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The government will be on His shoulders.

Unto Us A Child is Born

“For to 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. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

One of the things the Scriptures force us to do is to think of Almighty God as a child, as a baby.

The Incarnation is a mystery, no doubt, and to try to wrap our minds around Almighty God as a baby, for me, is mind-boggling, but this is where the Scriptures take us. What's more precious and holy and innocent than a baby? I think most of us, if not all of us, have held a child in our arms, and we look at this beautiful baby, and we are filled with awe.

Verse 6, the government will be on His shoulders. Back then and even today, we feel the weight of the government on our shoulders, but this Child will grow, and the government will be on His shoulders. Messiah will be the one who will hold the government on His shoulders, and this is just a reminder to all of us that if He, Messiah, can hold the government on His shoulders, He can carry us through, regardless of what we're going through.

His shoulders are big enough. Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. Whatever you're dealing with, any worry, any anxiety, any issue, He can handle it.

If He can handle the government on his shoulders, He can handle you. "He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

I love this part, "the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this," or other translations say, "He will do it." He will do it, and so this is our great Advent hope. This is the confidence that we have in this child that He will do it.

He will accomplish this, and then, of course, we go on into the New Testament, and we see all that Jesus accomplished, and then we look forward to the great eschatological hope of what He will yet do, but all this is because "for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." This is our Advent confidence. This is our Advent hope.

- Dr. John Hanna serves as an adjunct professor for Nazarene Bible College.