Overview.
In verses 1 – 5, we are carried forward to the coming of Messiah. The northern land of Naphtali was brought into contempt by invaders into the land. But it will be made glorious. It will be the boyhood home of Messiah and the scene of part of His public ministry. He will bring light to the Galilee, part of Messiah’s marvelous land.
In verses 6 and 7, we see the government of the Promised Child; an ideal monarch who will bring an end to war and usher in universal peace. This light will replace the darkness of the Assyrian oppression. This is the Child who is God incarnate (7: 14). His four compound throne names (verse 6) depict His divine nature as well as His universal programme of salvation.
From verse 8, we read of the judgment against the northern kingdom at the hands of the Assyrians. The Lord will use them to destroy Ephraim and its capital city, Samaria.
The accusations and judicial sentence in this section indicate that the Lord is both judge and punisher. Previous great warnings of catastrophe sent by the Lord have gone unheeded.
There will be wholesale destruction of the population because ungodliness prevails. He fact that the nation would not return to Adonai (verses 10 and 13) only reinforces His determination to judge them (verses 13 – 17)
Verse 1.
“Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when as first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles.”
The areas of Israel of the ancient allotment of Zebulun and Naphtali, which included the Galilee, were the first to feel the brunt of Assyrian invasion. But this verse promises a dramatic change; the end of gloom.
The description of this area – “beyond the Jordan”, “by the sea” and “Galilee of the Gentiles” – indicate administrative districts of the Assyrian conqueror Tiglath-Pileser as a result of the three campaign he waged around 733 BC.
The phrase “more heavily oppressed her” is a rather confusing translation. A better translation would be “will glorify her”. The Amplified Bible renders this phrase, “He will make it glorious”.
The days “at first” were full of gloom, but “afterward”, Adonai would transform the gloom and dishonour into honour and glory. Of course, this refers to the First Advent of Messiah.
Matthew 4: 12 – 16.
“Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of by the prophet …”
Ultimately this prophecy will be fulfilled with the Second Advent of the Lord Yeshua when the land will finally be free of foreign invaders.
Verse 2.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.”
This, of course, is a future event. Verse 2 begins the prophecy which continues to verse 7 concerning the future Messiah; He is the light which will replace the darkness of Assyrian oppression. He is the promised Child of verse 6. The people have not yet seen Him but Isaiah under the influence of the Holy Spirit sees these events as though they were happening in front of his eyes.
The term “light” represents Adonai’s blessing and His revelation which is the incarnate Lord Yeshua. The phrase “the land of the shadow of death” means “darkness”.
John 8: 12.
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
The coming of Messiah is synonymous with the coming of light to remove the darkness of captivity.
Isaiah 49: 6.
“I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
Verses 3 and 4.
“You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; they rejoice before You according to the joy of the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You have broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.”
Once again Adonai confirms His covenant with Abraham to multiply his physical descendants as the dust of the earth (Genesis 13: 16).
The “joy” provided by the “great light” is likened to the joy in an agricultural society when there is a bumper harvest, or the joy of a soldier who survives the battle and is about to receive the spoil.
You have “broken the yoke”, speaks of the eventual freedom of Israel from Assyria, Babylon and every other power who has oppressed her.
The three images of “the yoke”, “the staff” and “the rod”, speak of the oppression and suffering of the people during the period of foreign domination.
The Lord Yeshua at His Second Coming will bring such joy to the nation. The phrase “the days of Midian”, refers to the defeat of the Midianites by Gideon (Judges chapters 6 – 8).
Verse 5.
“For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, and garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire.”
Still looking at future events, Isaiah sees that the warrior’s “sandal” and “garments” will no longer be required. The reference to footwear reflects the fact that the Assyrian army was noted for the noise of their marching, intended to intimidate their enemy. The “garments rolled in blood” were taken from one battlefield to the next, again with the intention of intimidating the enemy in the next battle.
All these emblems of warfare were to be burned in the day of the coming, divine Child. The world would no longer need these accessories of warfare, because of the universal peace which will follow the return of the Lord Yeshua.
Verse 6.
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The introductory word, “For”, indicates that we are about to be given the reason why “the people” are about to see a “great light” and experience such “joy” and the end of warfare – the birth of the Child.
That the Lord Yeshua was “born” speaks of His humanity. That He was “given” indicates His deity. His relationship with Adonai was pre-existent. This is His First Advent.
John 3: 16.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son …”
The four compound titles of the “Son” elaborate further on His name “Immanuel” – the “Child” born of the virgin, will also be of the royal line of David with the right to the Davidic throne.
The second part of the first sentence (“the government will be upon His shoulder”), speaks of His reign. This of course, is the Second Advent when He will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will rule the nations of the world.
Revelation 2: 27.
“He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessel …”
Revelation 19: 15.
“Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations …”
The rest of the verse describes His personal glories which will be evidenced in His reign.
He will be called “wonderful counsellor”. This speaks of His person, His work and His supernatural wisdom in government (in contrast to King Ahaz).
Isaiah 11: 1 – 5.
“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of its roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of HIs eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ear; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness will be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist.”
He will also be called “Mighty God”. He will be the omnipotent, supreme ruler and (as we see above) a powerful warrior accomplishing military exploits.
