All right, so I want to give a couple of reminders, since it's been, I guess it's three weeks, right? It's been three weeks since I've been here. Yeah, thank you. So I want to give a couple of reminders of the context of where we are. In the beginning of Isaiah, Isaiah 1-12, we have an introduction, and it's not chronological. In fact, it's really obvious that it's not chronological because chapter 6 would be the call of Isaiah, and that's right in the middle. And so we've asked the question a number of times, particularly as we went into Isaiah 6, Why is Isaiah 6 where it is? And we kind of came to some conclusions about that. But the point is, it's not written in sequential chronological order, but it is written in a thematic order that's very significant. And so we're asking more of a thematic question in 1 through 12 than a chronological question. That's one kind of piece of information to keep in mind. The other thing that we know from the very beginning of the book, really chapter 1, The other thing, though, by way of chronology, that also actually helps us see that this isn't chronological at the beginning. is that the very first verses of the book tell us the kings under which and to which Isaiah ministered. And so Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and then starts with Uzziah, the year of King Uzziah's death. So we went from chapter six, the year of King Uzziah's death, to an incident with Ahaz, So sort of skipping over, right away, one of the kings. And this situation with Ahaz has to do with a sign that Isaiah told Ahaz to ask for. Because remember, Ahaz is worried about the northern kingdoms. First of all, the northern kingdom of Israel, but then just above that as well, he's worried about Damascus. And what Isaiah says is, you don't need to worry about Damascus, and ask for a sign, he won't do it. And that shows his lack of faith. And there's a key verse that we see at the beginning of chapter seven that almost serves as a verse that could be a theme for the whole thing, which is if you don't stand firm in faith, you won't stand firm at all. Now, that brings us to Chapter 8. And I really, if we could, want to get through as much of Chapters 8 and even into Chapter 9 as possible. And I want to break Chapter 8 and 9 up into three sections that I think, because I think, again, we're thinking thematically here. The first section at the beginning of Chapter 8 is what what the Lord's judgment is going to be on his people for their lack of faith. So we'll put it this way, we'll just say judgment because of their unbelief. And then there's an interlude at the end of chapter 8 which deals really, I think, with what the proper response is in the midst of that coming judgment. So if God's gonna bring his judgment on his people, and he is, Isaiah says, then how are we supposed to interact with that? How are we supposed to engage with that? How are we supposed to live in light of that? So I'll put it this way. How to live, how to live, in the midst of this coming judgment. And then in chapter nine, at the beginning of chapter nine, which if we get through that, that will be a success in terms of the planning of the class, is in a long-term sense, what's the Lord's ultimate solution to this judgment going to be? In other words, what's his remedy? And this might sound familiar, judgment and remedy, because we've been toggling back and forth between those two for all of the chapters thus far. So that's how it's going to break down in these next three sections, going into chapter nine, which is a very familiar chapter, at least the beginning of it. It's very familiar to all of us, but I want us to see it in its context. So let's look at this. Let's look first at the judgment itself, and I think in each of these, by the way, I'm gonna highlight for you what I think is a key verse that maybe encapsulates the whole message of the section. So, we're in chapter eight, and I'm gonna begin, I'm not gonna read the whole thing, but I do wanna start by reading in verse one. Then the Lord said to me, take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, belonging to Meher Shalal Hashbaz. And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeroboam to attest for me. And I went to the prophetess and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, call his name, Meher Shalal Hashbaz. For before the boy knows how to cry my father or my mother, the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria. Now, we'll get into the Meher Shalal Hashbaz business in a second, but remember who's in view here. These are people in Judah, in the southern kingdom. They're worried about Damascus. Remember, that's Ahaz's whole problem. He's worried about Damascus, he's worried about Samaria. Sometimes the northern tribes are called Samaria, sometimes they're called Israel. but he's worried about them, and the Lord has told him that he didn't have to fear them, and now there's going to be this judgment that's going to come on Damascus and Samaria, and it's going to come very quickly in the context of the birth of this new little boy. Um, this, this, uh, Meher Shalal Hashbaz means, uh, essentially the, I'm trying to remember the exact, the, the, the spoil or the, the kind of booty is speeding up and the prey hastens. So the idea is, you know, he's getting closer and closer. And, and so Meher Shalal Hashbaz is going to be born and Damascus is not going to be problem anymore, but in a sense there's an even greater problem on the horizon that King Ahaz wasn't thinking about, which is the threat of Assyria. Now let's look at this in verses 5 and 6, and I would say verse 6, remember I told you I'd try to zero in on a verse for each section, I think verse 6 is may encapsulate this section and its message. The Lord spoke to me again, because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently and rejoice over Rezan and the son of Ramaliah. Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the river, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory, and it will rise over its channels and go over all its banks, and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Emmanuel." So, what's the ultimate judgment here that the Lord through Isaiah is giving to Judah? He's saying, you've been so worried about these northern tribes, and I've told you not to worry about them, You refuse to listen to me, you refuse to trust me. The reality is, you're going to see, in a very short time, all of them get taken out, which would initially seem to be good news, but there's really bad news associated with it, because the army that's going to take them out is the Assyrians, and you need to really worry about them. There's this back and forth imagery about rivers, and you've rejected the flowing river, that I offered you. And so now you have to worry about the river out there, meaning the Euphrates River from which all of these great tribal peoples are rising up and kind of forming an army. And they're the ones who are going to eventually bring about this destruction on Judah. So we're starting with judgment. We know going back to chapter 7 that judgment is for their unbelief. And just taking a step back and thinking about this from our own perspective, this is one of the great lessons of Isaiah. Because we aren't in the same geopolitical situation as these various Judahite kings, but the underlying message that Isaiah gives is a perennial message. The message is that what we're called to do is to believe, to trust in the promises of God, to trust in the Word of God. And we're also, and this is part and parcel with that, in fact you can't really separate these two things in Isaiah, we're also called to look with confidence on God's Messiah, the one that God has provided to deal with the sins of his people. And so that combination of trust in God's word and trust in God's Messiah is what has real world application in the context of Isaiah and the geopolitical machinations, but also, Isaiah knows, really is for all of God's people for all time. Now in this case, they haven't done it. And so God's going to bring judgment. And look at verse 10. It's such a cutting prophecy. It's actually 9 and 10 are this poetic little interlude from Isaiah. take counsel together, but it will come to nothing. Speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us." And what Isaiah is essentially saying here is that no matter what plans are made and what people think they can do to thwart this plan of God, It's not going to matter because God's the one who's carrying it out. All right, so that's part one. The judgment for unbelief. It's coming. It's not coming in the way they expected, but nonetheless, it is sure and certain. And it's a tragedy, because the Lord offered them this pleasant promise, and they failed to heed it. Now, again, just a reminder, in the days of Ahaz, if you were living in Judah, if you were a citizen of Judah, Ahaz was worried about some things on the horizon in terms of the military landscape, but by and large, it was a pretty good time to be in Judah, humanly speaking. Now, not necessarily in terms of their spiritual well-being, but humanly speaking, you know, if you were a citizen of Judah, a citizen of Jerusalem, you're thinking, things are pretty good. And so, we have to always remember that, because Isaiah is speaking very often into circumstances in which You know, it didn't look too bad. And yeah, maybe there were people who were engaged in idolatry while also going up to the temple in Jerusalem. But nonetheless, you know, still seemed to be working out okay. And Isaiah kind of cuts right through that, as the Bible always does. That's one of the things that the Word of God does. It gets under the surface and diagnoses what's really happening, even if things apparently seem to be going well. Or, conversely, even if things apparently seem to be going really badly, the Lord can sort of show these things to be different from what they are. All right, questions about that part one? Jump at any time, but I want to stop, give a pause here about part one. Yeah? Do we know who this prophetess is? Well, we don't, except that it's probably this wife of Isaiah. The prophetess, the term prophetess is kind of interesting because we might take that to mean it's a female prophet, but it could well just be the wife of the prophet. She doesn't, the name isn't given to us. Other questions? All right, then let's move forward into part two. All right, you guys have your thing, right? Okay, but you've gotta go, okay. I'll hit the target, I think. All right, part two. How to live in the midst of this. This is the question. If there is judgment coming, Or if you're living in the sort of shadow of judgment. How is it that you're supposed to live? Now