Isaiah 9:8 "The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel."
I hope to be able to share my thoughts in a way that is understandable this
morning.
"The Lord sent a word into Jacob." I am always intrigued by the life
of Jacob. I'm afraid I can all too often identify with him. There are two
natures of Jacob, just as there are two natures to every child of God. He had
the carnal nature that said he could do anything he wanted and achieve anything
he set out to do, if he used his own ability. That only took him so far in life
until the Lord took hold of him. Jacob met himself in truth when God sent
him back to meet his brother. It was at that moment he realized he needed a
power much stronger than himself. He needed the power and wisdom of the God of
his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. He wrestled with God all night. God changed his
name and his nature to Israel. "It hath lighted upon Israel." He now
had the power of God upon which he could rely. His second nature was brought to
the surface. That nature was his spiritual side.
What does that have to do with today's verse of Scripture? "The Lord sent
a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel." We open our Bibles
and turn the pages with our hands. We look upon the page with our eyes, or
listen to audio versions with our ears. We understand the written words with
our minds. I can look at the verse and read it and mentally understand the
words contained therein. But, the Word of God is much more than a mental
exercise of understanding. We see, hear, and understand mentally, but we need
the word to "light upon Israel." That is to say, we need to be able
to understand spiritually what God is saying to us; for, the Bible is a
spiritual message to God's people. I won't put the verses here, but take time
to read 2 Timothy 3:16-17. The gist of those verses tell us that the Word
is given so the "man of God may be perfect." That phrase means the
Word is given to mature the child of God. In order for that to happen, it must
"light upon Israel." That is to say, it must go deeper than into our
minds; rather, we must receive it in our hearts, by the power of the Holy
Spirit, in order to grow in grace and faith and love.