Title: “The Sign of Immanuel” Text: 7:1-17, :18-24

We are continuing in our adventure of discovering in the Old Testament, -and during this season of Advent we are turning to the Prophet Isaiah to point us to Jesus. -Isaiah is the Old Testament prophet whom God used to foretell the coming of the more than any other prophet in the Bible.

Last week we saw that Jesus, at the very beginning of his ministry, -went to the synagogue in his own hometown of Nazareth and was asked to read from the Scriptures during the worship service. -He was handed the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, and he turned to the passage in and read: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, -recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. -Jesus then told the people of his hometown: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

So you see, Jesus took that prophecy of Isaiah and said point blank: “This passage is about me.”

Well, there are a whole variety of passages in Isaiah that point directly to Jesus, and we are going to spend some time with a few of them during Advent. -This is because many of them are what we would call “Christmas texts.”

Today for instance, we turn to Isaiah chapter 7, and look at the place where Isaiah proclaimed that “a virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel.” -Turn with me to :1-17. ------

The sign of Immanuel! -In our earlier reading from the we were told that this sign was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus at Christmas. -But have you ever actually read this passage in Isaiah 7 where this sign was first given? -In the context of Isaiah’s day, the sign of Immanuel really had nothing to do with the far off future when Christ would come. -As we just heard, it was actually a sign for King of and was meant to be fulfilled within about 18 months.

In fact, that’s what a sign is in the Scriptures. -A sign is a dramatic action, which God performs for someone in the present to demonstrate His presence and power. -It is not really a vision or prophecy for the future.

Remember Moses at the time of the Exodus from ? -All the signs God performed through Moses: -the staff turning into a snake, the River turning to blood, the frogs, the locusts, the plagues… -they were all signs to demonstrate God’s presence with Moses and God’s power over all the gods of Egypt. -They were signs to convince Pharaoh right then in the present to let the Israelite people go.

Or Gideon in the Book of Judges with the sign of the fleece before the battle of Midian. -God gave him a sign to convince Gideon that God was with him, -and that he could trust God with the outcome of the battle.

You see, that’s what a sign is. -And this sign of Immanuel was like that for King Ahaz of Judah 700 years before Jesus was born. -It was originally a that God’s presence and power were with Ahaz in a very difficult political situation that he was facing right then in his day. -Let me tell you the story, and what Ahaz was so worried about.

King Ahaz of Judah was in a very tight political bind in his day, what we would call a “Catch 22.”

The dominant political power of the day was the nation of . -They were the super-power, and all the other smaller nations in the ancient world were subservient to them.

This meant that all the lesser kings of the lesser nations had to send large yearly payments of tribute money to the Assyrian King….or else! -No one liked this any more than we like paying taxes, -but every nation did it to protect themselves.

Ahaz’s problems came when his immediate neighboring nations to the north -his sister nation of under King , son of Remaliah, -and the nation of Syria under King , -both decided to make an alliance against Assyria and quit paying their tribute money.

However, the alliance of their two nations was not quite strong enough to set themselves up against Assyria, -and so they came knocking on King Ahaz’s door seeking to get him to join them in their rebellion against the King of Assyria.

And basically they said, “Ahaz, you either join our alliance against Assyria, or we will both come down to Judah and pound you to a pulp.”

And this was Ahaz’s “Catch 22.” -If he refused to join their alliance, Israel and Syria would come and destroy him. -If he did join their alliance, the King of Assyria would come and destroy all three of them.

“Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” -A no win situation. -And he was scared and was feeling pressured to make up his mind quickly.

So God takes the initiative and sends His prophet Isaiah to King Ahaz to bring him the Word of the LORD. And God says, “Isaiah, take your son, Shear Jashub, and go meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct by the Washerman’s field. -Say to him, “Be careful, keep calm, don’t be afraid, and do not lose heart because of those 2 smoldering stubs of firewood – Israel and Syria. -They will not invade you. It will not happen. -So don’t join their alliance. -Stand firm in your faith or you won’t stand at all.”

Then the Lord said, “Ahaz, ask me for a sign as proof of what I say. Go ahead and ask, and I will show you that I am with you and that I am powerful enough to protect you.”

But Ahaz won’t ask for a sign. -He says, “No, I won’t put the Lord to the test.” -And that sounds rather pious and respectful, doesn’t it? -But let me tell you. Piety was not Ahaz’s strong suit. -He was not a godly man or a godly king, and this was not a godly sentiment.

The fact was, that Ahaz didn’t want a sign from God because he had already made up his mind what he wanted to do, -and he didn’t want God messing up the plan he had already decided upon.

Basically, what he was saying to Isaiah was, “Go home, Isaiah. I don’t want any of your hocus-pocus signs from God. Just go home and don’t bother me anymore.”

