Scripture
Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. I am preaching a series of messages during Advent on the Old Testament Scripture Readings that I am calling, “Advent in Isaiah.”
After the death of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam became king. However, he was unable to retain leadership of the north, and the kingdom divided into two kingdoms, Israel in the north, and Judah in the south, in 922 BC. Only two of the twelve tribes of Jacob, the southern kingdom of Judah, remained loyal to the throne of David.
Almost 200 years later, God called Isaiah to be his prophet “in the year that King Uzziah died” (Isaiah 6:1). That was about 740 BC. By the time we get to Isaiah 7, our text for today, it was 735 BC, and a major crisis was developing. The vaunted Assyrian Empire was flexing its muscles and was conquering many nations on its way to battle Egypt. Israel in the north and Judah in the south stood in the way of the Assyrians, and they were in danger of being overrun.
God sent Isaiah to speak to King Ahaz of Judah to encourage him to trust God even though circumstances may have seemed hopeless and discouraging to him.
Let’s read about the sign of Immanuel in Isaiah 7:1-17:
1 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God:
“ ‘It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all.’ ”
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. 17 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!” (Isaiah 7:1-17)
Introduction
In a sermon titled, “Our High Priest Is the Son of God Perfect Forever,” John Piper gave the following illustration to children and their parents, to explain what Christmas is:
Kids, suppose you and your mom get separated in the grocery store, and you start to get scared and panic and don’t know which way to go, and you run to the end of an aisle, and just before you start to cry, you see a shadow on the floor at the end of the aisle that looks just like your mom. It makes you really happy and you feel hope. But which is better? The happiness of seeing the shadow, or having your mom step around the corner and it’s really her? That’s the way it is when Jesus comes to be our [Savior]. That’s what Christmas is. Christmas is the replacement of shadows with the real thing.
I think King Ahaz of Judah would have found this illustration helpful. He was in a panic and he did not know which way to go. Isaiah told him about the shadow, but that was not much of a comfort to King Ahaz. He really needed to understand that the shadow really did point to the real thing, the advent of Jesus Christ.
But, I am getting ahead of myself. Today’s lesson teaches us that God allows crises to come into our lives. Sooner or later we have to answer the question: Will I put my trust in God? Or will I trust in myself and my own resources? That was the lesson put to King Ahaz, and he failed miserably.
Lesson
The analysis of the concept of trust as set forth in Isaiah 7:1-17 shows us that we should always trust God and not ourselves.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. The Situation (7:1-2)
2. The Promise (7:3-9)
3. The Response (7:10-12)
4. The Sign (7:13-17)
I. The Situation (7:1-2)
First, let’s look at the situation.
Isaiah write in verses 1-2, “In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David was told, ‘Syria is in league with Ephraim,’ the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.” The kingdoms of Israel and Judah were no match for the mighty Assyrian Empire. Israel joined forces with its northern neighbor, Syria, in an attempt to resist Assyria. They both wanted Judah to join them in their resistance against Assyria. However, King Ahaz of Judah refused to do so. As a result, Israel (also called Ephraim) and Syria came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, and Ahaz and the people of Judah were terrified.
However, notice that Isaiah said at the end of verse 1 that even though Israel and Syria came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, “but could not yet mount an attack against it.” The word “yet” is not in the Hebrew text, and obscures the force of Isaiah’s comment. Isaiah was not saying that Israel and Syria had not yet succeeded, as if they might succeed later. He was saying that Israel and Syria would not succeed at all. But why would they not succeed at all in attacking Jerusalem? Commentator Raymond Ortlund Jr. answers as follows:
But from the start, the prophetic eye can see that their plan is doomed. God’s covenant with the throne of David still stands, despite his people’s failures. That’s why Isaiah 7:1 states that the enemy could not mount an attack against Jerusalem. The prophet wants us to know from the start that the threat will vanish. There is no need to panic. God is with his people.
But Ahaz did not believe that. He looked out and all he saw was the immediate threat of Israel and Syria, and beyond them was the even bigger threat of the Assyrian Empire.
So, what crisis are you facing in your life? As we enter the final week of Advent 2016, what difficulty, challenge, obstacle, or crisis are you facing?
II. The Promise (7:3-9)
Second, notice the promise.
And the Lord said to Isaiah in verse 3, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field.” King Ahaz was out inspecting the city’s water supply, in preparation for the attack by Israel and Syria. He was not looking to God for help. He was looking at his supplies to see what his own resources were. But God wanted to save him. So, he sent his prophet Isaiah to meet Ahaz, and Isaiah was to take his son Shear-jashub with him. Shear-jashub means “a remnant shall return,” and this was God’s way of reassuring Ahaz that Judah would never be wiped off the face of the earth. God would ensure that a remnant would remain faithful and return in victory.
God told Isaiah to say to Ahaz in verse 4, “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah.” God wanted Ahaz to trust him, and not to be overcome with fear. Even though Syria and Israel wanted to conquer Judah and set up a puppet king, the son of Tabeel (7:5), Ahaz was to trust God and not trust in his own resources.
Furthermore, God promised Ahaz in verse 8 that within sixty-five years Ephraim (also known as Israel) would no longer exist as a nation. God was true to his word, as he always is. By 732 BC Syria was crushed by Assyria, and Israel fell to Assyria in 722 BC, never to return again. By 670 BC, as God had said, the kingdom of Israel no longer existed, and the ten tribes of Israel were “shattered from being a people” (7:8).
