Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.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.But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time hath he made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
3 sermons cite this verse
… Listen now what Isaiah says. First, the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali. But in the end, he's glorified the seaward robe, the land west of the Jordan, the district of the Gentiles. You say, okay, I guess. I don't know really what any of that means. And we kind of skip over that to get to the better known parts about a people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. We hear that at Christmastime. We hear that in oratorios. That's a well-known part of Isaiah. but it's set up by these first kind of strange lines, that the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the end, he's glorified the seaward road, so which is up in that direction. So what are we talking about? We're talking about districts of the Holy Land named for the sons of Jacob, who become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. So the patriarch Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, has twelve sons. …
… There's another place to position our eyes. Look at the first word in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 1. But, but there's another way for the people of God to see what's happening around them. There's another perspective. There's another place to look amidst the chaos of this fallen world. and this way leads to no gloom for her who is in anguish. And this is where the language in chapter nine gets absolutely amazing. It's stunning. So I wanna start reading in verse two and I want you to notice the tense of the verbs here. This is so good. Hang with me. Do a little English class for a minute. So you have past tense, present tense, and future tense, right? So past tense, this has been done. Present tense, this is being done. Future tense, this will be done. So look with me at what tense these verbs are. Verse two, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. …
From the first verse of Isaiah 9 and following. there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time, he brought contempt, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. But in the latter time, he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. People walked in darkness. They've seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of steep darkness, on them a light has shined. You've multiplied the nation. You've increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with a joy at harvest. These people exult when dividing plunder. The yoke of their burden and the bar across their shoulders. the rod of the oppressor you've broken as on the day of Midian all the boots of tramping warriors all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for fire that's what God will do but who will do it for a child has been born for us a son given to us authority rests upon his shoulders And he's named wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. …