Forming Faith Blog

A Light in Deep Darkness (Isaiah 9)

Posted on November 4 2025 by Gregory Rawn

The people of Judah were experiencing a time of profound darkness during the Assyrian invasion. Through the prophet Isaiah, God gave them hope and light.

Hands making a heart shape holding a candle in the darkness.
Since Last Time

The kingdom of Israel under Saul, David, and Solomon gathered together all twelve tribes of the descendants of Jacob. But due to some poor choices by Solomon and an even worse choice by Solomon’s son Rehoboam, that kingdom split into two pieces: the northern kingdom of Israel (capital: Samaria) and the southern kingdom of Judah (capital: Jerusalem). The Book of Kings (1 Kings and 2 Kings) begins with Solomon’s ascension to the throne and ends with both kingdoms being taken into exile (at different times by different empires).

Last week, the prophet Amos was preaching at the wealthy people in Israel, condemning their oppression of people with less power than they had. Amos argued that doing worship rituals while committing injustice was abhorrent to God. Amos’ words, like the words of the other prophets God sent to Israel, were largely ignored. They rejected God, so God allowed these northern tribes to be conquered by the Assyrian Empire and taken into exile, never to be seen again (2 Kings 17:5-41). The Assyrians also tried to conquer Judah, which is around when our assigned reading from Isaiah 9 takes place.

The Assyrians in Judah

The Judahites had the blessing of having one of the good kings ruling at this time. The majority of the kings of Judah, starting with Rehoboam, rejected God and God’s ways. A few, like Hezekiah, followed God. When the Assyrians invaded Judah and approached Jerusalem, Hezekiah (after trying to buy off the king of Assyria (2 Kings 18:13-16)), consulted with Isaiah the prophet and prayed to God for deliverance. God delivered the people from the Assyrians.

Side Note

If you want definitive evidence that translation is by necessity a biased process (influenced by the translators’ theology), just compare Isaiah 9:6 in a Christian translation (NRSVUE in this case) to a Jewish translation (it’s actually verse 5 there):

Christian translationJewish translation
For a child has been born for us,    
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders,    
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,    
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.		For a child has been born to us, 
a son given to us, 
and the authority is upon his shoulder, 
and the wondrous adviser, the mighty God, the everlasting Father,
called his name, “the prince of peace.”

In the Christian translations, the child must be Jesus, God Incarnate, since this child is called Mighty God. In the Jewish translation, God (the wonderous advisor, mighty God, everlasting Father) calls the child “the prince of peace.” And this child was Hezekiah.

The Darkness of Death

We can go deep into the various parts of Isaiah 9:1-7, but that’s not where I want to go now. I was struck near the beginning, in verse 2:

The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
    on them light has shined.

I don’t know about you, but I’m really identifying with people walking in darkness right now. 

The “land of deep darkness” reminded me of the “darkest valley” in Psalm 23:4, or rather the more traditional “the valley of the shadow of death.” In fact, this deep darkness is the same in both places. It didn’t take much digging (thanks to BibleHub.com) to see that the Hebrew word is the same, and indeed, it is a combination of the words for death and shadow. It is not just deep darkness; the land is covered in death’s shadow.

For the Judahites, death’s shadow came in the form of an empire conquering its way through the lands around them. I’m not quite sure about the relationship between the northern and southern kingdoms at this time, but even if the two were at odds, they were still siblings. It must have shaken the people of Judah to see the Israelites conquered and exiled. And they knew that Judah was next. In fact, the Assyrians had conquered most of the land of Judah and were camped outside the walls of Jerusalem before God delivered God’s people from the hands of their enemy.

Our Deep Darkness

Many, including myself, feel the deep darkness, death’s shadow, around us in the United States and around the world. In reality, death’s shadow has been among humanity from the beginning. There have been wars, oppression, persecution, natural and human-made disasters, and systemic injustice throughout the world for as long as humankind has existed. But it has become much more obvious in American society recently. And darkness can shadow our minds, both through mental illness and general feelings of fear and hopelessness.

Light and Hope

But there is good news. Even in the midst of darkness, light shines. Hope exists. And this hope is something that we can cling to and hold tightly. God’s presence and love give us light and hope. The Gospel of Matthew interprets this very passage from Isaiah 9 to show that the great light of the world is Jesus (Matthew 4:12-17), the child born for us to be Emmanuel (God-with-us). And after Jesus’ ascension, he sent us the Holy Spirit to shine within each of our hearts.

And God gives light and hope also in less supernatural means, too. We see light in the acts of love and service, small and large, in the people around us. We, too, are called to be lights of the world for people who are walking in darkness. God shines light on us for ourselves, but also so that we can reflect this light around us.

May we do so more and more in this and all dark times.

In God’s presence,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

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During the main Narrative Lectionary year (September 7 to May 24), we provide a free resource download from one of our products to help you in your faith formation ministry. This week, download “A Light Snack,” an activity from our Living the Word: Kids (PK-2nd, NL) curriculum.

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