Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
The verse declares that his rule and peace will keep growing without end as he sits on David's throne over his kingdom, ordering and establishing it with judgment and justice forever, and that the zeal of the Lord of hosts himself will accomplish this. It was given as a bright promise to the faithful in Judah who held to God when the land lay under trouble and darkness, assuring future triumph and restoration after Assyrian oppression when Immanuel the promised Deliverer would come to those in the shadow of death. The promised child and Son is Jesus Christ, pre-existent as the only begotten Son of God, equal with God and Commander of heaven, who became one with humanity by birth and clothed his divinity with humanity to save the race by the sacrifice of his life. He is Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the one Mediator and Lamb who takes away sin and brings life and immortality to light. The Jews misapplied its royal glory to his first coming and expected a temporal conqueror, but he came in humiliation without outward display to heal, raise and preach, and its full glory points to his second advent, while its endless increase is a present pledge embracing every life and calling for united preparation.
Meaning and Historical Setting
The increase of his government and peace will have no end. He sits upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this and accomplish the deliverance.
It was given as a bright promise to the faithful in Judah who maintained allegiance to Jehovah and refused idolatry when the sanctuary was closed during the ruin of the last years of Ahaz. It came in a time of trouble and darkness and dimness of anguish, promising future triumph and restoration after suffering Assyrian oppression and captivity. That oppression and captivity merciful Providence would use as a means of salvation to purge the iniquity of Jacob and take away sin, for the faithful and for all who would choose to serve the living God and return. In the fullness of time Immanuel the promised Deliverer Messiah would appear to dispel centuries of apostasy darkness with glorious deliverance for those groping in darkness and dwelling in the land of the shadow of death.
Christ's Identity and Kingdom
The child born and Son given is Jesus Christ, the Lord to be believed in and the promised ruler of David's kingdom. The government is upon His shoulder, and He carries the responsibility of bringing life and immortality to light. His government and peace keep increasing without end, and He sits upon the throne of David and over His kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever, and the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. His kingdom is established forever.
He is the only begotten Son of God and Mediator, whose divinity and pre-existence before the world was formed are proved by the prophecy. In glory He was Commander of all the heavenly hosts in the form of God, equal with God, and anointed as King on the holy hill of Zion. Seated upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, His endless government of peace is ordered and established with judgment and justice forever under His divine titles.
He is one with humanity by birth of a woman and one with God as the Son given to save the human race by the sacrifice of His life, uniting human nature with divinity as head over all things. His kingship and the salvation of the human family were laid in sacrifice. He clothed His divinity with humanity and took the form of a servant in a humiliation incomprehensible to the human mind, coming to this world and dying so that humans would not eternally perish.
He is named Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He is the one Mediator between God and humanity and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the source of counsel whom those who teach others the way of life must first receive counsel from, and the foundation of faith. Though human depravity must be acknowledged, through faith in Him life and immortality are brought to light.
Prophecy Fulfillment and Application
The promised royal glory belongs to the second coming, not the first, for the people took what was spoken of an everlasting kingdom on David's throne and applied it wrongly to Christ's first appearing as if he would conquer nations by force, set up a temporal kingdom, and bestow worldly power and honor. His reign was not to begin by subduing foreign powers, though he is the promised heir of David foretold by the word of God. He is the predicted Messiah and illustrious King whose reign was to extend from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth, yet he came in humiliation, in suffering and grief and poverty, without visible conquering armies or outward display. That humiliation did not cancel the prophecy, but the people rejected him because they expected a different kind of king, and prejudice and inherited interpretations kept them from recognizing how his life and works and character fulfilled Scripture.
The promise is of Israel's king, the star arising from Judah, to break their bondage and make them a kingdom of priests and deliver them from the foreign power declared to rule over them if they refused to keep the way of the Lord and obey his statutes and commandments and laws. They expected this child-king to come as an earthly prince with external honor and riches and glory like their own, but Jesus met the specifications of the Messiah of prophecy not by earthly display but by his appointed work. The sick were healed, demoniacs restored, lepers and paralytics made whole, the dumb made to speak, deaf ears opened, the dead raised, and the gospel preached to the poor. Because he as the Sun of Righteousness revealed the contrast between sin and holiness and between purity and defilement, and because he denounced their sins and laid bare their professed sanctity, they rejected him, able to bear disappointed hopes for earthly deliverance better than righteous rebuke.
The endless increase of his government and peace is the pledge that merciful provision embraces every line of business and every church and every human being. It declares a government and peace increasing without end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, ordered and established with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever, which the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform. It is a matter of eternal consequence to be carefully considered, and its fulfillment is happening now. When minds are fully occupied with it they lose sight of the little differences that annoyed them, see that the signs of the times are fast fulfilling, and press together united for the stern conflicts before them.