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Isaiah 7:1-14
7:1 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 with1 Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz2 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-jashub3 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 it4 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 you5 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 your6 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 he7 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.8
[1] 7:2
[2] 7:2
[3] 7:3
[4] 7:6
[5] 7:9
[6] 7:11
[7] 7:13
[8] 7:14
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
If you
Jeffrey Heine:have a bible, I invite you to turn to Isaiah chapter 7. If you're not sure where Isaiah is, it's pretty much right in the middle of your bible. Isaiah chapter 7. Today is the 1st Sunday of Advent, which means that you are now officially allowed to put up your Christmas tree. You're not allowed to do that before.
Jeffrey Heine:You can now turn to 965 on the radio station and listen to Christmas music. You can watch Christmas movies now, like Elf or Die Hard. It's it's it's official that you're allowed to do those things at this point. It also means it's time to dust off those old chapters in Isaiah, and to begin reading through those again. That's why we opened our service with a reading from Isaiah 9, which is one of the more famous Christmas texts that we have.
Jeffrey Heine:Made popular by Handel's Messiah, Or if you grew up a child of the eighties like me, by Michael W. Smith's Christmas album. You can't help but read these words without hearing Michael W. Smith sing them. But regardless of whether you're kind of a handle or a Michael W Smith person, you are likely familiar with the words we read earlier.
Jeffrey Heine:For to us a child is born. To us a child is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. But all of these names actually flow from a name that was given earlier to this child that we read in Isaiah 7.
Jeffrey Heine:The name Emmanuel, which means God with us. Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 9 are 2 of the most famous prophecies that we have in the Old Testament about Christmas. I mean you do have other prophecies. You have, you know, prophecy in Genesis about, the the scepter, or the the king coming from the line of Judah, or you have a prophecy in Micah about the little town of Bethlehem. You do have these little Christmas prophecies scattered about, but nothing like what we find in Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 9.
Jeffrey Heine:But when it comes to the context of these chapters, can we all admit that we're just a little fuzzy about them? Most of us likely have no idea the context of these words. We we likely have no idea to whom these words were originally spoken, why they were spoken. We honestly, we just picture kids dressed up in bathrobes, you know saying these on a Christmas Eve, during a a service in which we have candles around and it's beautiful. But honestly, the meaning of these words just kind of goes over our heads.
Jeffrey Heine:So what we're gonna do this morning is kind of take a deep dive into Isaiah 7. And to hear why these words were said and to whom they were said. And rather than reading all the verses that I have for you, in the worship guide. We're just gonna read verse 14 and then we'll work our way through the others as we go through the sermon. So Isaiah 714.
Jeffrey Heine:Therefore, the lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. This is the word of the Lord. Pray with me. Father, we ask that you would quiet our hearts before you.
Jeffrey Heine:Quiet our hearts during this season. I pray that our hearts would prepare room for you, our King, to come and to dwell and to reign. Father, give us clarity as we look at these words this morning. Write them on our hearts. I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore.
Jeffrey Heine:But, Lord, may your words remain, and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. Okay. So this sermon this morning is gonna be a little different than some of my others, because we're going to go through a lot of history, which I know sounds really fun, doesn't it?
Jeffrey Heine:It's what you were hoping for, coming after Thanksgiving. Your stomachs are full of turkey. You're tired from being with all your relatives, and you were hoping for a lecture when you came here this morning, so I'm not gonna disappoint you. It's gonna be a lot of fun, but we are gonna go through a lot of history. I mean I did go to seminary.
Jeffrey Heine:I had to learn all this stuff and so by golly, I'm going to make sure you know it as well. So we're gonna start with King David. I would start with Abraham but then we would be here until Christmas. So we're gonna start with King David. King David was the 2nd king in Israel's history.
Jeffrey Heine:He reigned and he he ruled around 1,000 BC. His son Solomon then ruled after him. And this was considered the golden rule or the golden reign in Israel's history. This was a very peaceful and prosperous time for Israel. But right after Solomon died, the kingdom of Israel split into 2.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean if you think about it, there was there was only a time of unity and peace within Israel for 3 kings. You had Saul, you had David and you had Solomon. That's it. That's the only time you had a united, kind of peaceful kingdom. And then it splits into 2.
