Hello friends. It's time for the second hour of Open Line with me, Michael Ray Dolnick. This is Moody Radio's Bible study all across America, and we're not going to be taking your questions today. It's a special pre-recorded Bible study, and we'll be talking about special Christmas prophecies of the Messiah from the Book of Isaiah. And it's really exciting for me to have my partners in Bible study here with me. Tricia McMillan, producer of Open Line is here.
Chris Fabry, who is my partner in Bible study once a month on The Chris Fabry Show and has joined us from time to time right here on Open Line. I'm really grateful that you're here. Chris Fabry. And then also joining us is Eva Radonich, who is my partner in Bible study. Every morning at the kitchen counter when we drink coffee every single morning. Eve is also a professor at Moody. Adjunct professor and also a Bible teacher who has written in the Moody. Bible commentary. I love.
This team. Yes, I love being together. The four of us.
You know, you got to say. Coffee? Coffee? Yeah. Coffee. I got my cup of coffee here. That's right. I got my New York accent on. You know, I have sisters that still speak like that. Yes. And they say to me things like. Michael, what do you talk so funny? And I'm like, ah, but I just don't. Anyway, I'm so glad to be with you. We're studying in the book of Isaiah. We last hour talked about Isaiah seven, one of the great predictions. It's a prediction of the
virgin birth. But Isaiah has a really interesting strategy with with Isaiah, with the way he gives these prophecies here in the first part, it's called the Book of Emanuel, chapter seven through 12. It's about the king. And what you have is a situation, sort of a judgmental situation, a valley, and then it peaks with a messianic prophecy. And then, uh, that's what we see in chapter seven and then chapter eight. There's another judgmental kind of bad situation,
tough prophecy of a judgment that's coming. That's chapter eight, that's another valley. And then it peaks with the promise of the messianic king in chapter nine. And then what follows after that is another valley of judgment. And then chapter 11, another prophecy of the messianic king peaking. So it goes from valley to peak, valley to peak valley to peak over and over, back and forth. It's sort of an interchange right there. And so we're at the
chapter nine one. And, uh, this is talking about dark and gloomy times for Judea, for Judah and for Israel, because judgment was coming. It says, nevertheless, chapter nine, verse one, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times, when he humbled the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali. It's something's going to change from this gloomy, dark time. And it's it's really important that we see this, that the rod of
oppression will be broken. But here's the thing. I sometimes think that we miss the point when we talk about the gospel. I think that sometimes we talk all about the darkness and the gloom and the suffering that people have, but there really is joy. I was just talking to someone about a Christmas program that I went to see, and I said, you know, they ought to do it with more joy, because that's the prophecy here. It's about joy.
But I think we should start by saying, why do you think people feel the gloom and the darkness these days?
Just overall. Yeah, I know they look at, you know, headlines and, you know, world events and things seem so terrible on a big scale. I think they look like that. They feel like that.
Yeah.
Algorithm is toward the negative.
Oh, yes.
Everything is you know what I see on my social media? If I look, everything is an argument about something, and somebody's pushing something or cutting in front of somebody or yelling at the police or the police are, you know, it's like we we live in a world of great conflict and we are actually drawn to that. That's what I don't understand. I don't understand why I'm drawn to it. Watching a football game or a baseball game. What? All I see, it's when a fight breaks out, you know.
That's a hockey game breaks out. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
Well, that's what we. There's something inside that, you know, gravitates toward that. That's not real godly, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
And I think too, the, the individual that there are things happening in our lives that are, But, you know, we have bad days or we have these bad things that happen to us or to our friends or to our family members, and we know people that, you know, they've lost a job, they've lost a loved one, they've they've had a diagnosis that those all compile added to it. In the Northern Hemisphere, we just have lit actual dark, darker days in the winter time. And so yeah, I'm
sad you're not. You're not getting that sunshine. You're not seeing the, the, the daylight as much. And so you can just get very inward focused and you and bad news travels faster than good news. Like you just don't hear it. And so it that just spreads like gossip, as it were. And and so you just feel I think all of those layers just kind of compound in your life. It's like, oh there's nothing good out there. It's gloomy. It's all gloom and doom.
