Nevertheless the
gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly
esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more
heavily oppressed her, by way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the
Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who
dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined
(Isaiah 9:1-2)
Zebulun and Naphtali were two of the
original twelve tribes that made up the nation Israel, and both of those tribes
were located in the area of the Sea of Chinnereth, which later became known as
the Sea of Galilee. The tribe of Zebulun was to the west, toward the
Mediterranean Sea, and Naphtali was to the north. Those two tribes were lightly
esteemed by the other tribes, and as a result, they felt lightly
esteemed by God. You were thought to have had an unfortunate birth, if
you came from one of those two areas.
That attitude carried over into New
Testament times, relating to the same place. A judgmental spirit was directed
toward the Galileans who later lived there much like it was in Old Testament
times.
A group of Pharisees or the separated ones as they
called themselves, had heard that many of the people
believed Jesus was the Christ, the
Anointed One of God (John 8:31). The Pharisees didnt like it that many believed
in Jesus, and they, along with the chief priests sent
officers to take Him (John 8:32). One of the things that bothered them
about Jesus was that He had come from the area known as Galilee. He wasnt part
of the in-crowd who lived in Jerusalem.
Jesus kept on teaching in the Temple at
Jerusalem, and some of His listeners said of Him, This
is the Christ, but (others asked scornfully), 'Will the Christ come out of Galilee?'
(John 8:41). The argument continued, and then the chief
priests and Pharisees became angry at the officers who had been sent to
arrest Jesus, demanding, Why have you not brought Him?
The officers answered, No man ever spoke like this Man
and the Pharisees insultingly accused the officers of being deceived
(John 8:46-47). The Pharisee Nicodemus defended Jesus. This was the man who
came to Jesus by night as recorded in John Chapter 3. The others sneered
back at Nicodemus: Are you also from Galilee? Search
and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee (John 8:50-53).
As you read on in the direct context of our
Scripture verses in Isaiah, youll discover excellent words that were written about the Christ, the Messiah
hundreds of years before His birth. Included are these words: Unto
us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His
shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). This Child,
this "Son of God, the One who is Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace would be from
the area called Galilee of the Gentiles as we saw
in Isaiah 9:1. God is full of surprises, isnt He? Napoleon Bonaparte, the great
French general and leader, said Everything in Christ
astonishes me. We should agree with Napoleon, for Jesus
Christ, this Gift from God, is indeed a surprise for all who are on this earth.
God is absolutely NOT interested in
placating or endorsing the pride of this world. In the Book of Judges, God chose
a meek little man named Gideon to deliver the nation Israel. God selected a
shepherd boy, David, as HIS choice to replace the imposing man, Saul, as King
of Israel. When the Messiah came to this world, God chose a pack of uneducated
men to follow Him, walk with Him and then become the leaders of His church.
God is not impressed in any way by your credentials; He is interested in your
heart.
If only I could meet
God! THEN I would believe in Him! Have you heard people say that? Have
YOU said or thought or said something like those words at some point in your
life? It is amazing that the Books by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that we call
the Gospels contain written words about many
people who actually did that they MET God the Son. They saw Him, Face-to-face.
Jesus looked in the eyes of His disciples, the ones who had walked with Him for
three years and told them the simple truth: He who has
seen Me, He said, has seen the Father (John 14:9). The Pharisees saw
Him, too, and so did the chief priests, the officers and the people. They saw
Him, and some believed, but many did not. Seeing does not mean you will believe.
Millions have learned that BELIEF in the Lord is
better than seeing; it is better than life itself.
Its a surprise that Almighty God chose the
rural area of Galilee for the boyhood and young manhood of Christ Jesus. Its
also incredible that Bethlehem, in Judah (Judea), was picked as the place of His
birth. It was a tiny town. Micah the prophet had been prompted by the Lord to
predict, hundreds of hears before: You, Bethlehem
Ephrathah. though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you
shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have
been from of old, from everlasting, literally from
the days of eternity (Micah 5:2). The Messiah WOULD be born there, but
why?
Well, it had been the birthplace of David,
it fulfilled prophesy, and God chose a place that was little
as it says in Micah 5:2. Paul later spoke to the Corinthian believers, and
through them he spoke to us. He commented: Have you noticed about yourselves
that not many (are) wise
according to the flesh, not many (are) mighty, not
many (are) noble God has chosen the foolish things
of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the
world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the
world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are
not, to bring to nothing the things that are (1 Corinthians 1:26-28). And
then we are given the reason WHY God has chosen to surprise the world in this
way: that no flesh should glory in His presence
(1 Corinthians 1:29). We are to learn from the example of Christ - we are to "glory" in God; not in ourselves.
Isnt it wonderful that we are NOT God? If
we had god-like abilities, we would have ruined everything a long time ago. It
takes pure love to do what He does, and after thousands of years, only One in
the human race has had the love to do it: Jesus Christ, the God-man who came from
the days of eternity. Jesus Christ deliberately became a rural person,
an uneducated man, a commoner; someone of no reputation. As it is predicted
about Him in Isaiah
53:2, He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him,
there is no beauty that we should desire Him. The point is that we will
not regard His earthly form, but look to His words, His heart and see God. Lets
pray:
Thank You for the surprise You have
given us in Christ Jesus. Let us see and want the great light you have given
us in Him. We trust in Him now. In Jesus Name. Amen.
