By: Curtis Baker
Another harvest season is drawing to a close here in West Texas. While this year may not compare to the bumper crop that took place in 2010, I think everyone is grateful to have what we did in light of the brutal summers of the last two years. There is no doubt that our land is parched and dry to an extreme that many of us have never seen; and yet, when the harvest comes in at the end of the year, there is still a since of satisfaction and joy that another year’s work has been accomplished. Maybe things are not as great as they could have been, but it certainly could have been far worse. And there is always optimism for the year to come.
In thinking about the joy of harvest along with the Christmas season it brings to mind one of the most famous Christmas passages in our Bible. You probably have it memorized because it is sung every year in Handel’s Messiah, but the passage I am speaking about is from Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Those famous words are set in the context of a long series of passages in Isaiah that run from chapter seven to chapter twelve. In these chapters Isaiah prophecies about the doom that is coming on the northern tribes of Israel. The nation of Assyria has been appointed as the Lord’s instrument (Isaiah 8) to destroy Israel because of their abandonment of their covenant with God.
At the beginning of chapter eight, a prophecy is made over the birth of a child. Before that child is old enough to say “My father” or “My mother,” all of Israel’s wealth will be carried away to Assyria. (8:3, 4) If you read chapter eight you get a chilling sense of just how devastating God’s judgment will be. Isaiah compares it to mighty flood waters overflowing its channels and sweeping the city all the way up to its neck. “Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.” (Isa 8:22-22)
That is a frightful picture for anyone who reads it and takes it seriously. But thankfully that picture of curse and judgment is not the final word. In chapter nine another prophecy is made over a child. In contrast to the former prophecy, this child’s arrival will not bring judgment and curses, instead the government will be upon his steady shoulders and he will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.” The prophecy promises that there will be no end to the increase of his government and the peace it will bring. He will establish justice and righteousness forever.
This prophecy is, of course, the prophecy of Christmas—the birth of the Christ child. He will undo the curse unleashed upon Israel (and all the nations), and he will increase the spread of justice, righteousness, and peace. Through Isaiah, God promises that the joy that will accompany this event will be like the joy that men experience at the end of the harvest. (Isa 9:3) The time of waiting and anxiety will be over, and the time for joy will begin.
This is what we celebrate every year during the Christmas season. As harvest draws to a close and the joy of an accomplished year’s work is experienced, we also remember the joy of God entering the world through Jesus in order to undo creation’s curse. Whatever gifts we may receive this Christmas, let us remember the greatest gift any of us could receive. For unto us a son has been given, and all rests secure on his steady shoulders.
Peace be with you this Christmas season.
(Don’t forget to join me for A Message from the Heart radio program Sunday evening at 8:00pm on KJAK 92.7FM, or streaming live at www.kjak.com) (curtisbaker@hotmail.com)
Write to: P.O. Box 157 Slaton, TX 79364
