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Our Christmas celebrations are associated with light. In our gospel lesson from Luke, there is the glory of the Lord shining on the shepherds, or in Matthew, the light of the star guides the Wise Men. We have the light of our Advent candles and lights on our Christmas trees. The outside of our houses or our city decorations sometimes are festooned with lights. Everywhere we employ special lights to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

And that is fitting for our Old Testament text, because from it we hear that those of us who have walked in darkness -- those of us who have known the gloom and the "deep darkness" of our sinful and suffering world -- are delivered by Christ into a world of light, which is a symbol throughout the Bible for God's deliverance.

Originally, this text had nothing to do with Christmas and Christ, however. As we can see in verse 1, Isaiah composed it as a comforting proclamation for the inhabitants of northern Israel, in which the districts of Naphtali and Zebulon were included. Those Galilean territories had been conquered by the Assyrian ruler, Tiglath-pileser I in 733-732 B.C. and incorporated into the Assyrian Empire. They had been subjected to the "yoke" of slavery to Assyria. But when Hezekiah (727-698 B.C.) ascended the throne of Judah, Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would free the Galilean territories from their subjection to Assyria, reunite them with the southern kingdom, and bring in an everlasting realm of freedom and peace. Thus, this poem was probably composed for the coronation ceremony of Hezekiah.

The passage divides into three parts. Verses 2-3 tell of joy that has been given to the Israelites by God, a joy comparable to that found in the celebrations of an abundant harvest or military victory. (Most scholars emend verse 3a to read, "Thou hast brought them abundant joy" to preserve the parallelism.) But the reason for the joy is not immediately given. That is spelled out in three following sentences that begin with the important little Hebrew word ki, "for."

First, in verse 4, the people are joyful because they have been freed from their Assyrian conquerors. The oppression of Assyria's "yoke," like a yoke worn by a beast of burden, has been removed; the "staff" and "rod" with which slaves were beaten have been broken, and God has won a victory over Assyria comparable to that of Gideon's complete and lasting victory over the Midianites (Judges chs. 6-8).

Second, in verse 5, all the garments and accouterments of war have been burned up after God's victory, and cannot be used again. A universal peace is being prepared.

But third and climactically, in verse 6, a new ruler has ascended the throne of Judah. Isaiah frequently employs names to encapsule his message (cf. 8:1-3), and that is true here too. The new ruler is called "Wonderful Counselor." That is, unlike those kings who have followed bad advice, this king will share in the wisdom given by God (cf. 11:2) and will be able to put his plans into effect -- in the scriptures, to know is also to be able to do.

The king will have the name "Mighty God," which is sometimes used of military heroes, but here it signifies the ruler's power for peaceful rule and his godlike character. He will have the name "Everlasting Father," which refers not to his continued existence, but to his endless care for his people. And the king will be a "Prince of Peace," sovereign over a universal realm of shalom, which signifies not only cessation from war but also fullness of life.

Then the announcement reaches its climax. This ruler will be a davidic king, whose rule or dynasty will never end. But his reign will be established, not by force and conquest, but by the moral qualities of justice and righteousness (cf. 11:3-5). That is, his rule will exhibit God's order for society and his fulfillment of God's will. And all of this will be given by God's actions, whose zeal for his purpose will establish it.

Isaiah is therefore announcing to the northern Israelites that Hezekiah's reign will not only bring the defeat of the Assyrian Empire and Israel's freedom, but will also usher in a realm of universal shalom.

Sadly, Isaiah's hopes for Israel were disappointed. The inhabitants of the north were totally overrun by the Assyrians in 722-721 B.C. They were deported into Assyrian exile, their territories were turned over to foreigners, and they were lost forever to history. Similarly, Hezekiah himself remained a vassal to Assyria until his revolt in 701 B.C. But Judah's attempts at freedom were crushed, she lost much of her territory, and Hezekiah was made a virtual prisoner in Jerusalem, to be followed on the throne by his son Manasseh, who simply acceded to Assyrian demands and filled Judah's society with idolatry, syncretism, and corruption.

Was Isaiah's prophecy then false and were his hopes for a davidic Messiah then in vain? If that were the case, we would not have this text preserved in the Old Testament. These words were words of the Lord given to the prophet, and God always keeps his Word. This promise of a coming davidic ruler, who would match Isaiah's wondrous description of him, was preserved in Israel and kept for the future, because Israel knew and expected that a Messiah like this would come. But he would come in God's good time -- not when human beings wished him to come, but when God so willed. Not we ourselves, but God is the Lord of our lives and history, and he works his own ways.

So it is, in the fullness of God's time, that we celebrate the birth of this davidic ruler, this Messiah, that God promised through Isaiah long ago. And this Messiah, Jesus Christ, is indeed the One who rules in the wisdom and might of God, who cares for us like a Father forever, and who will establish his reign of peace throughout the earth by his justice and righteousness.

Isaiah says that brings the light of God's deliverance to all of us -- to us who sometimes think that we dwell and walk in nothing but darkness. Will you therefore trust that -- that Christ will give light to your life if you but open your heart to his rule and let him direct your paths? If you will -- if you will -- then you too can have great joy and celebration at this Christmastime.