Jeffrey Heine:And so you have this northern kingdom that has 10 tribes, and it's known as Israel or at times Ephraim. And then you have this southern kingdom of Judah and Benjamin. And it's often just known as Judah. And that's where the capital city of Jerusalem is. So you have the 2 kingdoms, the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom.
Jeffrey Heine:And now these 2 kingdoms when you read through 1st and second kings, 1st and second chronicles, I mean they have tons of kings. Over 40 kings are gonna be mentioned. Almost all of them are bad with just a few exceptions. But most of Israel's history is just really really evil. Many of these kings, they became kings by assassinating the king before them, which was often their father.
Jeffrey Heine:Each of these kingdoms they warred within and then they warred without. And a lot of times the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom fought against one another. And it was during one of these wars that we have this prophecy. It was during one of these scenes right here, the northern kingdom, the southern kingdom battling against one another, we were actually given the sign of Immanuel. The words, Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel.
Jeffrey Heine:These were not words originally said between courses of silent nights or away in a manger. They were said 27 100 years ago to a faithless and a terrified people who were on the verge of annihilation. So read with me the first two verses of chapter 7. 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 Ramaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David was told, Syria is in league with Ephraim.
Jeffrey Heine:The heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. Feels like Christmas, doesn't it? The year is 735 BC. Ahaz is the king of Judah. He's about 20 years old.
Jeffrey Heine:So he's a junior in college. Alright? And he has just inherited the throne of Judah. He inherited it actually, you know, from one of the better kings in Israel. His his father was actually a godly man.
Jeffrey Heine:Even his grandfather was a godly man. So that was a rare exception in Israel's history. But both his dad and his granddad trusted in the Lord. And now Ahaz, as a young 20 year old, he inherits the throne and he is immediately thrown into a crisis. Ephraim, which is in the north, has just joined forces with the Kingdom of Syria, and they're advancing towards Judah.
Jeffrey Heine:They had already attacked a number of the remote cities that are all around Jerusalem, but now they were laying siege against Jerusalem itself. And Ahaz along with all the people with him are terrified. I mean verse 2 says that the hearts of his people shook as the trees shake before the wind. Meaning they're scared out of their mind. I mean, picture yourself as a junior in college.
Jeffrey Heine:All of a sudden having to be the president of a of a small country that is surrounded by a powerful enemy. You've got no chance. You are doomed. You cannot win. Death is staring you in the face.
Jeffrey Heine:And it's at this time that the Lord sends the great prophet Isaiah to him. Isaiah meets Ahaz at Jerusalem's main water conduit. Ahaz is likely there working on Jerusalem's water supply, getting it ready for when, the battle comes. And it's here in the midst of these war, preparations that Ahaz, that Ahaz is approached by Isaiah. And Isaiah says these words to him in verse 4.
Jeffrey Heine:Be careful. Be quiet. Do not fear. And do not let your heart be faint because of these 2 smoldering stumps of firebrands. At the fierce anger of resin in Syria and the son of Ramaliah?
Jeffrey Heine:Because Syria with Ephraim and the sons son of Ramaliah have has devised evil against you saying, let us go up against Judah and terrify it. And let us conquer it for ourselves and set up the son of Tobiel as king in the midst of it. So Isaiah tells Ahaz, be careful, be quiet, do not fear. Do you think that was possible in a situation like that? I mean key Ahaz has got to be thinking, have have have you lost your mind?
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, Isaiah, look out the window. We are surrounded by 1,000 and thousands of soldiers. We have no chance. Quit wasting my time with these words, old man. I have got preparations to make.
Jeffrey Heine:I've gotta defend this city. But Ahaz, or Isaiah refuses to go away, and he keeps talking to him. And we read these words in verses 7 through 9. It shall not stand. And it shall not come to pass.
Jeffrey Heine:For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within 65 years, Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. And head of Ephraim is Samaria. And head of Samaria is the son of Ramaliah. If you are not firm in your faith and not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.
Jeffrey Heine:I really love how the lord talks to, to this kid king. I mean, he talks to him like a parent talks to a child. And he's like, can can I just explain to you what's really going on? Says, listen. The plan that Ephraim and Syria have against you, for starters, it's not gonna work.
Jeffrey Heine:Okay? And you wanna know why? I know you look out your window, and you see these massive armies fighting against you, but you're really not fighting against 2 armies. Your problem boils with Syria just boils down to 1 person. King Rezin.
