"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 9:7

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Isaiah 9 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 
And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 
The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. 
Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; 
The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 
For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts. 
Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 
The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 
For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. 
Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 
For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. 
Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. 
And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: 
Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
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“THE LORD HIMSELF SHALL GIVE YOU A SIGN; BEHOLD, A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE, AND BEAR A SON, AND SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL” (Isa 7:14).
The condition of the nation of Israel as it was in Isaiah's day is described in one vivid statement;
“THE WHOLE HEAD IS SICK AND THE WHOLE HEART IS FAINT. FROM THE SOLE OF THE FOOT EVEN UNTO THE HEAD THERE IS NO SOUNDNESS IN IT: BUT WOUNDS, AND BRUISES, AND PUTRIFYING SORES; THEY HAVE NOT BEEN CLOSED, NEITHER BOUND UP, NEITHER MOLLIFIED WITH OINTMENT.” [Isa 1:5b-6]
History is repeating itself, and the state of humanity could not be more truly described today. As it was then, so it is now [and still now]. The profiteer was busy (Isa. 5:8); men and women piped and danced, eagerly following their pagan pleasure without a thought of God, or fear of His just judgments (Isa. 5:11-12); crime abounded, for men had grown fearless in their godlessness, and gave rein to their willful passions, sinning "as it were with a cart rope" (Isa. 5:18); blinded by the god of this world, they called evil good, and good evil; they put darkness for light, and light for darkness; bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter (Isa. 5:20), which thing the advocates of spiritism are doing today; men thought themselves wiser than God: wise and prudent in their own eyes, like those who dare to criticize His Word, and substitute their own thoughts for His (Isa. 5:21); and there were those who were so corrupt themselves that their whole business in life was to corrupt others, hating all righteousness and loving only wickedness (Isa. 5:23-24).

There were reformers without end; reconstructors; politicians with many promises of better days to come, until men were weary of them; there was a great pretense at honoring God, but the heart was far from Him; and God Himself was weary of their pretentious hypocrisy (Isa. 7:13). 

Then it was that He proclaimed that He would intervene; for it was evident that apart from His intervention there could be no blessing or rest for men, or glory to His name from men.

God's intervention was to be entirely of Himself: men were to have no part in it at all, except to receive the good that would result from it. Men cried out for a man, and still cry out for a man, and God replied, I will give you a Man, but He shall be one who owes nothing to man, whose very presence in the world shall be independent of man, for 
"a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son." 
This was the sign. It was the sign of man's utter impotency for his own redemption; it was the sign that there was no balm in Gilead, and no physician there. It was the sign that when there was no hope for men in themselves then God would undertake their cause; but it was also the sign that this should proceed from Himself alone and not from men — "a virgin shall conceive." 

Impossible! cries the critic of God's ways, and the poor blind infidel, wise in his own sight. Yes, it is impossible with men; that is the very lesson that God would teach by the manner of His intervention. It is impossible that men should devise or evolve any scheme or system of redemption, or deliver and uplift themselves from the damning effects of sin, or make themselves what they ought to be before the God who justly claims their fear. Their young men might see visions and their old men dream dreams, but dreams and visions cannot help them; they cannot set themselves free from the law of sin and death. With men it is impossible, but not with God."
 
He stepped into the scene of man's utter ruin, and said, "Stand still, stand aside, and see the salvation of God": and so in due time, Mary brought forth her firstborn Son, and he [Joseph] called His name JESUS.
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise; When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS; for He shall save His people from their sins.”

“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matt. 1:22, 23).

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger” (Luke 2:8-16).
Thus came Emmanuel, not only apart from all the power of men, but also outside the abodes of men, lying in a manger. For the solemn fact had to come clearly into evidence, that (1) men could not produce the great Redeemer, in whom only rest for men and glory to God could be found, but (2) they did not want Him when He came.

Yes, but the virgin’s Son, lying upon the straw of a stable, was Emmanuel — God with us. He was
“God manifest in the flesh, seen of angels” (1 Tim. 3:16).
And from the lips of God went forth the command,
“Let all the angels of God worship Him” (Heb. 1:6).
John Thomas Mawson
Excerpt from God's Sign to Men



The Miraculous Birth: The Fact and the Reason for It
The Deity of the Lord Jesus: The Necessity for It
The Deity of the Lord Jesus: In the Opening of the New Testament
The Temptations of the Lord Jesus: What Their Character Was
The Deity of the Lord Jesus: In the Gospel of John
The Death of the Lord Jesus: Atonement by Blood
The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus: God's Seal upon His Work
The Exaltation of the Lord Jesus: The Answer to His Humiliation
Our Great High Priest: His Qualification for the Office
The Deity of the Lord Jesus: In the Later Epistles
The Son of Man: The Judge of Quick and Dead



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I'm a Christian saved by God, by His Sovereign grace. I want to encourage all to read, to hear, to believe, and to feed upon the only Words in all the world that are truly spirit and life, living and active; to know the One True God: God the Father, His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; Who has graciously given us the Holy Scriptures
“All Scripture is God-breathed..."
2 Timothy 3:16–17; cf., John 3:31-36; John 6:63; John 14:26; John 17:3, 17; Romans 1:1-6, 16-17; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Peter 1:20–21; Hebrews 4:12-13. As for the commentaries I post and refer to; with much gratitude, as they have done for me, it is my hope and prayer that they serve to edify all who read them.

Shalom, beccaj
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