Sermon series: The Isaiah Oracles
Introduction
He is considered one of the greatest men of God in the ancient world, a counselor to kings and a writer whose Holy Spirit-inspired OT book is quoted more often in the NT than any other, except Psalms. When our Lord Jesus preached His very first sermon, He chose for His text a passage from this man's writings, which have been compared to the book of Romans for theological depth and a sweeping vision of God.
He was a contemporary to Amos, Hosea, and Micah, each radically devoted to the Lord of Israel and His purposes in the world. But this man is unique among them. He rises to grapple with the troubled times that marked the end of the 8th Century B.C. with a vision of God that is so grand and so clear that it takes your breath away.
His calling from God stands as one of the most stirring experiences recorded in the pages of Scripture. "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth.' The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. (Is. 6:1-4).
It was during this wide-eyed, trembling encounter with God that this man would be catapulted onto the world scene and be moved by the Holy Spirit to say things no one had ever said before about the glory and majesty of God and His invincible Messiah.
You've guessed his name by now: he is Isaiah, a man of considerable communication skills and political connection. But he is more than an influential preacher. Isaiah is numbered among those rarified, God-enthralled men called prophets, who were enabled to see what God was going to do in the future as though it had already happened. Isaiah's oracles juxtapose the immediate and the future, with words that have a bearing in the moment, but carry us to the far away and powerful, the miraculous and wonderful that is yet to come.
See for yourself. Isaiah 7 is our text this morning. It comes just after Isaiah answers the call of God I just quoted. Immediately, Isaiah is thrust into the volatile political nightmare that existed for the kingdom of Judah, which was the southern split off from what was once a united nation of Israel.
Verse 1-2 give us the situation: "This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah: Rezin king of Aram, along with Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, waged war against Jerusalem, but he could not succeed. When it became known to the house of David that Aram had occupied Ephraim (Israel), the heart of Ahaz and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in a wind."
All of us will face desperate times. All kinds of circumstances can combine to bring us to the brink, where our options are few and time is running out. In our passage, three factors put Ahaz on the brink.
I. Desperate times
Three aspects made them so.
A. A fickle man
Ahaz is likely in his early twenties as he faces a grave national crisis. He had a godly father and grandfather, but as is often the case in Scripture and in life, the children of the godly don't necessarily follow that path. Unless a child personally investigates and chooses a relationship with God in Christ, he will leave the home one day with a hollow devotion that will thin out quickly and be replaced by a nominal version of Christianity that dabbles in the world with a token religious focus.
Perhaps Ahaz thought his dad and granddad's ways were old school and he would bring in a new era. Or maybe Ahaz simply never bought into the God of his fathers. I don't know the back story, but this much is clear: When Ahaz became king at age 20 (2 Kings 17:2), he was thoroughly secular. It's not that he wasn't religious; it's just that there was no relationship. God was just one option on a sampler platter of political expedience.
So when trouble came knocking, Ahaz had no spiritual resources upon which to stand. He had not spent time during easier days cultivating a trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He had not developed his faith for the test, so he failed and his failure impacted his entire nation. The summary statement of his life and reign says it all: he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God (2 Kings 16:2)
B. A fearful assault
In 734 B.C., Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel joined forces to invade Judah. This alliance was formed because of a growing menace that was bearing down on Palestine, the mighty Assyrian army. The war machine of Assyria was legendarily ruthless and gobbling up city after city as they expand their kingdom.
Israel, against the counsel of God's prophets, formed an alliance with Syria in an effort to defend against what they knew was coming. But they weren't strong enough, so they attacked Judah with the goal of deposing Ahaz and placing their own king on the throne. Already they had depopulated much of Judah, taking almost a quarter million prisoners back with them. Verse 2 tells us that Ahaz is panic-stricken by what looks like the imminent invasion of Syria and Israel.
C. A foolish solution
There is a subtle hint in our passage and an outright statement in 2 Kings 17 that indicates what Ahaz is pondering: he will attempt to form his own alliance independent of Syria and Israel. Only his alliance won't be against Assyria, it would be with Assyria!
You can feel the dread and desperation in Ahaz's reasoning: "If Syria and Israel take us, I will be removed, imprisoned, and probably killed. But maybe if I can buy Assyria's good favor by sending them tribute and submit to them before they take us by force, I will survive, as will Judah." It sounds good on paper; but as he will soon find out, this is rather like a mouse currying the favor of a cat to help him fight against two rats. In the end, he still gets eaten alive.
Into this fearful hour comes Isaiah with a word from God. Verse 3 tells us that the prophet finds the king doing a careful inspection of Jerusalem's critical water supply as he evaluates whether Judah can hold out until Assyria comes to the rescue. Isaiah gives Ahaz insight into:
II. Spiritual reality
Look at v. 3-9: "Then the LORD said to Isaiah, 'Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Fuller's Field. Say to him: "Calm down and be quiet. Don't be afraid or fainthearted because of these two smoldering stubs of firebrands, Rezin of Aram, and the son of Remaliah. For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say: 'Let us go up against Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel's (literally, "good for nothing," which is probably God's assessment of their puppet king) son as king in it.'
"This is what the Lord GOD says: 'It will not happen; it will not occur. The head of Aram is Damascus, the head of Damascus is Rezin (within 65 years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people), the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.'"
Isaiah is used of God to bring 3 missing realities to Ahaz.
A. God always has a word for you in the day of your trouble
How many times has God used seemingly incidental things to remind us that He is there: handling more than we can see, involved, intervening, healing, directing - if only we have eyes to see it and ears to hear it?