Jeffrey Heine:And your problem with Ephraim just boils down to 1 person, King Ramallia. So forget about these 2 armies, Really, you're just dealing with 2 people. And you know what? I've got your back. I will take care of these 2 people.
Jeffrey Heine:And then the the Baptist preacher in Isaiah, which you didn't know he was a Baptist preacher, it comes out. And seriously, he gives one of these sayings that you just kind of cringe. You could fit it on a bumper sticker. In your Bible it reads like this. If you are not firm in your faith, you will not be firm at all.
Jeffrey Heine:Which is a great translation. But it misses kind of the the short, rhythmic way it would have been said. It actually rhymes. In Hebrew it is Taminu Ti Aminu. Taminu T Aminu.
Jeffrey Heine:So say it with me. Say say Taminu. Taminu. T Aminu. T Aminu.
Jeffrey Heine:Do do you know what you just said? Trust or bust. That's really what it is. That's how we would translate that. It's it's trust or bust.
Jeffrey Heine:And I am sure that when Ahaz heard this, he rolled his eyes and he groaned. He like, come on old man. But but but Isaiah wants to give him this like one liner, trust or bust. He's like, but he wants this line stuck in his head. Trust or bust.
Jeffrey Heine:Here's here's the extraordinary thing though. Stand firm in your faith. Trust. Ahaz had no faith. He had none.
Jeffrey Heine:Ahaz was actually one of the most wicked kings in Israel's history. Listen to the description, we have of Ahaz from 2nd King 16. Says Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to reign. He reigned 16 years in Jerusalem, and he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God as his father David had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel.
Jeffrey Heine:He even burned his son as an offering. According to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. So can can we all agree that if you burn your own child, that's pretty wicked and evil? Ahaz is as evil as you can get, but he's also a really desperate man. I'm sure he didn't want to do this.
Jeffrey Heine:No father wants to burn his child. It really just shows his desperation. He sees this impending doom approaching him and he's thinking I gotta do anything, whatever I can to save the people. And he's looking at his son, he's thinking well he's gonna be dead anyway. Maybe if I sacrifice him, the gods will notice and they will come and save me.
Jeffrey Heine:And so he does this despicable action and he sacrifices his son. In addition to this, he also begins making alliances with these pagan kings. He reaches out to Assyria, which was about as evil as they can get. And he sells his soul to Assyria. Says, if you will save us, we will we'll serve you.
Jeffrey Heine:We'll give you whatever you want if you would just come and save us. This is a man who's at the end of his rope here, and he's reaching out. He's doing whatever he can except call on the Lord. That's the one thing he actually doesn't do. He is such an evil person.
Jeffrey Heine:He never once calls out to the Lord. I can picture Isaiah pleading with Ahaz. Ahaz, you know your grandfather trusted, trusted in the Lord. And you know your father trusted in the Lord. Is there any ember of faith in you at all?
Jeffrey Heine:Has any of that faith been passed on to you? Or is it all gone? And Ahaz is likely thinking, old man, this is the real world with real problems, and your archaic religion cannot help me. Military might is what matters. Making alliances is what matters.
Jeffrey Heine:Political astuteness is what matters. I mean, you're telling me to trust in this God I cannot see and I do not know, and I'm just supposed to hope things work out? Wake up, old man, from whatever reality you think you're living in. Does this feel like the Christmas story yet? Don't worry.
Jeffrey Heine:Reindeer are on their way. Santa's coming. This story actually fits in perfectly with our series in Romans. Because what you are seeing here is, are you saved by your works? Are you saved by your faith?
Jeffrey Heine:Alright, let's get to the more Christmassy part of this text. After Isaiah tells Ahaz to trust her boss, he says Ahaz the Lord wants you to ask of him a sign. To show him like, so you will know that the Lord is gonna do this. Ask of the Lord a sign. And we read in Isaiah 7:10.
Jeffrey Heine:Again, the lord spoke to Ahaz. Ask a sign of the lord your god. Let it be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven. This is extraordinary that the Lord would do this, because the Lord never does this. He never tells people, ask for a sign of me.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, you go look throughout scripture, and, I'm not aware of any time in which the Lord tells someone, ask of me a sign. I couldn't find one. Anytime someone asks of God a sign says, prove to me your God or prove to me you're gonna do this, that's always seen as a really evil thing to do. You don't ask the Lord for a sign. That's putting the Lord your God to the test.
