"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). The messianic prophecy of Isaiah in chapter nine of his book attributes so many roles and names to the coming messiah; but the one that caught my attention most is the phrase "Prince of Peace". I asked myself severally, is this just a literary attempt to play on words? Is Isaiah trying to impress and incite his audience's interest by using puns and homophones? Or is there an actual meaning and relevance to the phrase "Prince of Peace". What is a prince's role in terms of peace; and why is the messiah given this role?.
To understand this phrase, we must look back to the beginning of that verse. The messiah is first introduced as a child and a son. As a child, He will be born into the world as a human, to grow as a human and experience all difficulties and impulses of a human. As a son, He will be given, sent from heaven as a Divine mediator between God and people. He will carry the fullness of God's presence and will have control over all the forces of earth and nature and the supernatural. He will have the full rights of the Father, to work for the Father and as the Father. The government shall be upon His shoulder - to rule, to create, to change. And operating in this position, He shall bring peace between man and God.
The peace that Jesus brings is first directed towards restoring us to God. There is no peace until we have been restored to God. For it is only when a man's way pleases the Lord that He (God) causes even the man's enemies to make peace with him (Prov 16:7).
The Hebrew word for “peace,” shalom, is often used in reference to an appearance of calm and tranquility of individuals, groups, and nations. The Greek word eirene means “unity and accord”; Paul uses eirene to describe the objective of the New Testament church. But the deeper, more foundational meaning of peace is “the spiritual harmony brought about by an individual’s restoration with God.”
To be continued...