The Candle of PEACE
Advent Week Four, Day One

“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. 9:6

In times like ours, peace seems like nothing more than empty promise. With wars raging and injustices exploding across our globe, it’s hard to imagine peace ever becoming a reality. And yet the bible speaks of peace as a certainty because of the promised coming of Someone with the strength and character to maintain it.
Isaiah 9:6 tell us about this One who will bring peace. He is given four titles (Counselor, God, Father, Prince) and four qualities to match those titles (wonderful, mighty, everlasting, and peace). Taken together, these pairs of words tell us that the One coming will be both wise and worthy. The first pair speaks of wisdom. The word “wonderful” in Hebrew indicates supernatural ability and the word “counselor” refers to one who plans or advises. Thus, the One who brings peace will be supernaturally gifted to rule wisely.

The worth of the One coming is seen in the next three pairs. He is the “Mighty God,” meaning he has the strength to maintain peace. He is the “Everlasting Father,” meaning that he has the longevity and compassion to keep the peace. And He is the “Prince of Peace.” A prince is an indication of a certain, but yet to be realized rule as king. So as a prince’s mere existence indicates the inevitability of a coronation, the prince of peace’s existence indicates that the future reign of peace is certain.

Yes, the world’s wars continue to rage and injustices continue to explode. But peace is not an empty hope because a Child was born 2000 years ago. Because He came, and because He will come again, there will one day be peace on earth.