THE SIGN OF IMMANUEL
Isa. 7:1-8:10
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Judy Moore and her family sat down at the dinner table. On the menu was leftovers. As they were saying grace, the mother, Judy, noticed that her youngest son wasn’t joining in. Afterward, she asked him why.
2. His response: “Because I already thanked the Lord for this food last night!” [RD]
B. TEXT
77 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it. 3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go...meet Ahaz...4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood’—[Rezin & Pekah]. 7 [Defeat] will not take place, it will not happen...’” 10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah said...“14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." 8:8 [Assyria’s] outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, Immanuel! 10Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for ‘God is with us.’”
C. THESIS
1. The situation of Ahaz was impossible, but God guaranteed deliverance through a miracle Child, who was no ordinary child, but “God with us!”
2. This same Child promises US deliverance if we trust in Him and seek Him in prayer. The title of this message is “The Sign of Immanuel.”
I. THE THREAT & GOD’S COMFORT
A. JUDAH INVADED AND THREATENED
1. King Ahaz, son of Jotham, was shaken when 2 massive armies joined forces against little Judah. The Aramites under King Rezin (headquartered at Damascus) and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel (at Samaria)– both joined forces to easily conquer the tiny country of Judah and divide up the spoils. But they forgot there’s a God in Israel!
2. God sent Isaiah & his son Shear-Jashub (who’s name means ‘a remnant will return’ -- a name that gave hope) out to meet the shaken King Ahaz, who was returning from looking at the invading force.
3. God told Ahaz, “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid.” God didn’t want Ahaz to betray to his men his overpowering fear. Maybe God is saying that to some of you today, “Keep calm – in spite of the disaster that’s come into your life. Don’t be afraid. It may look hopeless, but you’re not alone; I’m with you!” Then God said, “Don’t lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood!” Wow! God didn’t consider them much of a threat. They looked so powerful to Ahaz, but they were nothing to God. Their planned invasion would not succeed; they would not be able to take Jerusalem.
4. Soon after, King Rezin was invaded & slain by Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria (16:9) and Pekah was assassinated. So ended their plot to despoil Judah.
5. But the danger wasn’t over. The Assyrians would again invade Immanuel’s land (‘God is with us,’ 8:8), which happened to Ahaz’s son Hezekiah (2 Kgs. 19:5-7). God again foretold through Isaiah that they would not take Jerusalem. God sent an angel to annihilate 185,000 of the soldiers (20:35-37) and the Assyrians withdrew and the king was assassinated.
B. THE SIGN THAT GOD WOULD SAVE ISRAEL
1. God asked Ahaz what sign he’d like as a guarantee that God would keep His Word. Ahaz refused to name a sign. So God gave him a sign of His own choosing – a virgin would conceive and give birth to a child that would known as Immanuel, “God with us” (Isa. 7:14). This prophesy had an immediate fulfillment, and a much-later prophetic fulfillment in Christ. It was a dual-prophecy.
2. The immediate fulfillment was that a child would be born (probably Isaiah’s son with the prophetess, Isa. 8:3-4) and God said that before the child could talk, both Rezin & Pekah would have their nations decimated (Isa. 7:15-16).
3. Matthew 1:20-23 connects the Isaiah 7:14 prophecies’ future fulfillment with the angel’s description of the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). The Holy Spirit and the divine DNA implanted in Mary was the means by which the miracle of Incarnation occurred.
II. IMMANUEL: GUARANTEE & IDENTITY
The word “sign” in Isa. 7:14 is the Hebrew “owth” – “a signal, flag, beacon, monument, omen, evidence; translated as miracle, sign, and token. It was used of the 10 plagues in Egypt and as the ‘token’ of the covenant.
A. WHAT CHILD IS THIS? HIS IDENTITY
1. Bishop Cyril said, "For although visible and a child in swaddling clothes, and even in the bosom of His Virgin Mother, He filled all Creation as God and was a fellow ruler with Him who begat Him for the Godhead is without quantity and dimension and cannot have limits."
2. “A child of a Virgin, what a mixture! In Him was the finite and the infinite; the mortal and the immortal, the corruptible and incorruption; humankind and Godhead; time married to eternity; God linked to the creation.” [CHS]
3. One day the Almighty God compressed himself down to a divine cell and fused it with the ovum of a Jewish teenager. The divine Cell grew and on Christmas morning God the Son was born! In Jesus is Undiminished Deity, perfect humanity. Immanuel -- God with us.