You know, I think you're really right. And of all seasons. Think about this. It's the Christmas season. It's right after the dark. Christmas Day or Christmas Eve. It's right after the darkest day of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere. The longest day of the shortest day of the year. Right.
Shortest day. Right. Yes.
And I think that especially, like, now, if we're thinking about Christmas time, we're told that we're supposed to be happy. Happy? It's the happiest time. It's the most wonderful time of the year. You put it in song, right? And yet people look at their lives like the very thing that Tricia was saying and think, well, that's not me. Well, this is it makes it even worse. If you're expecting to have a good time and then you don't. Your bad times even worse. Yeah, right.
And then you're forcing it like I'm supposed to be happy. Everyone else is happy or looks happy. I'm not. Now you have to force it and fake it.
Yeah, I think I think that's really true. And I think that now we don't have to fake it. The promise of Isaiah nine. Is there someone who can really bring joy and bring light? I want you to just a lot of times we hear at Christmas time Isaiah nine six and seven, or just Isaiah nine six because of Handel's Messiah. For unto us a son is born. You know that. Yeah. That's right. But it really starts with Isaiah nine one about the the land that was in gloom. But it won't be like that in the future.
He will bring honor by way of the sea to the land east of the Jordan and to Galilee of the nations. That's the northern part of Israel. The people walking in darkness. Now, my version says have seen. But it could be translated just as much. We'll see a great light. A light will dawn on those living in the land of darkness. You've enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at the harvest time. And they rejoice when dividing spoils.
They're going to be made to go from gloom to gladness, from darkness to light, from sorrow to joy. Howe because he shatters the oppressive yoke. Verse four says, for the trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel. The wars will be over. Why? For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, eternal father, Prince of Peace. What does this tell us?
Where should our joy be in gloomy times? Where should we focus our attention? How are we going to experience that joy? It's not through buying gifts, I got to tell you. That makes me more depressed. Stressed to where will it come from for a child?
God himself will become a child. Isn't that great? Yeah.
That is I think that's so important. I think when we just read Isaiah nine six out of context, it's wonderful, but put it in context.
Even better. Yeah.
Especially because you've got that oppressive spirit and hey, now there's going to be peace. Yeah. Like. And a counselor. Like, those are. Those are what you need during those gloomy times.
Yeah, yeah. I think that that that's so crucial to understand it. And so what we have in verse six, now that we've put it in context, is this messianic king. Now I want to note several things. First of all, let's do some observational Bible study. What does the fact that this king will be born tell us about his nature is he will be human. He'll be human. Her growl. Yeah, exactly. Uh, this is just an amazing thing. It is talking about
one who is going to be like us. Uh, that when we notice the the picture in Philippians two about the Messiah coming fully human, that God humbled himself and took the form of a human being, fully human. What an amazing thing. What does that what does that tell us about Jesus about in terms of our understanding, our gloom?
He understands our circumstances. He understands when things are happening to us. He understands how we would feel about it because he's also human.
I hate to be, you know, but so often what I've been seeing these ads on TV, he gets us. It's really true. He fully understands us. He fully gets us. And then and we're going to talk about this more. Not only does it talk about, uh, his birth, it says the government will be on his shoulders. That deals with his authority, his royalty. So we've got his humanness through his birth, his authority or royalty through the government
resting on his shoulder. But then his name's. What do his names indicate?
Can I say something about wonderful, counselor? Yeah, because I had this friend who was a missionary in India for years and years. He was old when I was just a kid, and we'd get to this verse and he would say in his thick accent, don't put him together there. His name is wonderful.
And he would.
