Isaiah 7:1-17 Advent 4 CWS A
Pastor Ron Koehler Grace—Tucson, AZ December 22, 2019
Stories of the Promise: Promises Made Dear Friends in Christ, Over the last few weeks, during this season of Advent, we have considered Stories of the Promise. We’ve heard about Noah and Daniel and Job. All of them prepared for future events because of promises the Lord had given them. The damaging effects of sin were part of those accounts as was God’s promise of salvation. On this last Sunday of Advent, sin and the promise of salvation are again at the heart of PROMISES MADE by God through his prophet Isaiah. When we make a promise, it is normally something we can follow through on and have every intention of doing. If I promise to go watch a child’s play at school or their sporting event, I know that I have a vehicle that can get me there and a calendar that allows for that to happen. Something could come up or the vehicle could break down, but barring something unforeseen, I will be there. You can debate whether it is wise to use the word “promise” or not, but we sometimes do because we are confident that we will follow through. So I wouldn’t make a promise to give my wife a million dollars in a briefcase with a bow on it for Christmas! I don’t have the ability to do that! I could do the briefcase and bow part, but that’s it! We don’t make promises we know we can never keep. I wonder if Isaiah had any questions about the promise God gave him to speak and record for all time. I know there’s a lot in our lesson from Isaiah chapter 7—and we’ll unpack a lot of that—but I’m thinking specifically of this part: Therefore the Lord himself will give a sign for all of you. Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and name him Immanuel. WHY would you make a promise that could never come true?! Virgins do not have babies! It reminds of that GEICO commercial from several years back where an older lady is explaining social media to her friends and one of them says, “That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works!” Even with limited understanding of biology, we know that virgins don’t have babies— that’s not how it works! It’s good for us to look at this promise, made 700 years before it happened, so that we can recall and treasure God’s plan of salvation through Jesus. It will also remind us that God’s Word is true and that when he makes a promise, we are to fully trust him. If you’re like me, some of the Old Testament history of God’s people can be a little confusing. Combine that with how weird prophecy can sound and this lesson is a handful! But we really should understand a little about how and when this prophecy about Jesus, our Savior, was given—since it ends up on our Christmas cards…and in our Christmas songs like Silent Night (“round yon virgin mother and child”)…and we even read about it in the New Testament, as we heard in Matthew’s gospel today.
The promise about this virgin-born child was given in the context of strife between God’s people and other nations. That history is interesting and there’s a lot to it, but this is basically what was going on: The nation of God’s people in Judah—the southern kingdom, the part where Jerusalem was located—had a wicked king named Ahaz back around 730 BC. This was the same time that Isaiah was operating as God’s prophet in Jerusalem. Ahaz desecrated the temple of the Lord and fully bought into the worship of Assyrian gods, even sacrificing his sons to them by fire (2 Chronicles 28:3). He was not a good guy. This past Wednesday in worship, we heard about what a great king David was. Ahaz was the opposite! Wicked king Ahaz was shaking in fear because of some nations that were at war with him. But because God had bigger plans for his people as a whole, he assured Ahaz that everything would be fine. Through the prophet Isaiah, God gave instructions and made a promise to Ahaz. He said, “Get control of yourself, and remain calm. Do not be afraid.” The LORD promised: Their plan shall not succeed. It shall not take place. The enemies of Ahaz would not conquer him and the nation of God’s people. After that great news from God, the LORD invited Ahaz to ask for a sign to verify this. And then this wicked, godless king—in the running for the worst to ever lead God’s people—said: “I will not ask. I will not test the LORD.” What a hypocrite! He didn’t respect the Lord so much that he wouldn’t ask! Normally, you and I would take to heart the encouragements and warnings we find in God’s Word and we would not presume to demand or even expect signs and visible pointers for God’s direction in our life, so it might not seem out of line for this king to decline the invitation. But God was telling him to ask for a sign. God wanted it, but ungodly Ahaz declined. That’s a very different situation! God was serious! There was something he wanted to say! Perhaps we even see the LORD’s grace being extended to Ahaz, trying to pull him away from false gods and get him to return to the God who promised to save him and his nation from these warring kings. God would provide a sign whether rebellious Ahaz wanted it or not! So Isaiah said: Listen now, you house of David. Is it not enough for you to test the patience of men? Will you test the patience of my God as well? Therefore the Lord himself will give a sign for all of you. Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and name him Immanuel. The LORD wanted there to be a sign that his people could look for—one that went beyond the immediate concerns of threatening nations. Why? So they would have a promise from their God to cling to. So they would know that he cared. So that they would have confidence that a solution to their troubles was in the works and on the way. It would happen when God would determine the timing to be best. It didn’t really matter if Ahaz wanted it or believed it, God had bigger things in mind!
