Well, good evening. It's great to be with you even though we're separated by distance.
We often find that quotes are taken out of context. For example, in my family it's quite
common to use the line at the end of the evening, I'm off to bed, to sleep, perchance to dream.
Ignoring the fact that this is a quote from Hamlet where he's speaking about death.
Or people will quote Robert Frost's famous poem about the two roads that diverged in a wood as being about the triumph of individualism.
Whereas apparently it was meant to be about the futility of the decisions that we make.
Tonight we come to a passage that has one verse in the middle that is well known.
But rarely do we think about where it comes from and the context in which it was written.
That verse is verse 14 which says,
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel.
Last week Jonathan took us through chapter 6 where we read of Isaiah's vision of the Lord high and lifted up
in all his glorious majesty and splendor.
And then we heard of his commission to Isaiah to go and speak to a people who would not listen to him.
And we heard that he was to keep on speaking until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant.
This week we see the beginning of that thankless task.
And the beginning of that journey towards destruction.
Tonight's passage is one of fear and of failure.
It is probably around 18 years since Isaiah's commissioning.
And Ahaz, grandson of Uzziah, is now king in Judah.
By all accounts he was not a good king.
You can read all about his life in 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28.
To set the scene we need to understand a bit of what's going on in the world.
There are two main powers in the region at that time.
Egypt and Assyria.
Egypt to the south had been the major power but is in decline.
Assyria to the northeast in modern day Iraq is on the rise to become the regional superpower.
It's a highly cultured but cruel nation.
To the north of Judah are two smaller nations, Israel and Aram.
Israel is the northern Jewish kingdom, also known as Ephraim.
Their king is Pekah or the son of Ramalia.
Aram lies to the north of Israel in modern day Syria.
The king there was risen.
It seems that Egypt was trying to coordinate an uprising of these smaller nations to throw off Assyria.
Israel and Aram had agreed to join in but Judah refused.
As we will see, Ahaz had other plans.
Just a brief disclaimer before we go any further.
There is a lot in this passage that is difficult to understand.
I will not try and answer all the questions you might have.
Others much wiser than me have tried and failed.
But there are some things that shine through clearly and we will focus our attention there.
For those of you who like headings, we will be looking at the passage under three headings.
Fearing the wrong things.
Trusting the wrong things.
And a sign that can be trusted.
So to start fearing the wrong things.
At the beginning of the passage, we find Ahaz and all the people terrified.
The message has come that Aram and Ephraim, that is Israel, have formed an alliance and have invaded and are marching on Jerusalem.
Because Judah wouldn't join in the uprising against Assyria, they have turned on them and planned to divide the land between them and put their own puppet king in place.
And so we read in verse 2,
The hearts of Ahaz and all his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
It was completely natural for them to be afraid.
From their viewpoint, they were doomed.
It was surely only a matter of time before Jerusalem fell.
And there are many things in this world that cause us to fear.
Illness, death, unemployment, poverty, rejection, failure.
I'm sure you could fill in the list with things that cause you to fear.
And some of these fears have been made far more real to us in this last year.
Particularly to those of you working in hospitals and other vulnerable situations,
who have seen firsthand the ravages of this pandemic.
It's natural to fear.
But the real problem here is not that Ahaz fears Israel and Aram,
but that he does not fear God.
He's not just ambivalent towards God,
but he's actively engaged in the worship of the gods of all the nations around.
He has even offered his own children as sacrifices,
and he will ultimately close the doors of the temple and stop the worship there.
In the past, the nations had trembled before the people of Israel
because they had heard that the Lord was with them,
and they had heard of the wonders that he had done.
But Ahaz thought nothing of this.
He believed his best defence was to become as much like his neighbours as possible,
to worship their gods,
and to not stand out as different.
If these gods had given his enemies victory,
surely he should be worshipping them.
In the face of our fears,
are we tempted to compromise?
Are we tempted to think,
I know this isn't really right,
but everyone around me is doing it,
and it seems to be working out quite well for them.
But what Ahaz had not reckoned with
is the fact that these gods are no gods at all,
but that the Lord who he despises is truly God.
