By the Lord's shining, He releases the imprisoned ones from bondage. This release from bondage is actually the multiplication of God's people. The more God's people are released from bondage, the more they are multiplied. When we go out to preach the gospel, we bring the shining of Christ to those who are in darkness (Acts 26:18a). When they are enlightened and receive this shining, they receive Christ. Then they are released from their bondage, from their imprisonment, and from the yoke, the staff, and the rod of their oppressor. When they become released in this way, God's people are multiplied.

Then these released people will have gladness. Christ will increase their gladness, and that gladness is the gladness of the harvest. As the preachers of the gospel, we are like the farmers who harvest God's people. Whenever there is a harvest, there is joy. If we went out today to visit people with the gospel, and three were baptized, this would be a harvest, making us full of joy and gladness. That gladness is also the gladness of victory. On the one hand, we are the farmers, and on the other hand, we are the warriors, the fighters. We have the gladness of the harvest and the gladness of the warriors dividing their spoil from their victory. Isaiah's unveiling of Christ as the great light in such a way describes our Christian life.

Through His shining, He breaks the yoke of our burden, the staff on our shoulder, and the rod of our oppressor. Before we were saved, we were yoked under a heavy burden. We also had a staff upon our shoulder, and the enemy put his rod upon us. He yoked us, burdened us, and put us into the imprisonment of darkness. But the Lord broke the yoke of the burden of the people of God, broke the staff on their shoulder, and broke the rod of their oppressor as in the day of Midian when Gideon gained a great victory over the Midianites. Later in the history of Israel, the king of Assyria came to threaten them. He became a burden, a yoke, a staff, and a rod to them. Isaiah described how the king of Assyria punished the children of Israel. Then Christ as the great light came to break all the bondage by shining.

We can see the Christian life in Isaiah 9:1-5 with the enjoyment of Christ as the great light, and this great light is the true light, the light of life. The shining of the light is our salvation. Christ saves us by shining in us. If two people are roommates, they are prone to arguing and disagreeing with each other and bothering each other. What can stop this unpleasant situation between roommates? Christ as the light can stop this. This is why we need a morning revival with the Lord. We may disagree with someone in the evening, but in the morning when we are in the Word and in the Lord, the Lord takes the opportunity to shine into us. There may be only a "narrow crack" in our being as an opening to Him, but He shines into us through that opening. Because of His shining, we are enlightened, and we may say with tears, "Lord, forgive me." This is an example of Christ's saving us by His shining.

In addition to our time of morning revival, we need to walk in Christ as the light. Just as we wash our hands many times a day, we need the washing of His blood through the confessing of our sins under the shining of His light many times a day. This continual shining and washing is our salvation. This salvation releases us from all bondage. Then we will be the proper harvesters and fighters for the multiplication of the people of God, and we will have joy, rejoicing, and gladness. Wherever Christ is preached, there is light, shining, and salvation. There is also the breaking of the yoke of the burden of the people of God, of the staff on their shoulder, and of the rod of their oppressor. This is all due to Christ being the great light.