Read Is 8:9—9:7
Isa 8:13-17 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. (14) And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (15) And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” (16) Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. (17) I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him….. 9:2 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… (6) 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. (7) Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
The people of Israel and Judah lost their fear of the Lord and thereby lost the Lord, the God of Hosts. They went chasing after other gods and other means of receiving spiritual and temporal guidance other than the Lord who told them in the Law to seek Him and only Him and His direction. So the Lord calls out to His people here in Isaiah 8 and 9 to return to Him. The Lord they were to honor as holy. The Lord was to be their fear and dread. When the Lord is their fear and dread then He becomes their sanctuary and their solid rock foundation.
But here they do not make the Lord their fear and dread, instead of their foundation, He becomes the rock with smashes them to pieces and grinds them to dust. He becomes a snare and a trap. He hides himself from those who rejected Him that they might seek the Lord. Isaiah understands this and he binds the testimony of the Lord and seals his disciples with the teachings of the Lord.
Jesus fulfills this prophecy in his first advent to Israel in the flesh. It is Jesus in whom we are to have the fear and dread of the Lord. With the proper fear and dread of Christ Jesus, he becomes for us our sanctuary from the wrath of the Almighty. He binds and seals us with his promises and his sacraments. In his days among us in the visible flesh, Jesus was the light shining in the darkness in the land of the Gentiles and Samaritans. Jesus is the child who becomes for us “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” As such, even now Jesus is reigning over creation at the right hand of God. We place our hope in him. When Christ returns visibly he will establish in the new heavens and new earth justice with righteousness forevermore. In the meantime as we wait, we turn to Christ Jesus for all our needs and he promises to hear, protect and be with us at all times. It is in this hope that we live our lives. We need not fear what men and governments do. Their reign over us is only temporary. The reign of Christ Jesus is into eternity and he only seeks our good. Trusting in this we can wait patiently for the visible return of his kingdom in peace and joy.
Lord Jesus Christ, grant us patient hearts as we await your return and give us a spirit that fears and dreads you alone that we may live in hope and peace always. Amen.