Sunday, 24 December 2017 | Emma Beddoes
Isaiah 9:6-7, 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 Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and for evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
These words were given to Isaiah 700 years before Jesus was born. What must Isaiah have made of this, as he was writing it? How did he know this was God? For that matter, how does anyone hear God? How do we know when God is speaking to us?
Against the backdrop of this Messianic prophecy, which foretold the coming of the Saviour Jesus Christ, Emma offers practical advice for all Christians, as relevant in ancient Bethlehem as it is for us today. And she considers some names by which our Lord is known – Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace – and how these reveal his relationship to us and to his creation.