Say, and I don't know what the translation. I think it probably is wonderful, counselor. It is. But his name is wonderful. It is. And he is counselor and Mighty God. So I always hear Doctor Frykenberg in my.
Head.
Saying his his name is wonderful. And you can you can pause right there before you rush to the counselor. But he is that wonderful counselor as well, isn't he?
So let's think about those names. All four couplets. Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Eternal father, Prince of Peace. What does that tell us about his nature? That he will be. What?
Good.
Not only good. More than good.
I think he's going to be deity because of the wonderful part. Isn't that word one of those words?
All the words. Every. All four couplets indicate deity. And we're going to go through the details of them when we come back. But they all indicate his deity. And that's just it. It's not just that his birth indicates his humanity. His titles indicate his deity. He's the God man, and he is the source of hope and joy and light that we have in the midst of gloomy, dark times. We're going to come right back with more on the
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Oh man named John the West had been heralding the news.
About the coming of a Savior for both the Gentiles and the Jews.
And it happened in Judea, in the town of Bethlehem.
With a bright star, or the stable was born the Son of Man.
Wow! What a great reminder of what this is all about. That was the birth of the King right then in Bethlehem. I'm so grateful for that song. It reminds me it's for all. For both the Gentiles and the Jews. It's for all people that this great news has come. Well, I'm here with Tricia McMillan, Chris Fabry, and Eva Rydell. My name is Michael Ray Melnick, and we're studying Isaiah's messianic hope. We looked at Isaiah seven in the first hour.
We're in Isaiah nine right now. We're not going to cover all the prophecies in Isaiah, but we may have to do some of the those as a special spring Easter Bible study, resurrection Bible study, when we we when we plan one for the springtime. But we're going to do a cover three of them today, Isaiah seven nine and 11. And we're in Isaiah nine, where the birth of the King is to give us great hope in dark and gloomy times. It gives us light and joy
in dark and gloomy times. And I mentioned that the four titles of the Messiah, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, which I will translate differently, uh, and Prince of Peace. Actually, all of them indicate his deity. And Trish said, I want to see how that works.
Tell me more. How does Wonderful counselor indicate deity? The others I.
Get. Yeah. You might call a baby a wonderful baby. Or even grow up to be a counselor. Yeah, but how do you call them? Wonderful, counselor. Okay, here's the word. The word for wonder. Okay. Uh, it's used commonly in times like, uh, uh. Signs and wonders. Miraculous. Okay. Uh, and it's used exclusively in Scripture of the acts of God, the word wonder, the acts of God on behalf of his people or judgment of their enemies. It's used of
God's actions exclusively and better. I know that we think of, uh, it says wonderful, counselor, but if you were really to read the Hebrew very literally. It would be a wonder of a counselor like, uh, you know, you've seen the expressions in Hebrew like a foolish man in the book of Proverbs. It literally is a fool of a man. Or if you see expressions like that in Scripture, so in Hebrew here, it's a wonder of a counselor and it refers to this. And so I'm going to have
you all turn in your Bible. And Chris, you're going to you're going to help me out here. Look at judges 13.
Joshua. Judges.
Ruth, do you remember judges? Good. There you go. Judges 1313. This is about the birth of Samson. His parents are told that Samson is going to be born. And he's. This is the angel of the Lord, a Pre-incarnate Messiah, coming and talking to them. And, uh, they, uh, this is what happens, uh, In verse 16. Okay, pick it up there. Why don't you read for us through verse 18? Okay.
16, 18. The angel of the Lord said to him, if I stay, I won't eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord. For Manoah did not know he was the angel of the Lord. Then Manoah said to him, Manoah is his father, Samson's father. What is your name? So that we may honor you when your words come true. Verse 18. Why do you ask my name? The angel of the Lord asked him, since it is wonderful, keep.
Reading through verse 20.
Okay, so Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. And he did a wonderful thing while Manoah and his wife were watching, when the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the Lord went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell face down on the ground. The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.
