A Very Special Child, Isaiah's Prophecy About the Lord JesusSample

God saves by means of a Child

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder.” (Isaiah 9:6)

In verses 3 and 4, Isaiah spoke of oppressive warriors with garments rolled in blood who had the people in their grip. No wonder the people begged for deliverance!

To stand up to such enemies would certainly require a well-trained army with powerful weapons. But no, God chose to bring deliverance through a child.

Of course, this child would grow up and mature. The names He was given (which we will look at later) show that He would grow into a capable ruler. But the beginning of God's rescue plan was small, unremarkable, and vulnerable.

We often see this pattern in the Bible. The Lord does not depend on our human strength. He can use the small and weak because He Himself is all-powerful. We see this, for example, when Gideon had to fight against the Midianites — Judges 7:3 reminds us of this. With only 300 men, he attacked an army of 135,000 soldiers. And God gave him victory.

So too is Jesus' kingdom. “The government shall be upon His shoulder," Isaiah prophesied. But that was not immediately apparent. And it cannot be fully seen even now, 2,000 years after the birth of this child.

Do you like how God uses the small to bring about something great? Or would you rather see it differently?