He is the one that is in control.
None of this is happening without his knowledge,
and actually more than this,
he is the one that is directing these nations.
In verse 14 we read,
the Lord will bring.
In verse 19,
the Lord will whistle for flies.
And in verse 20,
the Lord will use a razor
hired from beyond the Euphrates River.
These powerful nations that Ahaz fears
are nothing but pawns.
They are just tools in God's hand
to bring about his purposes.
In this case,
to discipline Judah
for their rebellion against him.
While it is natural
to be afraid of them,
it is the God
who is directing them
that should be feared.
And Ahaz wants nothing
to do with him.
But despite that,
despite his rejection,
God is still faithful.
He is faithful to his promises
and his people.
However much they fail,
however much they reject him,
however angry he is with them,
he will not ultimately
let them be destroyed.
And so he sends Isaiah
with a message to Ahaz,
whether he wants to hear it or not.
And the message is this.
Be careful,
keep calm,
and don't be afraid.
Do not lose heart
because of those
two smouldering stubs
of firewood.
Do not be afraid
of these nations.
Do not be afraid
of these kings
for they are only men.
And more than that,
they are smouldering stubs.
Yes, they may
be fiery hot,
but they will soon
burn out.
Aram
would soon
be conquered.
And in verse 8
we read
that Ephraim
will be too shattered
to be a people.
They will be crushed,
they will be dispersed,
they will be mixed
with other peoples
and will be lost.
They will no longer
be a people.
These nations
have conspired
to destroy Judah,
but the Lord says
through Isaiah,
it will not happen.
This does not mean
that they will not
inflict wounds
on Judah.
In fact,
from the accounts
in Kings and Chronicles,
we know that they
inflicted heavy casualties.
But ultimately,
they will not prevail.
Jerusalem
will stand.
Judah
will not
be destroyed.
Ahaz
was fearing
the wrong things.
He was fearing
these nations
that ultimately
would fall.
And he was not
fearing
the God
who was in control
of it all.
But we also
see in this passage
that he was trusting
the wrong things.
Because rather than
joining the alliance
with Egypt,
or trusting in God
for protection
as he should have done,
he decided
to take a different
route
and to look
to Assyria,
the growing superpower
that everyone feared
for salvation.
rather than
fighting the enemy,
he chose
a path of appeasement.
In 2nd Kings 16,
we read,
Ahaz
sent messengers
to say to Tiglath-Pileser,
king of Assyria,
I am your servant
and vassal.
Come up
and save me
out of the hand
of the king of Aram
and of the king of Israel
who are attacking me.
And Ahaz
took the silver
and gold
found in the temple
of the Lord
and in the treasuries
of the royal palace
and sent it as a gift
to the kings of Assyria.
He humbles himself
before this king,
Tiglath-Pileser.
He is the king
of the nation
that is meant
to represent God
to the world.
He is of the line
of David
and sits on the throne
of David.
And he is declaring
himself
to be a mere servant,
a vassal,
literally a son
of this pagan king.
This is not
an alliance,
but this is
submission
as a subject.
And he gives
tribute to him,
not just any old tribute,
but as well as
the wealth
of the palace treasury.
He gives the gold
and silver
from the temple,
the things
that were dedicated
to the worship
of God.
And yes,
the king
of Assyria
will come
to his begging.
He will come
with his armies,
but he doesn't
care
at all
about Judah.
He is only
interested
in expanding
his own power.
the one thing
that Ahaz
is unwilling
to trust
is God.
But Isaiah
brings the message,
if you do not
stand firm
in your faith,
you will not
stand at all.
The same God
who will bring down
resin and pekah
is the God
in whose hands
Ahaz is.
If he does not
turn back
to God,
he too
will fall.
However,
knowing
Ahaz's
lack of faith,
God tells him
to ask for a sign,
any sign
that he wants,
to show
that the message
given through Isaiah
is reliable
and to be trusted.
We often see
asking for signs
being criticised.
For example,
Jesus would say
a wicked
and adulterous
generation
looks for a sign.
