Words for a turbulent time

Next Isaiah delivers a prophecy of hope. The problem with a prophecy is that there is never any idea of timescale. The people are going to have to wait a long, long time for this new King to come. He may be as great a King as King David – and there has been no one else who has come even close to the greatness of David so far – but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before this new Saviour appears.

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.  Isaiah 9:2

It’s a wonderful message of hope for any nation at any time. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. A great light. The deeper the darkness, the brighter the light. And all those years later, Jesus said –

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12

He is still making that promise to us today.

And now that this light can come, nothing can ever put it out. Nothing.

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5

Hold on to that hope, however dark your world may seem to you right now.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and for ever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.  Isaiah 9:6-7

A wonderful, wonderful passage that is read as part of the Christmas story. That maybe has become too familiar for that reason. Remember the context. These people were being threatened on all sides. They lived in constant fear of attack. Life was tough. Tougher than most of us could ever imagine. And here comes this prophet speaking these tremendous words of hope and deliverance. How long could you wait for these words to come true? How long would you hold onto a prophecy like this before you began to doubt? None of those who received this prophecy firsthand would see it come true in their lifetime. None of them. No wonder it was hard to believe when it finally did come to pass – and not at all in the way that they were expecting.

Think ahead to what we know of the Jesus that walked the earth. It’s hard to recognise him in earthly terms from this description, isn’t it? No wonder the Jews had trouble accepting that Jesus was the Messiah. We now know that the kingdom talked about here was no longer to be an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual one and that Jesus has indeed proved himself time and time again to be a Wonderful Counsellor, a Mighty God, an Everlasting Father and a Prince of Peace. But it must have been so hard for the Jews, who had had this prophecy passed down from generation to generation, to understand and accept Jesus.

And in the meantime…

God has sent other messengers to the Northern kingdom – Amos and Hosea, who we will meet in due course – with warnings of judgement. In their arrogance, the people believe they will survive the attack and be able to rebuild, as their nation has done so many times before. But God has not finished with them yet –

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.  Isaiah 9:12

This nation will divide itself from within. Its leaders will turn on the people. There will be no justice for those with no voice.

It sounds like our nation at this point in many ways, doesn’t it? It’s been a turbulent time of instability since the referendum where the decision was taken to leave the EU. The politicians on all sides are now showing their true colours. The people are openly divided. Those in the land with no voice and no rights are unable to seek justice. And this is what God is saying to us, as He said to His people all that time ago –

Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.  Isaiah 10:1-2

God has not changed. All that He cared about back then, He still cares passionately about now. And the human heart has not changed either. We may pride ourselves that we have come a long way since those days – and in terms of knowledge and science and technology, of course we have, but in terms of how we all live alongside each other and look out for those who need looking out for – not so much.

No nation, however strong, however powerful, however wise, should ever believe that it is above the might and power and wrath of God. God is above all. He always will be.

Eventually, after much suffering, there will be a remnant of Israel – a few good people that will turn back to the mighty God. God’s wrath will end. Their enemies will be destroyed. Just not yet. In God’s time.

Like the Jews before us, we have to hold on to the promise of God. We have to trust. Even when, especially when, we do not understand.

There is hope. Always hope.