The entire book of Isaiah could be called "The Gospel According to Isaiah." God's Spirit caused Isaiah to document many wonderful things about the Messiah, around seven hundred years before Jesus Christ was born! Here are three particularly spectacular statements that are meant to help us know and identify the one-and-only Messiah - the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us bathe our souls in these precious words and find ways to express the greatness of Jesus Christ to others.

From Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; 40:5 we have asked three questions:

• What did the Lord give us?


• What is God, through His Son, going to do for us / do with us?


• What forces are at work in the world: revealing Christ to us / releasing Christ through us?

Question # 3 - What forces are at work in the world: revealing Christ to us / releasing Christ through us?

• Isaiah 7:14 & Luke 1:26-35 The Holy Spirit / The power of the Highest


• Isaiah 9:7 The zeal of the Lord of hosts.


• Isaiah 40:5 The mouth of the Lord

Today we will consider …

Isaiah 9:7 The zeal of the Lord of hosts

The Hebrew word for "zeal" has its root in the idea of a red face caused by deep emotion. It is used to describe the passion of love, of jealousy, of anger, and of going into battle.

• Certainly, God's love is passionate for us. See Deuteronomy 33:1-3; Jeremiah 31:3; John 3:16; 15:13; I John 4:9-10; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4-5.


• He is a jealous God. With love and anger, He will deal with unfaithfulness and take down anything that threatens His relationship with His people. See Exodus 20:4-6; 34:11-17; Numbers 25:10-12; Deuteronomy 4:23-25; 6:12-18; 32:15-22; II Corinthians 11:1-3; Galatians 5:16-17; James 4:1-5.


• God is battling Satan, the world, and the wills of sinful men in order to establish the kingdom of His dear Son. See Genesis 6:3,5; Deuteronomy 32:39-43; John 1:4-5,10-11; 3:19-20; 16:7-11,33; Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:13; I John 2:15-17; 3:8 (cp. Colossians 2:13-15; Hebrews 2:14-15); I John 4:4; 5:4-5,18-21; II Thessalonians 1:3-10; Revelation 19:11-21.

Sometimes people have a hard time understanding God as a passionate being. The combination of the Lord's zeal with His sovereign power (mentioned in the previous point) means that nothing will stop the Lord of Hosts (Lord of armies) from establishing and preserving Christ's righteous kingdom of peace (Isaiah 9:7).

• Christ came to earth with the zeal of the Lord in Him (John 2:13-17 cp. Psalm 69:7-9).


• The increase of Christ's government and peace shall know no end (Matthew 13:31-32).


• This kingdom presently is spiritual and is not understood by those who are not born again. See John 3:3 ("see" = comprehend); John 1:4-5,10-11; I Corinthians 2:9-16.


• Christ's victory over the world gives the individual believer peace (John 16:33; Galatians 1:3-5; Romans 5:1-5; I John 5:4-5 cp. Philippians 4:6-9).


• Christ's kingdom comes from heaven, not by means of earthly warfare. It is a kingdom founded by divine truth (John 18:36-37; II Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-20).


• Christ's heavenly kingdom will conquer and replace all earthly kingdoms (Daniel 2:36-45).

Consider these great passages that describe how the zeal / passion / fervency of the Lord of hosts will perform this:

• Psalm 2:1-12


• Psalm 46:1-11


• Daniel 4:34-35


• Revelation 11:15-19; 15:1-4; 19:1-21; 22:16-17 cp. II Peter 3:1-15.

Consider how the zeal of the Lord is at work in us and at work through us today, making us zealous / eager / totally committed:

• Romans 1:9,14-16; 8:26-27,34


• II Corinthians 7:11; 11:1-3


• I Thessalonians 2:1-12


• Titus 2:11-14


• Philippians 2:5-16; 3:10


• I Peter 2:2


• Revelation 12:10-11