With prophetic eyes Isaiah saw what God was planning as the vision shifted away from kings and wars. So he proclaimed this promise: Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and name him Immanuel. With that word “Look,” God was drawing special attention, changing the dialogue, expressing this vision of the future, revealing a promise of his salvation! By far the most interesting and important thing in the promise is the name of this virgin’s son: Immanuel. The name “Immanuel,” “God with us,” is used of no one else in all of Scripture. It means that this virgin’s son would also be God. Through Isaiah, God launched a promise with sights set on the future, which foretold the coming of a son born of a virgin who would also be true God. Their Savior-God would come to them! You and I are fortunate because unlike those who first heard that promise and then those who, over the next centuries looked for its fulfillment, we live on the other side. God really did enable the virgin to conceive and bear a child. It is Luke—an actual doctor, who knew how things worked—who wrote about the promise of this child’s exceptional birth. He shares with us the dialogue between the angel Gabriel and Mary: Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:34–35) The gospel for today from Matthew chapter 1 tells another part of the story of God fulfilling the promise. It says Mary was never with a man, yet she was pregnant. Just like Mary, Joseph, to whom she was pledged to be married, knew what you and I still know today—that isn’t the way it works! And yet, in this one miraculous case, it did work that way! It took an angel from God to explain to Joseph that the baby was from the Holy Spirit…that she would have a son…that his name would be “Jesus,” which means “Savior” …and that “he will save his people from their sins.” And then Matthew ties the truth up for us in a nice little package—the PROMISE MADE along with the fulfillment: All this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” which means, “God with us (Matthew 1:22-23).” A complete understanding of that prophecy first spoken to Ahaz comes to us today as we read those words. It is sad that Ahaz, whose ears first heard this promise of a Savior, had the truth go right over his head. He never got it, he never wanted to get it, so he never appreciated God’s gracious love.
God forbid that we would exhibit hypocritical behavior like Ahaz—outwardly acting respectful of God when the fact is that we are not godly. But it’s probably true that we sometimes don’t listen when God speaks to us too and so we also miss the wonders of his love. Consider our missed opportunities to read, study, and listen to God’s Word. It happens that we lack the desire to find out just what Scripture says and means. Like Ahaz, we may concern ourselves with worldly things to the point that God is crowded out of the picture and our decision-making. We sometimes do what we want without regard for his will or the promises of grace that sit there right in front of us. We might even create a situation where we don’t even hear them. Sadly, this can even happen in the run-up to Christmas, a most precious time for our faith. But just as God’s jaw-dropping grace was given to Ahaz—even though he despised the Lord and led people away from their Savior—God’s pronouncement of undeserved love comes to us as well. God made the promise that the virgin would have a baby. And she did. His name is Jesus. He was born thousands of years ago and though he died on a cross, he defeated death and still lives today because he is true God. And he continues to be true “God with us”—Immanuel. He is with us daily forgiving our sins. He is with us always with his love. He is planning to remove us from this world one day and give us the joys and peace and rest of heaven, where he will be visibly with us eternally. As shocking as it is, if you think the biggest miracle is that a virgin had a baby, you are mistaken. It is even more miraculous that we have forgiveness and eternal life because Jesus was willing to be born of Mary and to live and die for us! Among other PROMISES MADE by God to Ahaz was this one—this difficult one to grasp—that the virgin would have a baby. Christians believe that and it makes all the difference in their lives and their eternal lives because that baby was the world’s Savior. This promise made and fulfilled is the actual story of Christmas, of God sending the Savior into the world. And remember, he is not just your Savior, he is the world’s Savior. God saw fit to give the promise of a Savior to one of the most evil kings. This might remind us that God wants every person to hear about the virgin’s son and that he has called us to share the promise of salvation by faith in Jesus. We pray that the Holy Spirit would fill us so that we are eager to share that saving news and that he would turn unbelieving, Ahazlike hearts to faith—just as he has done for us. Amen. Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.