Isaiah 9 is a chapter of both hope and judgement. It starts with a prophecy of the birth of Christ, a great light in a time of darkness, who will sit “on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”
Israel are condemned for their arrogance, “The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it will fall on Israel… The people did not turn to him who struck them, nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.” Yet twice we find the phrase “For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.” We have a great and merciful God, who waits for the lost to return to Him.
We are encouraged to be children of light, to follow the example of Christ in illuminating a dark world. “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up”.