My Bible reading is now taking me through the early chapters of Isaiah. These include some very famous Christmas prophecies in chapters 7 and 9, and some others that are less well known.
Let me deal with the one in chapter 9. I’ll quote the three key verses that everyone like to focus on:
Vss. 1-2, ” Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan—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.”
And vs. 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.”
We could imagine some of those words printed on the side of coffee mugs. They are heartwarming and wonderful.
But the original context is not one of heartwarming coziness. Quite the opposite–it is one of bloody warfare.
Note this verse in-between the verses quoted above: “Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire,” (vs. 5). That doesn’t seem very Christmas-y, but it’s in there. It points to something very dramatic and tough and war-like.
The context of the original prophecy had to do with gritty geo-political realities of the day. Assyria was the feared superpower (around 700 B.C.). Assyria invaded and devoured small nations. They had their eyes on Israel and Judah.
There was tension and fear, even terror.
And in the midst of that, God was sending a message of hope. Those northern tribes, Zebulun and Naphtali, in the region of Galilee, were usually the first to bear the brunt of foreign invasions. But one day that would change.
“In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan—” (vs. 1). They would be free from the old fears and terrors. Instead, they would be honored. The light would dawn on them. They would go from last to first–all because of something God would do.
And it happened. Assyria was destroyed!
That was wonderful, but God was going to do something even better; a second, greater fulfillment. A greater deliverance that would come later.
It came with Jesus. He was from Galilee. He spent most of his life and ministry around the area of those old northern tribes. The people of Galilee had a front row seat in seeing the life and ministry of the Son of God firsthand. They had that honor. They witnessed the light.
Jesus would also give a greater deliverance. The first time it was the terror of the Assyrian threat; the second time it was defeat of the power of the devil, sin, death and hell. It’s like receiving the benefits of a military victory.
But Jesus had to be born first, and that was fraught with danger. God sent his Son into a hostile, evil world.
- We see it in a symbolic way in Revelation where (chapter 12:4): “The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.”
- We see it in a literal way by Herod’s attempts to kill the Christ child by slaughtering the infant boys of Bethlehem (Matthew 2).
It was an invasion into enemy territory. And God made sure it was successful. Christmas is less about sentimentalities and vague warm feelings and more about a decisive victory of good over evil. It’s about God defeating the devil. It’s about wickedness suffering a setback.
How often do we think of Christmas like that? We make every effort to make it soft and warm and cozy. We must never forget that the essence of it was a military invasion into hostile territory with the spoils of the victory–eternal life–given to us.
That beats shallow sentimentality any day!
I know, I know–there is still the warmer side to Christmas, and that’s okay. It’s my favorite time of the year. I like the lights and good feelings about as much as anyone. Tonight we will go to see two of our grandchildren in a Christmas presentation. But that cozy, warm and sentimental part of it must not overwhelm the thrilling truth that God sent his Son into the world for our benefit.
What God did by sending his Son was nothing less than an invasion into enemy territory. Just as the enemy that terrorized those long-ago northern tribes was defeated, so our enemies (the devil, sin, death, hell) were defeated.
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work,” (1 John 3:8).
That’s the best reason to celebrate Christmas.