again, we always want to be attentive to the fact that he's speaking to Judah, but it's for all of us. And so this is really significant material for us. Verse 11, for the Lord spoke thus to me, with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread, but the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. Now, this is sort of lesson one in the school of to handle times of judgment. Lesson one is don't get caught up in being afraid of everything that everyone else is afraid of. Don't get caught up in all the things that they're worried about. You filter everything in terms of your own internal fears and concerns through the ultimate fear of the Lord. commands for us today. Whenever anything hits us in our lives, whenever anything hits us nationally or corporately as a church, it's the easiest thing in the world for us to get caught up in the fears that everyone else shares. Those are the important things that are happening. Those are the things we really need to be worried about. So we really need to be worried about all the geopolitical matters that everyone else is afraid of. We really need to worry about all the cultural or economic matters that everyone else is afraid of. And it may be the case that we need to worry about those things or fear those things to some degree, but the first question we have to ask and the first sort of grid through which we need to look at everything is the fear of the Lord. And that's where we start. And that sort of prioritizes from that point on the things that should be really concerning to us. It's probably the case. In fact, I would say it's almost undeniably the case for all of us that the things that should concern us most are the things we don't even think about. And the things that we really shouldn't spend a lot of time and energy worrying about or preoccupying our minds and our imaginations. I mean, if you could just for a moment get a glimpse, a whole Bible glimpse, of what the Lord really considers to be the primary matters in your life, I think it might be very different than what you're spending all your time thinking about, what you're spending all your time worried about. It might be the case that in fact there are profound issues of personal holiness or of fidelity to the Lord. Those are the important things. And we're consumed with all kinds of circumstantial matters, all kinds of things that we really don't know what direction they're going to head in. And that was true of Judah. Judah was becoming preoccupied with things that looked important, but weren't really vital when considered within the framework of the fear of the Lord. I don't know that I've said this in this context in this class, but I know I have said it before. Fearing the Lord or being a God-fearing man or God-fearing woman is really one of the primary labels in the whole Bible, but particularly in the Old Testament, for what it means to be a believer. It's a God-fearing person. They fear the Lord. And that's so foreign, so absent from our lived experience and what we think of as Christian maturity. That's what the Or we think of something even like our growth in wisdom. And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So the fear of the Lord is what's meant to put everything in perspective. And I know I've asked this question rhetorically at least one time when I was preaching here. But it's worth asking yourself. If someone were to describe you, would they use that terminology? Would they say, that's a God-fearing woman. That's a man who fears the Lord. That should be the grid through which we're sort of looking at our lives. And that's the first thing Isaiah says. How do you live in the midst of judgment? Or frankly, how do you live in the midst of great plenty and blessing? It's really the same answer. But judgment has peculiar challenges because you can get distracted and think that other things matter more to your survival. No, the thing that matters most to your survival is fearing the Lord. And so, the Lord of hosts, verse 13, him you shall honor as holy, let him be your fear and let him be your dread. That's my, you know, All the verses are equally important, but that's one of my key verses for this section. The other one is actually coming up in just a minute. But, let the Lord be your honor. Let Him be your fear. Let Him be your dread. And look what happens, sort of paradoxically. What happens is, you think these other things are what you have to fear and worry about. But actually, if you turn your attention to the Lord, honor him, fear him, put that first, look at what happens. He will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken. They shall be snared and taken. So there's this double edge to what the Lord's going to do. For those who fear him, he's a sanctuary, but for everybody the breaking point, the stumbling block. You know, of course, how those terms are used elsewhere in the Old Testament and then refracted into the New Testament to describe Jesus himself. This stone of offense, this rock of stumbling. But that's how the Lord's operations are. They're a sanctuary for those who fear him and for everyone else, It's the thing that they stumble on. In this case, it's both houses of Israel. So that's part one of the instruction. Part two of the instruction is really beginning in verse 16. And this is so significant for us today. And if there's a verse that you're gonna memorize out of this, I would hope it would be verse 20. But let me read the context. bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples. I will wait for the Lord who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him." In other words, the Lord isn't apparently showing his blessing to his people, but then all that means is I particularly need to hide myself in him during that time of destruction. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts who dwells on Mount Zion." Now that's interesting because Jesus himself says those very words. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me. And when they say to you, inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God, should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? And then here's the kicker. So you're showing faith, you're trusting in the Lord, you're living in the fear of God, and then what else are you doing? You're saying, to the testimonies and to the law, to the teaching and to the testimony, verse 20. If they will not speak according to this Word, it is because they have no dawn. This is instruction two. Fear of the Lord and live by God's Word. And no matter what you hear, no matter what anyone says, no matter what authority they appeal to, you measure it up against the Word of God. And you keep coming back to the testimony, to the teachings, That's what you appeal to in your life and with your life decisions. It's a little bit like what we see back in Deuteronomy. In fact, I think this is built directly on what we see in Deuteronomy, where in Deuteronomy 18, and then also in Deuteronomy 13, there are these tests for a prophet. And in Deuteronomy 18, the test is pretty straightforward. You listen to what the prophet says, and if it doesn't come true, you know he's not speaking on behalf of the Lord. But in Deuteronomy 13, it's a little more nuanced than that, because in that scenario, what it says is, you hear from the prophet, and if what he says does come true, there's still a step two. And the step two is, you compare it to the word of God. Because what Deuteronomy 13 says is, you continue to listen to his teaching, and if he tells you to follow in a way that the Lord has not commanded, then you know that the Lord just sent him as a test to you. He's a false prophet. And that's the idea here in times of difficulty. In times of difficulty, you double down on the fear of the Lord. You don't ignore that. That needs to become more preeminent in your life. and you cling to, and you cling to the scriptures. And everything that's said, everything that's suggested, any advice you get, any counsel, anything, you just, to the teaching and to the testimony. Show it to me in the word of God. Prove it to me from God's word. And if you can't, then it's not authoritative in the same way. This is what we have to keep going back to. So, we face these difficulties in our own life. Sometimes they ebb and flow daily. In the morning, life is terrible. In the afternoon, it's great. Or sometimes there are prolonged periods of challenge where it does appear, like it was with Israel, that God has withdrawn His face from Jacob. And that would be almost our cry. in those situations, and it may well be because of the judgment of God, as it was for them. I mean, if that may well be the case, it certainly wouldn't be inappropriate, would it? It wouldn't be inappropriate if the Lord poured out tremendous national judgment on us, tremendous judgment on us in terms of our churches, and on us personally. That would be legitimate. And what do you do? Well, the fear of the Lord and the Word of God are the twin pillars of your life at that point. That's what you cling to. That's what you need. All right, now, I want to pause there because we're about to move into part three, which is the ultimate remedy. This is the sort of tactic, if you will, this is what you're supposed to do, but now here's what the Lord's gonna do in an ultimate sense. So questions, comments, pushback on this part, part two, summarized by verse 20. All right? Okay. Let me move on to part three then. This is the most familiar. Okay. But, there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations." Now, I just want to give you a little geographic lesson here. You know my maps. Any resemblance to scale is purely coincidental. They're very bad. But I'm giving them to you just to give you some orientation. how awful this map is. But here's the deal, right? In the big picture, the people of Israel and Judah, I'll just say Israel up there, Judah down there, are caught in between two great empires all the time. Throughout all of Old Testament history, after they're in the land, they're always caught between two great empires. Sometimes Egypt is very powerful, And sometimes there are powers over here. Babylon, Assyria. And actually, this land is right in between, because the way the trade routes worked, they had to go through there, they had to go through there. So they're always in the middle. Now, Isaiah's down here in Judah, Jerusalem. They're looking north. They're worried about the northern kingdom. They're worried even about a little further north, Damascus. The Lord's told them, that's not what you need to worry about. I'm gonna deal with them. But because of your lack of faith, there's this, there's something else you have to be even more worried about that's