He will also be called “Everlasting Father”; the ideal king. Messiah is the source of eternity. Being eternal Himself, He confers eternal life on those who believe in Him. As the Davidic king, He will have compassionate care for His people and, as is necessary, He will discipline them.
Isaiah 40: 9 – 11.
“O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
Behold the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arms shall rule for Him; behold His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.
He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in HIs bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”
His fourth name is “Prince of Peace”. Messiah is the One who will bring peace to a troubled world. The “Child” is the true prince who has the right to reign and who will usher in peace. The government of Immanuel will procure and perpetuate peace among the nations.
Isaiah 2: 4.
“He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (cf. Micah 4: 3).
The natural world will be restored as it was in the Garden.
Isaiah 11: 6 – 9.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy Mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Verse 7.
“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
The phrase, “Of the increase”, could be translated, “to Him will increase”. The phrase, “His government and peace”, could be translated, “His peace reign”. Thus, this phrase could be rendered,” to Him will increase His peace reign.”
The government of Messiah will be far-flung, peaceful and endless. The virgin’s Son is the rightful heir to David’s throne (2 Samuel 7: 8 – 16; Psalm 89: 19 – 37). He will establish the kingdom of Adonai forever and inherit the promises of the Davidic covenant. The Lord’s zealous care for His people will perform this.
Verse 7 concludes this section on the future kingdom of Messiah.
Verses 8 – 10. The Punishment of Samaria.
“The Lord sent a word against Jacob, and it has fallen on Israel. All the people will know – Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria – who say in pride and arrogance of heart: “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but we will rebuild them with cedars.”
The warning calamities sent by Adonai to the northern kingdom have been unheeded. Judgment will therefore come upon them; the Lord would destroy Ephraim and its capital city, Samaria. The Lord will be both judge and punisher.
The fact that the nation would not return to Adonai, and their belief that they could withstand invasion, only reinforced Adonai’s determination to judge them.
They felt confident that they could replace their mud brick walls (which were common in Israel) with stronger, hewn stones. And they would replace the wood supplied by the sycamore trees with stouter ceders. They planned to build a more grandiose city, not considering that the Lord was about to destroy the buildings completely because of sin.
The cause of their downfall would be their “pride and arrogance”; their feeling of self-sufficiency whereby they believed that they could handle any eventuality.
Verses 11 and 12.
“Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and spur his enemies on, the Syrians before and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.”
The introductory word, “Therefore”, shows that what follows in the consequence of what was outlined previously.
Verse 12, has the first of four stanzas which read, “For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” Elsewhere these words are translated, “His hand is still raised to strike” and “His upraised hand still threatens.” This is sadly not a hand stretched out to rescue or comfort but to impose further punishment. They have passed the point of no return.
The “adversaries of Rezin” were the Assyrians who were the enemies of Rezin, the king of Syria. Assyria would be used by the Lord to punish the northern kingdom. Ephraim will be attacked from the East and the West (the Philistines).
Verses 13 – 17.
“For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, nor do they seek the Lord of hosts. Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel, palm branch and bulrush in one day. The elder and honourable, he is the head; the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed. Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly.”
The people’s refusal to return to Adonai is in the belief that they can withstand any invasion. This only reinforces Adonai determination to judge them and that is what we see here.
They will not repent.
Judgment will therefore come to the highest and lowest in the society (“head” and “tail”); the honoured “elder” and the prophet “who teaches lies”. The “palm branch” represents the highest in society and the “bulrush”, the lowest. The leaders caused the people “to err”, and all have followed them. All of Israel (“the young men”, and “the fatherless and the widow”) have been contaminated by evil, hypocrisy and foolishness. The aggravated wickedness of Israel extended to all classes. Even the fatherless and the widow, who would normally be the object of special mercy, would face judgment. So far had Ephraim strayed from the testimonies of Adonai.
Isaiah 1: 17.
“Learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless and plead for the widow.”
Verses 18 and 19.
“For wickedness burns as the fire; it shall devour the briers and the thorns, and kindle in the thickets of the forest; they shall mount up like rising smoke. Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up, and the people shall be as fuel for the fire; no man shall spare his brother.”
Here we see that “fire of wickedness” is matched by the fire of the “wrath of the Lord of hosts”, leading to complete destruction. The “wickedness” of the sin brings the most destructive consequences.
The wrath of Adonai allowed the “wickedness” of the society to cause it to self-destruct. Senseless, mutual exploitation will result in anarchy, confusion and an attitude of “every man for himself”.
This is reminiscent of what we saw in Isaiah 3: 4 and 5.
“I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. The people will be oppressed, every one by another and every one by his neighbour; the child will be insolent to the elder, and the base toward the honourable.”
Verses 20 and 21.
“And he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry; he shall devour on the left hand and not be satisfied; every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm. Manasseh shall devour Ephraim; and Ephraim Manasseh; together they shall be against Judah.
For all this His anger is not turned away; but His hand is stretched out still.”
This figure of speech, “right hand and left hand” depicts undiminished cruelty and discord, resulting in the ruin which will occur in the day of judgment.
It is a state of civil war. Manasseh and Ephraim fought each other before (Judges 12: 4) and unite only in opposition to Judah.