Read Isaiah 9 at Biblegateway.org
Interpreting the Passage
The Good Old DaysDavid’s grip on Israel’s imagination only grew in the years after his death. He was the prototypical warrior-poet. He was humble, but a totalitarian king. He was the Lord’s anointed, yet deeply flawed and honest about it. He was the kind of leader that stamped such a deep impression on his people that generations afterwards looked back with envious nostalgia, wishing their land was again ruled by such a man. All the subsequent kings were measured against David. The rule of David stood as the definitive version of “The Good Old Days” for Israel. Additionally, God had clearly made a promise to David, that his house would be established on the throne forever, so the expectation for a Davidic descendant to lead Israel out of crisis was real and ongoing. (2 Sam 7)
We shouldn’t be surprised to find that when Isaiah communicates a new vision of what it means to be God’s people, he speaks of it in terms of a leader who will sit on the throne of David. The eschatological reality Isaiah proclaims, and on which his contemporaries can count and place their hope, occurs under the leadership of David’s heir. This is a rich image, used to change the immediate reality of hope within his community, and which also provides a resource for the disciples of Jesus to understand his ministry some seven hundred years later.
Isaiah 9:1-7This passage is one of Isaiah’s most well known messianic passages.
Like many of Isaiah’s prophecies, this passage may be multivalent, allowing it to describe things taking place in Isaiah’s period, but finding fuller fulfillment only in the life of Jesus. Isaiah tends to look favorably on the person of Hezekiah, and some scholars would interpret this passage as only referring to him (or another king such as Josiah) in a hyperbolic sense. However, the passage can also be taken as a radical eschatological statement, a declaration that God is planning a future that includes a ruler not only like David, but surpassing him.
In beautiful hopeful poetry it speaks of a child who is born into a God-given purpose, the reestablishment of a righteous kingdom. The child will ascend to the throne of his ancestor David, and demonstrates remarkable qualities. The title Isaiah uses indicate a king infused with divine power, and although this wasn’t an unusual understanding in the ancient world or even Israel, the language here is employed in an eschatological way, indicating how God intends to act in the person of this Davidic king. In other words, Isaiah understands that the coming king will possess superhuman qualities. Isaiah says the king will be called a “wonderful counselor”, indicating he will demonstrate wisdom in his plans and judgments. He is called “mighty God”, demonstrating unmatched strength and power. “Everlasting Father” calls to mind his ability to give and sustain life, and his enduring staying power. Finally, he is the “prince of peace”, ending the conflicts that plague God’s people. These four word pairs describe a king whose rule easily surpasses the qualities of human leaders.
The text goes on in verse 7 to describe several effects of the king’s rule. Under the new king and his expanding power, the people will enjoy peace and stability. They won’t be vulnerable to the transitions and cycles of new and ungodly rulers, but will live continually at peace under a king who’s throne is firmly established and enduring. He rules with justice, creating a climate of fairness and equality that isn’t threatened by oppression. The last part of this verse declares that this won’t be an accidental occurrence, but that this ruler’s emergence will be a result of divine action.
Teaching the Passage
What we Know and What we Need
Isaiah 9 is a passage of reversal. Isaiah is writing to tell people who live in darkness, about a powerful coming light. The news he brings is intended to bring hope to their despair, giving them a glimpse of something they’ve never really experienced. While that is acutely true for the people of isaiah’s time, who lived during a period of intense conflict and threat, Most of us are aware that the world as it is is not the world we really want to experience. What we know is vastly different from what we need.
Still, we have lingering memories of when things were better. Isaiah employs that memory and then makes a promise of a future of a time to come that will surpass it. To him, the present is not as good as the past, but even the past can’t compare with what is coming in the future. To start out, it might be a useful exercise to let the class get nostalgic. What do they remember fondly about “the way things used to be”? What do they miss about “the good old days”?
After that plays on for a little while, ask if it was all good. What were some of the things that have changed since then in a good way? What were some ways things weren’t so good, back in the “good old days”?
Can you imagine a future that’s not only better than the present, but better than the best of the past as well?
Depending on your class’s level of bible knowledge, you might be able to have a similar discussion about the things that were right about Israel during the time of David, and the things that weren’t so right. How might Israel in later generations think of David’s time as the “good old days”? What were some things they might have thought of that weren’t so good about those “good old days”? The text can be then prefaced as a prophecy of coming days that will be a whole lot better than even the remembered “good old days”.
After that, work through the text, taking the time to get the sense of drama from the first few verses. How does Isaiah build to the announcement of God’s action? (You might also consider letting 8:11-22 be read as a prologue, since it builds the sense of doom and dread that Isaiah works to dispel in chapter 9.)
As your reading turns to the announcement in 9:6-7, you may get into a discussion of the text here by way of a “gospel” discussion.
What kind of good news is Isaiah proclaiming?
Why is each element of his announcement good news?
What is good news about the promise of a king possessing these traits, with these results?
How was that good news to the people of Judah to whom Isaiah issued this prophecy, and how is it good news to people today?
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