The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary

9:5 The covenant people’s enemies will be defeated and their clothing (i.e., shoes and cloaks) used forfuel for the fire. This is metaphorical of a complete and total victory. Several texts speak of thedestruction of the military weaponry of the foreign armies because His people’s trust and security mustbe in Him and His covenant promises, not their captured military weaponry (cf. Ps. 46:9; 76:3; Hos.2:18).The Divine Warrior of the conquest is again fighting for His people. Verse 4 is the perfectexample!9:6-7 The NKJV marks these two verses off as a separate paragraph.Verse 6 describes the special child, Immanuel.1. government will rest on His shoulders; the special child, the hope of a righteous Davidic seed(cf. II Sam. 7) returns into view2. His name (the character of His God)a. Wonderful Counselor, this denotes a divine plan, cf. 14:26,27; 19:17b. Mighty God, cf. 10:21c. Eternal Fatherd. Prince of Peace, Mic. 5:5The first name could be two separate titles, but the other three are two word combinations. The fivefoldnames may reflect current practice in Egypt, where the new Pharaoh was given five new throne names athis coronation.There are four compound titles. These are probably the child’s new names when coronated king.The term Immanuel in 7:14 and 8:8-10, as well as the term “Mighty God” in 9:6, does not automaticallyimply Deity, but reflects the ideal king. The names reflect God’s character which hopefullycharacterized the Davidic King. It must be remembered that these titles deal with (1) the area ofadministration, (2) military power, (3) pastoral care, and (4) the quality of the reign. The Deity of theMessiah is also implied, though not specifically, in Dan. 7:14; Jer. 32:18. It must be remembered thatthe Jews were not expecting the Messiah to be the physical incarnation of YHWH because of Israel’sunique emphasis on monotheism! The Deity of Jesus and the personality of the Spirit are real problemsfor monotheism (i.e., Exod. 8:10; 9:14; Deut. 4:35,39; Isa. 40:18,25; 46:5). Only “ProgressiveRevelation” teaches this truth (cf. John 1:1-14; Phil. 2:6; Heb. 1:2-3). If the NT is true then OTmonotheism must be nuanced (i.e., one divine essence with three eternal personal manifestations). Thehyperbolic OT language has become literal! But the literal fulfillment of OT prophecies aboutgeographical and national Israel have been universalized to include “the nations.” See Special Topic at1:3. Genesis 3:15 is realized and summarized in John 3:16; 4:42; I Tim. 2:4; Titus 2:11; II Pet. 3:9; IJohn 2:1; 4:14).Verse 7 describes His reign.1. eternal and universal government (cf. Mic. 5:4)2. eternal and universal peace (cf. Mic. 5:5a)3. reigns on Davidic throne (cf. 16:5; II Samuel 7)4. establishes justice and righteousness forever (these two NOUNS often used together, cf. 32:16;33:5; 59:14)5. the zeal of YHWH is the guarantee of its realityVerse 7 certainly sounds like an eternal reign (cf. Dan. 2:44; 4:3,34; 6:26; 7:13-14,27; Ezek. 37:25;Mic. 4:7; 5:4; II Pet. 1:11), not a limited millennial reign (see my notes in the Revelation Commentary,“Crucial Introduction” and Introduction to chapter 20 at www.freebiblecommentary.org ). This promiseis the essence of the concept of a new age of the Spirit! The total and complete reversal of the Fall. Thereinstatement of God’ ideal (i.e., the fellowship of the Garden of Eden).124