By Josh Hooker serving in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Read Isaiah 9:1-7
Christmas Day in the UK is usually cold, grey and dark. In contrast, in Namibia, where I’ve lived for many years, Christmas comes in the middle of the summer heat. Just imagine if this year, you woke up on 25 December to an African sunrise. You pull open your curtains and squint against the morning rays. The sun burns away the gloom to reveal deep blue sky. You watch as the darkness of the night is pierced by the bright sun. Christmas morning has arrived.
If you can imagine that, then you’re well on your way to understanding the ‘new dawn’ of Isaiah 9:1-7.
Let’s rewind to 700 BC. Isaiah has been tasked with bringing God’s word to the people of Judah, as the threat of an Assyrian invasion hangs over them like a dark shadow. Isaiah paints a bleak picture at the end of chapter 8, but then, in chapter 9, he envisages a new day.
The place of death and defeat will become a place of life and victory (v1-2). The darkness of sin and punishment will be replaced by the light of God’s grace. It will be a day of great joy (v3), a day when oppression and warfare will end (v4-5). Their new hope is centred on the birth of a child who is no-one less than ‘Mighty God’, a peacemaker (v6), a king who would justly rule forever on David’s throne (v7). Isaiah tells us that God himself would make sure that this happened.
And that’s exactly what has happened. That’s what we remember this Christmas. This day has already dawned. This king has already come. We can rejoice because: ‘…to us a child is born, to us a son is given…’ And, one day soon, his eternal kingdom will arrive in all its fullness. What a glorious hope to live in light of.