Here is this royal and his attendants, busily and earnestly inspecting the security of the water supply when up walks Isaiah hand-in-hand with his young son. Hebrew names were often common words that conveyed a certain meaning or purpose to the hearer. Isaiah's name means "Yahweh is salvation," and Shear-jashub's name means "a remnant shall remain." Standing before Ahaz, this father and son was a living reminder of God's ability to save and preserve His people. So what has God been trying to get across to you lately?
B. God is always bigger than what your fear
Isaiah says it every way it can be said in v. 4: "Calm down and be quiet. Don't be afraid or faithhearted because of these two smoldering stubs of firebrands, Rezin of Aram, and the son of Remaliah." In other words, there's no need to investigate your defenses or make heroic decisions or form questionable alliances.
"Ahaz don't you realize who you're dealing with? Rezin has jurisdiction over Israel; Pekah has jurisdiction over Syria. But I rule the world. Syria and Israel are just smoldering stubs of firebrands. There's smoke, but no fire! In 65 short years, they will be rubble! Ahaz, you have heard their pledge to conquer Judah. Now I will tell you what will happen: Nothing! They are no threat to you! They will never attack! Stop living by sight and start believing that if I am for you, no one can be against you. Trust me!"
Do you believe this about God - that what you fear most is not too difficult for Him? Will you trust Him when the chips are down and your resources are spent and your tired and its tense at home? Isaiah adds an incentive right here that is so important:
C. If you don't fight the fight of faith, everything in your life will come unglued
Verse 9 states this spiritual principle: If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all. If you don't nail down your confidence in God beyond the circumstances . . . if you don't hold fast to the One who made you and controls what happens in your life, you will be winging it without Him. If you will not trust Me, you will not make it, Ahaz." But if you will lean on God, you will get all the help you need. If you will depend on Him, He will meet you right where you are, and help you take the next step and the next and the next."
God was calling Ahaz to align himself to the spiritual reality: "I am with you, always." He was asking him to be a follower of God first, and then a politician; to be a man of faith rather than a man of sight; to believe in God rather than trusting in the flesh.
And it's at this moment that something so amazing, so outright incredible is uttered that if it wasn't printed in God's Word I would not believe it. For right here, in the surrounded city of Jerusalem, with all kinds of pressures and fears crowding in on Ahaz, Isaiah describes God's Christmas intentions in ways that quicken our pulse and put hope in your hearts. Let's call it
III. Miraculous incentive
First the set up. Look at v. 10-11: "Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz: 11 "Ask for a sign from the LORD your God - from the depths of Sheol to the heights of heaven." Do you see what is being offered to Ahaz? "I am calling you to trust Me, and to show you that I am more than able to handle your dilemma, ask Me for a sign. And Ahaz, make it a real zinger. Reach for the stars. Let your imagination run on this one. You name it, and I'll show you what I'm capable of."
Now, with that offer from God, Ahaz plays at being religious. In v. 12, he answers, "I will not ask. I will not test the Lord." That sounds really pious, but it was just a cover-up, designed to conceal the fact that Ahaz had already made up his mind.
Well, that was the moment for Isaiah. He turns from talking to the king to speaking to fellow Hebrews who were no doubt gathered nearby to see why the king was inspecting the water supply. We know he is addressing the crowd rather than simply the king because the you in v. 13-14: "Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.
God Himself will perform this sign. The Lord Himself will give you a sign. This is strongly emphasized by Isaiah. God will personally see to the details. This won't have any other plausible explanation other than miraculous.
A. This sign is meant to arrest our attention
The sentence in v. 14 begins with the word listen or behold, which beckons our attention and calls us to be alert for the appearance of this sign and see what it means.
B. This sign proved God can do whatever He wills
The word sign is defined as a signal, a beacon, a monument - something obvious that serves the purpose of pointing us to a deeper truth, namely that God is intervening, that He's at work, that He is on duty, accomplishing what He intends in every situation.
C. This sign involves the birth of a son after an impossible pregnancy
The word for virgin in v. 14 refers to an unmarried woman who hadn't had sexual relations with a man. Isaiah is telling Ahaz and us to be looking for a miracle of creation that transcends natural laws. "Ahaz, find a pregnant woman who has never been married and has been chaste in all her dealings with men. This is My work. I am the Cause. See it as evidence, as a monument, a signal that I will do all that I purpose and none can stay My hand."
D. The Son would be God incarnate
The name Immanuel literally means, "The strong God with us." In other words, it is God Himself who is coming. He will dwell among us. He will set right what is wrong. He is change everything!
"Don't doubt Ahaz; believe! If My Spirit can overshadow a virgin, and My power rest upon her so that what is conceived in her is from Me, then I can protect you from any danger you face, provide for any need you have, and guide you to the exact center of My will. Trust me, Ahaz. Don't rely on what men or armies or coalition forces can do. Lean on Me!"
Seven hundred years after Isaiah spoke these words, a teenage girl who was betrothed to marry a man named Joseph had a visit from an angel, who told her that she was to be the human vehicle through whom the Messiah of God would come. And somewhere in the confusion of this surprising and miraculous pregnancy, we read the quote from an old prophet, who stood toe-to-toe with a king and announced to anyone who had ears to hear, "There is nothing too difficult for God. He is coming to this very city. It will be for all people. Trust Him with your problems, believe His promises, hang on when it feels too hard to hang on - and you will see what God can do."