God promised to show Ahaz what salvation means, if only he would trust God and not trust in his own resources. That is why Isaiah said to Ahaz in verse 9b, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” God promised deliverance and security to Ahaz, but Ahaz needed to trust God completely.
In the face of any trial, obstacle, difficulty, or circumstance, God promises deliverance. He calls each one of us to put our wholehearted trust in him.
In this season of Advent, our culture sentimentalizes God and the hope that he offers. People say that Christmas is about love and peace and hope, but they are not at all clear that Christmas is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ. It is about trusting in God’s provision of deliverance, and not trusting in our own view of what we think will help us.
III. The Response (7:10-12)
Third, observe the response.
In spite of Ahaz’s self-reliance and lack of whole-hearted trust in God, God was astonishingly gracious toward Ahaz. Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” (7:10-11). This is really amazing. God in effect said, “As me for any sign, Ahaz, and I will give it to you.” You know, we are not to ask God for signs, but here, God offered Ahaz to ask for a sign, any sign that he could think of, and God would respond to show him that he would fulfill his promise to him.
But, in verse 12, Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” Now, at first glance this may seem to be the right response. Ahaz may seem to be godly and humble in refusing to put the Lord to the test. But, his response was duplicitous. Ortlund summarizes Ahaz’s response as follows:
But it’s all quick-thinking, diplomatic hypocrisy. He knows there are strings attached. If he lets God in, God will take control. And for Ahaz, that would mean using God’s strategies to get through the crisis and giving God the glory for the outcome. Ahaz proves here that faith can be refused by the will, no matter how strong the evidences. If we don’t want God, we can find a way to make our unbelief sound plausible, even pious.
How do you respond to God’s promise of deliverance? Do you piously refuse to believe God? God promises salvation in Jesus Christ, as he said in Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Some people say that they cannot believe that Jesus is the only Savior of sinners because they don’t have enough evidence. Others say that they have unanswered questions about Jesus, and so they will not believe God’s promise of salvation. Friend, such a view is not pious; it is, as Ortlund says, “all quick-thinking, diplomatic hypocrisy.”
IV. The Sign (7:13-17)
Fourth, look at the sign.
Isaiah knew when God was being rejected. And he said in verse 13, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?” Notice the change in the preposition. In verse 11 Isaiah referred to God as “your God.” He was saying to Ahaz, as it were, “Ahaz, your God wants to save you. Ask your God for a sign.” But Ahaz hypocritically refused to do so. Now in verse 13 Isaiah referred to God no longer as “your God” but as “my God.” He was saying to Ahaz, as it were, “Ahaz, my God is not on your side any more. Your opportunity for salvation has passed, Ahaz!”
Some people think that they can turn to God whenever they want to do so. However, God will harden hearts so that people will not be able to turn to God. Now is the day of salvation. It is a very dangerous thing to put God off and not accept his terms of salvation when it is offered.
Isaiah said that even though Ahaz refused to ask God for a sign, God would give one anyway. Isaiah said in verse 14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This is one of the great verses in the Bible. The “you” in verse 14 is plural, meaning that it was given to the “house of David” (7:13) as represented by Ahaz. The sign was not fulfilled in the time of Ahaz, for no virgin conceived and bore a son, and no child was called “Immanuel” in Ahaz’s day. The New Testament clearly says that this sign was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew says in Matthew 1:18-25:
18 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. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 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. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Isaiah went on to say in verses 15-17, “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!” Commentator Alex Motyer says that Isaiah was deliberately vague in terms of the timing of Immanuel’s birth, “but three things are affirmed: (1) the child will grow up in poverty (7:15), for curds and honey, as verse 22 shows, are the diet of those left in a devastated land; (2) the northern threat from Aram and Israel will be ended (7:16) – and indeed Damascus fell to Assyria three years and Samaria thirteen years later; and (3) huge disaster would fall on the house of David (7:17).”
Ahaz became a puppet king under Assyria. Eventually, even Judah fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC. So, Motyer concludes, “Thus Isaiah concertinas the centuries, for when Immanuel was born he inherited only the memory of a kingdom and a non-existent crown – and it was Ahaz’s fault. As we shall see, in the course of this section Isaiah adjusts the historical perspective (e.g. 9:1), but he uttered no lie when he made Immanuel the immediate heir of the Ahaz-débâcle.”
Conclusion
Therefore, having analyzed the concept of trust as set forth in Isaiah 7:1-17, let us trust God always.
Immanuel was the sign promised to Ahaz. And Immanuel is the sign that is promised to us today. Ortlund applies the sign of Isaiah as follows:
Trusting God to save us when we are assaulted by evil has no downside. He meets the weakness and foolishness of faith with his power and wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18–25). Therefore, the question we should be asking each day is more profound than, Have I said a prayer? That’s a good thing to do. But we should be asking ourselves, Am I trusting God right now, where it counts for me? If we welcome God as our ally and yield to his way, his timing, his control, his glory, he will fight for us. And we will have no regrets. He never lets faith go unmet. But if we set our own terms, we will fight alone.
Unlike what Ahaz was given, the shadow of Christ has been replaced by the reality of Christ’s advent. He was born 2,000 years ago, and he really lived, died, and rose again from the dead.
If you have never done so, put your faith in Jesus (Immanuel) today, and repent of your sin. That is the first step.
And if you are facing any trial, obstacle, or difficulty, trust God always. Amen.
