READ: Isaiah 9 (Focus vs. 2-7)
MEMORY VERSE
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” Isaiah 9:2
BACKGROUND
The tugboat sank twenty miles off the coast of Nigeria, turning upside down as it fell to the sea floor. Eleven crew members drowned, but the ship’s cook, Harrison Odjegba Okene, found an air pocket and waited.
He only had one bottle of Coke for provisions, and both of his flashlights died within the first twenty-four hours. For three terrifying days, Okene was trapped alone in darkness at the bottom of the ocean.
He’d begun to give up hope when divers on a mission to recover dead bodies found him hunkered and shivering deep in the hull.
The image of Okene alone in the dark for sixty hours is unnerving. He told reporters he still suffers nightmares from the horrifying ordeal. But can you imagine what he felt when he saw the diver’s powerful lamp piercing the darkness?
What joy and elation, what hope. The prophet Isaiah foretold how, when the Messiah came, all “the people walking in darkness” would see “a great light” (9:2). Left to our own devices, we live “in the land of deep darkness,” but in Jesus, “a light has dawned” (v. 2).
Christ is “the light of the world,” and in Him we need never again fear the darkness for we “have the light of life” (John 8:12). We may feel trapped or hopeless, alone or in despair, but God illuminates good news. Jesus carries us out of the dark and into His marvelous light.
Winn Collier
INSIGHT
Oppressed by an Aram-Israel alliance, King Ahaz of Judah turned to Assyria for help (2 Kings 16:7-9; Isaiah 7:1-6). God told Ahaz He’d use Assyria to defeat Israel and Aram (Isaiah 7:7-9; 8:4-7), and because of Ahaz’s unfaithfulness, Judah too would be punished (7:13-25; 8:8).
The punishment would be so severe the Israelites would “be thrust into utter darkness” (8:22). But God promised deliverance and restoration, starting with Zebulun and Naphtali (9:1), lands in Israel’s far north that had been ravaged by the Assyrians.
Isaiah prophesied that with the birth of the Messiah, “the people walking in darkness [would see] a great light” (v. 2).
Seven hundred years later, Jesus fulfilled this prophecy as He began His ministry in that region (Matthew 4:12-17). Christ, that “great light,” calls us to follow Him: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
K.T. Sim
APPLICATION
What darkness are you facing? How do you need Jesus to be your light and bring you out of it?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“We may feel trapped or hopeless, alone or in despair, but God illuminates good news. Jesus carries us out of the dark and into His marvelous light.”
PR’s TAKE
“As long as I am in the world (through His Spirit) I am the LIGHT of the world.” John 9:5 (esv)
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.” M.L. King Jr.
“To trust God in the light is “nothing” but to trust Him in the dark – that is FAITH.” Charles Spurgeon
PRAYER
“Dear God, I need Your light in my life. Please bring me out of my dark place.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“LIGHT OF THE WORLD”
Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of my life spent with You
And here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
King of all days
Oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came to the earth You created
All for love’s sake became poor
And here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross…
And here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God…
