TEXT: 1-7

Someone said “Hope is good for breakfast, but bad for dinner”. This is as far as man, mortal man can perceive. But hope in God is not time-bound. It is a confident assurance in Him that He will fulfill what He has promised, even when all hope has been lost.

Previously, Isaiah had shown the adverse effects of false dependence: hardship, hunger, anguish and darkness (Isaiah 8:21-22). The prophet now pictures the darkness fading away as the light of the Lord dawns. This brings joy to the people.

The oppressor shall be driven out of the land. All warlike apparatuses shall be destroyed. They shall no longer be required in the new era. A summary of the twofold hope was then given to Israel – redemption at the Messiah’s first coming and restoration of Davidic kingdom at His Second Advent (ISAIAH 9 verses 6,7).

These two verses are pregnant with meaning. The whole destiny of man hangs on them viz:

• A child (Jesus) is born at Bethlehem.
• A son (the Saviour) is given at Calvary.

These first two comprise the first hope. The right to be the Sovereign of all the earth shall be vested in the Saviour. He, the Saviour, will restore the Davidic kingdom and rule eternally. These last two points are “the second, hope”.

Notice however, that the prophets could not see the intervening period that separates the word given in verse six and the rest of the prediction, that is, the Church Age in which we live (Ephesians 3:3-9).

The first hope has already been fulfilled, for the Child has been born and the Son given (crucified). Henceforth, God requires us to apply faith to appropriate the benefits of this fulfilled hope. This qualifies us to be part of the true Church.

Do you believe in Jesus? Have you accepted Him as Saviour and Lord and fully repented of your sins? If you are a child of God, you can be rest assured that “the second hope” will be literally fulfilled for God remains the same. Be appropriately positioned though, to fully appropriate all that God has embedded in Christ.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God means just what He says.

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