For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

NOTE: We are pausing the final week of e-meds on the book of Acts to focus on Christmas. We will return to finish Acts next Monday, Dec. 28.

Four magnificent names of Jesus Christ, the child born in a humble Bethlehem stable! Musically rendered by Handel in his classic oratorio “Messiah,” this passage has thrilled many with its lofty exaltation of the promised Savior. It was written during Israel’s dark days of sin, amid prophecy of God’s impending judgment—first by the Babylonians and then the Assyrians, first against the northern kingdom of Israel (the rebel tribes led by Ephraim) and then the southern kingdom (of Judah and Benjamin). There is always a ray of hope, a lifeline to the believing remnant.

One would suspect that expectations and hopes would have been slim or completely absent upon hearing the Babylonians would completely ransack Israel and take the people away as slaves. But God always gives the faithful His promises to which they can anchor their faith, so that they might not descend into the vortex of unbelief when the chaotic world spins around them. In the midst of foreboding prophecies is this gem, this description of the longer-term picture: One is coming who would will exceed all their hopes and expectations.

By seeing the coming one referred to as a “child” and a “son,” the faithful should understand that God’s salvation would come from among their own people, born a Jew. In fulfillment, Jesus was born as a Jew. It would not be a military intervention and rescue by another nation. It would be a solution “given” by God. He would be a governing person, and as such, Jesus was a descendent of the kingly throne of David.

He would first of all be a “Wonderful Counselor.” “For by wise guidance you will wage war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory” (Pr 24:6, see also 20:18, Luke 14:31). The conquering Messiah will wage an excellent war against all of God’s enemies, whether physical or spiritual. He will not need an abundance of military advisors, for His counsel will be “wonderful” (in the sense of miraculous, unusually good). It has been described as “of an extraordinary nature making it mysterious or difficult to comprehend” (Logos.com). In the end, everyone will be in a state of “shock and awe” at how He carries it out!

While we rightly interpret this prophecy as the Messiah coming in military and political victory over the political forces of this world (Is 9:7), Christians have long understood that He is also a victor over the spiritual forces of darkness. And if He is a wonderful counselor at war, then we can go to Him in His Word and in prayer for wonderful counsel for all of life.

Lord, thank You that I am not left alone to my own understanding (Pr 3:5-6).