Jeffrey Heine:But here, it's like, it's like God is bending over backwards for King Ahaz. It's like, just, I'll do like, I'm bending over backwards for you. Will you just trust me? I'll even give you a sign. And Ahaz responds by saying, I will not ask.
Jeffrey Heine:I will not put the lord to the test, which, you know, sounds really righteous, but he's actually being pompous. I mean, we already know where he stands in all this. He couldn't give a rip about Isaiah or his God. It's this is Ahaz's version of just saying it's not even worth my time to give to ask for a sign. And he moves on.
Jeffrey Heine:And then god does something extraordinary. God says, well, I'm gonna give you a sign anyway. And, actually, he gives more than Ahaz a sign. God steps back, and He addresses all of the house of David. So this becomes what was at once a very particular moment to just king Ahaz.
Jeffrey Heine:Now God's gonna step back as if Ahaz is representative of a huge group of people, and he's gonna address the entire house of David. And that's where we come to verse 14. Or say verse 13. And he said, hear then, oh house of David. Is it too little for you to weary men that you weary my God also?
Jeffrey Heine:And now we finally arrive at Christmas. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. So there it is. That's how you get to possibly the most famous Christmas passage that we have in the Old Testament.
Jeffrey Heine:And I just know that when Ahaz heard this, his reaction was, what? What? Did I did I miss something? That's the sign? That that a young woman, and you could translate this as just a young woman's gonna have a child, and somehow, this child is gonna be representative that God is now with us?
Jeffrey Heine:That's your sign. No. No. You don't wanna know what a sign was? Fire coming down from heaven destroying all my enemies.
Jeffrey Heine:That's a sign. Raising someone from from the dead. That's a sign. Maybe, you know, turning a river into blood, that's a sign. But a young woman having a child, that's that's not a sign.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, he's probably thinking at this point, I kinda wish I had actually asked for my own sign instead of this sign being given to me. But remember, God is stepping back here. He's using Ahaz. He's like, I'm not just addressing you. Here, oh house of David.
Jeffrey Heine:The sign is now for much bigger than just Ahaz. Ahaz is representative of now of a group of people. Why did God give the sign of Emmanuel here? Why this place at this time to these people? And the answer is because this really is what Christmas is all about.
Jeffrey Heine:Because look what you find here. You find man in desperate need. Here, you find a people who cannot save themselves. They're surrounded by every enemy. They have exhausted everything they every measure they have to save themselves, and they cannot do it.
Jeffrey Heine:They've turned to every other god asking for help. They've received none. They've sacrificed their kids and they still haven't received help. They've turned to politics for help and have received none. This is a wicked people in need of judgment, and they have no faith at all.
Jeffrey Heine:And it's to such a people as this that God says, I am with you. I'm with you. I mean, let that sink in as to a people like that that God comes. For the greatest Christmas prophecy we have, and he says, I am with you. He looks at a sinful rebellious unbelieving people.
Jeffrey Heine:You can't get worse than king Ahaz, who burns his own son and yet God says to him, trust in me. I'm with you. I keep my promises. I will save my people. And this is good news.
Jeffrey Heine:The promise to send Emmanuel is a promise to sinful people just like us. The greatest Christmas prophecy we have was given in the darkest hour to the darkest people. This is light shining in the darkness. But good news can be hard to accept, can it? Especially, when it means admitting that you have failed.
Jeffrey Heine:I have, you know, 3 daughters. And, when they were little, they used to all share the same room. It's actually the smallest room in our house, and they they all shared the same room. And for the most part, they got along. But, you know, real world, 3 daughters, small room, so they did fight from time to time.
Jeffrey Heine:And so I would, I'd be downstairs and I could hear them fighting upstairs in their room. And so I would just ignore it. I mean, that's what you do, you know. Well, they'll work it out. If they kept fighting for, you know, a few minutes later, I'd get up and I'd go to the bottom of the steps, and I'd yell up there.
Jeffrey Heine:It's like, hey. Would y'all cut it out? Then I'd pat myself on the back for great parenting. Like, you know, man, I I did my job there, and I sit down. And if they kept fighting, I'd get up there, and I'd give a little more instruction.
Jeffrey Heine:I'd say, hey, I don't know what you're doing. Whatever toy you're fighting over, you can't play with it anymore. You gotta put it up. Play with something else. And then I go sit down and once again pat myself on the back for great parenting.
