“16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness. 1 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 8:16-9:7).

     The “testimony” and the “Law” embodied the writings of the Old Testament books. The Law referred to the moral instructions governing the nation of Israel. The “testimony” referred to the history books of God’s people and God’s workings within the nation of Israel. Paul wrote to the Gentile church at Corinth who were in most part ignorant of the purpose of the “testimony” and the “law.”

“1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry” (I Corinthians 10:1-14).

     The promise of the birth of a Saviour comes in the midst of the darkness of pending judgment upon a people who, in most part, had already rejected the authority of the Lord over their lives. That has been and always will be the atmosphere that surrounds the celebration of the birth of Messiah. For a handful of faithful believers, the prophecy of Isaiah brought great hope in a time of greater darkness. The nation of Israel was in deep spiritual darkness because the majority of the people of Israel had been seduced by the world around them.

     The message from God in Isaiah 8:16-9:7 was a message given to the faithful remnant of Israel (“disciples, vs. 16). It was a reminder to the struggling faithful remnant who were broken hearted about the apathy, indifference and outright carnality of their fellowship countrymen. They knew God’s judgment must fall, because God is holy. The dilemma was that God’s judgment would fall on the just and unjust of Israel equally. The faithful remnant would be carried away into captivity in the same way as the unfaithful. Yet, the faithful remnant knew the pending captivity was the only way the nation of Israel could be turned to repentance from sin and faithfulness to God.

     The message of the birth of a Savior was a message of hope to the faithful remnant of Israel. The message of the birth of Messiah took their vision beyond the darkness of the pending judgment of God upon their nation and took them into all the eternal promises of God beyond the struggle for souls and the struggle for righteousness. This message regarding Christ’s coming has never changed.

     The birth of Jesus reminds us that He came from another existence beyond our wildest imaginations to save “whosoever will” from the darkness of the condemnation of the existence that we presently live in. Paul wrote a similar exhortation to the early disciples of Christ.

“5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).

     Can we possibly comprehend the love of God that would send His Son from the eternal glories of Heaven into the darkness of the condemnation of a whole world at enmity with Him? God sent His “only begotten Son” into a world at war with Him. Even though we deserved condemnation, He was not sent to condemn us. He was sent to save us. Therefore, the message of the birth of Jesus is a bright light of truth and hope shining in the darkness of God’s pending judgment.

“16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:16-19).

     Those who “wait on the Lord” in Isaiah 8:17 are the faithful remnant of Israel (“disciples,” v 16). When the Bible talks about “the LORD, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob,” it refers to God’s chastisement. The “face” of God refers to His countenance and the radiance of His glory. To have God’s “face” is to have all that is God shining upon your life. Obedience to God’s Word is expressed by the words walking “in the light.” “In the light” is a means of expressing the place of God’s protection and blessing within the realm of His blessings upon those whom His face shines.

“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance” (Psalm 89:15).

“5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:5-7).

     Most people do not take into consideration the broad ramifications of the statement, “the LORD, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). This statement puts the nation of Israel outside of God’s protection and blessings. This is what disobeying God’s will always does. That is what ignoring God and living selfishly always does. Apart from God’s blessings and protection, anyone and everyone lives in the darkness of absolute hopelessness.

     Yet, Isaiah says he will continue to “look for Him.” Why was he willing to continue to “look for Him”? For the faithless, there is nothing but hopelessness. For the faithful, God’s prophetic promises are always a source of hope. For the faithful remnant of the nation of Israel, their hope was in the promised birth of Messiah. For the faithful remnant of the Church Age, our hope is in the coming of the Bridegroom for His Bride.

     In Isaiah 8:20, God brings us back to the truth of His revelation to mankind (“to the Law and to the testimony”). “The law is the revelation of God expressing His will for man’s disobedience, and the testimony is His revelation expressing His will as a system to be believed” (The Book of Isaiah, Vol. 1, Edward Wood, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.). To “seek the face” of God is to seek His will for our lives. To seek His will is to seek to “walk in the light” of the revelation of His will. This refers to a ready willingness to make any sacrifice necessary to be right with God.

     Yet, fallen mankind seldom turns to the Lord in their time of darkness. Men do not turn because mankind is addicted to sin. Addiction exists because sin cannot and does not satisfy the cravings that produce the addiction.

     Sin is an opiate because it gives momentary pleasure. It is addictive because that pleasure may be extensive for a brief moment, but it cannot produce a lasting satisfaction. Therefore, regardless how devastating sin is to our bodies and psyche, we continue to run headlong into the darkness after it because we long after something, anything, to give us some kind of fulfillment in life. That is what Isaiah 8:22 means. “And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anquish; and they shall be driven to darkness.”

     The lost, Christ rejecting world looks to the things of this “earth” to find hope and some kind of satisfaction for their sin soaked souls, but they will only find more empty, hopeless darkness. Some criticize faithful Christians for denying themselves the “pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25) for a Pie in the Sky future. I will tell you this; I would rather have a Pie In The Sky hope than to live my life worried about being a roast turkey in Hell. I have been down the road of sin and it is dark, lonely and barren. When you take the road of sin, you will always end up in the ditch, lonely, bruised and bleeding with a bad taste in your mouth and emptiness in your soul.

     The darkness in Israel at the time of Isaiah was devastating darkness. The darkness was so all encompassing because there was almost total darkness in the nation. The nation was filled with paganism and the debauchery that comes with it.

     The most devastating aspect of the darkness was because of the children of Israel themselves. They had almost totally rejected the Word of God. The children of Israel were supposed to be the “light of the world,” but instead their worldliness only contributed to the darkness (spiritual ignorance and the apathy towards God’s will that accompanies the darkness). The downward spiral of sin takes a society into the depths of darkness. This is a darkness that results when God almost completely abandons a society because it has rejected Him.

“21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 1:21-25).

     The only hope for Israel and, the whole world existing in the darkness of depravity in this world, is the hope that lies in the Person of Jesus Christ. For Isaiah, Messiah was a future hope. For the Christian of today, He is a fulfilled and present reality that is only a prayer away. This is the great blessing of Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.” This Christ-child was to be the gift of God to mankind. He was born to be the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

     To those who have trusted in the Lamb, they will know Him by many Names. Yes, His Name is Jesus, but to those who really know Him personally and intimately He is known as “Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

     Each of these names are descriptive of Who Jesus is to those He has redeemed with His Blood. Only those who truly understand Who Jesus is, who understand the price He has paid to redeem their souls and, who understand what He is doing for them as High Priest and Intercessor will know Him intimately enough to call Him “Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” For the lost and ignorant of this world, His Name will just be Jesus. They will not even understand the theological significance of that Name.

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

“11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (I John 5:11-12).

“22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:22-27).