God's Glory Church

The Old Testament is full of prophecies about future events. And those recorded in the book of Isaiah are a glimpse of future hope…

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light – over those who live in the land of the shadow of death, the light will shine.”
Isaiah 9:1

In the verse preceding this, the text explains that sometime in the future these “people who walk in darkness” from the “Galilee of the Gentiles” (or nations) will be flooded with light. (The word “Gentiles” is a term for non-Jews who are an eclectic mix of other peoples).

Israel was God’s chosen people through whom the Savior of the world was to be born. But even to Abraham, who is considered the father of the Jewish people, God said that through his descendants all the families and peoples of the earth would be blessed (see Genesis 12:2-3; 22:18).

When Jesus, the Messiah, appeared on the scene, He was rejected by His own people—mostly because He was not what they imagined. However, He was surprisingly accepted by many of the once unbelieving pagans.

God talks about this in Isaiah 49:6 when he speaks about the prophesied Savior:

“It is not enough that You will be My Servant to revive the tribes of Jacob and convert the rest of Israel. Behold, I make You the Light of other nations, and that through You My salvation may spread to the ends of the earth!”
Isaiah 49:6

And in the New Testament, Matthew quoted Isaiah 9:1-2 when he wrote about Jesus’ ministry near the Sea of Galilee, where many Gentiles lived. He understood it as the fulfillment of God’s words through the prophet Isaiah.

It’s a beautiful reminder that no matter who you are, where you live, what you look like, what your story or heritage is, no matter how deep the darkness around you, a great light has come. It pierces darkness, uproots shadows, and brings life to all it touches.

This great light is Jesus, and only in Him is our hope.
Once we were in darkness, but now we have light.