Amazing Prophecies from the Bible

A Monthly Feature to Build Our Faith

One of the greatest prophecies about the Lord Jesus Christ is found in Isaiah 9:1-3. This prophecy tells us the exact location in Israel where our Lord would have His public ministry and its effect on the Nation. The prophecy from Isaiah says:

“Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan. 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. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.”

This amazing prophecy was written during a time of spiritual decline in Israel about 700 years before the birth of our Lord. The spiritual decline and apostasy of the people had led to a judgment from the Lord in the form of the Assyrian invasion and defeat of the Northern Kingdom. The Assyrians were a merciless and cruel nation, but the Lord allowed their invasion to chasten His people for their sin. The Assyrians wiped out the Northern Kingdom by destroying their capital in Samaria in 721 B.C. and carried many of their citizens into captivity. In addition, the Assyrians burned many of the towns and villages in the north as part of their invasion. In a way, the Assyrians almost created a “scorched earth” policy to strike fear into anyone that would dare to oppose them.

For hundreds of years after the Assyrian invasion, it surely seemed that the Northern Kingdom of Israel would lie in ruins and never come back to any of its former glory or blessing. However, this amazing prophecy from Isaiah tells us that this land, once “humbled” by the Lord, would see a great light in the future. This new light would not only give hope, but would begin a process of national restoration that would continue to the close of the age.

Now the exciting thing about this prophecy is the location in the Northern Kingdom where we are told all of this would happen. The prophecy tells us it would happen in the ancient Israelite tribal areas of Zebulun and Naphtali. These geographical areas were given to the tribes of Israel during the days of Joshua and were intended to serve as an inheritance for the people. And yet, why single out the land of Zebulun and Naphtali? Surely this area represented two of the smaller and more insignificant tribes of Israel.

Now none of this makes much sense, until you realize that the land of Zebulun and Naphtali is the EXACT area around the Sea of Galilee where Jesus spent his public ministry ….WOW!!! The wonderful thing about this fact is that the New Testament confirms it in Matthew 4:15-16. Matthew’s Gospel quotes Isaiah 9 as a prophecy of our Lord’s public ministry in the area around the Sea of Galilee. Our Lord spent most of his time in the Galilee because this amazing prophecy from Isaiah had predicted it. Most people might have thought that the Messiah’s ministry and great light to the world would be seen most clearly in Jerusalem in the tribal area of Judah and the Southern Kingdom. However, the Lord had another plan and had clearly outlined it hundreds of years before it happened. Our Lord’s public ministry would largely take place in the Galilee and NOT Jerusalem. Yes, our Lord would teach in Jerusalem, die and rise again there, but he would spend most of his daily ministry up north in the Galilee.

Another amazing aspect of this prophecy is the fact that Isaiah said the nation of Israel would “enlarge” Herself through the ministry of this “great light”. In other words, the Messiah’s ministry in the Galilee would begin a process of growth and renewal within Israel AND among the Gentiles in the Galilee. The reason Isaiah’s text mentions “Galilee of the Gentiles” is because the previous Assyrian invasions had begun to change the ethic composition of the Northern Kingdom to include more Gentiles. In a way, this connection to the Messiah and the Gentiles in the north was an early picture of the “Great Commission”. Our Lord Jesus would be involved with the Gentiles throughout His public ministry and beyond. We can see a wonderful fulfillment of that truth in our own church!

I have had the great privilege of spending a fair amount of time in the Galilee during my trips to Israel. Our Lord certainly chose a beautiful place to call His disciples and share His public ministry with the multitudes. Like the nations of the earth, surrounded by water, our Lord crossed the Sea of Galilee many times to bring the Good News to the Gentiles. As the Gospel eventually came across the Atlantic Ocean to this country, it has been our privilege to be a part of God’s “enlarging” Kingdom around the world.. What a great God we serve!