tribe whose name is given to represent the northern kingdom) and Samaria (the capital city). The people were saying, “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.” The time of the destruction to which these words refer is not specified in these verses, but one possibility is the early aggression against Israel by the Assyrian king Pul during the reign of Menahem in the north: “And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand” (II Kings 15:19). Pul had brought the people low, but their attitude was one of defiance. It seems that even Menahem needed Pul’s help to subdue his people under him. The people in the northern kingdom did not consider that the destruction they had experienced might have come to them as a judgment from God.
In response to the people’s arrogance, God said that He would bring against them the adversaries of Rezin. Because Ephraim had formed an alliance with Rezin, the enemies of Rezin saw Ephraim as their enemy, too. These enemies of Rezin were other leaders in Syria who were rivals to him. God also said that He would bring against Israel their own enemies the Philistines. Thus, they would be caught in the middle between attackers from Syria in the east and from Philistia in the west. Yet, even so, God’s anger was not assuaged; His hand against them “was stretched out still.”
The words, “For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still,” are also found in verses 17, 21, and 10:4. Thus, after the aggression against the northern kingdom by Pul and the attacks from the east and from the west, these four parallel statements imply four more stages of judgment yet to come against Ephraim. These judgments would come through Tilgathpileser, through widespread internal strife, through Shalmaneser, and through the Assyrian of the future, the Antichrist.
13For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. 14Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 15The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 16For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. 17Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
The second of the five steps of judgment against the northern kingdom of Israel would be against their leaders: the elders, those in prominent positions, and the false prophets (see also Isaiah 28:7). The false prophets are called the “tail” of these leaders. God particularly views with contempt anyone who teaches lies in His name. Because the people had followed their leaders in turning away from the LORD, the people also would be judged. Throughout the Scriptures, God shows special concern for orphans and widows, but at that time in Israel the orphans, the widows, and the young men of the coming generation were profane and did evil. God was displeased that foolish talk was universal. Thus, no segment of the society would be spared. This judgment would take place “in one day.”
It seems likely that this second step of judgment was that of the attack and first deportation by Tilgathpileser (II Kings 15:29; I Chronicles 5:26). (The later siege of Samaria by Shalmaneser was not done “in one day,” but lasted for three years.) Yet, even after so many were “cut off,” God’s anger was not assuaged. His hand was still stretched out to judge
18For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. 19Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh20 of his own arm: 21Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
The third step in God’s judgment against the northern kingdom of Israel would be internal strife. The people’s own wickedness would burn like a fire. God would let the people destroy one another. They would devour one another but still not be satisfied. It seems likely that the previous two steps of judgment had brought a scarcity of resources that would increasingly affect people’s behavior. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, both descended from sons of Joseph (Genesis 46:20), would seek to destroy one another. The northern kingdom of Israel would also be aggressive in opposition to the southern kingdom of Judah.
Pekah, who was king in the north at the time of the attack by Tilgathpileser, formed an alliance with the Syrian leader Rezin against Judah, perhaps in anger that Judah had not come to his help against Assyria and also in a desire to replenish Israel’s depleted resources by plundering Judah. Later, in another act of internal strife, Pekah himself was assassinated by his own countryman Hoshea (II Kings 15:27-30). Yet, after this third step of judgment, God’s anger still was not assuaged; His hand was yet stretched out to judge.
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.