And then he says, we're going to die. Because we have seen God. Because we have seen God. Okay. Now, I wanted to ask Tricia. I think that's just a wonderful passage. But do you see what I mean about the word wonderful?
Yes. His name is wonderful. Yeah. And it's God's name. Yeah.
And it's a distinct has to do with miraculous works of God on the part for his people acting on behalf of his people. I think that that's it's not. You know, I hate to say it, but I think that just reading wonderful counselor really misses the point.
Oh, yes. Absolutely. Well, and he's wonderful and does wonderful things in verse 19, he did a wonderful thing. Yeah.
Wondrous thing is how I would translate it. A wondrous thing.
Why does that carry more weight? Yeah. Wondrous. Oh, okay. But wonderful, I think because we just use wonderful so casually.
Exactly.
That was awesome. I have wonderful.
Yeah. Students say to me I have a wonderful schedule this semester. They would never say I have a wondrous schedule. No, no, no.
They would.
Not. And that's really it captures it that this is an act of God. And so when it says he's a wonder of a counselor, it's not just that he's any old. He's not a therapist, you know? Uh, it's, uh, someone want to read Isaiah 40, verse 13? Sure.
Uh, I can read that. Yeah.
And, uh, I'll give you another one. Isaiah 11, verse two.
Which one do you want us to read first?
You read Isaiah 40 verse 13. Mhm. And you can read Isaiah 11, verse two.
4040. Verse 13. Yeah. Oh hang on, I was in the wrong chapter.
Oh, no. Oh, no. Gotta be ready.
Oh, gotta be ready. Gotta be ready. All right. Flipping over 40.
I like hearing the pages turn.
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord? Or as his counselor? Been informed of him who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has informed him.
See, what it's saying is, God needs no counselor. Do you know why? Because he's the Supreme counselor. He needs wisdom from no one else. He's got all the wisdom he needs.
Mhm. Mhm. All right.
And Isaiah 11 verse two.
Speaking about the Messiah.
The spirit of the Lord will rest on him a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
The spirit of counsel rests on him. The Spirit of God brings divine counsel upon the birth of the Messiah, that when the Messiah comes. So, uh. And then one last time, where this verse is used together in the book of these two words are used together in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 2829, which is, I think it's it's the only place in the Bible that I'm aware of that these two words are used together. Here's what it says. Uh, this comes from the Lord of hosts.
He gives wonderful counselor and wonderful counsel. He gives great wisdom. So when it talks about God being a wonder of a counselor, it is using it in the divine sense, the sense of divine counsel.
It's interesting. In the new American Standard, it says, who has made his counsel wonderful and his wisdom great. Yeah.
Yeah, it's.
And so Proverbs two and wisdom and understanding. And there's also this aspect of wonder that is awe inspired and fearful. There is a certain aspect of fear here because I was reading in in Isaiah eight it says, do not fear what they fear. Do not be terrified. You are to regard only the Lord of hosts as holy. Only he should be feared only. He should be held in awe. Right? And that shows, you know, no matter what is going on in my life, that it feels like it's it's big.
God's bigger than that. He's got he's he has that under control. And I got to remember that. Yeah.
We all have to remember that. And and the very next title points us to it. We've got the wonder of a counselor. He's also in Hebrew algebra, the mighty God. It's a title that's used of some people say, oh, it just means a warrior. But, uh, in the very next chapter. And it doesn't just mean a warrior. It's used in 1021. Uh, and there in 1021, it says this. The remnant will return the remnant of Jacob to the
mighty God. Uh, they're not returning to a warrior. The remnant of Israel returns to God himself, the powerful God who can do what? Whatever it is that needs to be done. He can act. And then the next phrase that's used is Father or Eternal Father. And, you know, I don't know if this bothers you because the God the Son is not God the Father.
That really mixes people up, I think. Yes, yes, yes.
It's confusing. Yeah.