Asking for a sign
is seen
as showing
lack of faith.
But here we see
that God is willing
to give a sign
to Ahaz
precisely because
his faith
is lacking.
But Ahaz
does not want
a message
or a sign
from God.
on the face
of it,
it sounds
like piety.
In fact,
he uses
almost the same
words that
Jesus would
later use
when tempted
by the devil.
I will not
put the Lord
to the test.
But this is
false piety.
He does not
refuse
because of his
faith.
He refuses
because he has
already decided
what to do.
He believes
he has no
need for God.
And above all,
he does not
want to be
inconvenienced
by what God
might expect
of him.
I wonder
if there are
times
when we don't
want to see
what God
wants to show
us
because we
do not want
to hear
what he might
be telling
us.
We don't
want to listen
to his
word,
to hear it
preached,
because we're
scared of
what we
might be
expected to
do in
response.
But despite
Ahaz refusing
to ask,
God gives
a sign
anyway.
And so we
come to our
final and
biggest point,
a sign
that can be
trusted.
Once again,
we see that
despite Ahaz,
God is
faithful.
God is
not the
sign,
but it's
not the
sign,
but it's
not the
sign,
but it's
not the
sign,
but it's
not the
sign.
God is
no longer
speaking to
Ahaz.
He is
speaking to
the nation
at large.
Ahaz has
refused a
sign,
but he will
give a sign
to the
nation that
they might
believe.
And it's
not the
sort of
sign that
they might
have been
expecting.
It's the
birth of a
son,
a specific
son with
a specific
name.
Actually,
there are at
least three
sons mentioned
in this
passage,
and they all
have significant
names that
communicate a
message to
the people.
people.
In chapter
eight, we
read of
Isaiah
fathering a
son with
the mouthful
of a name
Maher
Shalal
Hashbaz.
This name
means something
like quick
to the
plunder.
And the
prophecy is
given that
before he
can even
say mama
or dada,
the first
words that
most children
speak,
Assyria
will come
in and
plunder
their enemies.
the nations
that they
feared so
much will
fall to
the might
of Assyria.
So has
the plan of
Ahaz worked
out after
all?
Assyria will
solve all his
problems.
We need to
keep reading
because in
verse seven
of chapter
eight, we
read,
the Lord
is about to
bring against
them,
that's against
Aram and
Israel,
the mighty
floodwaters
of the
Euphrates,
the king
of Assyria
with all
his pomp.
It will
overflow
all its
channels,
run over
all its
banks,
and sweep
on into
Judah,
swirling
over it,
passing
through it,
and reaching
up to the
neck.
Assyria will
come against
Aram and
Israel.
Unlike a
river which
has burst
its banks,
it will keep
on going
into Judah.
Tiglath
Pileser is
not a
friend that
can be
trusted.
And is
that not
the same
with things
we trust
in, to
save us
from the
things we
fear?
Be it our
job, our
friends, our
family, our
savings, our
pension, even
the vaccines that
we're pinning our
hopes on, they
may all be
good, they
may all help,
but ultimately
they cannot be
fully relied on
and may
fail us.
At the
beginning of
chapter 7,
another son of
Isaiah was
mentioned,
Shir Yashub.
This name
means a
remnant
will return.
Yes,
things are
bad.
Yes, they're
going to get
worse, but
God is still
faithful.
He has
made promises
to his
people and
he will
not abandon
them.
Because we
read the
floodwaters
will only
come up to
their neck.
They will
not
ultimately be
destroyed.
If God
was not in
control,
if God was
not restraining
these mighty
armies, they
would have been
completely
annihilated.
the children
of Israel
would have
been wiped
out.
God's
promises
would have
failed.
And
ultimately,
the promised
Messiah would
not come.
And we
would not be
here today.
Which brings
us to the
third child,
in that
well-known
verse,
verse 14,
which is
quoted in
Matthew 1.
Therefore,
the Lord
himself will
give you a
sign.
The virgin
will conceive
and give
birth to a
son, and
will call
him
Emmanuel.
