Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ Isaiah prophesied that God would give the world a child, not just any child, but a unique child … a child to redeem His people.

Just prior to giving Isaiah this prophecy, God told Isaiah about the coming Assyrian invasion (Isaiah 8).   But not to worry!  God’s children should not fear the future.  Rather, they should place their confidence in God and let Him be their fear (Isaiah 8:13).

Isaiah 9:6 (ESV) – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Through Isaiah God promised that the one He would give would be:

• a child of both The Son of Man and The Son of God;
• a child that would be The Messiah, the long promised Savior, who would redeem the people of God;
• a child that would serve as an unparalleled Wonderful Counselor;
• a child that would possess all of the qualities and characteristics of AlMighty God;
• a child that would bring personal spiritual harmony to the individual as a result of one’s eternal restoration with the Everlasting Father;
• a child that as the Prince of Peace would bring about true peace, not just the peace that accompanies physical safety and political accord.

This promise of God is the heart of ALL of the Bible’s Christmas prophecies.  The promised child would be a human, a man just like us.  A man who would experience everything we experience, feel everything we feel, hurt as we hurt, weep as we weep, and know the oppressive weight of sin … not His sin, for He knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), but our sin as He took upon Himself the sins of us all (1 Peter 2:24).

The child would come as the always existing and Everlasting Father, God in a human body, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, the God that was there in the beginning, the God that is here now, and the God that will be here throughout ALL eternity.  The child would be (in the yet to be fulfilled future) the one and only eternal King of ALL Kings (Daniel 2:44), reigning over ALL earthly kingdoms as the government of the entire earth rests “upon His shoulder” alone requiring no other help.

The child would provide wise counsel as no other, marveling the teachers in the Temple at the age of twelve with His wisdom (Luke 2:41-52), knowing everything there is to know, making sense of the world’s turmoil and confusion, knowing and meeting ALL of man’s needs.  The child would be known as Mighty God able to redeem and energize His followers, answer their prayers, restore their broken souls, defeat and destroy their adversary Satan.

As the Prince of Peace, the child would provide for peace “from” God (Romans 1:7), peace “with” God (Romans 5:1) and the peace “of” God (Philippians 4:7).

So who is this newborn child?  He is God with us … Immanuel!!!  He is Yeshua … Jesus … The Name Above Every name!!

How have these timeless prophecies, promises from God written down by Isaiah so long ago, been fulfilled in your life?  Are you the product of the saving, sanctifying and sustaining work of Jesus?  If so, then Praise His Name!  If not, then please refer to my article Become a Christian for help in becoming one of His followers.

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Son of God, Son of Man thank you for being my Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.  Thank you for providing my way to salvation and eternal life.  May my life reflect the qualities of Jesus as I go about my daily tasks.  Help me to focus on You and not upon the world of chaos around me.  This I ask in the name of the child given to us, Jesus Christ.  Amen and Amen. 

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Note:  This devotional was inspired in part by John MacArthur’s teaching on Isaiah 9:6.