Bible Studies
God’s Glory Is Revealed in the Kingdom of Promise (Isa. 9:6-7)
Series: Glory of God from IsaiahIntroduction:
1. An angel spoke to a young woman named Mary in Lk. 1:31-33 and said, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 2. Matthew quotes from Isa. 9:1-2 identifying Galilee as the place and Jesus as the light dawning upon them as he preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3. In Acts 2 Peter said that God had sworn to David to seat one of his descendents on his throne (30). He said, “Let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus . . . who is exalted to the right hand of God” (33, 36). 4. In these passages we learn four things.a. God promised to establish a kingdom.
b. He announced the coming of the king to Mary.
c. Jesus inaugurated the kingdom with his preaching.
c. God made Him king by exalting Him to His own right hand.
5. The point that I would make in this lesson is that God’s glory is revealed in the kingdom of promise.Discussion:
I. God promised to establish a kingdom.A. God is the King, the only sovereign.
1. Isaiah’s description of God as “the Lord of hosts” stresses His sovereignty.
a. It is a phrase formed from the covenant name of God given in Ex. 3 to Moses at the burning bush combined with a word meaning “to wage war.”
b. It is sometimes translated “the Lord of Powers” (LXX) or “the Lord of Omnipotence.”
c. The hosts refers back to Gen. 2:1 where it refers to the totality of created beings in the heaven and the earth.
d. The phrase seems to be equivalent to the N.T. phrase “Lord of lords and King of kings.”
e. It means that God has authority and power over every one.
2. Thus while Israel’s request for a king during the days of Samuel was a rejection of God as king, God never abdicated (1 Sam. 8). This is evident in Isa. 6:5. Isaiah said, “My eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
a. God granted them an earthly king, but He remained sovereign.
b. He actually used their earthly king as a type representative of the kingdom He would establish. In that kingdom people would voluntarily submit to Him.
B. He chose David’s household and made a covenant with them (2 Sam. 7:12-16).
1. Solomon and all the Judean kings after him were typical of the kingdom God would establish (1 Kings 8:25).
2. It was this kingdom that the angel referenced to Mary in Lk. 1:32.
3. It was this kingdom that John the Baptist and Jesus preached (Matt. 3:2-3; 4:17).
4. When Jesus described the kingdom of heaven (of God) this was what he was talking about (Mk. 9:1; et. al.).
II. The book of Isaiah reveals the coming kingdom.A. In Isa. 7 the kingdom was threatened.
1. Ahaz was the Davidic king.
2. Rezin of Aram and Pekah of Israel plotted to conquer Jerusalem.
3. God sent Isaiah with the message that it would not happen.
4. In that message hope was given that transcended the immediate situation (10-16).
5. The prophecy is interpreted in Matt. 1:23 in reference to Jesus.
6. The point was that nothing would thwart the Kingdom of God.
7. The people should depend upon His promise. Faith in Him would result in deliverance (8:9-13).
8. God raised Assyria to destroy both the nations that threatened Judah (Isa. 8).
B. Isa. 9:6-7 again reiterates the promise of a child that will lead on the throne of David.
1. The government will rest on his shoulders.
2. It will be a government of peace, justice and righteous.
3. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish it.
4. This is what the people of the first century were expecting.
a. Zacharias quoted Isa. 9:2 in regard to the coming of Jesus (Lk. 1:79).
b. An angel spoke to the shepherds saying, “I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people, in the city of David a Savior is born, Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:10-11).
c. Simeon in the temple quoted Isa. 9:2 by the Holy Spirit and applied it to Jesus (Lk. 2:25, 32).
d. Anna confirmed the same by giving thanks to God and by speaking of Jesus “to all those looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Lk. 2:38).
5. Jesus himself, in Matt. 4:12-17 quoted Isa. 9 and applied to it to himself saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
C. Isa. 11.
1. Paul said in Acts 13:23ff: “God raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will. From the descendents of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.”
2. Isa. 11 identifies the origin of the king—from the stem of Jesse (1).
3. It identifies the nature of his rule: righteousness and peace (4, 6ff).
4. People will seek it (10).
D. Isa. 2:1-4.
1. In the last days.
2. People will come.
3. That He may teach us.
4. The law (of the kingdom) will go forth from Zion; the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
5. Peace will characterize it (the kingdom) (Isa. 57:19; quoted in Eph. 4:17 of the work of Jesus.
III. Different views of the kingdom.A. Some seem to think the U.S. is the kingdom.
B. Dispensational premillenialism says that the kingdom is yet future, that Christ will return and set up the kingdom in Jerusalem and reign for a 1000 years.
C. During the Restoration Movement of the 1700 and 1800’s some thought they were ushering in the kingdom.
D. All of these positions do injustice to the revelation of God. Dispensational pre- millennialism, in my judgment, calls into question the sovereignty of God. When men learn of the Lord and are taught of Him they will seek to apply in their lives the principles of His government. Even today, when men believe the gospel and seek to practice it in their lives the prophecies of God concerning His kingdom are being fulfilled.
E. At the same time it must be remembered that sin is still present, and it will not be until the complete removal of sin at the second coming of the Lord that these prophecies will be realized in their completeness. This is why the Scriptures speak of the kingdom as in existence now and yet future. Thus, we may pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 5:10).
F. When men submit themselves to the King they become citizens in His kingdom. Yes, these are the saved today, but ultimately our citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has to subject all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:20-21).
G. Do you see why Scripture lays such heavy emphasis on the Lordship of Christ? Why He is presented as King of kings and Lord of lords? Why we are called on to confess Him as Lord before men? It is all about his Sovereignty and His kingship as Lord of hosts!
Conclusion:
1. Would you make Him Lord in your life right now? 2. He is inviting you into His kingdom. 3. Would you place your trust in Him as a faithful deliverer? 4. Will you make Him King in your life by submitting to His kingship? This is the great confession (cf. 1 Tim. 6:13-15; Matt. 27:11; Matt. 16:16-19).