And we don't want to confuse that literally in Hebrew does not say Eternal Father. It says father of eternity or father of time. Now, when we use the term father of eternity, what's a different nuance? It doesn't refer to like a father and son. What's that referring to? Father of time. Who's the father of our country?
Like the Founding fathers? Yeah, the founding father.
Yeah, exactly. The father of our country, George Washington. He founded the United States, first president, and so forth. Okay, so the same thing when we talk about father of Time. What's it talking about.
The creator, the.
Creator, the.
Creator of time. Yeah, think about that. The creator of time. Uh, doesn't that bring some or very thing? The very first thing that God created wasn't the heavens and the earth. The first thing God created was the beginning. Yeah. Before before God created time. There was no such thing as beginning or end.
Which is why he lives above time. Yeah, he's above time.
He is not part of time. Uh, he is transcendent. But he created. He's the father of time. He's the creator of time. And last of all, he's the Prince of Peace. The word prince, sometimes people think means, uh, the son of the king. But in Hebrew, sar just means ruler. He's the ruler of peace. He's the one that brings us peace. Now, that is just remarkable when we look at these titles. And I want to come back to this, even though we were supposed to move
to Isaiah 11, in the next segment. But I want to come back to this. But here's the thing about this. What brings light and joy in gloomy and dark times? I'll tell you the birth of the king. That's he's the one, uh, the God man. When he comes for us, we're going to talk about what that means for us when we come back. So don't go away. This is open line with Michael Ray Dolnick and friends. We're so glad that Febc partners with Open Line with Doctor Michael
Ray Dolnick bringing the Febc mailbag every week. Learn how far East Broadcasting Company is taking Christ to the world at febc. Org on their weekly podcast. Until all have heard with Ed Cannon, you'll hear stories of lives changed by Messiah all across the globe. Again, you can hear the podcast when you visit febc.org. That's febc.org.
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would someday walk on water? Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new? This child.
Will do. What I love about this song is I think it's my new favorite Christmas song, is that it really emphasizes the deity and humanity of Jesus. I think that's what is so significant about it. And that's what we discovered when we were looking at Isaiah nine six. 96. All four couplets, all four royal titles. And that's what they are. They're not names. Their royal titles of this king indicate that he's born so he's fully human, and the titles indicate his deity. And Tricia, you just, uh,
had a little insight into the Father of Eternity. Well, you.
Were talking about the father of eternity. The father of time, that he's the creator of time. And it made me think of John one where it says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in him and that life was the light of men. We were talking about how gloomy this is and the
good news. The hope is that this child will be born into that darkness. And John one five says that light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Can I just say I was thinking of that too?
Great minds think alike. Yeah. I mean, isn't that.
Phenomenal? Sometimes when we read in the New Testament that the Hebrew Scriptures foretold the Messiah and we think, oh, I'm not sure where I see that. And then you kind of start digging in in a passage like Isaiah nine six. And I could just see the little light bulbs going on over your head. Tricia. I just love that. I think that that's so great when we see that happen, you know that this is what's going on. Now, I heard Joe Stoll, former president of Moody and dear Friend
still representing Moody. We love him so much. He was talking the other day and he said, the significance of Isaiah nine six is often missed because it says, for unto us a son is born, unto us a son is given, that this isn't just for them back then. It's for us. And I was wondering what you think when. When you look at this passage. In what sense is this significant for each of us?
I think because it's it's true for us today. It applies for the the fact that we are serving a mighty God, that we are serving this Messiah who is all of these things. It's not just for then, it's for right now. It's for in the morning when you get up and you have a flat tire, or your kid comes home from school and says, I'm dropping out or anything that's happening, that he is still the same. He is still the same.
Yeah, I was thinking about I talked, I preached a couple of weeks ago at a big congregation. It was really nice that they had me. They and I talked about how times are so dark and people think that their hope is in the election, you know, this one or that one, and our hope isn't in a Gentile president. Our hope is in a Jewish king that was born here. That and he still comes and brings light and joy in our lives. Uh, he's for us. You have.
