What gives you hope? The prospects of prosperity, the promise of progeny?
Isaiah’s visions offer the people of Jerusalem a hopeful glimpse of their future, far off in the distance beyond the dread - and in this chapter he begins to expand his vision northward- with prophetic messages for the Kingdom of Israel as well. Both kingdoms are already under the Assyrian boot and the prophet’s messaging feeds the future with faith as the political present becomes darker for them all.
Two main hopeful tropes emerge from todays visions- the dawning light of day and the birth of a baby who will bring about salvation.
In Lau and Bin Nun’s Isaiah: Prophet of Righteousness these two visions magnify each other and reflect his historical context:
“In the Temple courtyard, an altar was built to the Assyrian gods of victory. Graven images were sold in the streets of Jerusalem. The Valley of Hinnom echoed with the screams of children being sacrificed in Moloch’s fire. But in the haven of Isaiah’s study house, a heavenly light burned: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a brilliant light." (Isaiah 9)
…His gleaming vision of a wondrous savior-king hints at an imminent miracle, and at the shattering of the alien gods and their altars.
Although the identity of the child that is born is not specified, the prophecy seems to imply that Hezekiah, King Ahaz’s son, will bear the messianic mantle upon his shoulders. Isaiah burst out in wondrous revelatory song, concluding the series of prophecies that began with his first appeal to Ahaz in chapter 7:
כִּי־יֶ֣לֶד יֻלַּד־לָ֗נוּ בֵּ֚ן נִתַּן־לָ֔נוּ וַתְּהִ֥י הַמִּשְׂרָ֖ה עַל־שִׁכְמ֑וֹ וַיִּקְרָ֨א שְׁמ֜וֹ פֶּ֠לֶא יוֹעֵץ֙ אֵ֣ל גִּבּ֔וֹר אֲבִי־עַ֖ד שַׂר־שָׁלֽוֹם׃
For a child has been born to us,
A son has been given us.
And authority has settled on his shoulders.
He has been named
“The Mighty God is planning grace;
The Eternal Father, a prince of peace”—
This was a song about the resurrection of the House of David. Although Ahaz still sat upon the throne, the king of Assyria had control over the Kingdom of Judah (and most of the ancient world). Yet Isaiah could see what was to come. Hezekiah would grow and be deserving of the divine names that Isaiah had bestowed upon him: “Wondrous Counselor, Mighty God,” and he would abolish the practices of his father. The names “Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” anticipated his messianic qualities and the peace he would bring to Jerusalem in the future.”
The anticipated royal baby that Isaiah predicts (if that’s the boy he has a vision of) will not prove to be the messiah of Jerusalem, despite his long and righteous reign.
But Isaiah’s words will become the defining attributes of another future Messianic figure: Jesus, the prince of peace. This prophecy of Isaiah became one of the central tenets of Christian belief: that the messianic king will be the child of God - from the loins of David.
This iconic idea, according to scholars, almost certainly comes from Egyptian religion, where the king was the son of a god, and divine himself. While it feels as metaphor in Isaiah’s words - this vision of God’s son as savior will develop within Jewish thought to eventually become that most famous son of his - “the king of the Jews.” The ideological path from ancient Egypt to early Christianity runs through today’s chapter, a beacon of light in a world growing darker each day. How tragic that this very beacon has also, in time, at times, become the very symbol of oppression and darkness.
But before any of that - Isaiah is talking in Jerusalem, as news from the north about the Assyrian conquest is beginning to sow seeds of doubt and as King Ahaz is trying to maintain stability. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, says the prophet, and a baby will be born to guide the way, towards prosperity, and peace. Isaiah, maybe disillusioned with his king and state of affairs, insists on hope, even if in the distant future. No wonder his words survived so many nights and conquests, forever a torch to guide people through to the other side of hopefulness that comes with every cry of a healthy newborn.
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