Fourth Sunday in Advent(A) Ask A Sign Isaiah 7__10-17
Isaiah 7:10-17
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”
Psalm 24:1-7, (8-10) BCP 368
Romans 1:1-7
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
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The reading from Paul’s epistle declares Christ Jesus "was promised beforehand through his prophets" amd "was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power ...by his resurrection from the dead."
The reading from Isaiah is one of those prophecies. Some Christian teachers have played down the value of Isaiah 7:14, but there is justification, as I will show for using that verse as a Messianic prophecy.
Matthew identifies Jesus as "Emmanuel" – which means "God with us." We celebrate that fact on Christmas Day. . We celebrate that God, in Christ, became one with us, came to visit and stay with his people.
I God’s Promise
Isaiah spoke the a teaching, a prophecy from God when Ahaz was king of Judah. The chapter starts with Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, joining forces to fight against Jerusalem.
Isaiah was sent to Ahaz with a message: "Stand firm in your faith." Ahaz was told to believe in God and His promises. The King was more than an administrator, a leader of the army and a head of government. The King in Israel – Judah also had a teaching responsibility to God and the people. He was a moral arbiter, a judge as well.
Had not God promised that a son of David would always sit on the throne (1 K 8:25)? What was the king’s response? Scripture tells us, (Is 7:2) Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind. Ahaz was shaken, Ahaz was scared, Ahaz feared for his life. Ahaz’s response was not one of faith and belief in the promises of God.
Ahaz should have known better. As a child on his mother’s lap he was taught to trust in the Lord. He knew the songs of the faith as well as anyone. (Ps 23:4) Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
(Ps 46:1-2) God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (2) Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea ...
Ahaz knew these songs but Ahaz saw an enemy coming, and he was scared stiff.
Ahaz should have known better. Hasn’t God always been with His people? Hasn’t God always delivered His people? He was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the midst of a strange land (Gen 26:3; 28:15). He was with Joseph while a slave and prisoner in Egypt, and Joseph prospered (Gen 39:2,3,21,23).
Remember an 80 year old Moses before the burning bush? At that time God gave Moses a great commission: to lead the Israelite slaves out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan. Moses felt inadequate for such a task and said so: "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Ex 3:11). And God said in reply, "I will be with you" (Ex 3:12). And He was. While traveling in the wilderness, the children of Israel only had to lift their eyes forward and upward to see that the Lord indeed was with them, even as He promised. As we read in Exodus:
(Ex 13:21-22) By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. (22) Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
God was with Joshua in the battle of Jericho, and Joshua’s fame spread throughout the land (Josh 6:27). When David suffered from the jealousy of Saul, God was with him, protecting and preserving His life (1 Sam 18:14). In fact, David experienced God’s presence all his life (2 Sam 7:9 and Psalm 23). God promised to be with Solomon in the same way (1 Kings 1:37). Had Jeroboam acted like David, God would have been with him too (1 Kings 11:38).
Yes, Ahaz should have known better than to fear. After all, the Lord is with His children. That’s the promise of God.
In His great mercy, God sent Isaiah to a scared and trembling Ahaz with a message:
(Is 7:11) "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."
Ahaz was told to ask for a sign, any sign, by which the Lord could prove His faithfulness. Filled with a false sense of piety, Ahaz declined to "put the LORD to the test" (vs 12).
After this, Isaiah was sent with another message from the Lord:
(Is 7:14) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel.
If Ahaz won’t ask the Lord for a sign, then the Lord will give a sign of His own choosing. This is a sign to all the scared and trembling people of the world that there is no reason for fear because the Lord is with them. The "Emmanuel" will come.
There are two “fulfillments” of this prophecy. One was in the days of Ahaz . . . .the other, centuries later in the days of Herod the Great in Judah.
II Jesus: the Emmanuel
When speaking of Emmanuel, Isaiah was talking about the Messiah. In the Old Testament there are three dramatically different pictures of the Messiah. Sometimes He is presented as a Warrior King, sometimes as a Suffering Servant, and sometimes as God Himself or the Son of God. Over time, however, the people forgot or ignored the pictures of the Messiah as a Suffering Servant or as God Himself. The image of the Messiah they focused on the most was that of Warrior King. By the time of Jesus, most of the Jews were looking for a Messiah Who would defeat and destroy the Roman army of occupation in Palestine.
