The Joy of His Coming

God with us...

When I think about the truth that God sent His one and only Son into this world I am filled with amazement, aren’t you?

And when I think of God’s plan, I am amazed that He loved humanity, his creation so much that He would craft the world in such a way, that He would receive all the glory, even when man rebelled and sinned so early on...

But that is part of free will, God allowing us to have a choice in this world.

And the choices of man have brought suffering and sadness, and to be fair, as we (humanity) have honored God, we have seen some good as well.

But in all things, God gets the glory… amen!

Let me run to back to a passage we looked at briefly last Sunday morning for a few minutes this evening.

So lets take our Bibles and lets find the book of Isaiah, and lets examine chapter 7, verse 14

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

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.

Isaiah 7:14–16 ESV

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.

Judah is being threatened here in this chapter. The King of Israel (Ephramin v 2) and the King of Syria are hoping to whip up on King Ahaz of Judah, he has really just come to the throne.

But these others hope to force Ahaz into and alliance to defeat the Assyrians.

But in verse 4, God tells Ahaz through he prophet that he has nothing to fear.

Isaiah 7:4 ESV

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.

They need to fear for the Lord has already devised their downfall, in verses 7-9

We know from History, within 65 years the Northern Kingdom will fall to the Assyrians, this happens in 722 BC. We also know by 670bc, the culture as so changed that their own ethnic identity has changed as well due to all the foreign settlers living in the area now.

But here is a great truth, there was still hope for the southern Kingdom. God was giving them the opportunity to stand with Him and not fall away like the nothern 10 tribes...

The end of verse nine lays it out… b

Isaiah 7:9 ESV

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.’ ”

“...If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’ ”

Notice the word play, if you are not firm, you cannot be firm at all… if your faith is not firm, your life will have no stability...

God calls for Ahaz to put his faith in Him but Ahaz has put his faith in the king of Assyria, Ahaz has given him gold from the temple to defeat the king of Syria.

Ahaz will not even take God up on his challenge to ask for a sign to strengthen his faith, instead he trusts man....

So God instead will tell him a sign is coming, one that all will know...

and the Lord gives him that sign...

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

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.

Inspite of you Ahaz, the Lord will give you a sign

I love that phrase, the Lord himself. In a time when people might want to say God is Mother instead of Father, here, very clearly it says God, Himself… another proof that it is masculine. He is the Lord our God....

But God himself will send a sign Ahaz, one that regardless of faith no one can miss...

Behold a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, meaning ...God with us...

God with us...

A virgin… a woman who had known not a man, would conceive inside of her a male child, a son!

Luke 1:35 ESV

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.

Can you imagine those words as Mary heard them for the first time.

The child born in you will be called Holy… I love that… Holy meaning one without sin, spot or blemish. Right and upright in all His doings… perfect.

listen to Justin Martyr, early church father

Old Testament X: Isaiah 1–39 Virgin Conception (Justin Martyr)

Through the prophetic spirit God announced beforehand that things which are unimaginable and believed to be impossible for human beings would take place, in order that when it occurred it would be believed and received by faith because it had been promised.

Isaiah 7 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!” 18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures. 20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also. 21 In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey. 23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24 With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

The sign that was given “you” was for the sake of the house of believing David, God remembering his covenant with David.. not for the unbelieving Ahaz’s sake…

And the name… here Jesus is not mentioned..the name i mean. just the phrase that concerns His attributes… Immanuel, meaning God with us

He becamse flesh and dwelt literally pitched his tent...

How wonderful is the love of our Father that he as shown us this love by sending the the Son to us to redeem us from our sin.

And so we celebrate, His entrance, Jesus into the world becasue of God’s love and plan for all of humanity.

And here is the better part… God gets all the glory for what we enjoy. His love, His plan, His honor and his Son...

amen