Self-Portraits of God

Studies in the Life and Work of Jesus

Lesson 5: Drawings by the Prophets: Old Testament Prophecies of the Coming One

Promises, Predictions, and Self-portraits

Note: There are perhaps 50 passages in the Old Testament that speak directly about the coming Sent–One.

As you probably already know, the Old Testament differs from the New Testament in that the Old Testament points to the future as the time of the Coming One, while the New Testament points to the Coming One either as a present reality, or as having already come and given the Self-portrait of what the Heavenly Father is like. The New Testament also points to the future as a time when the having-come One will come again.

The Old Testament also has passages dealing with the fact that the Coming One would come twice- but those passages are not always as vivid and clear as the portrayals of the return of the having—come sent—One are, when we find them in the New Testament.

Isaiah 9:6 says, For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The proper way to study any verse is to start at the first phrase and follow through it logically, but there is an element in this verse that is so exciting that it almost forces us to start with it!

That element is in the phrase, And the government will be upon His shoulder. The exciting part of this phrase is from the Hebrew. The Hebrew verb form translated into English as “will be” is a verb form technically designated as a wow conversive. The literal translation of this verb form makes the phrase read, “And the government has been upon His shoulder.”

The child who has been born to us, the Son who has been given to us is One who has already had the government upon His shoulder! This is no gift of an ordinary baby! The sent One is the One who, at His birth, has already had the government of Heaven upon His shoulder from eternity. This One is the One who Proverbs 8 refers to as One being having been brought up with the Father (v.30-Hebrew, minion; variously translated- as One brought up with Him; as His architect; designer).

The One to come as a fulfillment of the promise made by the Creator to His introuble children is the One who, at the time of the making of the promise, already has the government of Heaven on His shoulder. The One willing to come for the rescue of the children of God is, in this verse, designated Mighty God.

The Creator of the children of God on this earth did not look for some one to rescue them–He willed to come Himself.

Notice again the descriptive titles–Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Wonderful, Counselor.

The Son given unto us is the child born; the coming One, carries the title, Prince of Peace; the baby to be born, our gift, is Everlasting Father. The Creator of all must have a great love for His children-seen as what they could become, if rescued.

It could be argued that He could have sent someone else, but that would not show He loved us. The love of Heaven is seen in Heaven’s gift of the paying of that which could not be paid by God’s self-pawned children; paid by their Father.

But when the Prince of Peace, the wonderful counselor, the Given and Sent One, has left his home to bring the Redemption for His children, what is He bringing? What is He coming to do for those in need? What does that which He is bringing do for them?

When He has done what it is that He does, what does the observer see? Does that which is seen reveal that the doer is the Sent-one?

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others.

Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.

No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.