“For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still” (9:1-21)
Neal Pollard
“For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.” Isaiah writes this three times about Israel between verses 12 and 21. The wicked northern kingdom is full of pride, arrogance, and self-reliance (9-10). God allowed this nation’s neighbors to rise up against them (11-12) and they still did not repent and turn to Him (13). God allowed their leaders to lead the people astray (16), then He punished them (14-15). The wickedness of the people was rife and widespread, even the young men, fatherless, and widows (17-20). Despite their pursuits, they were not satisfied (20). They turned on each other, and all of them turned on Judah (21). What a woeful present for a people who sprang from the seed of Abraham! These are part of God’s chosen people whom He gave the promised land and offered His special covenant relationship. But, from Jeroboam down to Pekah, the current king, Israel had been sprinting away from God toward idolatry and immorality. God would not let that go unaddressed.
Yet, to Judah, God issues beautiful hope and promise (1-7). By application, it is a hope and promise not just for Abraham’s descendants but for all who have faith in Christ (Gal. 3:26-29). Given the nature of the hope Isaiah extends, we are not surprised to see his words quoted and applied to Jesus in the New Testament. The first two verses are quoted by Matthew at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when He withdrew to Galilee and settled in Capernaum by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. Matthew says “this was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet” in Isaiah 9:1-2 (Matt. 4:15-16).
Luke alludes to several of the elements of Isaiah 9:6-7 as he lays out his record of the coming and birth of Jesus. While Luke 2:11 is an allusion rather than a quotation of Isaiah 9:6, Luke 1:32-33 is a bit more directly connected to this text. There is no doubt that these beautiful words of Isaiah influence Luke’s description. This coming Messiah is proclaimed as All-God and All-man all-at-once! While the people and even the prophet could not fully grasp the depth and import of his prophecy, it was a contrast of hope in spiritually hopeless times. The anger of God was kindled against the rebellion of Israel, but even in His resolve to punish their disobedience He extends a hope for their future. It was not just their future, but through “the increase of His government and of peace” (6) that hope would go to all the nations.
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