DAY 274

LOOKING AT THE BEGINNING

Isaiah 9 & 10 and Ephesians 2

Yesterday I mistakenly commented on Ephesians 3, so today I will briefly comment on chapter 2. In this chapter Paul lays out glorious statements about God, Christ, and more; here is just a sampling:  

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The statements have a sense of completed-ness to them – the verbs are “have been” and “are no longer” in other words “it” is done. What is the “it”? The “it” is our standing with God. The gift of Jesus when received makes us alive with God. We are restored.

Why does the New Testament make such a claim about Jesus? Because the New Testament proclaims the Jesus is “the Christ, the anointed, the Messiah.” What we read in Ephesians is the fulfillment of centuries of promise and prophecy and this Messiah is who Isaiah is beginning to speak of.

I write beginning because while you may be used to this language of Isaiah being applied to Jesus centuries after it was written, Isaiah when he wrote had no idea. And while Isaiah is writing and writing, and we are reading and reading, an interesting dynamic takes place in my mind. In my mind, as I come across the bits of Scripture that are often read at Christmas, I “get it”, but the rest is a bit confusing. So let’s sort it out a bit.

Last chapter, chapter 8, ended in darkness…thick darkness.  To sort out where we are lets circle back to chapter 5. In chapter 5 we met the metaphor of the vineyard; how God had planted it, but how it had not yielded good fruit. In chapter 6 Isaiah had his encounter with God and in 7 and 8 Isaiah met King Ahaz prophesized to him and his people and that prophecy ended with darkness – that prophecy was to the nation of Judah.

In chapter 9 Isaiah first prophesizes that this darkness is changed to light…this is the prophecy of the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…the zeal of the Lord of host will do this—who is this? Isaiah and the people are not sure, all they know is that a child will be born and that child will lead them to light—over time he will bear the title Messiah.

However beginning in verse 8 the chapter turns. Isaiah, from 9:8 to 10:4 prophesizes against the Northern Kingdom, Israel (sometimes called Ephraim) and Syria. Then in 10:5 he turns and prophesizes against Assyria. [this is why I tried to “sketch out” the players yesterday.] So between chapters 5, 9 and 10 God speaks to all those who are not trusting in Him.

And yet in 10:20 the prophecy turns once again, and this time to the remnant. What is a remnant? A remnant is a “little bit that is left.” This too is a biblical image that begins in this Book of Isaiah. Isaiah is prophesying that these nations will be destroyed, but not completely. There will be a remnant; a small group of people who are faithful to God. The remnant is from both houses, both kingdoms…but wait; it is even bigger than those two houses. God speaking through Isaiah says that, of the increase of His (the Messiah’s) government and peace there will be no end. The people hearing Isaiah might ask “how” or “when.” There is more that God has to say through Isaiah and the other prophets about this Messiah. These are the prophets that the Jews studied for centuries, and who we are now studying. Can you imagine studying and studying, and then having it happen…the New Testament letters write to us from this perspective—a perspective of excitement and fulfillment—a perspective that requires a beginning.