Yahweh's Sign

Isaiah 7:1–17 ESV

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. 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. 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. Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, “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,” thus says the Lord God: “ ‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. 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. 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.’ ” Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 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!”

Have you ever faced a problem that seemed insurmountable and unsolvable?

Perhaps you are in the middle of such a trial right now.

How are you facing it?

Isaiah, in his advice to Ahaz, gives us five disciplines to face insurmountable problems.

In Isaiah 7:2, we see Ahaz and the people shaking like trees in the wind. They are consumed by fear.

In the trial you are currently in, can you relate to Ahaz and the people of Judah?

Do you often find yourself like a tree shaking in the wind, being consumed by what might be or even what is?

Where is their fear coming from? Where is your fear coming from?

Their fear comes from the threat of the king of Syria and the king of Israel invading the land of Judah. From a human standpoint, this is a very legitimate reason to fear.

This fear is further compounded because they do not have a relationship with God. They are, in fact, in rebellion against God and have hardened their hearts to the message God has for them. We can read all about their spiritual state in 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28.

What threat is causing fear in your heart?

Bring that fear before the LORD in lament. Engage God in your fear. Do not run from him, for he has made provision.

Isaiah meets Ahaz at a place of provision, “at the end of the conduit of the upper pool”. He has come to him with a message of provision and hope, but Ahaz has eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.

Hear the words of comfort from Isaiah in verse 4: “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint.”

Here we have four of the five disciplines to process the fear in our lives.

The first exhortation is “to be careful”. The idea is to guard one's behaviour. Fear often prompts irrational actions. We must be careful not to act on those. Instead, seek godly counsel from individuals who are not consumed by fear. We then choose to act on their counsel.

The second exhortation is “to be quiet”. This is not a quiet of repression, but a quiet of surrendering to rest in God. When we are afraid, our minds do not want to rest. Our minds either race or deny, but rarely do we apply the discipline of rest. This idea of surrendering rest is captured by God’s command, “Be still and know that I am God”. We can enter the quietness of rest because we know that he is working.

The third exhortation is: “Do not fear”. We do not need to be at the mercy of our emotions. We manage our emotions through lament with God. We need to remember that emotions are not sinful. It is how we manage them that can produce sin. We all need to manage our emotions through lament.

The fourth exhortation is: “Do not let your heart be faint.” This is a command not to despair. When fear grips us, it is easy to give up hope. It is easy to forget God and be crushed by the insurmountable problem. Isaiah wants us to choose hope, to trust in Yahweh, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, and is working all things for the good of his people.

Isaiah comes to Ahaz again in verse 10 to speak for the LORD. Yahweh tells Ahaz to ask for a sign from him; it could be anything as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven. Ahaz, in his hardness of heart, refuses to ask for a sign. He sees it as testing God. The irony is that he has been testing God with his disobedience and rebellion his entire life. Yahweh, in his grace, is reaching out to show himself faithful, and Ahaz, in the hardness of his heart, is refusing to hear or see God's invitation.

This does not stop God from giving the sign to him anyway in Isaiah 7:14

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

There is much debate among scholars on how to interpret the Sign of Immanuel. They fall into three categories.

The first interpretation of the Sign of Immanuel is that it is for that time; thus, a maiden gives birth to a son and names him Immanuel. There is much speculation as to who the maid and child are, since the text is unclear.

The second interpretation of the Sign of Immanuel is that it is a two-fold prophecy. It is first fulfilled as a sign to Ahaz when a maiden gives birth to a son and names him Immanuel. The second is a greater fulfillment in the virgin birth of Jesus as seen in Matthew 1:21-23 and Luke 1:31-34.

The third interpretation of the Sign of Immanuel is that it is a sign given to the house of David and not directly to Ahaz. Therefore, there is no need for it to have immediate fulfillment. The Sign of Immanuel, then, refers only to the virgin birth of Jesus, as we are instructed by Matthew and Luke.

I do not have time to discuss these at length today, but I would be happy to discuss them with you this week.

The significance of this sign is in the promise of Immanuel - God with us.

The practice of his presence is the fifth discipline. It is in this context that we apply the other four disciplines.

God is with you to help you be careful.

God is with you to help you be quiet.

God is with you, so do not fear.

God is with you, so do not let your heart be faint.

God is with you! Go in the presence of the LORD.