Isaiah 9:6-7 is a messianic promise. God’s anointed One would be born as “a child”; He would be “a son” God would give “to us.” And His titles reflect that He indeed is God, for He is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, [and] Prince of Peace.” And there is more.
“The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever” (Isa. 9:7). The word translated dominion also means “government” or even “empire.” In the New International Version, the first portion of verse 7 says, “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” Daniel 2:44 and 4:3 echo themes we see in Isaiah 9:7. We see these elements in Gabriel’s words to Mary as well, when the angel told her she would give birth to Jesus (see Luke 1:30-33).
“Justice and righteousness” will pervade His kingdom, for His rule will be a reflection of His own attributes. Isaiah 9:7 is just one place in Isaiah’s prophecy where we see the anointed One ruling with a just and righteous hand. Other passages in Isaiah that carry this theme are 11:4-5; 16:5; 32:1,16; 33:5; 42:1. Jeremiah wrote of it as well (see Jer. 23:5-6; 33:14-16).
“The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.” These concluding words of verse 7 indicate that none of the things about which Isaiah had just written, including the coming of the anointed One and the establishment of His eternal kingdom, would occur because of any action or effort on the part of Israel. God would take the initiative to bring all these things about, and He would follow through, fulfilling every part of His promise. The word translated zeal, which appears 42 times in the Old Testament, conveys an intensity of desire. It is translated jealousy in Proverbs 27:4. The term is represented once again by the word zeal in Psalm 69:9, a verse the apostle John quoted in John 2:17 (see vv. 13-17 for the context). We can be grateful for God’s intense desire and deliberate actions to bring about His plan regarding the Messiah and our own redemption.
Copyright © 2015 B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.