The Promise of Immanuel (Is 7:1-17)

Introduction:

We have taken a pause in our study of Ephesians, and began last week our advent series entitled, Immanuel: God With Us, in which we plan to unpack the full spectrum of what the incarnation meant to God’s covenant of redemption. We saw last week the God part of Immanuel before he became flesh from Isaiah 6, and caught a glimpse of The Glory of Immanuel. We saw that the preincarnate Christ, high and lifted up, and that as God, he is in control of all things as the sovereign of the universe.

But how sovereign is God? What happens when sinful man does not obey God’s commands, does that somehow nullify his plans? We will answer this questions this morning in our second sermon of our advent series, entitled The Promise of Immanuel, from Is 7:1-17.

Text: Isaiah 7:1-17

Isaiah 7:1–17 ESV

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!”

Main Idea: Since God is the controller of history, the failure of men does not thwart his plans for history.

Background:

Last week we ended with Isaiah’s commission to go for the Lord. That commission amounted to Isaiah speaking to a people about repentance of their disobedience against God, who would close their ears and hearts to that message.

Let’s listen to what God is telling Isaiah to say:

Isaiah 6:9–13 ESV

9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.

According to this passage, the only hope is in the stump. This brings us into chapter 7 for this morning’s message.

Let’s try and understand the context of this passage. Most of us know verse 14, the part about the virgin giving birth to Immanuel, but why was this verse important to the context surrounding it?

Here’s the background that will help lead us to the answer...Ahaz (735 B.C., the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah), has just begun his reign, and is being seriously threatened by the alliance of Pekah, king of Israel (“Ephraim,” v. 2), with Rezin, king of Syria, against Assyria. The dark cloud of Assyria is closing in on the northern kingdom of Israel, so these two kings in alliance are threatening to invade Judah if Ahaz would not help them against Assyria. Isaiah is sent to Ahaz to assure him that he has nothing to fear from their threats.

I. The Setting (1-2)

(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. - as mentioned in the opening background, Rezin (King of Syria), and Pekah (son of Remaliah, King of Israel), waged war against Ahaz (King of Judah) in order to persuade him to ally with them against Assyria.

(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. - It wasn’t the first time that Israel and Judah have gone to war against each other, but this time Israel was in league with Syria, much to the chagrin of Ahaz and the people. But instead of bringing the matter before the Lord of Hosts, they chose to seek help elsewhere; from Assyria itself.

However, though men continue to fail God, the covenant keeping sovereign of the universe sends Isaiah to Ahaz:

II. The Prophesy (3-9)

(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. - Isaiah is sent with his son to meet Ahaz…just as always, it is God seeking us, not us seeking God!

Shear-jashub your son - “A remnant shall return” (10:20–22) is a name representing a promise of salvation and life for the faithful beyond the imminent doom of the unfaithful. Judah may suffer, but a remnant will remain (the stump - 6:13).

conduit of the upper pool - Water supplies are crucial in case of a siege of the city.

(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.

Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint...at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah - Defiance in the face of evil is called for by the faithfulness of God, and so there is a good reason for not fearing them.

two smoldering stumps of firebrands - These two kingdoms are about to be destroyed, or extinguished: Damascus in 732 B.C. by Tiglath-pileser III, and Samaria in 722 B.C. by Sargon II.

(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,”- the purpose for their judgment is their desire to usurp the throne of Ahaz and put in his place their own puppet king. The promises of God were given only to the royal line of David (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12–16), and Tabeel is apparently not from this line.

(7) thus says the Lord God: “ ‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. - Human threats are to be dismissed and divine promises firmly trusted, for the Lord GOD vetoes human intentions.

(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.

For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin - identification of the Syrians, their land, and their king.

within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. - The northern kingdom fell to Assyria in 722 B.C. By around 670 B.C. the ethnic identity of the former kingdom would have been decisively transformed, due to the importation of foreign settlers (cf. 2 Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:1–2, 10).

(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.’ ”

And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. - this is the identification of the northern kingdom and king that will be scattered from being a people. This also may refer to the remnant, who will be those who will not align themselves with Samaria.

If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. - The southern kingdom still has an opportunity to hold fast to God, but their faith must be firm. The wordplay on firmness (“not firm … not be firm”) connects unbelief with instability. Unbelief in God destabilizes everything for Ahaz, not just his religious life.

The basic issue in ch. 7 is that Ahaz and the Lord (speaking through Isaiah) have completely different views concerning the threat from the coalition of Syria and Ephraim. Though Ahaz is the heir of David’s throne, he has put his firm faith (v. 9) in the king of Assyria and he has given gold from the temple to the Assyrians, to induce them to attack Syria (2 Kings 16:1–9). Thus Ahaz placed his hope for salvation in human power rather than in the Lord. But Isaiah calls for Ahaz and all of Jerusalem to put their firm faith in a far more reliable ally: “the Lord himself” (Isa. 7:14).

III. The Promise (10-17)

But God, knowing weak Ahaz’s proneness to trust in tangible things rather then the sovereign God, tells him to...

(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.” - To bring Ahaz and Judah back into proper focus, the Lord invites Ahaz to request a sign to strengthen his faith

(12) But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” - Ahaz makes his refusal sound spiritual, quoting (Deuteronomy 6:16 “16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.”) , but in reality he has already made up his mind to place his faith in the chariots and horsemen of Assyria rather than in the Lord, to which the Lord responds...

(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? - Isaiah then addresses the “house of David,” accusing the royal house of wearying God. It’s as if Ahaz is saying that he is refusing to consider God in any of this and is able, apart from God to fix the situation. As a result, God will choose the sign...

