Galilee of the Gentiles

In Isaiah 9, we come across a really strange name for the Northern region of Israel - Galilee of the Gentiles. In modern English, it doesn't read in quite as foreboding language as it would have been in Isaiah, or even Jesus's time.

I always knew that Jesus was often discredited based on where, and with whom, He decided to associate, but I never realized that Galilee was seen as SUCH a negative place. 

Being in the North of Israel, this region was majority Gentile and the Israelites who lived there were seen as less by their compatriots by virtue of their proximity to unbelievers.

However, there's a lesson we can take from Isaiah's prophecy and Jesus's actions towards a place like Galilee that should inform how we view the world around us. This place "in darkness" should not be feared - it should have light brought to it.

We can choose to live like the rest of Israel - avoiding the dark places for fear of the light shared with us becoming dimmed. We can choose to live like Isaiah - wary, but proclaiming a coming light. Or, better yet, we can choose to live like Jesus - being an active part in bringing the light to those places.

 

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