B. HIS NAME “IMMANUEL”
Parents in ancient times gave their children names which had meaning. Examples:
1. About Cain Eve said; “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” Cain means “Acquired.” Seth means “Appointed,” for his mother said, “God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel.” Noah means “Rest,” or “Comfort.” Ishmael means “God hears.” Isaac was called “Laughter.” Jacob was called the supplanter, or “heel catcher.”
2. We see in Mt. 1:23 that the Virgin Mary was instructed to prophetically call her son “Immanuel” and the name means, “God with us.” Think what that means!
C. ILLUS.: What Someone’s Presence Can Do
1. Charles Wesley lived out God’s example when he spent all night locked up with a group of prisoners scheduled to die the next day.
2. His testimony and presence were so effective that every one of them went to the gallows with the hope of eternal life.
3. The greatest present of Christmas is God’s presence. [In Other Words, p. 369] Have we received His Gift?
III. IMPLICATIONS OF GOD BEING WITH US
A. GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH HIS PEOPLE
1. God created us to fellowship with Him. He walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. He walked with Enoch, Noah, Abraham & many others.
2. God prepared the way for His presence to live among the nation of Israel, whom He traveled with, dwelt in a tent with, and finally in a Temple with for hundreds of years. His purpose was, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people” Lev. 26:12.
3. God’s presence was seen among them by a cloud by day and a fire by night. His presence was especially manifest around the Ark of the Covenant.
4. It was marvelous to see the miracles He performed, and the care He showed to Israel. But God wanted to get much closer to us than that. He wasn’t willing to be cordoned off behind a curtain in the Holy of Holies. He planned to come down and live among us in flesh & blood!
5. A supernatural Child, “God with us,” was born in Bethlehem. He owns the Promised Land (Isa. 8:8) and protects it and its people (8:10).
B. IMPLICATIONS OF THIS NAME
1. “God with us!” Wherever we are, He is with us. If we’re in some desert, we can still say, “God is with us.” If we’re on the wild ocean, and our ship is tossed by waves; we can still say, “Immanuel, God with us.” If we’re in a troubled jetliner at 30,000 feet, in the depths of the sea, or in a cavern deep in the earth, we can still say, “God is with us!”
2. What else does “God with us” mean? It reminds us that God is with us in our trials & tribulations. God has promised, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5) and “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt. 28:20).
3. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the Lord your God” Isa. 43:2-3.
C. OUR ADVERSARY, THE DEVIL, WILL BE DEFEATED
1. God says to him, “Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for ‘God is with us” (10).
2. God’s ‘being with us’ insures our victory over every plan, strategy, or scheme of the enemy. We WILL triumph and reign in victory in Christ. Don’t be afraid or dismayed, for your God is with you!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Joe McKeever told the story of a little girl named Rachel. Like many preschoolers, Rachel often woke up in the middle of the night, got scared & started crying. The only thing that would sooth her fears was crawling into bed with her mom & dad.
2. When Rachel’s Mom had to go out of town for a few days, her Dad came up with a new solution; “While Mom is away, how about I sleep in your room on the top bunk bed?”
3. Rachel thought it was a great idea, and that night, Rachel went right off to sleep. A couple of hours later, when her dad crawled into the top bunk, she was sound asleep and she slept all night.
4. The next morning, Dad congratulated her on her full night’s sleep. “It’s because you were in the room with me,” she said. “But how did you know I was there?” Dad asked. “You were asleep and I never woke you up the whole night.”
5. Rachel answered, “Because YOU SAID you would be there and you always keep your word.” [unknown]
6. Church, Jesus has said He’ll be with us, He will never leave us, so we can have the same peace that Rachel did, because Jesus always keeps His word too! Praise God!
B. THE CALL
1. Do you have a difficult situation you’re facing? Do you feel alone sometimes? The good news is, today, that God has a promise for you: You’re Not Alone.
2. You have a Champion who’s come to fight your battles and stand alongside you. You cannot lose, if you trust in Immanuel!
3. Let’s tell our troubles to Jesus. He alone loved you enough to come and die for you, and He’s come back – by His Spirit – to never leave you nor forsake you. PRAYER