So Isaiah says to him, “Hear now, you house of , -Is it not enough to try the patience of men? -Will you also try the patience of my God, too? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign, -a sign of His own choosing, and this is what it will be: -A virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel. -And before this child is old enough to know right from wrong,

just after it is weaned from the breast and begins eating curds and honey, -this whole political turmoil you are in will be all over with. -The nations of Israel and Syria will be laid waste by the Assyrians, -and if you join their alliance you will be laid waste, too.”

That was the word of the Lord to Ahaz through Isaiah. -And do you know what happened?

Chapter 8 of Isaiah tells us that it was Isaiah himself who went and found a young maiden to marry. -She is called “the prophetess” because she married the prophet. -And it says that Isaiah went in to her and she conceived and gave birth to a son. -But get this: The Lord said to initially name the son, not Immanuel, but Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. -A name which meant: Quick to the plunder, Swift to the Spoil.

How do you like that for a kid’s name? -But the Lord said to Isaiah, “Before this child is old enough to say, ‘Mama or Papa,” -Israel and Syria would be plundered and despoiled by the King of Assyria.”

So this is how God’s SIGN to Ahaz was to work: -This child born to Isaiah, right there in the Capital City of , would grow up right under King Ahaz’s nose. -And his presence at court would be a daily reminder to Ahaz of the choice that was before him: 1. If he chose to believe God and trust in Him, this boy would be called Immanuel, God with him. 2. But if he went on with his own reckless course of making an alliance with Israel and Syria, -this boy would be to him a sign of destruction: -He would be called Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, for Assyra would come and be quick to the plunder and swift to the spoils as they would lay waste to Syria and Israel and Judah.

And the time for deciding was soon. -For sometime before that child was 2 years old, the King of Assyria was coming.

And my friends, that’s exactly what did happen. -For history shows that within 2 years of the time that Israel and Syria made their alliance, -the King of Assyria marched down from the north and wiped out both of them for their rebellion.

But Judah? Amazingly enough, Ahaz did finally listen to the word of the Lord. -He paid attention to the sign of Immanuel and did not join their alliance. -He paid his tribute money to Assyria, and when the Assyrians came, they left his southern Kingdom of Judah alone. -King Ahaz and his people and the city of Jerusalem were all spared.

And that, my friends, is the story of Immanuel. -A living, breathing little boy whose birth and early years were a sign to the king of Judah. That boy was for Ahaz a sign, -the sign of God’s presence with him in the midst of a very difficult political situation he faced.

But that wasn’t the last chapter of the story of Immanuel, was it? -We know that there was another chapter waiting 700 years to be told. -It’s the story of another young maiden who would conceive and give birth to a son, -and this time without the help of an earthly father. -Because this son to be born would be “Immanuel, God with us” in a whole other, quite literal, way.

This young maiden would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and she would give her son the alternate name of Jesus, Yeshua, which means “The Lord saves.”

And the gospel writer Matthew tells us that though his name

was Jesus, -his conception, and birth, and presence among us were in fulfillment of what the Prophet Isaiah had said.

Matthew says that in Jesus, God was shedding a whole new light on every portion of the Old Testament Scriptures. -In Jesus God was fulfilling every promise, every prophecy, every vision and sign. -In Jesus, God was coming to be WITH US in a way no one had ever dreamed was possible.

For in Jesus, God really was taking on human flesh and coming to be live among us. -Immanuel, God-With-Us. -You see, Isaiah’s son was sign of “God with” King Ahaz, -but even that was only a foreshadowing of the day when God would truly come to be “with us” fully and truly.

And that is what Christmas is all about. -A virgin conceiving and bearing a Son who is “God with us.”

And that is what this whole sermon series on discovering Jesus in the Old Testament is all about: -Not just discovering these ways in which Jesus made his presence and power known way back then. -But also having our eyes opened to discover how Jesus can and will and does make his presence and power known to us today!

Jesus is the sign of Immanuel for us right now in the political conundrum that we face as a country. -We should take some kind of comfort knowing that if God can come and make his presence and power known to a godless arrogant guy like King Ahaz of Judah, -maybe he can come and make his presence and power known to a godless arrogant guy like our president elect.

And if Jesus can make his presence and power known to them in the difficult situations they face, -maybe I can trust that Jesus can be my sign of Immanuel, too, in all the struggles in life that I face.

Maybe I can take the sign of Immanuel to heart, -and this week look for signs of His presence with me. -In all my worries and cares, trust that His presence IS with me. -In all of my “Catch 22’s” when I don’t know which way to turn, and it seems that all my options are bad ones, -maybe I can trust that God can speak to my heart and say, ‘Don’t be afraid. Keep calm. Do not lose heart. -For I am with you, and you will not fall. Trust in me, and stand firm in your faith. For if you do not stand firm in your faith you will not stand at all.”

Let Jesus Christ be the sign of Immanuel for you this Advent Season: God with you, now and forever.

Let us pray.