Jeffrey Heine:And if they continue to fight, at that point, I was like, fine. I'd go up there. Because at that time, the time was needed for my word to become flesh. I couldn't just say the words. The word had actually become flesh.
Jeffrey Heine:They were not listening to instructions. There were no change. War continued to keep going and going. The fighting would never end until I stepped into the room. This is what we have in Israel's history.
Jeffrey Heine:For 100 of years, God had been sending prophet after prophet after prophet, telling them God's word, trying to bring peace, and the people would never listen. And finally, it reached a point where God said, it's time for my word to become flesh. And he sent Jesus. And Jesus came, and he brought peace. Peace that the world had never known.
Jeffrey Heine:So when we call Jesus Emmanuel though, we're acknowledging a couple things. We're not just acknowledging who he is. He is God with us. We're acknowledging who we are. We're the people who can't keep from fighting.
Jeffrey Heine:We're the people so sinful, we will never listen and be changed. We're the people who have to have the word made flesh to come to us in order to be changed. Okay. So what happened to Ahaz? I know you're dying to know, aren't you?
Jeffrey Heine:I could tell. Or we could just move on. Or do y'all wanna know, like, actually what happened to Ahaz? I'm gonna pretend you said yes. He didn't listen to Isaiah.
Jeffrey Heine:He didn't listen to Isaiah. As I mentioned earlier, he makes you know, he makes alliances with Assyria. He sacrifices one of his children to a pagan god, and at first things seemed to work. Things actually got better just for a moment. But then Assyria turns against him, destroys them.
Jeffrey Heine:Several generations later, everything is destroyed. Jerusalem itself would be destroyed, and the royal line would be all but forgotten. Actually, for 600 years, the royal line was forgotten. The sign of Emmanuel was forgotten. But the reason that we are here today is because God didn't forget about the sign of Immanuel.
Jeffrey Heine:And he actually reserved or preserved that royal line of Judah. He kept it intact even though no one else cared about it. This is how much people cared about it, or how little they cared about it. 600 years later, when the King of all Kings came, no one's waiting for him. He's born, and he's laying in a manger.
Jeffrey Heine:No one took notice of him. And yet, this was the king who would come, and he would grow up not just to take on Syria or Ephraim. He would grow up to take on sin and death itself, to put it into it all. And that's what we celebrate at Christmas. The birth of Emmanuel.
Jeffrey Heine:That's also what leads us to this table. When I say the word became flesh, it acknowledges a lot about who God is and who we are that we need the word to become flesh and to be among us. But the word needed to become flesh for other reasons. Jesus had to become flesh because his flesh had to be torn. He had to become flesh because he had to die.
Jeffrey Heine:This was how he would take on sin and death is because he would die himself. But he would conquer death because he would rise again 3 days later. And we remember that at this time. We remember that on the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread and he broke it. He said, this is my body given for you.
Jeffrey Heine:In the same way, he took the wine and he said, this is my blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins. And we remember the words of Isaiah that end the darkest of hours, which is what was happening. Even Jesus talked about this is the this is the time of darkness. In the darkness of hours there, it was actually God working for our deliverance. This is when the sign of Emmanuel would shine most brightly.
Jeffrey Heine:And Jesus was taking on our enemies of sin and death. This table here is for all those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their lord and as their savior. And so this is how we're gonna take this morning. If we're gonna come down these middle aisles, and if you would just break off a piece of bread and you could just dip it in the wine and take. Or if you prefer, you can have one of our, communion in the cups here.
Jeffrey Heine:As you take, you'll hear the words, this is the body of Christ given for you. This is his body broken for you. After you take, you're free to to come up here and to pray or if you wanna return back to your seat. Then we're gonna take some time to sing And also some time to just be still. And I wanna give you a gift that you're rarely gonna have over the next month, which is a time to be still and quiet and to rest and to just really to use this time at the beginning of Advent to meditate on our Emmanuel.
Jeffrey Heine:So let me pray for us and then our service if you would come. Father, we ask in this time, as we celebrate communion, we would indeed communion with you. And we can because you have come to us. We thank you that the word has become flesh. We thank you for Emmanuel.
Jeffrey Heine:We thank you that even in the darkest hour, a light has shown. Thank you, Jesus. And we remember you in this time. And we pray this in your name. Amen.