Isaiah 9:4-5
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
You have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
I'm publishing a series of post on the prophecy about Christ's coming from Isaiah chapter 9, and this is my third post in this series. Isaiah wrote this prophecy during a seemingly hopeless time in Israel's history. The Israelites were surrounded by their enemies and they were about to be taken into captivity, as the LORD told them would happen. During this desperate time, Isaiah wrote a prophecy about the coming Messiah; a King who would save His people from darkness and bring them into light.
God did not only prophecy to the Israelites that He would overcome the darkness in the world and bring Israel great joy, but He also reminded Israel of a day when He did exactly this on a smaller scale. Through this prophecy God reminds His people about the day of "Midian's defeat," which refers to a story from Judges chapter 7. Long ago before Isaiah was born there was a man named Gideon, and he was not a brave man. God found him hiding from his enemies in a winepress when He called Gideon to fight for Him (Judges 6:11-12). God took Gideon and told him he would be a mighty man who would defeat the oppresive vast army of the Midianites. There seemed to be no possible way for Gideon and his small army of three hundred to wipe out an army as numerous as a plague of locusts, but God "caused the [Midianites] throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords," so God made the Midianites destroy themselves (Judges 7:22). After this, Gideon and his men ran into the valley where the Midianites were and they defeated every last one of them. In the days that followed Israel rejoiced, because the Midianites who burdened them, oppressed them and battled them in bloody combat were defeated and gone.
In this prophecy God is reminding His people about this day of Midian's defeat, and He is telling them how He will do this all once again for His people on a cosmic scale. By coming into the world as a child, God will defeat His people's true worst enemy, sin. Jesus was born as the last sacrificial lamb; the last offering that had to die to purify the unrighteous. God came to Earth "in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things [we have in life], that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). God has come in flesh and blood as a single soldier of His Heavenly army, so that He could give His life for all mankind. In so doing, Jesus made the sword of death turn on itself, as the swords of the Midianites were turned against them. God has won the war against the devil, and He has set us, as believers, "free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). For on Christmas day, God came as a gift to the world, and that is the free gift of "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
One day we, as believers, shall all join Jesus' winning life giving battle in the valley as Gideon and his men did. In the end of days, there will be an army of God's enemies and they will "wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings - and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers" (Revelation 17:14). One day we, as children of God and followers of the Messiah, shall fight alongside the Lamb of God, Jesus, and God will win the day as He did against the Midianites and against sin. In this battle we shall not fear as Gideon did, but we will go into battle with great hope. We know God will be victorious. God has prophesied to us that "the accuser of our brothers [will be] thrown down" (Revelation 12:10). God will fight, God will win, and all who follow Him will be free from all of their oppressors.
Sources
God did not only prophecy to the Israelites that He would overcome the darkness in the world and bring Israel great joy, but He also reminded Israel of a day when He did exactly this on a smaller scale. Through this prophecy God reminds His people about the day of "Midian's defeat," which refers to a story from Judges chapter 7. Long ago before Isaiah was born there was a man named Gideon, and he was not a brave man. God found him hiding from his enemies in a winepress when He called Gideon to fight for Him (Judges 6:11-12). God took Gideon and told him he would be a mighty man who would defeat the oppresive vast army of the Midianites. There seemed to be no possible way for Gideon and his small army of three hundred to wipe out an army as numerous as a plague of locusts, but God "caused the [Midianites] throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords," so God made the Midianites destroy themselves (Judges 7:22). After this, Gideon and his men ran into the valley where the Midianites were and they defeated every last one of them. In the days that followed Israel rejoiced, because the Midianites who burdened them, oppressed them and battled them in bloody combat were defeated and gone.
In this prophecy God is reminding His people about this day of Midian's defeat, and He is telling them how He will do this all once again for His people on a cosmic scale. By coming into the world as a child, God will defeat His people's true worst enemy, sin. Jesus was born as the last sacrificial lamb; the last offering that had to die to purify the unrighteous. God came to Earth "in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things [we have in life], that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). God has come in flesh and blood as a single soldier of His Heavenly army, so that He could give His life for all mankind. In so doing, Jesus made the sword of death turn on itself, as the swords of the Midianites were turned against them. God has won the war against the devil, and He has set us, as believers, "free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). For on Christmas day, God came as a gift to the world, and that is the free gift of "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
One day we, as believers, shall all join Jesus' winning life giving battle in the valley as Gideon and his men did. In the end of days, there will be an army of God's enemies and they will "wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings - and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers" (Revelation 17:14). One day we, as children of God and followers of the Messiah, shall fight alongside the Lamb of God, Jesus, and God will win the day as He did against the Midianites and against sin. In this battle we shall not fear as Gideon did, but we will go into battle with great hope. We know God will be victorious. God has prophesied to us that "the accuser of our brothers [will be] thrown down" (Revelation 12:10). God will fight, God will win, and all who follow Him will be free from all of their oppressors.
Sources
- The Bible (New International Version)
- DesiringGod: Isaiah 9:1-7 Part 2
- Grace to You: Gideon a Weak Man Made Strong
- OpenBibleInfo: Defeated Sin
- The BEAT: The Battle of Armageddon Explained
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