“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.”
Most of you are familiar with the story: Joseph had learned that Mary was with child, and he was making plans to divorce her quietly. An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying to Joseph: “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Mary will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” This, Matthew writes, is just what was prophesied by Isaiah.
The first thing the angel said to Joseph was, “Do not be afraid to marry Mary.” Apparently, Joseph was afraid. Not afraid like Indiana Jones in a boxcar full of snakes, maybe. But afraid. Afraid that his world would fall apart if he went forward with his original plans. Afraid that he would never again be the person he once was if he didn’t find some way to cope with the mess that life was dealing him at the moment—some way to make the mess go away. Joseph had examined the resources at his disposal, and he had determined the best way to proceed: divorce Mary.
The angel’s words came to Joseph like the promise of light in the darkness. Joseph received the promise in faith. He acted according to that promise, in faith. He put aside his best plan for dealing with the mess. He entered into God’s plan. God’s plans concerning Jesus moved forward. And Joseph was ok too—the circumstances that seemed so overwhelming that night faded into the background as new challenges came his way.
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.”
The Gospel of Matthew points to the fulfillment of this prophecy—of this promise—in the birth of Jesus.
This morning I want to take you back to the making of the promise—to the historical context in which the prophecy was given, and the historical figure to whom the prophecy was given.
Ahaz was one of the wickedest kings from the line of David ever to rule Judea. In chapter 16 of 2 Kings, we are told that Ahaz “did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” He followed the ways of the nations who had occupied Palestine before the children of Israel came into the land. He offered sacrifices and burned incense in the high places—a reference to the worship of Baal. He even sacrificed his son in fire—probably a reference to the worship of Molech. Ahaz was an unfaithful king, to say the least.
At the time of Ahaz, David’s kingdom had long since split in two. Israel, the northern kingdom, had routinely strayed from the ways of the Lord. Judea, the southern kingdom, went back and forth under the rule of faithful and unfaithful kings.
The king of Aram and the king of Israel came as allies against Judea. Ahaz was defeated badly. Chapter 28 of 2 Chronicles reports that thousands of Ahaz’s soldiers were killed and thousands more of his people were carried into captivity.
This is the background of Isaiah chapter 7.
Once again Aram and Israel come against Judea. They march against Jerusalem. This time they are repulsed. Still, the alliance is a powerful one. Verse 2 reports that “the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.”
Ahaz is at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road out of Jerusalem. This is Jerusalem’s main supply of water. He’s probably there to check the water supply against the possibility of siege by the invading armies. Ahaz is facing the biggest mess of his life. Jerusalem is in danger of falling. His kingdom, not to mention his life, is in danger of coming to an end. At the aqueduct, Ahaz examines the resources at his disposal and tries to determine the best way to proceed.
It’s here at the aqueduct that God sends to Ahaz, not an angel, but a prophet. It’s here that Ahaz is offered a promise of light in the darkness. It’s here that Ahaz rejects that promise.
Think about what happens when you have been in a dark room for a long time. Your eyes adjust to the darkness. Your pupils dilate to capture any glimmer of light from any source—a little moonlight peaking through a tear in the window shade, a child’s glow-in-the-dark ball lying in the corner. The ceiling light is off and you don’t even think about light from that source. Then someone flips the switch and the room is flooded with light. It’s unlikely that your first response is to look up and thank the person for the light. More likely you respond by clenching your eyes shut and growling to the person to turn the light back off! When you’ve been in the dark a while, your eyes don’t expect light, and when it comes they cannot receive it…not yet, not all at once. It can be pretty tempting to pull the covers over your head and stay in the darkness.
This is a little bit like what happens to Ahaz.
The Lord sends the prophet Isaiah and his son to visit King Ahaz at the aqueduct. Isaiah’s message for Ahaz is one of comfort and encouragement. “Keep calm, and do not be afraid.” These are a lot like the angel’s words to Joseph hundreds of years later.
Isaiah continues, “Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood.”
Isaiah is referring to the kings of Aram and Israel. Another preacher (Marc Axelrod, “The Prophecy of Immanuel”, sermoncentral.com) has expanded on this image. “Have you ever seen a burned out campfire? The stubs of wood that are left might be black. They might still be smoking. But they can’t hurt you anymore. They’re just about burned out."
Isaiah tells Ahaz that the kings of Aram and Israel are not as big a problem as they seem to be. A few more years and those kings will be gone and the power of their alliance will be shattered.
This is not so different from what the angel tells Joseph. This mess about your engagement to Mary and the questionable origins of her condition—this isn’t as big a problem as it seems to be.
Joseph believed the angel. Ahaz did not believe Isaiah.