But we have to choose that. You know, we have to. Because in the middle of, you know, as I mentioned earlier, the Psalms talk about this, the real struggle of life and where why are you silent, God? And where are you? And Psalm 22, which even Jesus cries out on the cross. Um, he felt that pain and that that that struggle with the darkness, you know, as a as a human being. And we do too. And it's okay to feel that.
It's what I'm saying is a the fact that Jesus came and is available to us doesn't take away all of our suffering or struggle, but it gives us the ability to walk through it as he did, you know, before us and to to choose that joy, and to choose to see the suffering that I'm going through is something that God has at least allowed in my life to do something in me that is going to make perfect my faith. You know, make me more complete in him and mature in him. And that's hard to do.
Mhm. Mhm. Yeah.
Would you. Which makes me go ahead. Go ahead. Tricia. I was going to.
Say it's that. And I think for me the thing is, is where I live like in my house, if I have all of the lights out, it's very dark. And sometimes, um, things get left on the floor and you just trip over.
Them with all those kids.
Or, or the dark can be very scary. And if you have even just a small little candle or the light on the flashlight on your phone, or even a regular flashlight, um, it gives you peace. It gives you hope. Like, oh, well, I can walk through this. Sure. No problem. You can see what's out there. And this is a great light. Yeah. And the light has dawned, which means it's just going to get brighter if it's just dawning, it's going to
continue to get brighter. And I think the hope that that that's what Jesus does is he can shed light on the darkness, I think inside our hearts as well as the darkness all around us, that then we when he fills us with his light, then we can be those lights to other people and bring that hope of the gospel to other people as well.
John. John is John 812. I believe it is as Jesus said, I am the light of the world. I think that's also related to this. And it's really true that that in the darkest of times he'll shine the
light to brightest. And by the way, I think you're 100% correct, Chris, that it's something we have to choose the very next verse here, Isaiah nine seven, which talks about what will happen when he returns, that he will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. Well, that's when it won't be a tough
choice that we have to make. But till then, till he returns and establishes his kingdom and the reign on earth, that's something that in this dark world, we're going to have to choose on a daily basis.
All of this reminds me of your favorite promise from Jesus. Michael. Yeah.
My favorite. The least. Not my favorite, but.
My the the.
Least quoted promise of the Bible.
Or at least the one we don't want to claim.
Yeah.
Claim. Yeah. John 16, verse 33 Jesus says, these things I have spoken to you so that you may have peace. Well, that's what we're talking about, right? Wonderful, counselor. Prince of peace. You may have peace in this world. You will have tribulation. But take courage. I have overcome the world. And I think the way he's in it, that's that puts it right.
There with the Prince of Peace. Right.
And also it says to take courage. It's not just going to automatically happen to you. You have to make the decision to trust as in the midst of everything. Yeah.
Can I quote Don Cole here, too? Because this is the thing that I remember him, radio pastor for a long time who said struggle is not a sign of failure. Struggle is a sign of life. Oh, good. So if you're struggling today and if you have a hard time seeing that light, you know, and choosing the joy, it's okay. God is doing something in you. Even as you listen to this and you and you hear these verses and
it's like, that makes a difference. That makes a difference in my life, I'm going to trust him.
That's exactly right. I, I love Isaiah nine six. It's one of my favorite verses. And it really convinced me to believe that Jesus is God. Even before I believed in Jesus. That was a transformational, transformational verse for me. We're going to come back and talk about his reign, just like we did about verse seven in just a moment from Isaiah 11, that was Tricia McMillan, Chris Fabry, Eva Radonich and me, Michael Radonich. Stay with us. We'll
be right back. People frequently think of Christmas as a Christian holiday and Hanukkah as a Jewish celebration. But if we really understood Christmas, we see that it's deeply connected to the Jewish people. I mean, we even sing born as the King of Israel, now Chosen People Ministries, one of open lines underwriters and a ministry that brings the good news to Jewish people around the world, is offering Christmas through Jewish eyes. This free booklet will show just
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In the first light of a new day, No one knew he had arrived. Things continue as they had.