This
sign is
promised to
a nation
fearing
annihilation
by powerful
armies.
This sign
is promised
to a
godless king
who has
led his
people astray.
Where they
might be
looking,
for great,
powerful
deliverance.
They are
given the
sign of
a child.
But the
sign is
given to
give them
hope.
Much of
prophecy
seems to
have multiple
fulfilments.
It speaks
of events
near at hand
when it
was written,
and also
speaks of
things that
happen in
the future,
sometimes the
distant future.
future.
And it
seems that
this is
one of
these
prophecies.
The
events we
are told
it will
precede,
the
destruction
of their
neighbours
that they
fear,
is in
the near
future.
So it
seems that
this verse
must have
had a
fulfilment
at that
time.
There are
many
theories on
who this
child might
be,
but that
is one of
the questions
that we're
not going
to be able
to answer
today.
But if
this verse
wasn't
quoted in
Matthew,
referring to
the birth
of Christ,
we would
just stop
there,
think nothing
more about
it,
it would
be yet
another
obscure
prophecy
to
ancient
Judah.
But it
is.
And that
brings us
to the
other
difficulty
in this
verse.
What does
the word
which is
translated
virgin
actually
mean?
Many of
your Bibles
will have
the footnote
or a
young woman.
It seems
that this
word just
means a
young
unmarried
woman.
Virgin
is implied
but not
explicit.
This would
just be a
question for
the academics
and Hebrew
scholars if
it wasn't
something that
is used
frequently to
attack the
credibility of
the Christian
faith.
People love
to point at
this and
say,
see,
it doesn't
mean virgin.
The virgin
birth is all
made up just
like the rest
of your
faith.
Except that
argument doesn't
work.
the Greek
translation of
the Old
Testament,
which is
quoted in
Matthew's
Gospel,
uses the
word
parthenos,
which is
precise in
its meaning.
But even if
it wasn't,
even if this
verse in
Isaiah never
existed,
the Gospels
make it
explicitly clear.
In Luke's
Gospel,
Mary asks,
Mary is not
stupid.
She knows
about the
birds and
the bees,
and therefore
she knows
that she
cannot
conceive a
child.
In Matthew's
Gospel,
the angel
tells Joseph,
what is
conceived in
her is
from the
Holy Spirit,
and then
explicitly goes
on to state,
he did not
consummate their
marriage until
she gave birth
to a son.
Why am I
laboring this
point?
Because it's
important.
if Jesus
was just
another baby
conceived in
the normal
manner,
as all of
us are,
then he is
just human.
And if
Jesus is
just a
man,
yes,
a man
somehow
specially
anointed by
God for
a special
ministry,
filled with
the Spirit
in a special
way,
then we
have a big
problem.
Because if
Jesus is not
fully God,
then he has
no power
to offer
forgiveness.
He is just
a man
spouting nice
platitudes,
a man who
is mistaken
about his
own identity,
a man who
ultimately died
an unfortunate
death.
At best,
he is like
one of the
high priests
who had to
offer sacrifices
for his own
sins,
before offering
the sacrifices
on behalf
of the people.
people.
But also,
if God is
not fully
man,
if he was
just some
sort of
avatar,
just a
pure spirit
wearing flesh
as a
costume,
then he
cannot represent
us.
He does
not understand
our weakness.
He can't
act on our
behalf before
his Father.
Savior.
If Jesus
is not
fully God
and fully
man,
then he
cannot be
our Savior.
I wonder
if the
disciples,
looking back,
re-read this
verse,
and it struck
them.
Oh,
so that's
what it
means.
A virgin
conceives.
we never
in our
wildest
dreams
realized it
meant that.
We assumed
it was just
poetic.
But now
we see,
now we
know what
Isaiah was
talking about
all that
time ago.
And so
back to the
name,
Emmanuel,
which means
God
with us.
We first
see the
significance of
this name
at Isaiah's
time.
In the
events that
were happening,
it would be
easy for
them to
think that
God had
abandoned
them.
But he
wants them
to know
that even
though he
is bringing
the armies
of Assyria
against them,
he is with
them,
and he is
waiting for
them to cry
out to him.
