We are in the middle of a prophecy that was given around 734 BC. Addressed to King Ahaz of the southern kingdom of Judah, it began in Isaiah 7. Two kings had joined together to oppose Ahaz, Pekah of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and Rezin from the kingdom of Syria (or Aram). God had been promising Ahaz that He would take care of these kings. He also warned of the Assyrians who would not only be used to deal with the other two kings, but also bring destruction through the land.

In the coming hard times, people would be looking for answers. But they’ll be looking in the wrong places. Rather than asking their God for direction, they’ll be seeking those who claim to contact the dead, those who speak to demons (Is. 8:19). The result would be a darkness on the land.

(Isa 9:1 NLT) Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will soon be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

The first light affliction on Zebulun and Naphtali happened with Tiglathpileser came against these areas in the north and took some of them captive. (2Ki. 15:29)

Or, "Galilee of the Gentiles". The area of the Galilee to the north wasn’t looked upon with great admiration. The Jews in the south looked at Galilee with contempt and disgust. Yet Isaiah goes on to say …

This is talking about Jesus. He would bring glory to the land in the north. He would be the great light in a dark place. Jesus’ main ministry took place in the north, in the Galilee.

not increased the joy – better, "increased the joy".

There would be great joy when the Messiah would come.

God would give great victory over their oppressors. This is ultimately going to be fulfilled when Jesus comes a second time.

Midian – the victory of Gideon and his army over the Midianites (Judges 7). God had called Gideon to deliver His people from the oppression of the Midianites. The people would work hard all year taking care of their crops. But at harvest time, the Midianites would come in and take all that had been harvested.

(Isa 9:5 NKJV) For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

When Jesus comes back again, there will be no more need for weapons or warfare. They’ll be burned. (Is. 2:4)

The Deliverer would be a Son. God’s only begotten Son.

In the Bible, a person’s name often was a reflection, if not prophetically, of who that person was or would be. They were often a person’s character traits.

Wonderful – pele' – wonder, marvel; The word comes from pala' – to be marvellous, be wonderful, be surpassing, be extraordinary; to be beyond one's power, be difficult to do; to do an extraordinary or hard or difficult thing

Do you face difficult things in your life? There is one who is Wonderful, able to do impossible things. There is nothing too difficult for Him.

I know that some of the modern translations pair this with Wonderful, but I like how the King James separates it. He is Wonderful. He’s also a great Counsellor.

Counsellor – ya`ats – to advise, consult, give counsel, purpose, devise, plan.

In contrast, keep in mind that the people got into trouble in the first place because they were looking for advice from people who contacted the dead instead of contacting their God (Isa 8:19). Unlike dead people, God is a GREAT Counselor and He never gives bad advice.

There were some of the Jews who would look at verse 6, and say that it was fulfilled by Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz. Hezekiah may have been wonderful, he may have been a good counsellor, but he certainly wasn’t the Mighty God. Jesus, on the other hand, is the Mighty God.

This title gets some of us a little confused. How could Jesus be the "Father" when we know Him as the "Son"? It’s simple. It’s not hard for a person to be both a father and a son. I am. We know of Jesus as the Son, and that refers to His position in the Trinity. But He is also a Father in that we have been born again through Him.

Peace – shalowm – completeness, soundness, peace

When Jesus returns, He will set up His kingdom on earth, and there will be no more war. But this also refers to the peace with God that we can experience right now in our hearts. Paul writes,

When Messiah comes back, He will be a descendant of David, in the line of the kings of Judah. Jesus was able to trace His lineage back to David both through his "step-father" Joseph (Mat. 1), as well as His mother Mary (Luke 3).

God’s fervent love for His Son and for His people will bring all this to pass. This is just like what the Queen of Sheba said regarding Solomon:

Israel – the Northern Kingdom. Some look at this as a new section.

(Isa 9:10 NLT) "Our land lies in ruins now, but we will rebuild it better than before. We will replace the broken bricks with cut stone, the fallen sycamore trees with cedars."

God had begun to bring judgment against the proud people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (also known as Ephraim or Samaria). But instead of turning from their sin, they just figured they would rebuild, only bigger and better.

Even though the Northern Kingdom had an alliance with Rezin, king of Syria, God would turn the Syrians against Israel. They would join with their own enemies, Assyria, and attack Israel.

The Syrians were on the east of Israel, the Philistines were on the west.

This phrase will pop up several more times. It’s the theme of the section.

Warren Wiersbe: If God cannot bring us to repentance through His Word, then He must lift His hand and chasten us. If we do not submit to His chastening, then He must stretch out His hand and judge us. God is long-suffering, but we dare not tempt Him by our careless or callused attitude.

head and tail –The highest and the lowest. It is explained in the next verse. The wise old men were the head, the false prophets were the tail. Both would be removed in one day.

branch and rush – (NASB) "palm branch and bulrush". Probably another way of saying the "highest" (branch) and the "lowest" (rush) of the people.

God is usually very compassionate to these people:

But because all the people, including the orphans and widows, are continuing in sin, His judgment comes. All this seems to be what follows from the leaders leading the people away from the Lord and helping them to just continue in their sin.

These two verses sound as if they are talking about the destruction that the coming judgment will be making, yet it says that "wickedness" burns like a fire. The point is that sin often times brings its own punishment. There are times when we just go deeper and deeper into sin, and at the same time we are only destroying ourselves that much further.

(Isa 9:20 NLT) They fight against their own neighbors to steal food, but they will still be hungry. In the end they will even eat their own children.

They will consume each other, just as a man eats his own flesh. The two tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim were descended from the two sons of Joseph. In a way, these two tribes were closer to each other than any other two of the tribes.