Been, while a newborn softly cried. But the heavens, wrapped in wonder, knew the meaning of his birth. In the weakness.
Of a baby they knew God had come to earth.
What a great acapella piece! It's really one of my favorite Christmas songs, you guys. Do you know why.
I.
Love this song? Not only because it talks about the weakness of a baby, how the Messiah had come, and that's so. I remember when my firstborn was born and I held him. He was a two month old at the very first Christmas, and I couldn't. The incarnation just flabbergasted me as I held that little baby. And then the rest of the song talks about how he's going to come and he'll come again, not as a baby, and he'll come and establish his kingdom. And that's exactly
what happens here in Isaiah 11. You know, Isaiah goes from the virgin birth to the birth of the of the God-Man in Isaiah. Isaiah seven to Isaiah nine, and then Isaiah 11. It's only really about the king coming and reigning, uh, not as a baby, but as a king, a righteous king. And that's what we want to talk about in this last segment is Isaiah 11, which talks about the righteous king. But there is sort of a hint, you know, just like in impossible situations, it's the birth
of the messianic king that gives us hope. That's what Isaiah seven says in gloomy, dark times. It's the birth of the messianic king that brings joy and light. But here in some, uh, the times that are insignificant. Times that are weakness. Times of weakness and fragility. It's the birth of the King that gives us strength. And that's what Isaiah 11 is about. I wanted Eva. You had talked about this. It says the shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse. The idea there is the house
of David seems to have been cut off. That big tree has been cut off. There's only a stump remaining. Only Jesse. Jesse is the father of David, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. So the picture there is just a stump remains. And then out of that will come a shoot. What's that talking about?
Even you know, the thing that strikes me with this is the very end of the book of Ruth. People forget why Ruth was written. They get all wrapped up in the love story part of it. But I think that the real point of the book of Ruth is that very last verse, when it talks about this baby that's born to Ruth with Grandma Naomi. And it goes through a series of genealogy. And it says to Obed was born Jesse and to Jesse was born David. And it sets up the Davidic line right there, way back
in the book of Ruth. And they happen to live in Bethlehem, oh, little town of Bethlehem.
And so they're setting up the fact that there's going to be this important line of David. And here in Isaiah 11, that important line seems to have been cut off. And and that's it needs to be restored. And there will be a shoot that will spring up from that line of Jesse and restore the house of David, and he'll do it with spirit and power and leadership. The spirit of the Lord will rest upon him. That's what verse two is about. And it just starts describing what
his kingdom will be like. That's why, though, it's a fragile time for the line of David, though it's a insecure time. Uh, time of weakness. This one will come. And what will he do? Look at verse four. He will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed in the land. And look at verse five, righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness will be a belt around his waist. And then verse six, the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down
with the goat. Uh, when I start looking at this stuff, uh, what's it saying? He's going to bring justice. He's going to be righteous. He's going to bring peace as the Prince of Peace. Uh, infinite will play besides a cobra's pit. And a toddler will put his hand in a snake's den. None will harm or destroy another. On my entire holy mountain. There will be safety, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea
is filled with water. What's that saying? Everyone in the messianic kingdom, when Jesus reigns, will come in and they will come to know the king. That's great hope in a time of weakness and fragility, that we can be strengthened and know that God's going to keep his promises. So this is, uh, my class has asked me and I'm going to ask you the same question. Why do we study the book of revelation? I mean, you say it's all about the future, and yet there's a suffering
church here that gets the book. Why give the book of revelation, which ends with Jesus on the throne forever and ever? Why give that to a suffering church in in the first century? What do you think?
Well, great. Hope it's not always going to be like this. Yeah.
