But there will be no 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 glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 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.
3 You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4 For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 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.
7 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 forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression
8 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it will fall on Israel;
9 and all the people will know,
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen,
but we will build with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will put cedars in their place.”
11 But the Lord raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,
and stirs up his enemies.
12 The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west
devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
13 The people did not turn to him who struck them,
nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.
14 So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day—
15 the elder and honored man is the head,
and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
16 for those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,
and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for everyone is godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth speaks folly.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burns like a fire;
it consumes briers and thorns;
it kindles the thickets of the forest,
and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
the land is scorched,
and the people are like fuel for the fire;
no one spares another.
20 They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry,
and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;
each devours the flesh of his own arm,
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
together they are against Judah.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still. Isaiah 9 ESV
Isaiah 9: 8-21 His hand is stretched out still
8- 13. The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it has fallen on Israel - Samaria is the capital of northern Israel and Ephraim is the largest tribe. God has spoken against them, and they will be the first of Jacob's children to feel His wrath at the hands of Assyria.
The bricks have fallen - Again they look not to the God Who has brought these calamities upon them, but they are stiff-necked and without repentance. It is a strong delusion, pride, a silly thing, but evil beyond our understanding. They think they can fix the world to their liking against God's judgment. They do not fear the owner of the vineyard.
“Instead of humbling themselves before the face of God on account of the many calamities that had already descended on them, they still entertained a lighthearted optimism regarding the future. This optimism manifested itself in the slogans that were current in that day and apparently on everybody’s lips.” (Bultema)
ii. “What a brief but deeply psychological picture this is of an unfaithful generation that keeps dreaming of better times to come and lightheartedly ignores the severe judgments of God.” (Bultema)
…2And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast. 3 All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury. 4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.… Revelation 18: 2-4
14-17. So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail - Their government was corrupt; their leaders lied to them about what they could do or would do, maybe their own "green new deal." Those were the men of esteem who had risen to places of respect among the people, but led them away from the fear of God. The tail is the prophets who went along with this, who said they spoke for God, but they did not know Him, nor press the people to repent. They all speak of peace without reconciliation. God's prophets are not in the majority and are usually not sought out, because they will not say what you want to hear. God will judge those who prophesy falsely in His name, but also those who give them their ears.
…4So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, “I am like you, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.” 5But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.”6So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”…
…7But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here of whom we can inquire?” 8The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.9So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”… 1 Kings 22: 4-9
And has no compassion on their fatherless and widows - Though their plight may seem already painful from human standards, they are also held complicit in their apostasy. Prosperity teachers only have a stage because we have itching ears. Together, false teachers and their followers, all want the same things and it is not God. Everyone was considered Godless and an evil doer, and for all the suffering God's hand was still not turned away.
18-21. For wickedness burns as the fire - Repentance would quench such a thing, but they will not of sound reason come to this. They continue to throw gas on the fire, and God has removed those hedges that would contain it. He will not suffer the least sin to stay alive and thriving, but all must be revealed and burned away. The more He removes His restraint the deeper they fall into judgment, receiving in themselves the just penalty for their reprobate.
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