coming from over here. And you're gonna see them take out the northern tribes in your lifetime. It's gonna happen very quickly. So by the end of chapter eight, geographically speaking, what Isaiah has promised is that the Assyrians will have taken over this northern kingdom. Now, so that's your Old Testament map. Now, this is what's so amazing. This promise that's given in Isaiah 9 is that that land of darkness is going to actually see a great light. And the land that was in darkness first, which is the northern tribes, right? Israel. That's going to be the place where God's light is going to dawn. Now from the perspective of Isaiah's first hearers, they kind of understand that geographically. But for us, from the perspective of the New Testament, it really is just an amazing promise because look at the particular area that's identified. The land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations. Now why is it called Galilee of the Nations? Because it's where the Gentiles came in first and they took out this area. But whenever you and I think of Galilee, what do we think of? We think of the ministry of Jesus. The predominant place in which the Lord Jesus Christ came and taught and healed. It's where his first sign was performed. It's where much of the teaching took place in Galilee. And they are just thinking in terms of the first place to go into exile. But we know that there's so much more to it. So this is God's ultimate solution. His ultimate solution is, Galilee of the Gentiles is going to be taken out by this great power. But then the Lord's going to shine his light in Galilee of the Gentiles. And again, you pick up the Gospels, if you don't have Isaiah in your hands, you're just thinking, okay, this is just where Jesus grew up, and it's where he ministered, and there's no particular significance to it, except the fact that that's where he was, and that's where he called his disciples, and they were fishing on the lake, and those kinds of things. But there's profound geographic Old Testament significance to it. Because this is who Isaiah was pointing to and saying, they're about to get taken out. And they're going to be run by the nations. So then, how is this going to play out in Galilee of the Gentiles? The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shone. You've multiplied the nation, you've increased its joy. They rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest is when they are glad when they divide the spoil. And I wanna show you something. I don't know if you're using an ESV, that's what I'm reading from, but if you are, look at verses four, five, and six. They begin with this word for, in the ESV. And that's helpful, because it's this Hebrew word, Ki, and we need to see the sequence. Four, four, four. They're answering the question, each of these verses is answering the question, how is it that the Lord is going to bring great light to the land that dwelt in deep darkness? Okay? For the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. So the first answer to the question of how is light going to dawn is the Lord is going to break in and break the bonds of the oppressors. This day of Midian, of course, refers to earlier texts. Look at verse five. This is the second answer to the question. Every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. So there's gonna be a battle and a victory and then it's all going to be sort of wrapped up. All those battle garments are gonna be just fuel for the fire. So we've got some kind of violent imagery in four and five. Battle, imagery, blood, imagery, but then look at verse six. And I know you know what's coming, but it's so, it's so odd in Hebrew to go battle, blood, and then baby in verse, in the next verse. Because look at this in verse six, it's four, four, four, key, key, key. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." We'll go on from there in a second. So, we've got faddle, blood, baby, and this is the one that really stands out. Because you think that somehow this is going to get accomplished by you know, some great warrior coming through and defeating everyone with swords and shields. And that's the imagery that's filling your mind. That's how God's gonna bring great light to the people who walked in darkness, by winning a great battle. But then it turns out that that great battle and the peace that ensues after it is won by a little child. who's just born. And now then, of course, there's this crescendo in verse six, because the little baby, which is the last thing you expected to read as your third key, is wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. And the way it describes him is, 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 accomplish it." So, let me erase this for a moment. You're not missing anything. And say that this baby, of course, has all these titles associated with him. But the one I want you to really pay attention to, they're all important, is that he's the Davidic king, he's the one who's gonna reign on David's throne forever and ever. If you go back to 2 Samuel 7, as David's throne is established by the Lord, David recognizes how gracious God has been, and he says, I should build God a house. I've got this great house that I just built. I should build God a house. His visible presence is just a tent. And the Lord says to David in 2 Samuel 7, David, you shall not build