The people who walk in darkness

Will see a great light;

Those who live in a dark land,

The light will shine on them.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

1) Who are the people who walk in darkness or live in a dark land?
Isaiah was writing to Jews who were under the constant threat of being invaded by the Assyrians. The Assyrians were their enemies and they were a fierce and cruel enemy who showed little mercy to those they conquered. The fear of the Assyrians had them walking in darkness, but they were also walking in deep spiritual darkness. Most of Judah and Israel at that time were practicing some form of idolatry or personal or political immorality.

2) What is this light that shines on them, and where does it come from?
The whole goal of Isaiah’s book was to turn the Israelites back to Jehovah. At that time, a handful of people were starting to realize that their only hope was in God. Isaiah was warning his listeners and encouraging them to follow God in the midst of the Assyrian invasions, to hold fast to Truth. God was the only Light in that dark world, and He is the only Light in ours! Isaiah was prophesying that Jesus was coming from Heaven to enter into this dark world.

3) What do the names Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace mean?
The word Wonderful is a word used to represent something unusual or extraordinary. A Counselor is someone who advises someone else, so Wonderful Counselor is an extraordinary advice giver. Mighty means strong, fearless, brave. This Light that would come into the world was no wimpy God. God was, is, and always will be, our Father. Prince of Peace means captain of tranquility. This particular name would have meant so much to the Jews who were in constant worry and despair of being overcome by their enemies.

1) Who are the people who walk in darkness or live in a dark land?
Today, many walk in darkness. There are the lost, those who have no hope of eternal life. There are people who are living in sin who haven’t seen the Light yet. However, Jesus didn’t just come for them. He also came to bring Light into the life of Christians. As Christians living in the world, it can feel very dark. We, too, have an enemy that comes to kill, steal, and destroy us. Our land feels very dark as we watch the news or listen to what’s going on around us. Our hope lies in the Light that has already come.

2) What is this light that shines on them, and where does it come from?
Jesus came into the world to bring Light into the darkness. He came into each of our lives to shine love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control into the darkest parts of our souls.  When we feel like the enemy is oppressing us, remember the truth that God’s powerful Spirit lives within us; “greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world!” (1 John 4:4) His Light shines from within us to a dark world. In a sense, we have become the Light of Christ. We are His body, and He deeply desires to use us in our dark world today!!

3) What do the names Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace mean?
When the world seems dark, the best place to run is into the Light of God’s Word. The extraordinary advice that God gives through the pages of Scripture makes Him a Wonderful Counselor. His Holy Spirit residing in us, His mere presence, is enough to sustain us through anything we’re going through. He is strong and He will fight our battles for us. He is not powerless or lazy, but mighty and fierce! Before God was anything, He was a Father. He has eternally been a father, and a good one at that. Whenever I’m weary, I like to climb up into my Daddy’s lap and let Him sing over me. There’s something so soothing about His voice as He tells me everything will be okay because He already has it all worked out through His Son. And last, but not least, He is Prince of Peace. In the middle of the darkest storms of my life, my Prince rides in on a white horse bringing peace to the deepest parts of my soul. When the darkness surrounds me and I feel like I will drown, His peace floods my soul because He is near, and He came into this dark world to be the Light in the middle of any dark situation I might be in. He truly is the Prince of Peace! Peace that surpasses all understanding!!

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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