We see the
name mentioned
again twice
in chapter
8,
in verses
8 and
10.
In verse
8, it
seems to
be a cry
of distress.
Many
translations
render it
as,
O Emmanuel.
They
long to
see God
with them.
In the
face of
the destruction
brought by
Assyria,
they finally
cry out to
God.
As the
Christmas
carol puts
it,
O come,
Emmanuel,
and ransom
captive
Israel.
We see
the response
to this
in verse
10.
All the
plans that
the nations
might make,
however powerful
their empires,
are futile
and ultimately
doomed.
For
Emmanuel,
for God
is with
us.
God
is
fulfilled
in a
far greater
way.
In the
birth of
Christ,
in the
birth of
Christ,
in Jesus,
we see
God with
us, not
just in
some abstract
way,
but instead,
as we read in
John's gospel,
he made his
dwelling among
us.
He grew
up as
a human
child.
He walked
about the
roads of
Galilee and
Judea.
He was
hungry.
He was
tired.
He wept.
He died.
As one
song puts
it,
what if
God was
one of
us?
Well,
he was.
He is the
image of
the invisible
God.
He fully
reveals God
to us.
That's all
very well,
but what
about today?
Well,
Jesus promised,
surely I am
with you
always to
the very
end of
the age.
And he
promised that
he would
give us
another
comforter,
one to
walk beside
us, to
dwell within
us.
He is
with all
people who
have put
their trust
in him,
in the
person of
the Holy
Spirit.
And so we
can sing
the words
of the
song,
I know
who goes
before me.
I know
who stands
behind.
The God
of angel
armies is
always by
my side.
Whom
shall I
fear?
And we
could just
stop there.
fear.
If we
are trusting
in the
God who
is with
us,
then what
have we
to fear?
The worst
that the
world can
do is
nothing if
God is
with us.
In some
ways, we
don't have
to cry
out,
O come,
Emmanuel.
He has
come,
and he
has promised
that he
is with
us,
and yet
we still
groan.
Yes, God
is with
us, but
we can't
see him,
and we
don't always
feel him.
Yes, we
don't have
the armies
of Assyria
coming against
us, and
yet we know
things aren't
right.
We've
perhaps felt
more than
ever in this
past year
just how
broken this
world is,
and so we
cry out for
something more,
and rightly
so,
because we
have promised,
we have been
promised something
more.
Ever since
our first
parents were
thrown out of
the garden,
where they had
walked with
God in the
cool of the
day, the
ultimate goal
has been for
that day when
once more the
dwelling of
God is
with men.
They will be
his people,
and God
himself will
be with
them and
be their
God.
He will
wipe every
tear from
their eyes.
There will
be no more
death or
mourning or
crying or
pain, for
the old
order of
things has
passed away.
And so to
conclude, we
have seen the
danger of,
like Ahaz,
fearing the
wrong things,
fearing the
things that we
see around us,
terrifying as
they may be,
and spurning
the God who
is in control
of them.
And we have
seen the
danger of
putting our
trust in the
wrong things,
armies,
friends,
savings,
vaccines,
and finding
that they
cannot deliver
everything that
we need.
But failing to
trust in the
God who
can be
relied on and
will never
fail.
And we've
seen how this
was demonstrated
in sending a
sign that can
be trusted,
his own
son,
Emmanuel,
God with
us,
who was
fully human,
fully God,
able to be a
mediator,
the mediator
that we
needed between
us and
God.
And he is
the one that
has promised
to be with
us.
He is the
one that walks
beside us
through all
the fears
and storms
of life.
And ultimately,
he is the
one that
will bring
about that
day,
when he
will be
with us
in a
fuller,
a more
glorious way,
when the
fears of
this broken
world are
a distant
memory.
And so we
can end
with the
final words
of Revelation,
the last
verses of
our Bible.
people.
He who
testifies to
these things
says,
yes,
I am
coming soon.
Amen.
Come,
Lord Jesus.
The grace
of the Lord
Jesus be
with God's
people.
Amen.