2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. ~ Isaiah 9:2
Isaiah described the people as those who have walked in darkness and dwelt in a land of deep darkness, because of spiritual, political, and now physical darkness. Zebulun and Naphtali were the two most northern territories and were steeped in idolatry and Baal worship for generations. At the time of Isaiah’s writing, these two territories had fallen to the Assyrian army and were now under the direct rule of a pagan king, Tiglath-Pileser III.
Assyria had just invaded Zebulun and Naphtali and had destroyed cities, killed or deported most of the Israelite inhabitants, and turned the region into empty, ruined provinces (2 Kings 15:29). Villages were burned, fields lay abandoned, survivors were marched away in chains — literal gloom, desolation, and night had fallen over the land. This region became known as Galilee of the Gentiles. A place despised by orthodox Jews, as Nathanael said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46), because Nazareth was a town in Lower Galilee.
Now here is the good news: being the first to fall, Zebulun and Naphtali, now known as Galilee, were the first to have the Christmas light of Jesus the Messiah shine on them. Capernaum in Galilee was the headquarters of Jesus’ ministry, Cana, also in Galilee, was the place of Jesus’ first miracle, and Jesus was known as the Nazarene, or Jesus of Nazareth.
A place spiritually cut off, devoid of hope, and emptied of any expectation was chosen to be the first to have the great light of hope shine down upon them. The Savior of the world had come and made His dwelling among them. That is the Christmas message—a message of hope.
The very place where the darkness fell first and deepest, God had already planned for the Light to rise first and brightest, and that is the heartbeat of Christmas. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Jesus came for the lost, the forgotten, the contaminated, the unlovable, and the despised. A land of deep darkness, behold, a light has shone on us.
So this Christmas, lift up your eyes. The same Jesus who turned a nowhere town into the epicenter of eternity is still moving in hopeless places, still dawning on forgotten people, still choosing the last, the lost, and the least to be the first to see His light.
A land of deep darkness?
Behold — the Light has shone on us. His name is Jesus.
Father, thank You for letting Your light shine on us, though we are unworthy and despised by the world. Thank You for loving us and sending Your Son to die for us so that we might live. We thank You and give You praise, in Jesus’ Name, amen.