“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government is upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonder, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:5 ONM)
In the old testament, the priests were commanded by God to carry the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders. This was a sign of them having to bear the weight of sin management on their own shoulders. In the book of Numbers, God commanded that only the priests could burden the holy things. This was a shadow of what Christ was going to do for us when He came. Isaiah was prophesying that once the Messiah comes, He then would be responsible for leading the people. The governmental rule and dominion would then be on His shoulder. He will act as the High Priest and bear everything. All the four corners of the Ark of the Covenant will no longer require four people, He will bear the weight and burden of it all by Himself (“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” 1 Peter 5:7). Not only will this coming Messiah bear all our burdens, but He will also have every attribute needed to successfully lead, rule, and have dominion on His shoulder. Isaiah lets us know that He would be called Wonder, which means that he will rule with signs and miracles (Matthew 11:4), Counselor, which means He will give us inspiration and instructions in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17), Mighty God, which means we no longer have to do anything in our own strength, but rely in His strength and might as our warrior (Ephesians 6:10), Eternal Father, which means this is not a temporary every four- year election, but a redeemer forever (Isaiah 63:16), Prince of Peace, which means that with every burden we have, we can still walk in a peace that’s not understandable with the natural mind (Philippians 4:7).
Unfortunately, there are still Christians who still try to bear the Ark on their shoulder. Any other way than the way God has commanded is and will always be unacceptable to Him. David had to learn that the hard way. When David was bringing back the Ark of the Covenant, which was stolen by the Philistines, it resulted in the death of Uzzah. David was trying to bring back God’s Covenant in the same way the heathens had stolen it, on an oxen drawn buggy. He was trying to transport something so sacred and holy of God in a very unsacred manner, so that when it was about to fall off the buggy, Uzzah tried to prevent it with his hands, but when he touched it, he died. This is a good example of what happens when we try to manage our life our own way and not through the spiritual instructions God has given us. We will experience death-maybe not a physical one right away, but definitely a spiritual one.
So Isaiah was telling us about a renewed covenant when he prophesied about the coming of the Messiah. Praise the Lord! We now have our High Priest, Yeshua, carrying all the burdens of the Holy things of God on His shoulder, if we allow Him to reign in us. We no longer have to make that long camel ride in a desert with our sacrifice to the Tabernacle. Jesus is once and for all bearing everything for us on HIS SHOULDER!
