Isaiah on Tuesday - O Come, Emmanuel

This week, appropriately enough, I am writing about Isaiah 7 - the chapter which first mentions Emmanuel and foretells the birth of the messiah. It is surrounded by a prophecy to the king, but also spoken in rebuke. It is an interesting exchange and I will comment about it below.

I don't have a whole lot of time this week, so if you would like to do further reading, check out these classic commentaries on Isaiah 7: http://eword.gospelcom.net/comments/isaiah/mhc/isaiah7.htm

There is a good deal of content in this chapter, but I would like to focus on the following few verses:

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹ "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."

¹² But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."

¹³ Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel.

The LORD, speaking through Isaiah exhorts Ahaz the king to trust in God and ask for a sign. Feigning piety, Ahaz refuses, but is quickly rebuked. Isaiah announces the sign if Emmanuel, "God with us", born of the virgin, of the line of David, to bring salvation to earth.

Isaiah precedes these verses with words of hope and admonition: Judah will not be destroyed, its enemies will be shattered, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." Asking Ahaz to trust Him, the LORD declares a prophecy of salvation and commands the king to ask for a sign. The juxtaposition is almost comical - do you have faith? Ask for a sign. Ahaz was looking for an escape route and he fell upon Deuteronomy, yet he forgot to whom he was talking.

Christ rebuked Satan in the wilderness with this same refrain, but Satan was questioning Jesus' authority, "If you are the Son of God..." This time it was God questioning the king. James tells us, "God does not tempt anyone" (James 1:13) so we know that God wasn't trapping Ahaz, at least not in the way we would think. Ahaz didn't have the faith to ask for a sign, to believe God's words and trust Him completely. Instead, he hid, but was given a sign anyway - Emmanuel.

Through a virgin God will be with us, "the word will become flesh", and Judah and all the world will be saved. We have entered into the Advent and Christmas season, we can be thankful that the prophecy - the sign - was given and indeed, God was with us and continues to be with us.

"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."