Keep Going and Going and Going

A series on Isaiah 9:6 – The Child of Prophecy
 – Everlasting Father
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Isaiah 40:1-11; 28-31 

[Jesus was a child of prophecy. The Christmas story in the Bible was predicted in many Old Testament prophecies but the centerpiece of these is Isaiah 9:6. It was written nearly six hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In this series we’re going to look at the meaning and implications of this amazing prophecy.]

 

The Energizer Bunny has been around since 1989. You know the commercials! The ones with the toy bunny that runs on an Energizer battery and is beating a drum. Then the narrator says: “Nothing outlasts the Energizer battery. It keeps going and going and going.”

 

In a world where nothing seems to last – marriages and jobs for instance – it would be nice to have something that you could count on. Something that would last forever.

 

Isaiah lived in a time when the world was unstable. Nothing lasted! The people that God had called as His own, had divided into two nations – Israel and Judah. Unable to reconcile, there was bad blood between the two.

 

In addition, Assyria was aggressively invading the nations of the known world. They were a very real threat to Judah and Jerusalem. Many Jews would be captured and others forcibly exiled to a foreign land. Nothing seemed to last forever.

 

However, during this time of uncertainty, Isaiah spoke these words about an Everlasting Father.

 

⁶ 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 Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.             NIV    Isaiah 9

 

Later, in Isaiah 40, he spoke about the comfort that God would bring to his people. He painted a picture of “preparing the way” for a king who would return to Jerusalem! He described how people are like grass which will wither, but that “the word of our God endures forever”! Finally, he declared how the people of Jerusalem would shout, “Your God is coming!”

 

The Energizer bunny keeps going and going and going. If only life were so simple. But life can be hectic, if not chaotic. Life can be out of control, despite our best efforts to control it. Life can be painful, even though we try to avoid pain.

 

Thankfully, our God, is a God who comforts us in those chaotic, out of control and painful times. To make this point, Isaiah used a shepherd as an example.

 

¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
    He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
    He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.  NLT

 

Jesus embraced the imagery of being a shepherd. But for him, it wasn’t just imagery, it was who he was and what he came to accomplish. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”. 

 

When we experience the comfort of the “good shepherd”, he gives us hope and strength to keep going and going and going.

³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint. NIV

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The Incongruities of Life

A series on Isaiah 9:6 – The Child of Prophecy
 – Mighty God
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Isaiah 8:19-9:7 

[Jesus was a child of prophecy. The Christmas story in the Bible was predicted in many Old Testament prophecies but the centerpiece of these is Isaiah 9:6. It was written nearly six hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In this series we’re going to look at the meaning and implications of this amazing prophecy.]

  

The definition of the word incongruous is: “strange because of not agreeing with what is usual or expected”. Something that is incongruous is something that doesn’t fit; it doesn’t make sense; it’s out of place... like a duck out of water.

 

In the days that Isaiah walked the earth, the Israelites were in a hopeless situation. Judah and Israel were already divided and at odds with one another. On top of that, Assyria was baring down on both.

 

As a result, the Israelites were dealing with economic oppression, war and destruction. However, rather than calling out to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they consulted mediums.

 

Despite this, Isaiah brought a message of hope from the Lord. He told them that “darkness and despair will not go on forever”. That the “rod of the oppressor” would be broken… could that be Assyria? That warfare would end. 

Then he made a statement that had so many incongruities that it would make your head spin.

 

⁶ 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 Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.             NIV

 

Isaiah goes on to say that the child will sit on David’s throne for eternity. How can this be? How can a child, a little baby, at the same time be called Mighty God and establish an eternal kingdom?

 

The Israelites may very well have applied Isaiah’s words to their situation at the time. But the truth is, his words were a Messianic prophecy that wouldn’t be fulfilled for over 700 years.

 

In Matthew 4 we read that when John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee.

 

¹³ He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
    beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
    in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
¹⁶ the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
    a light has shined.”        NLT

 

Isaiah spoke words that on the surface were filled with incongruities. But in the fulness of time, in God’s time, his words made perfect sense. The child would be called Mighty God as he established the Kingdom of Heaven. An eternal kingdom that still brings light and hope for us today.

 

God works through the incongruities of life. Even when we experience great troubles, He is the “the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love”.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

He Gets Us

A series on Isaiah 9:6 – The Child of Prophecy
 – Wonderful Counselor
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 7:10-52 

[Jesus was a child of prophecy. The Christmas story in the Bible was predicted in many Old Testament prophecies but the centerpiece of these is Isaiah 9:6. It was written nearly six hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In this series we’re going to look at the meaning and implications of this amazing prophecy.]