(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.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign - As a result, the Lord (adonai), the sovereign over all things, will give the sign…

virgin - This Hb. word occurs seven times in the OT. It means a young woman of marriageable age, who in ancient Judah and Israel was normally a virgin (Gen. 24:43). The Septuagint translates the Hb. word with a Gk. term that specifically means “virgin.” The NT understands the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise to be the Virgin Mary...Matt. 1:23

Matthew 1:23 ESV

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Immanuel - “God with us.” Conveys God’s promise, in spite of all human failure and disobedience, to save, bless, and protect His children. It should be noted that the word Immanuel is more of a title then a name. For instance, Isaiah prophesied that Judah will also be devastated by the Assyrian invasion but that would God prevented complete annihilation from happening, and thus Isaiah labeled Judah, “Immanuel”.

Isaiah 8:5–8 ESV

5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”

The identities of the virgin and the child have been the subject of considerable discussion, and two basic interpretations exist.

Some hold that the sign has a single fulfillment—that is, the sign points originally and solely to the birth of Jesus as the “ultimate” Messiah. Those who hold this view emphasize the understanding of ʿalmah (Hebrew) only as “virgin,” thus precluding any “near term” fulfillment before the birth of Jesus; this view understands “Immanuel” as a title rather than a personal name. God will use any means to do this, even miraculous ones: this is a rebuke to the faithless and secular outlook of Ahaz.

However, there are those who see in this sign a more immediate application to Ahaz and his times usually argue that the prophecy has a double fulfillment—that is, both a smaller, immediate fulfillment in Isaiah’s day and a complete, long-term fulfillment in the birth of the Messiah. Those who hold this view argue that it is natural for the name “Immanuel” to be understood in terms of double fulfillment, since:

two other “sons” perform similar symbolic roles in the context (cf. 7:3; 8:3–4).

They argue further that the prophet’s own interpretation of the sign in 7:16–17 applies it directly to Ahaz’s own day.

It should be observed that this understanding of the text in no way diminishes Matthew’s affirmation of the supernatural conception and virgin birth of Jesus (cf. also Luke 1:34–35).

Luke 1:34–35 ESV

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Even if the prophecy does include an immediate application to the time of Ahaz, however, the prophecy cannot have been fulfilled completely by the birth of someone like Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isa. 8:1, 3) or by Hezekiah, as some have suggested, since, as we will see in next weeks sermon, chapter 9:6 prophesies the birth of a son whose name will be “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”—a statement that could apply only to the Davidic Messiah.

On this understanding, then, the prophecy of 7:14 foretells the birth of Immanuel, which was fulfilled partially in Isaiah’s time but fully and finally in the person of Jesus Christ.

Faithful interpreters can be found on either side of this debate. One should not, therefore, lose sight of those truths on which all agree:

the prophet speaks authoritatively for God;

Ahaz and his house stand under judgment; the prophetic sign directly meets the failures of Ahaz’s day;

fulfillment of the prophecy comes about through direct divine intervention in human history; and

the sign finds its final fulfillment in the virgin birth of Jesus the Messiah, who is literally “God with us.”, and he will provide the ultimate remedy of sin and reconciliation!

It should be noted, that it is common in scripture to have a double fulfillment of certain prophesied events, one resulting from a near event, and one yet in the future…sometime called “Already”, and “Not Yet” prophesies…example:

Hosea 11:1 ESV

1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Matthew 2:15 ESV

15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

However, one word of caution is that we must allow scripture to define those immediate and future fulfillments of stated prophesies and not engage in using our imaginations to do so.

So we see that the sign given to Ahaz, has a complete fulfillment in the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, but also an immediate, partial fulfillment, during the time of Ahaz, which is what we see next:

(15) He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.

curds and honey - Not typical food for infants, but they point to a time when people will have to live off unworked fields (v. 22). The child is identified with the remnant.

when he knows how to refuse the evil - The boy is not just able to distinguish between right and wrong, but he actively chooses what is right, in contrast to the failed leadership of Israel that has been insensitive to social and spiritual values (5:11–23). What is true of this child in an imperfect and lesser way is perfectly and fully true of Jesus Christ (42:1–4), thus, this child becomes a type of the coming Messiah.

(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.

For before - Before the time required for a child to reach an age of adult moral accountability—twelve years—Pekah and Remaliah will both be defeated. In this understanding, “boy” points primarily to Isaiah’s son and secondarily to Christ.

the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. - In fact, Syria did fall to Assyria in 732 B.C. and Israel fell in 722.

The near fulfilment of the child born, is probably Isaiah son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, who becomes the time piece for determining the fulfillment of this prophesy of judgment against these two nations:

Isaiah 8:3–4 ESV

3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

Maher-shalal-hash-baz - means, “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens”, referring to the quickening of the Assyrian army to conquer these two kings.

(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!” - But the agent of deliverance—the king of Assyria—was a worse disaster for Judah. Ahaz forsook “the King, the LORD of hosts” (6:5) for a dreaded earthly king. He foolishly hired the military support of Assyria (2 Kings 16:5–9), for in his spiritual blindness he could not discern between his true ally and his true enemy. Ahaz’s unbelief doomed the Davidic dynasty to loss of sovereignty under foreign domination. Now God must restore the throne of David and save the world, which he does through the child, born of the virgin!

So What?

Do we understand that Christmas, the incarnation of the Son of God, was in fact God’s sovereign hand superintending all the events in history, even over men with evil intentions and men who knew better yet engaged in blatant disobedience?

Are we, like King Ahaz, quick to run to earthly answers to our catastrophes rather then believing the truth of God’s word?

Do we truly believe that Jesus, the Christ, was and is Immanuel, God with us?