Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel is falling apart, but the Southern Kingdom of Judah is

still moving along and that's where we find ourselves today. King Uzziah has just died, and his son Jotham takes

over the throne officially. Jotham was one of the good kings in the southern kingdom, and 276 says

he became mighty because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God. It's important to note that this

corresponds directly to God's covenant promise with the Kings of David's

line. He promised them that if they obeyed him, they'd flourish, and if they didn't, they wouldn't.

It's important to remember these kinds of context details. Otherwise, we might be tempted to look at

our own lives or the lives of others and try to determine what their faith is like based solely

on their apparent circumstances.

After Jotham dies, his son Ahaz takes over the throne, and he is not a great king.

We'll read more about him in two days, so buckle up.

Moving on to our chapters in Isaiah, the early parts of chapter 9 include some verses you may have recognized as

messianic prophecy. Or maybe you just thought, hey, that's on a lot of Christmas cards.

It's natural for us to look at this and immediately attach it to Jesus, but let's talk about

what people in Isaiah's time would have thought of this prophecy. They're living in a land that

constantly sees war. They've experienced lots

of oppression and exile. Their nation state exists in division and decay, and they currently live

with the threat of the Assyrians attacking them. So when Isaiah prophesies about the birth of a new

king under whose reign light will dawn and oppression will cease? They're thinking literally.

They expect a literal king who will win every war. That sounds awesome. But in light of all it

really means, it's incredibly short-sighted. There are a few hints in this passage that let us

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