His Name Shall Be Called

“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. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”

Here is a remarkable prophecy from Isaiah regarding a future ruler. This ruler will be of the Davidic dynasty (2 Sam. 7) and will sit on David’s throne and rule over his kingdom. It will be an everlasting reign. There is no fixed time period or transition period as between kings. Rather it will be the same ruler on the throne and over the kingdom forever. It will be a throne and kingdom of justice and righteousness, something so lacking in the kings of Israel and Judah. This justice and righteousness will be maintained—it will not wane. It will be maintained inherently and not merely executively. The ruler himself will be just and righteous. By his own justice and righteousness he will uphold and establish this kingdom.

The fruits resulting from this kind of ruler will be an increase in government and a peace with no end—“from this time forth and forevermore.” It will always be expanding and always be peaceful. It will always be just and righteous. How different this kingdom and rule will be compared to every other kingdom and rule. This is because of who the ruler is. He obviously will be invincible, yet at the same time so very human. He is invincible according to Isaiah 6:4 and 5: “For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.”

Here is also the fulfillment of Psalm 2:7–9: “I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’” This is God’s king—powerful, sovereign and unconquered. This is the “son given” as Isaiah says. This given son is also a born child. This is what Isaiah speaks of—“a child is born.” The birth of a baby reveals helplessness. An infant is constantly dependent upon care. That care must translate into love, nurture, nourishment and provision. Without such things the child will die. So a child born reflects dependence. As a son given, he reflects provision. This child to be born is a gift. Isaiah says “unto us.” This child will bear the government upon himself—shoulders carry the burden. He bears the rule upon himself. His uniqueness is seen in his justice and righteousness. In Isaiah 9:2, this child will be light for people who have walked in darkness. In verse 3, he will be joy for all the people. In verse 4, he brings deliverance and liberation. Isaiah’s emphasis is not on a fully grown man and what he will do when mature; but rather, his focus is on a child and his birth.

The significance of this child’s arrival, or birth, is that he secures, by his birth and coming, all the following glorious facts. He is born of human parentage, yet is given from God. He is born to rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom. Not only is the government upon his shoulder, but he has certain names by which he is called. Names in the Old Testament mean certain things. They reflect certain truths or anticipate certain achievements. They express hope. This child and son possesses four names: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (vs. 6). These names declare or proclaim who he is. In 2 Samuel 18 we read of the birth and naming of Solomon: “Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the LORD loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD” (2 Sam. 12:24, 24). Among all of the sons of David, Solomon alone received a name from the Lord. David names him Solomon, which means “the man of peace,” but the Lord names him Jedidiah which means “Yahweh’s beloved.”

Is not Isaiah’s child and son then, the new Solomon, the true and perfect heir to the throne of David? There is a remarkable statement in 1 Chronicles 29:23 regarding Solomon sitting on the throne. It states: “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.” Notice that the text does not say that Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, but that he sat on the throne of the Lord. The throne is God’s. The child and son, then, of Isaiah, who will sit on the“throne of David” is sitting on the Lord’s throne.

It is the Lord’s throne and the one who sits there bears certain names that characterize who he is (In Heb.“name” is singular—one name combining all these traits). He is called Wonderful Counselor (lit. wonder–counselor). The idea is that he is supernatural. In Isaiah 11:2–5 we discover just what he possesses: “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”

Solomon’s wisdom was from the Lord, but this child’s wisdom is his own. The decisions he makes can only be made by God. This is why he is also called “the Mighty God.” This in the same title given to Yahweh in Isaiah 10:21: “A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.” The Hebrew word for God here is“el.” Isaiah wants us to connect this “el” (God) to Immanu(el)—“God with us” from Isaiah 7:14. This child and son is the mighty God because of what he will do to his enemies (Isa. 9:4, 5). God has been born in human flesh to deliver his people. When Isaiah calls this child “the Everlasting Father,” we must not think of this as being God the Father. That’s not what Isaiah means. The word “father” reflects who and what a father does for his children. He protects the helpless and weak. He corrects and disciplines his children. He provides for and guides his children. This is what this child and son will do. Since this “father” is described as“everlasting” we should make the connection with him being the eternal God. He is also called “the Prince of Peace.” He makes peace. He brings peace. He is peace. Peace is freedom. Peace is contentment. Peace is fulfillment.

It does not take very much for us to make the connection to our Lord Jesus Christ from Isaiah 9. He is the child born, the son given. He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Jesus is Immanuel. We who were in darkness have seen a great light (vs. 2). We rejoice before him (vs. 3). He is our peace (Eph. 2:14). Jesus is the child born of Mary, the Son given by God (Matt. 1:21, 23, 25; Luke 1:31–35; 2:7). He is the Son of the Most High who possesses the throne of his father, David, and who reigns over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there is no end (Luke 1:32, 33). This child is Jesus who saves his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21).