Uh, it gives you that. Yes. Like you're saying that that hope of something good to look forward to, like that. That what you're going through isn't the end of the story.
We know.
Something better.
Coming.
We know how it ends.
Yeah.
That's it. Uh, you know, I, Jerry Seinfeld once said that he. He doesn't read a book unless he reads the end first.
He's not going to waste his time unless he has a good ending.
Yeah.
So he starts at the back of the book. Yeah. That's okay. I'll read the book. And I think that that would be a good thing for each of us when we're in this life. Let's read revelation first because we know how it ends. And that's what Isaiah 11 is doing here. We know how it ends. What were you going to say, Chris?
Well, the one who reads this, revelation one three is blessed. And those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, are blessed because the time is near. So there's a blessing in revelation, as hard, you know, as a slog as it is, it's bloody and there's a war and there's the enemy. You know, there's great conflict here, but we know who is the victor in the end.
Yeah. I think that's so important to remember who's on the throne and who will be on the throne right here on earth.
And I love, I love verse nine and 11 nine. Isaiah 11 nine. It's in this at the end. When everything's wrapped up, they will not hurt or destroy. In all my holy mountain. For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. I just love that. Yeah.
And, uh, the thing that I want to just encourage our listeners to do, look at verse ten. On that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. Think of a victorious king standing on a hill with his banner raised high. The nations will seek him, and his resting place will be glorious. Listen, wherever you're at today, if you feel gloomy and dark, and this is going to be a lonely Christmas for you, and you feel like it's just not turned out as as
hopeful as you were wanting it to be. The root of Jesse is still standing, and he will come and stand on that mountain. But he's available today, and the nation still need to seek him And individuals in those nations need to seek him. If we want to really experience Christmas, it's not chocolate covered cherries and candy canes and overeating and and all that. Do you know what it is? It's getting to know him in a deeper way. It's getting to. And listen, if you're listening and you think, well,
I like Christmas. And I picked up this radio show, but I've never put my trust in Jesus. The best way, the best experience of this Christmas to experience the gift that God has. The Bible says, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. That indescribable gift is the Lord Jesus. We've all kind of walked further and further away from him, and what he has done is God sent the Messiah, the God-Man. He died for us. Take the punishment that
we deserved and was raised again. That proves he's really God. And all we have to do is put our trust in him, believe in him. And I just want to encourage you for the best Christmas you can have. The best Christmas you can have is to turn to the Lord Jesus, the one who's going to. He came once as the God man. He will return as the God King, the one that will reign over all the earth on the throne of David. And he will set everything aright
when the king is on his throne. I just want to challenge you make have the best Christmas ever by putting your trust in Jesus. Any last words? Anyone?
I was just thinking maybe you put your trust in Jesus a long time ago and have kind of wandered away, and all of a sudden, you know, it's just all about like you say, candy canes and plum and plum pudding and and Christmas trees. And maybe you need to go back and think again about what you thought about Jesus when you made that decision. Come back. Come back?
Yeah.
It's always the time. I want to wish everyone here a wonderful Christmas. And you know, when we talk about putting Christ back in Christmas, we talk about Having a joy filled Christmas. I think that's so crucial. The center of our Christmas celebration has to be the one that was revealed in Isaiah seven nine and 11 and all other all the other passages in Scripture. Thanks for joining me, Tricia.
Thanks for having me.
Yeah. And Chris, thanks for joining us from the far south there. And.
Great pleasure Michael. Merry Christmas.
Yeah.
And merry Christmas Eve. I'll be celebrating with you.
Merry Christmas everybody.
Yeah.
Uh, my name is Michael Ray. Donald. I'm so glad you're with us. And thanks, Omar, for all you did to engineer this program today. Uh, we're going to come back next week with more of your Bible questions, so don't lose hope. We're still going to take care of that. Check out our web page Openline radio.org. That'll have everything you're looking for. The Bible study across America will continue
next week. Open line with Doctor Michael Melnick is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. Merry Christmas.