Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Finding Hope in Darkness | Christmas | Isaiah 9:1-3

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilman. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we are in our Christmas series. We're exploring the stories around Jesus's birth and the prophecies pointing forward to it. Do you fear that foreign invaders will conquer your state, your city, burn down your house, take your family and friends off with them to a different country, liquidate your savings and investments and leave you with nothing? Well, if you're an American, probably not. And that means that you are in the historical minority. Throughout

Starting point is 00:00:41 history, foreign conquest was an expected reality of life, especially if you lived in a highly contested region, like Israel. Israel was incredibly contested. It was the only viable land bridge between Egypt to the south and Mesopotamia to the northeast. And that meant that it was a valuable commodity. If you had military force or you were a imperial superpower, you wanted to control this. highway so that you could control the way in and out of the ancient world. The prophet Isaiah watched as the northern reaches of Israel, the lanes of Zebulin and Naftali, they fell under the shadow of one of those superpowers, Assyria. 20 years later, after Naftali and Zebulon, these northern places, after they fall, the king of Assyria owned almost the entirety of ancient Israel. When he conquered that land, he sapped every bit of wealth that they had and he exiled their entire population to the outskirts of his own empire. And the goal was to culturally assimilate all of the Israelites, make them into Assyrians. So just try to imagine what it was like during that

Starting point is 00:01:46 time period. Your friends, your family, they're all scattered. They're all exiled to different countries with different languages. Every worldly possession that they have is either stolen or lost. And this is what happens to them when Assyria comes and it defeats Zebulin and Naftali. This is what happens, by the way, when wicked kings take power. There's oppression, loss, subjugation, poverty. And yet, in the pitch black of this darkness, God showed a light to Isaiah. He said, I know that it feels like everything is lost, but that is not the end of the story. Isaiah wrote this in Isaiah 9. There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. He's talking about those who were taken away by Assyria. In the past, God humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naftali.

Starting point is 00:02:37 But in the future, he will honor Galilee of the nations. That's the exact same region. He says he will honor the Galilee of the nations by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy. They rejoice before. for you as people rejoice at the harvest as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. In this vision, there is a light in the land of darkness in the place that Assyria had taken over, and it expands to encompass the entire world and fill it with happiness, with family, with life, with property and culture, all of the things that the king of Assyria stole from them.

Starting point is 00:03:25 The joy that Isaiah feels when he sees the darkness being conquered, it's the joy of a battle one, of evil overturned, of feasts with fresh bread and fine wines. What is this light that Isaiah is talking about that ends the darkness? It's a king. It's a new king. It's a true king. After Jesus's temptation in the wilderness, he breaks out of the darkness as a new light. Matthew quotes this passage, the one that we just read from Isaiah, to underline the point that when Jesus arrives, when he is incarnated, God is literally turning the world upside down. Matthew describes Jesus' healing ministry, his teaching ministry, and his confrontation with the powers of darkness as the defining signs of this new light, which is conquering the darkness. Do you ever feel like you were in darkness?

Starting point is 00:04:19 It might not be as bad as what Naftali and Zebulin experienced. Maybe you haven't been conquered by foreign foes. Maybe you haven't lost your family and all of your earthly, possessions, but maybe you still feel in your own way like you're in darkness, like you've lost some things in your life that you can't get back and you wonder, is there any hope for the future? Don't give up hope. Like Isaiah, fix your eyes on the light, on the light that is dawning in the distance. Know that when King Jesus returns to earth, he returns with the power to reverse everything that is wrong with this world, sickness, evil, injustice, falsehood. He promises that this light, his return, it will dawn. What darkness is weighing you down right now? How can knowing that

Starting point is 00:05:12 Jesus is going to lift that darkness? How can that change your perspective on your circumstances today? I want you to take that darkness to Jesus. I want you to lay it before his feet and I want you to tell him, Jesus, shine your light on this. Jesus, help me to have hope in your future coming. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps other people find this podcast more easily. Also, ask yourself, who could you share this podcast with?

Starting point is 00:05:45 Texting an episode to a friend or a family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes. for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Finding Hope in Darkness | Christmas | Isaiah 9:1-3

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