The Sign Of Immanuel

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.