The Gifts That Keep on Giving

An Exposition on Isaiah 9:1-7
​by Julie Davenport

Some people just LOVE Christmas! I have friends that listen to Christmas music starting months before December or even all year long! Are you one of THOSE? I start the day after Thanksgiving and stop the day after Christmas. I do love Christmas, though, and the wonderful feeling you get during the most wonderful time of the year. 

One of the most enjoyable things about Christmas is giving gifts to the kids and seeing their excitement. When they are really young, you can get by with less expensive gifts. I remember one year when my daughters were little, we gave them ten gifts each. They were so excited to count all ten! They didn’t care that one of the gifts was a toothbrush, another was a pair of socks, and the rest didn’t cost very much. The fun was in opening all those gifts. 

After Christmas, even as adults, there is sometimes a little let down when it is all over. As believers, however, we have the gift of Jesus, the gift that keeps on giving. In Isaiah 9:1-7, we have a passage that lists ten gifts that are available to us all year long. These gifts are not inexpensive ones, they are priceless! 

Those living in the days of Isaiah were seeking light and happiness in good things like the strength of their nation, gathering land and goods, moral and religious duties. They even sought happiness through evil things and sought out sorcerers and mediums, but they ended with only darkness and gloom. In Isaiah 8:22, we see their circumstances: ​

“Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land when they are famished, they will become enraged and looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.” 

Doesn’t sound very “Christmasy,” does it? 

Just like all of us, they were seeking happiness and fulfillment in other people and other things and in their circumstances. This passage in Isaiah is for those of us who have learned that happiness is not found in us trying to bring our own light to our life. True light and satisfaction and joy can only be found in the Lord. ​

Here are ten gifts available to us all year long: 

1. Gloom Remover  
   “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.” Isaiah 9:1 NIV 
   "Nevertheless” can mean “in spite of.” God wants to remove the gloom and distress in our lives and replace it with His joy. 
   
   
2. Darkness and Shadow Replacer 
   “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2 NIV 
   Darkness symbolizes emptiness and pain. The Lord wants to replace our darkness with His light, symbolized by fulfillment, joy, and peace.
   
   
3. Joy Increaser 
   “You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy.” Isaiah 9:3 NIV 
   It is an ever-increasing and eternal joy. The verse goes on to say, “they rejoice before You.” If you are before the Lord, it is because you have been accepted into His presence. You are welcomed there and loved by Him. 
   
   
4. Shoulder Bar Lifter 
   “You have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.” Isaiah 9:4 NIV 
   I personally need this one. It has been a heavy season for all of us. We often feel we are carrying the heaviness like a yoke on our shoulders. He wants to shatter it! 
   
   
5. A Child Named Jesus 
   “For to us a child is born: to us a son is given.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV 
   ​The source of this light for our lives is surprising in that it is given to us in the form of a child--a baby Jesus. He is sent as a gift to us to rescue us out of our darkness. 
   
   
6. Government Controller 
   “And the government will be on HIS shoulders.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV 
   We really need to be reminded of this gift in our present times. The seat of control is on His shoulders, not on any man. 
   
   Our final four gifts are four names of this child, Jesus. Names give the essence of a person. If we could truly get the impact of the meaning of these four names that are gifts to us, it would radically change our lives. 
   
   
7. Wonderful Counselor 
   “And He will be called Wonderful Counselor.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV 
   I am an advocate and believer in counseling and in sharing with someone the things we may be going through. However, we also have as a gift the greatest Counselor of all. He has greater wisdom than Solomon or all the wisdom of anyone in this world.  
   
   
8. Mighty God 
   He is our “Mighty God.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV 
   He is our Hero God. He saves us when we cannot save ourselves. He rescues us over and over again. 
   
   
9. Everlasting Father 
   He is our “Everlasting Father.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV 
   These gifts are everlasting. They don’t wear out. He is our everlasting Father forever and ever. You are a child of God. 
   
   
10. Prince of Peace 
    The best of all gifts, He is our “Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV 
    When we have anxiety or fear, we don’t have peace. When peace is absent in our relationships, there is quarreling and fighting and chaos. He walks into our darkness as our Prince of Peace. 

As a bonus to these gifts, we see in Isaiah 9:7 that there will be no end to the increase of His government and peace, that He will reign forever, and that it is He (not us) who will accomplish these gifts in our lives. 
​ 
I’m praying for each of you to enjoy these marvelous gifts and to have a wonderful Christmas season! 

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If one word could depict a life, Julie Davenport’s would be “redemption.” As a child, Julie’s character was forged within a legacy of faith, godliness, and ministry, so when she married a charismatic young pastor on the fast-track to prominence, life was everything she’d dreamed it would be...on the outside. But inside, alone and hidden from view, Julie endured abuse, betrayal, and infidelities that spiraled to include miscarriage, cancer, divorce, mental illness, and eventually suicide. Julie is now an ordained AG minister who through speaking engagements and two daughters continues the legacy of ministry, God is using Julie’s life-story to validate His immeasurable grace and prove His power to redeem what Satan tried so hard to destroy.

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