Unknown to Isaiah and to Ahaz, the sign does not become a full reality until some 730 years later. The virgin and child do not appear for 7 centuries. It is the Gospel writer Matthew who gets to announce the good news for scared and trembling people:
(Mt 1:22-23) All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: (23) "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means,"God with us."
Matthew’s message: the baby born on Christmas Day, the baby lying in the manger, is the "Emmanuel"; He is "God with us." However, most people back then did not recognize Him for Whom He was and is. That makes sense, though, when you consider that the Jewish people were looking for the Messiah as a general, not for the Messiah as "God with us."
On Christmas Day we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s promise to be with His people. We celebrate the birth of the "Emmanuel"; the birth of "God with us."
Take one thought home: that God is with us, that the Emmanuel has been born. The meaning of Christmas is that God is now with us in the person of Jesus Christ.
III The Meaning of "God With Us
What does it mean for you and me that the Emmanuel has been born?
First, it means salvation. Ahaz and Judah were full of fear and trembling because of the attack of an enemy. The Emmanuel is a sign of God’s saving presence. The Emmanuel is a sign that God will deliver His people. Remember what the angel said to Joseph, the husband of Mary? He said, "give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21). The Savior is the Emmanuel and the Emmanuel is the Savior.
The birth of the Emmanuel means salvation from sin for everyone who believes (Rom 1:16), for everyone who accepts the reign of God in their life and opens their life and heart to Jesus.
The birth of the Emmanuel means that God will not leave, forsake, or fail His people. The name "Emmanuel" is a watchword among God’s people; it is a word of hope. No matter how desperate conditions become we know that God is with us.
Take any situation that we might suffer through: unemployment, death, divorce, bankruptcy, poverty, illness, surgery, pain, hurt, cancer. "Emmanuel" means that God is with us even in such situations. Emmanuel means that even in such situations God surrounds us with His love, His presence, and His Spirit. Emmanuel means that even in such situations we are not left on our own to brood in our pain, hate, anger, fear, or hurt.
Christians have always found from Paul’s words in Romans 8:
(Rom 8:38-39) "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " Why no fear? Because the Emmanuel is born; because God is with us in the person of Jesus Christ.
"If God is for us and with us, who can be against us?" asks Paul (Rom 8:31)? Just before Israel fought the inhabitants of Canaan to take possession of the land, the Lord gave the people a comforting word of assurance: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them ..." Why not? "For the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deut 31:6).
Because of God’s presence in their lives God’s people can and should always be strong and of good courage. We rest secure in the thought that God is with us, that the Emmanuel has been born. We know that no evil is so great that the presence of God in our lives is not able to overcome it.
God With Skin On
One night a small little voice was heard from the bedroom across the hall. "Daddy, I’m scared!" The response came quick: "Honey, don’t be afraid, daddy’s right across the hall." After a very brief pause the little voice is heard again, "I’m still scared!" Again a response: "You don’t need to be afraid. God is watching over you." This time the pause is longer ... but the voice returns, "Daddy, I want someone with skin on!"
Well, in Jesus Christ, in the Emmanuel, God sent us "someone with skin on"; someone Who takes us in His arms; someone Who comforts, encourages, and strengthens us.
"Emmanuel." "God with us." This means that God has not forgotten His people, that He has remembered His covenant and His covenant promises. In and through the Emmanuel God intimately binds Himself to and with His people. In fact, in and through the Emmanuel God forges an unbreakable link between Himself and His people so that nothing can ever separate us from His love.
Conclusion
"Emmanuel." "God with us." That is God’s promise to the church of all ages. And on Christmas Day that promise was fulfilled.
The promise to be with us is repeated a number of times by Christ. "I will ask the Father," said Jesus, "and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16,17a). Jesus’ parting promise to the church, just before His ascension, was "surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age" (Mt 28:20). And, He is: in His divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is not absent from us for even a moment (Catechism, Q & A 47).
"Emmanuel." "God with us." This promise of God was fulfilled on Christmas Day. And, there will come a day when it will be fulfilled even more fully than it was at Christmas. On that day, the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, will come down out of heaven from God. On that day,
(Rev 21:3) ... the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
"Emmanuel." "God with us." That’s the message of Christmas. That’s also our hope for the future life.
"Emmanuel." "God with us." This is the closing wish of Scripture: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen" (Rev 22:21).
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Charles Scott, Church of the Good Shepherd
Indianapolis, Indiana
crscott@email.com
http://www.goodshepherdindy.org