  

You may have seen commercials for the media campaign called “He Gets Us”. The focus of this campaign is to reintroduce Jesus in a way that shows that he understands us, as well as to encourage people to love their neighbors.

 

During Isaiah’s ministry as a prophet of God, Israel had already been divided into the northern and southern kingdoms. And Assyria was aggressively expanding their kingdom. It was a dark world where Isaiah spoke mostly about judgment, but also words of hope. Words about a Messiah who they believed would one day rule their nation.

 

Isaiah told them that the “darkness and despair will not go on forever”. That the nation of Israel will see a great light and rejoice. Then he prophesized that a “child will be born and that the government will rest on his shoulders”. He then added that the child will be called “Wonderful Counselor”.

 

The Festival of Tabernacles was a pilgrimage festival that brought Jews to Jerusalem from far and wide. Jesus was freely teaching in the temple courts. Recently he also had healed someone on the Sabath, which was strictly forbidden by Jewish law. Between his teachings and the healing, Jesus was creating controversy.

 

The crowds couldn’t agree on who he was. Some thought he was the Prophet spoken of in the Old Testament. Some said he was a good man, while others thought he was possessed by a demon. Thinking that he might be the Messiah, many believed in Jesus. Others were amazed at what Jesus said because he had no formal training.

 

What would make someone a “Wonderful Counselor”? Being compassionate and empathetic? Or being wise and insightful? What about helping people to understand themselves and giving practical insights on how to deal with their problems?

 

Jesus had all these qualities and more.

 

The writer of Hebrews said that he can “empathize with our weaknesses” because he’s been tempted in every way like us but without sin.

 

When David confessed his sin of adultery, the Lord promised, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you”.

 

Upon reflecting about the Lord, the psalmist wrote that “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path”.

 

Prophesying about the Messiah, Isaiah wrote that the “Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord”.

The question asked by the festival crowds reverberates through the centuries: “Who is this man”? The same question is there for us to answer. Isaiah said that he was to be called “Wonderful Counselor”.

 

Indeed… “He Gets Us”.

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Within You

A series on Isaiah 9:6 – The Child of Prophecy
 – King of Kings
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Daniel 2:24-49 

[Jesus was a child of prophecy. The Christmas story in the Bible was predicted in many Old Testament prophecies but the centerpiece of these is Isaiah 9:6. It was written nearly six hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In this series we’re going to look at the meaning and implications of this amazing prophecy.]

  

In 1961 a movie titled “King of Kings” was released. It was an epic production about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. 

The person of Jesus came alive on the screen showing “the power, the passion, the greatness and the glory” of the King of kings. But there were many great and powerful kings before Jesus.

 

King Nebuchadnezzar was the second king of the Babylonian Empire. Early in his reign he had dreams that disturbed him so much that he was unable to sleep. His magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers couldn’t tell him what he had dreamed, let alone its interpretation. The king became furious and ordered the execution of the wise men which included Daniel, a Jewish exile in Babylon.

 

But the Lord revealed both the dreams and the interpretation of them to Daniel. Once he learned this, he went before Nebuchadnezzar and told him that his dreams were about the future. He explained that no man could do what the king was asking, but that the God in heaven had revealed it to him.

 

Daniel described what the king had seen in his dreams as an enormous statue of a man that was awe inspiring. Its head was gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were iron and clay.

 

Continuing, Daniel related that the king had also seen in his dreams a rock that was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. And the rock smashed the statue to pieces which were then blown away like dust in the wind. Following this, the rock became a great mountain that filled the whole earth.

 

After describing the king’s dreams, Daniel interpreted them. The statue represented four successive kingdoms. The head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar. But after his kingdom comes to an end another kingdom will take his place, then a third and finally a fourth kingdom. Each kingdom will replace the one before it.

 

Finally, Daniel explained what the rock represented. The one that was cut from the mountain and had crushed the statue.

 

⁴⁴ “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.           NLT

 

For centuries, the Jews had been expecting a Messiah who would fulfill this prophecy of the rock by building a political kingdom. As Isaiah 9:6 states, “The government will rest on His shoulders”. But that wasn’t what Jesus did. Instead, he came to build an eternal kingdom… the Kingdom of God.

 

In Luke 17 we read that on one occasion the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. Here is his answer.

 

^20b Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. ²¹ You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”   NIV

 

In this verse the Living Bible translates “among you” as “within you”. Think about that for a minute. This means that as a believer in Christ that the King of king’s lives within you wherever you go and whatever you do. Paul put it like this.

 

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.      NIV

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com