Life can seem pretty dark at times; yet the darker things get, the more Christ's light will shine! Join us for today's study in Isaiah 9 where we'll look into prophecies of light in the midst of darkness and judgment. DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: 1. Isaiah 9 continues God's message that began back in Chapter 8 of both judgment and restoration. Verse 1 introduces us to the person who will bring about their restoration. How will the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali be made glorious? According to the podcast, why do they play such an important role in that region? How does referring to them as "Galilee" give us a time stamp of when these events are to take place? 2. In verse 2, what is the great light that they will see? 3. In verse 3, what will be the people's response to the work of God spoken about in this passage? 4. In verses 4 & 5, what will God be accomplishing among them? What does He do to their oppressors? What is the extent of this victory? 5. Who is the "child" being spoken of in verse 6? What will be His domain? What will He be called? What do these names signify about His character and His work? 6. The podcast explained that the wording of verse 6 teaches us an important aspect of the nature of Christ. How does the phrases a "Child who is born" and "a Son who is given" give us a window into Christ's preexistent nature and His incarnation? 7. In verse 7, why is it a joyful blessing to see that the Lord's "zeal" accomplishes all of this? 8. Despite these wonderful promises of this Messiah, Isaiah 9 continues on to proclaim judgment. What is the Lord's message for Jacob and Israel in verse 8? How do they respond to this message in verses 9 & 10? What does their insistence on rebuilding what God has judged, reveal about their heart to obey (or lack there of)? 9. What does the Lord's judgment look like in verses 11 to 15? 10. In verse 16, what role do the false teachers have in this judgment? In verse 17, what is the Lord's view of them? 11. What picture of judgment does Isaiah give in verses 18-20? How do the people respond to the Lord in verse 21? Why do you think they would respond this way? Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.