Paul the Poke

Isaiah 9:1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

The “her” is Israel. This area was invaded and plundered by Assyria and Tiglath-pileser. This is the land in anguish and contempt.

“He” is God. Later in the verse, “He” is Jesus, who is God.

The eastern border of Naphtali is the Jordan River north of the Sea of Galilee and the Sea of Galilee itself. The northern border is the Leontes River.  The western border of Naphtali is Asher and in the southwest corner is bordered by Zebulun.  Zebulun is due west of the Sea of Galilee.

This area was Jesus’ Ministry headquarters. Matthew confirmed this was fulfilled prophecy when he quoted Isaiah 9:1.

Matthew 4:13-15 … and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES—

In today’s world (June 2013), this northern region appointed to Naphtali is occupied to some degree by Lebanon.  There are prophetic considerations to this verse. These lands will be restored to Israel in the future.

Isaiah 9:2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.

Matthew 4:16 quotes this verse from Isaiah.

This is the region where Jesus recruited His disciples. From this point forward, Jesus taught the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Good news is coming.

This entry was posted on June 1, 2013 at 9:46 PM and is filed under Isaiah with tags Isaiah 9, Jesus, Matthew 4, Naphtali, Prince, Prophecy, Zebulun. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.