There’s a key difference here between Joseph and Ahaz. Joseph was accustomed to walking in the light of the Lord his God. In the current darkness of his situation, it wasn’t so hard for him to adjust when the angel came in and flipped the switch. Ahaz had long been walking in darkness. He was not accustomed to trusting the promises of God. He was accustomed to scanning the darkness for any ray of light from any source whatsoever—even if it turned out to be false light. When Isaiah flipped the switch, Ahaz clenched his eyes shut.
The message of the angel to Joseph did not immediately change the circumstances of his situation. He was still faced with the social and religious and moral dilemma of being engaged to a pregnant woman. But Joseph was able to trust the promise of light enough to look past the immediate circumstances and trust that whatever God was doing in the future would be enough to deal with the mess of the present.
The message of Isaiah to Ahaz did not immediately change the circumstances of his situation either. There were still two powerful armies breathing down his neck, armies who had already defeated his army once. Being out of practice in the art of trust, Ahaz was not able to look past the immediate circumstances and trust that whatever God was doing in the future would be enough to deal with the mess of the present.
That’s the way of the walk of faith. God’s faithfulness never wavers. But it is our routine faithfulness in the little things, our routine faithfulness when things are going ok, that equips us for the times when trusting is a risk…the times when circumstances don’t seem to warrant trust…the times when we look around us and see no sign of hope. We are equipped to trust the promise of light in the darkness by our faithfulness when it isn’t so dark.
Joseph was in the habit of looking to God; Ahaz was in the habit of looking to idols. Joseph was prepared to look past the immediate circumstances to envision God’s promised future; Ahaz was overwhelmed by current circumstances and unable to see past them. Joseph trusted the promise enough to obey; Ahaz couldn’t trust the promise and needed to take control of his own security. Joseph is satisfied with the knowledge that the Lord is present; Ahaz wants battle plans and tangible assistance.
Through Isaiah, the Lord makes an incredible offer to Ahaz. “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” God actually invites Ahaz to ask for a sign. God offers tangible proof of his faithfulness to this incredibly unfaithful king.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes it is the people who have been walking the farthest away from God who are gifted with the most dramatic signs of God’s presence? It doesn’t seem fair, somehow. But our God is gracious, not fair.
God actually invites Ahaz to ask for a sign, any sign. And Ahaz rejects the offer. He uses pious-sounding words to rationalize his refusal. “I will not put the Lord to the test.” Isn’t Ahaz just being obedient to the commands of Deuteronomy? No. The command not to test God refers to demanding proof. Ahaz is being offered proof. Ahaz is being blatantly disobedient, because Ahaz is unable to trust, even when presented such an amazing offer.
The Lord gives him a sign any way. “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Isaiah’s words were a promise of light in the darkness. Ahaz didn’t have the faith to receive the promise. Ahaz acted, instead, according to his own efforts to determine the best way to proceed. He turned to the king of Assyria for help.
By the way, what Isaiah said about the kings of Aram and Israel was true. 2 Kings 15:30 says that the king of Israel was murdered by Hoshea, son of Elah. The year after that, the armies of Assyria invaded, and the king of Aram was killed. The kings that seemed so dangerous to Ahaz turned out to be nothing more than burned out stubs of firewood.
But Ahaz didn’t know that. Ahaz was afraid. Ahaz was facing the biggest challenge of his reign. He was in danger of losing his kingdom. He was in danger of losing his life. He needed help!
Ahaz had turned about as far from the God of his fathers as a king could turn. Having abandoned God, Ahaz was willing to do anything and bow to anybody when he found himself in need of help. Ahaz had been walking in the darkness for a long time, and he was accustomed to grasping at any ray of light from any source.
Ahaz turned to the king of Assyria, hoping for help against the immediate threats posed by Aram and Israel. In doing so, he added to his acts of unfaithfulness He despoiled the temple in Jerusalem to gain artifacts of silver and gold and bronze to use as bribes and tribute to the king of Assyria. He desecrated the temple by introducing an altar patterned after pagan Assyria and inquiring after Assyrian divination techniques.
Despite himself, however, Ahaz still entered into God’s plan. And God’s plans concerning Jesus still moved forward.
In chapter 1 of his gospel, Matthew provides a genealogy of Jesus through Joseph. It starts with Abraham and goes through David. It also goes through Ahaz. Even the unfaithfulness of his people cannot derail the plans of God.
There’s another difference between Joseph and Ahaz. Joseph is shown the fulfillment of the promise; Ahaz only has the promise itself.
We are fortunate to stand with Joseph here. For we too have been shown the fulfillment of the promise. We too are reminded of the promise when the fulfillment can already be glimpsed. Jesus was born. He was God with us. He was crucified. He was buried. He was raised from the dead. And through his Holy Spirit, he remains God with us.
“When life caves in, you do not need reasons -- you need comfort. You do not need some answers -- you need someone. And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation -- He comes to us with His presence.” (Source: Bob Benson, sermoncentral.com.)