me a house, but I'm going to build your house. And David's talking about four walls and a roof, but the Lord's talking about his line, his household. And what it ultimately culminates in in 2 Samuel 7 is, I'm going to establish your throne in your kingdom forever and you'll have one of your descendants reign on the throne forever. So that instantly becomes one of the key things you're looking for as you read through your Old Testament. You're looking for the prophet like Moses, and now you're looking for the Davidic king. And you just page after page, as you go through the books of the Old Testament, you're looking for him. And you don't see him. But in Isaiah 9, Isaiah says, no, the Lord is going to bring him into the context of Galilee. He's also called Mighty God. And He's going to be the source of winning this, of this great victory being won. That's going to release His people from their captivity and from their bondage. So, that's the ultimate remedy. He's the ultimate remedy. The God-Man, the Son of David. And so think about this, when you're reading the Gospels and you see the man, the blind man outside of Jericho, and he says, Son of David, have mercy on me. And you say, well that's, you know, what does that mean? This is, you're this guy, Isaiah 9. Or when the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and says, Mary, you're gonna give birth to a son by the Holy Spirit. And he will sit on the throne of his father David. And Mary just, you know she can't believe it, that's 2 Samuel 7, that's Isaiah 9. I've been paging through my Old Testament, looking for that Davidic king. And I was told that Davidic king was the solution to the problem of exile, the solution to the problem of the nations overrunning Israel. And I was also told that he's going to shine his light in Galilee of the Gentiles. And so Isaiah, hundreds of years before, is is explaining the remedy in terms of the Davidic king in Galilee who will bring about God's kingdom and of the increase of his government and of peace. There will be no end. So to step back, at a small scale level for Ahaz and the people of his day, they were They were worried about the wrong things, just like we so often are. They failed to heed God's instruction, and God was going to judge them, not in the way they expected, but in an unexpected and, in a sense, worse way. For those who had ears to hear, for the remnant within that group, how were they supposed to live? Fear of the Lord, word of God, to the testimonies, to the teachings, and then what's the ultimate solution to this problem. The ultimate solution isn't, you know, someone a little bit better than Ahaz. The ultimate solution is this son who is God himself, this baby who is God himself, who's gonna sit on the Davidic throne forever and reign forever. And so, again, as you're reading and reading, and then you get to Matthew, or you get to Luke's is everything you've been waiting for in Isaiah. And for us, looking back, we have to say the same thing, that Jesus is the solution, the ultimate solution to this problem of evil and this problem of sin and this problem of the judgment of God justly being poured out on people who are sinners and who deserve it and who have turned away from his word. It's 1041, that's more or less Okay, well let me give you a few minutes. Are there any questions, comments, threads that you want to bring together, pushback, anything like that? Just thinking about those verses 4 and 5, how do we think about those in hindsight, just being fulfilled or what would make Yeah, great question. So I think there are two approaches that one could take. One is to say that by the time, let's just, we know that this is referring to Jesus ultimately in verse six. By the time that happens, the Lord has undone militarily what the Assyrians and then the Babylonians did. So one way to look at verses four and five is to say they are the precondition, as it were, of verse six being fulfilled. But I think actually a more comprehensive way of looking at it is to say that it's the child of verse six who will ultimately win the victories that are described So, and I think that's, that makes more sense of what the Bible teaches because in Matthew's gospel as a for instance, Matthew frames the coming of the Messiah as in the midst of Israel's exile. So Matthew doesn't say, you know, the exile ended and then the Messiah came. No, he says the exile was ongoing and the Messiah came and ended it. So I would see that latter explanation as being the better of the two. That four and five describe the ultimate victory of that one who's described for us in verse six. Does that make sense? Is that what I'm saying? Okay. Other questions, comments? We're going to lose our choir people. We've got the preacher in here. So I have to end on time or else everybody suffers. Let me pray. Oh, our Father, we are just scratching the surface of this, very aware of that. So we ask for the continued ministry of your Spirit to teach us and to help us to meditate on these things. And yet, even though we're just scratching the surface, we are profoundly grateful for the glories of Christ that you reveal in your Word. We pray that we would live in light of the fear of you, live according to your Word, trust in you, and look to Jesus. And we ask that these things would be true of us, by your spirit, by your grace, in Jesus' name, amen.