The country is in despair. The lowest inflation rate for a long time is achieved, and yet - the unemployment rate still goes up, the balance of payments doesn't improve, businesses continue to go into liquidation. Young people leave High School with a question, not simply of whether tertiary study will be available for them, but with the question of whether there will be a job for them after the completion of their degree. Older people who have made financial provision for their retirement are concerned about the difficulty of living on greatly reduced interest.
The world is unsettled. The Gulf War alerted the world to the dangers of Islamic fanaticism - dangers which could well spill over both for the little state of Israel and for the rest of the world. The lifting of Communist oppression in so many countries was a jubilant release, but has led to instability and civil war - a struggling, not just of ideologies but of racial groups with centuries of antagonism. World population projections combined with TV coverage of peoples in the grip of starvation raise questions about where we are all going. Global warming, the hole in the ozone layer and a new ecological awareness raise serious questions about the ways we have come to do things.
All of this bites into people's self-confidence. Dependence on alcohol and other drugs is on the increase. Domestic violence and marriage breakdown are prevalent. Emotional disturbance and suicides are on the increase. The level of violence in the community is increasing...
An unsettled and despairing world? And yet, we live in the age of fulfilment, the age of hope!
The prophet Isaiah could see clearly that danger and dark times lay ahead. What was the matter? It was not simply the military might of Assyria, but the nation's sin and disobedience towards God and their lack of trust in him.
Listen to what he says in 8.21-9.1 - "The people will wander through the land, discouraged and hungry. In their hunger and their anger they will curse their king and their God. They may look up to the sky or stare at the ground, but they will see nothing but trouble and darkness, terrifying darkness into which they are being driven. There will be no way for them to escape from this time of trouble."
Does that sound a bit modern to you? We don't have a high level of physical hunger in Australia at the moment. But thinking more broadly - wandering, discouraged, hungry... And in their hunger and their anger they will curse their king and their God. Governments - of whatever colour - get the blame. And God gets the blame! It has become popular to attack the Christian faith in the media and to give prime time to whatever other gurus may be offering themselves. They may look up to the sky and stare at the ground - neither God nor the politicians or scientists seem to have the answers - they will see nothing but trouble and darkness. It feels as if we are being drawn towards an unpleasant future - with no hope of escape.
At the moment, of course, there is a way of escape. Listen to Isaiah 49.8 - "When the time comes to save you, I will show you favour and answer your cries for help." In 2 Corinthians 6.2 Paul picks this up and adds, "Listen! This is the hour to receive God's favour; today is the day to be saved!"
And for today's world there is a way of escape. We don't have to be driven towards doom and gloom. But the time was coming for them when there would be no way to escape from this time of trouble.
For their darkness they would be given a great light - joy, happiness and rejoicing - the kind of rejoicing they used to experience as a community at harvest time. The burdensome yoke and the painful rod - the oppression under which they had lived would all be removed. Even the boots of the invaders and their bloodstained clothing would be destroyed - the reminders of their oppression.
"A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, 'Wonderful Counsellor,' 'Mighty God,' 'Eternal Father,' 'Prince of Peace.' His royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David's successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The Lord Almighty is determined to do all this."
The doom and gloom are very real. The impending judgement is very real. The devastation is very real. And God's promise to do something in the midst of this history is very real.
A child... a son... a ruler... the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace!
How they needed (and how we need) someone to be the Wonderful Counsellor! Someone absolutely wise, whose advice is totally dependable - right every time. Someone who will be with us a guide us, to lead us.
How they needed (and how we need) the Mighty God! In chapter 7, Isaiah had foretold the birth of Immanuel - God with us. Not just mighty God in heaven - the one who started it all and who will (but please, not just yet!) bring it all to a conclusion - the mighty God people are a little edgy about. No! This child, this son - born into the world, part of our history. The hymn writer put it,
He laid aside his glory. He accepted our limitations. He became one of us. Except on the mount of Transfiguration his glory was hidden. The Mighty God!
How they needed (and how we need) the Everlasting Father! The one to guard and comfort his people and to supply their needs - also known to us as the Good Shepherd.
How they needed (and how we need) the Prince of Peace! His role will be to break the hostility between people and God, the barrier of sin and its consequences. Only through this role would it be possible for peace between people. He is the Prince of Peace!
We live in the times of fulfilment. What Isaiah described with foresight, we know as part of history. The child has been born, the son has been given. He has come!
We cannot pretend about the situation of our world, but we are called to be messengers of the only true hope there is or can ever be - "Listen! This is the hour to receive God's favour; today is the day to be saved!"
Now is the time to repent and to trust in the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
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