The child who would sit on David’s throne would eliminate gloom, anguish, and darkness and give light, joy, and peace instead (Isa 9:1–7). The shoot from the stump of Jesse would judge the poor with perfect righteousness, treat the meek with equity, and rid His enemies with a word (Isa 11:1–4). The chosen Servant would bring justice to the nations, establish His law upon the earth, and be the light that opens blind eyes, frees the prisoners, and breaks them out of their dungeons (Isa 42:1–7).

One of the reasons that God raised Jesus from the dead involves believers like you and me. Paul states, “And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David’” (Acts 13:34 ESV).

In the phrase “he raised him,” it is the Father who raised Jesus. The “he” who “has spoken” is the Father who spoke in Isaiah 55:3, the quotation that ends Acts 13:34. But when the Father says, “I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David,” the “you” is plural, just as in the Hebrew of Isa 55:3. This “you” refers to the readers of Isaiah, and for Paul, his listeners, both Jews and Gentiles (cf. Acts 13:13–16).

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