Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan – Isaiah 9:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 8, 2020): Isaiah 9

John the Baptist was not the most politically correct person. He said what was on his mind, and didn’t seem to really care about what the consequences of his words might be. That reality would probably make him a poor fit in our sometimes overly politically correct world. But he was also a poor fit in his own politically correct world. The powers that ruled over Judea both hated him, because of what he said, and feared him, because the people revered and loved this strange man as a prophet of God. But as the ministry of Jesus begins, Matthew says that the powers finally got up their nerve and arrested John in spite of the people's love for the prophet.

It was this arrest of John that caused Jesus to leave Nazareth, where he had been living, presumably with his mother and siblings, and move to Capernaum. Matthew ties the move of Jesus to Capernaum with the prophecy of Isaiah. But he does it in a strange way.  Here is Matthew’s rendering of Isaiah 9:1.

          “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
               the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
               Galilee of the Gentiles— (Matthew 4:15).

Matthew removes the context and the grammar of the passage and turns it into a list of names. And this might be a reminder that in Matthew’s day, there were few scrolls to read. Even though Matthew was literate and as a tax collector, he was responsible for keeping records and other clerking duties, it is probable that he had never seen the scroll of Isaiah. What he remembered, he remembered because he heard it. And so Matthew hits the high points. He remembers the places, and he remembered Isaiah promise that one day the humbled would become the honored, and a great light would dawn on the most northern section of Israel.

Because they had dwelled in the north, Isaiah understood that Zebulun and Naphtali would be the first to bear the brunt of the coming Assyrian invasion. Both in the days of Isaiah and Matthew, the northern tribes would have had a large number of Gentiles living there. But Isaiah promised that the time would come when they would receive a special blessing from God. Matthew heard the promise of Isaiah and recognized that that day had come as Jesus came to live in Capernaum. The Messiah had come, and his ministry began in “Galilee of the nations, or Galilee of the Gentiles.” A region that was once humbled, but now became honored.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 10