Brown's Daily Word 12-10-13

    Praise the Lord for the joyful, triumphant songs and music of Christmas.  Dr. Elsworth Kallas calls these songs "the Songs of season", saying that both saints and sinners sing these songs of the season. We are so blessed with the powerful music, and the songs of the season that have been transmitted through the ages by those who loved the Lord.  They have captured the mystery and wonder of the season and show how the Lord touches the heartstrings of their lives and gave them new songs.  Alice and I love Christmas music.  I have been listening to Handel's Messiah presented by various orchestras and choirs from various parts of the world.  I was just listening to a rendition by a Polish conductor.  It is all celebration and all jubilation. 

    "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."  These words from Isaiah 9:6-7, are probably amongst the best known and best loved words in all of Scripture, and form arguably one of the greatest pieces of choral music ever composed – Handel's Messiah.  Isaiah is without doubt one of the most compelling, and powerful books of the entire Bible, and Isaiah one of the most influential of the biblical prophets.  In terms of its theological significance, the book of Isaiah has been described as the 'Romans' of the Old Testament. It is in this amazing book that the big picture of God's purposes for his people and for his world are set forth. Isaiah is quoted 66 times in the New Testament, and is only exceeded by the Psalms.  What makes this book so significant for Christians, however, is the way in which it bears witness to Jesus Christ.

    Isaiah was writing during a very turbulent time in the history of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, when they were being threatened by the expanding Assyrian empire. During the darkest days of Israel,  Isaiah receives the wonderful promise, about the birth of a child that would change everything. "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned".  (Isaiah 9:2)  "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." (Isaiah 9:6)

 

    As we come to the the end of Isaiah 8, God's people at the time are said to "see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom." To them is the promise that they will see a great light, that their warfare will end because "unto us a child is born" and his name will be PRINCE of PEACE!

    Jesus is the Prince of Peace. The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom, Shalom means more than just peace; it means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, and harmony. It means to bind together the fragments of life into a meaningful whole.  Peace is not about the absence of trouble from our lives, but the reassurance that no matter what we face in life Jesus is with us, and that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. This is why Paul wrote "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8:38-39)  This is the root of true peace. 

     Isaiah's prophecy of the coming King was a message of hope for the people of Israel and Judah in a time of great distress. But it is also a message to cause all of us to rejoice in, because, "For to US a child is born, to us a Son is given," so that we can know Him as the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, our Prince of Peace.

In Christ,

   Brown

http://youtu.be/LFBIJgkj_-g