🔷   Quick Note

It is crucial to read the Bible knowing it is a progressive revelation.

Today we understand the gospel of grace because it was revealed through Paul —

salvation by the finished work of the cross, offered freely to all who believe (Eph. 3:9–11).

But in time, this is what Israel knew. Because this was all that God had revealed at this particular time in Biblical history. 

This is what they were promised.

This is what they were waiting for. 

This was prophecy to Jews for Jews not Gentiles (not yet).

 

📜 Background, Setting & Purpose

 

✍️ Author:

 

Isaiah the prophet

 

👥 Written To:

 

Israel — God’s covenant people, the chosen nation through whom redemption and kingdom blessings would come.

 

📅 When:

 

Approx. 740–700 BC

 

🌍 Setting & Purpose of Isaiah:

 

Isaiah writes to a spiritually rebellious yet beloved nation — Israel, chosen by God, disciplined by God, yet never abandoned by God. Within warnings of judgment, Isaiah is also given breathtaking prophecy about Israel’s future Redeemer-King, the One who would rule the world and sit upon David’s throne.

 

Isaiah 9:6 sits as a mountain peak of prophecy, announcing the birth of the promised Messiah — not as a man alone, but as God Himself in flesh, the fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants.

 

This is progressive revelation in motion. Israel does not yet see the cross, the mystery, or the timeline — but they are told who is coming, whose Son He is, and what He will be.

 

🔍 Isaiah 9:6

 

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 

✨ Phrase-by-Phrase Breakdown

 

“For unto us a Child is born…”

 

• “Us” = Israel. 
• God is speaking to the nation He elected (Isaiah 41:8–9). 
• This Child is Israel’s promised Messiah — a real birth in human history. 

 

“Unto us a Son is given…”

 

• A Son — not created, but given. 
• This speaks to His eternal preexistence (Micah 5:2; John 1:1). 
• Israel would receive Him first — He is their promised King, the fulfillment of prophecy. 

 

“And the government will be upon His shoulder.”

 

• Not spiritualized; a literal government, a literal kingdom. 
• He will physically rule from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2–4; Zechariah 14:9,16). 
• This connects directly to: 
  • Genesis 3:15 — the promised Seed 
  • Genesis 12:1–3 — Abrahamic Covenant 
  • 2 Samuel 7 — the eternal throne of David 

 

“His name will be called…”

 

Each title reveals His identity — not poetry, but theology.

 

🌟 Wonderful

 

• Full of wonder — supernatural, miraculous, unlike any other. 
• His works and words caused amazement everywhere He walked (Luke 4:22). 

📘 Counselor

 

• The source of perfect wisdom (Colossians 2:3). 
• He needs no advisors — He is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). 

 

⚔️ Mighty God (The cornerstone truth)

 

• The Child is God. 
• Not “godlike” — God in flesh, the exact nature of deity. 
• John 1:14 confirms what Isaiah foresaw — the Word became flesh. 

 

⏳ Everlasting Father (Father of eternity)

 

• Not confusing Persons of the Trinity — but identifying His eternal deity. 
• The Son is the source of life, the origin of time, the creator of all (Col. 1:16–17). 

 

🕊 Prince of Peace

 

• The One who will end war, break the curse, and reign with justice. 
• The peace longed for by Israel — and one day by the nations. 

 

❗ Why This Verse Matters — Especially at Christmas

 

Isaiah doesn’t give Bethlehem.
He doesn’t describe the cross.
He doesn’t reveal the mystery revealed later to Paul.

 

But he proclaims something earth-shattering:

 

Israel’s coming King would be born as a Child — yet He would be God.

 

This is Christmas in prophetic form.
This is Deity wrapped in flesh.
This is Jesus — the Creator who stepped into His creation.

 

🕯 Devotional Summary

 

Isaiah 9:6 is not generic Christmas poetry.

 

It is Israel’s covenant announcement.
Their Messiah would come.
He would rule.
He would be God in flesh.

 

And though Israel rejected Him at His first coming, God’s covenant stands.
The Child they awaited will return — not to a manger, but to a throne.

 

Until then, we worship with wonder.

 

The Child born in Bethlehem is the Eternal God.
The Son given to Israel is the Savior of the world.
And the King foretold will reign — just as God promised.

Do you believe?