”… but in the latter time [the future] He has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:1-2).
ERV: But later, that land will be honored- the land along the sea, the land east of the Jordan River, and Galilee where people from other nations live. Those people lived in darkness, but they will see a great light. They lived in a place as dark as death, but a great light will shine on them.
The prophet Isaiah knew that his people were in deep trouble for their sins. Darkness was all around he reported (Isaiah 59:9). Yet God, in great mercy, promised to shine in a new and brighter way (Isaiah 60:1). God made the same promise through His prophet Malachi (4:2):
“The sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.”
Who would see the dawn of this new day? Isaiah (9:1-2) pointed especially to the people around Lake Galilee! Since they were on Israel’s northern border they were often the first to be attacked by foreign (Gentile) armies. They lived under “the shadow of death.” But these people would be the first to be blessed by God’s great light.