Isaiah is the book in the Old Testament that is most full of prophecies about Jesus. We have already seen the prophecy of the virgin birth, now we get another one.
Zebulun and Naphtali were not considered to be great, and had been conquered by Assyria. In the future they would be honoured, and Jesus spent a significant amount of His time in Galilee. The people of the time were somewhat derogatory about this, asking if anything good could come out of Galilee.
Those walking in darkness have seen a great light. God brings His light to shine in dark places. The key question for all of us is not the circumstances we are in, but how we respond to God. Our God is a God who transforms situations.
The prophet is looking forward to victorious times. He sees a time of victory, fruitfulness and increase. In fact , if you look at God's plans for people, whether individuals or nations, it is always the same: victory, fruitfulness, increase.
Then there is an allusion to the defeat of Midian. This was carried out by Gideon. God chose an unlikely fellow and won the victory in an unlikely manner. No one can work out God's plans. All the forces that tore the nation apart would come to nothing.
We then come to how this would come about. "Unto us a child is born", Jesus Christ. The government would be upon His shoulders, there will be no end to the increase of His government, and the zeal of the Lord will accomplish this.
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