Everyone is anxious to put 2020 behind us. While it’s a stretch to say that it’s “the worst year ever,” there’s no question that we are living in troubled times. In fact, this perspective was pre-pandemic. According to a 2019 Pew Research Survey, only 12% of Americans were “very optimistic” about the nation’s future, whereas 31% were “somewhat pessimistic” and 13% “very pessimistic.”
Ancient Israel was no different in the days of Isaiah. God himself described her as a nation “in anguish” (Isa. 9:1). Israel was under God’s judgment on account of her sin. More hardship was headed her way. The people were living in dark days.
But in the midst of their gloom, God promised that brighter days were coming. Speaking through his prophet Isaiah, the Lord declared,
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest….
For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9:2-3, 6)
The New Testament applies this prophecy to Jesus in his First Advent (see Matt. 4:12-16). Earlier Isaiah had declared, “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us]” (Isa. 7:14). This prophecy also is applied to the conception and birth of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:23). He is the Child born to us, the Son given to us.
What a Gift he is! Isaiah 9:6 ascribes four titles to this coming King. The first designation is "Wonderful Counselor.”
This title could also be translated “a wonder of a counselor.” The Hebrew word pala (“wonderful”) appears 70 times in the Old Testament. It is used primarily with God as its subject, expressing actions that are beyond human powers or expectations. This idea is expressed well in Psalm 118:23: “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.” The word pala first appears in Genesis 18:14, where the Lord says in reference to himself, “Is anything too hard [pala] for the Lord?”
Of course not! And that includes the counsel he gives us. The apostle Paul tells us that Christ Jesus “became to us wisdom from God” (1 Cor. 1:31). In his commentary on this particular verse, John MacArthur notes that believers
are given God’s wisdom. They not only are saved by God’s wisdom rather than their own, but are given God’s wisdom to replace their own. The truly wise of this world are those whose wisdom is not of this world but is from the Lord. Christians can say, without pride or self-boasting, that they have become wise in Jesus Christ. They stand as a testimony for all time that God in His wisdom chose the sinful, the weak, and the unwise in order to make them righteous, strong, and wise. God grants them His wisdom that He might be glorified, that it might be clearly seen that the wisdom Christians have is not their own but is by His power and grace.
For this reason, the apostle Paul was able to affirm his fellow believers, saying, “I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another” (Rom. 15:14). We display the wisdom of Christ whenever we counsel others according to Scripture in the power of the Holy Spirit (see Psalm 119:24; James 1:5).
Note: Charles Stanley has written an article titled “10 Ways to Detect Ungodly Counsel.” Two red flags are the absence of prayer, and people giving advice based on what they think rather than what God thinks. To read more of this brief, beneficial article, click here.
The Lord Jesus Christ gives us all the wisdom and direction we need in life. He is our “Wonderful Counselor,” and for that we praise him!
(Tomorrow we’ll consider the second title in Isaiah 9:6: “Mighty God.”)