Light Through the Darkness

Well, good evening. It's great to be with you even though we're separated by distance.

We often find that quotes are taken out of context. For example, in my family it's quite

common to use the line at the end of the evening, I'm off to bed, to sleep, perchance to dream.

Ignoring the fact that this is a quote from Hamlet where he's speaking about death.

Or people will quote Robert Frost's famous poem about the two roads that diverged in a wood as being about the triumph of individualism.

Whereas apparently it was meant to be about the futility of the decisions that we make.

Tonight we come to a passage that has one verse in the middle that is well known.

But rarely do we think about where it comes from and the context in which it was written.

That verse is verse 14 which says,

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel.

Last week Jonathan took us through chapter 6 where we read of Isaiah's vision of the Lord high and lifted up

in all his glorious majesty and splendor.

And then we heard of his commission to Isaiah to go and speak to a people who would not listen to him.

And we heard that he was to keep on speaking until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant.

This week we see the beginning of that thankless task.

And the beginning of that journey towards destruction.

Tonight's passage is one of fear and of failure.

It is probably around 18 years since Isaiah's commissioning.

And Ahaz, grandson of Uzziah, is now king in Judah.

By all accounts he was not a good king.

You can read all about his life in 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28.

To set the scene we need to understand a bit of what's going on in the world.

There are two main powers in the region at that time.

Egypt and Assyria.

Egypt to the south had been the major power but is in decline.

Assyria to the northeast in modern day Iraq is on the rise to become the regional superpower.

It's a highly cultured but cruel nation.

To the north of Judah are two smaller nations, Israel and Aram.

Israel is the northern Jewish kingdom, also known as Ephraim.

Their king is Pekah or the son of Ramalia.

Aram lies to the north of Israel in modern day Syria.

The king there was risen.

It seems that Egypt was trying to coordinate an uprising of these smaller nations to throw off Assyria.

Israel and Aram had agreed to join in but Judah refused.

As we will see, Ahaz had other plans.

Just a brief disclaimer before we go any further.

There is a lot in this passage that is difficult to understand.

I will not try and answer all the questions you might have.

Others much wiser than me have tried and failed.

But there are some things that shine through clearly and we will focus our attention there.

For those of you who like headings, we will be looking at the passage under three headings.

Fearing the wrong things.

Trusting the wrong things.

And a sign that can be trusted.

So to start fearing the wrong things.

At the beginning of the passage, we find Ahaz and all the people terrified.

The message has come that Aram and Ephraim, that is Israel, have formed an alliance and have invaded and are marching on Jerusalem.

Because Judah wouldn't join in the uprising against Assyria, they have turned on them and planned to divide the land between them and put their own puppet king in place.

And so we read in verse 2,

The hearts of Ahaz and all his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

It was completely natural for them to be afraid.

From their viewpoint, they were doomed.

It was surely only a matter of time before Jerusalem fell.

And there are many things in this world that cause us to fear.

Illness, death, unemployment, poverty, rejection, failure.

I'm sure you could fill in the list with things that cause you to fear.

And some of these fears have been made far more real to us in this last year.

Particularly to those of you working in hospitals and other vulnerable situations,

who have seen firsthand the ravages of this pandemic.

It's natural to fear.

But the real problem here is not that Ahaz fears Israel and Aram,

but that he does not fear God.

He's not just ambivalent towards God,

but he's actively engaged in the worship of the gods of all the nations around.

He has even offered his own children as sacrifices,

and he will ultimately close the doors of the temple and stop the worship there.

In the past, the nations had trembled before the people of Israel

because they had heard that the Lord was with them,

and they had heard of the wonders that he had done.

But Ahaz thought nothing of this.

He believed his best defence was to become as much like his neighbours as possible,

to worship their gods,

and to not stand out as different.

If these gods had given his enemies victory,

surely he should be worshipping them.

In the face of our fears,

are we tempted to compromise?

Are we tempted to think,

I know this isn't really right,

but everyone around me is doing it,

and it seems to be working out quite well for them.

But what Ahaz had not reckoned with

is the fact that these gods are no gods at all,

but that the Lord who he despises is truly God.

He is the one that is in control.

None of this is happening without his knowledge,

and actually more than this,

he is the one that is directing these nations.

In verse 14 we read,

the Lord will bring.

In verse 19,

the Lord will whistle for flies.

And in verse 20,

the Lord will use a razor

hired from beyond the Euphrates River.

These powerful nations that Ahaz fears

are nothing but pawns.

They are just tools in God's hand

to bring about his purposes.

In this case,

to discipline Judah

for their rebellion against him.

While it is natural

to be afraid of them,

it is the God

who is directing them

that should be feared.

And Ahaz wants nothing

to do with him.

But despite that,

despite his rejection,

God is still faithful.

He is faithful to his promises

and his people.

However much they fail,

however much they reject him,

however angry he is with them,

he will not ultimately

let them be destroyed.

And so he sends Isaiah

with a message to Ahaz,

whether he wants to hear it or not.

And the message is this.

Be careful,

keep calm,

and don't be afraid.

Do not lose heart

because of those

two smouldering stubs

of firewood.

Do not be afraid

of these nations.

Do not be afraid

of these kings

for they are only men.

And more than that,

they are smouldering stubs.

Yes, they may

be fiery hot,

but they will soon

burn out.

Aram

would soon

be conquered.

And in verse 8

we read

that Ephraim

will be too shattered

to be a people.

They will be crushed,

they will be dispersed,

they will be mixed

with other peoples

and will be lost.

They will no longer

be a people.

These nations

have conspired

to destroy Judah,

but the Lord says

through Isaiah,

it will not happen.

This does not mean

that they will not

inflict wounds

on Judah.

In fact,

from the accounts

in Kings and Chronicles,

we know that they

inflicted heavy casualties.

But ultimately,

they will not prevail.

Jerusalem

will stand.

Judah

will not

be destroyed.

Ahaz

was fearing

the wrong things.

He was fearing

these nations

that ultimately

would fall.

And he was not

fearing

the God

who was in control

of it all.

But we also

see in this passage

that he was trusting

the wrong things.

Because rather than

joining the alliance

with Egypt,

or trusting in God

for protection

as he should have done,

he decided

to take a different

route

and to look

to Assyria,

the growing superpower

that everyone feared

for salvation.

rather than

fighting the enemy,

he chose

a path of appeasement.

In 2nd Kings 16,

we read,

Ahaz

sent messengers

to say to Tiglath-Pileser,

king of Assyria,

I am your servant

and vassal.

Come up

and save me

out of the hand

of the king of Aram

and of the king of Israel

who are attacking me.

And Ahaz

took the silver

and gold

found in the temple

of the Lord

and in the treasuries

of the royal palace

and sent it as a gift

to the kings of Assyria.

He humbles himself

before this king,

Tiglath-Pileser.

He is the king

of the nation

that is meant

to represent God

to the world.

He is of the line

of David

and sits on the throne

of David.

And he is declaring

himself

to be a mere servant,

a vassal,

literally a son

of this pagan king.

This is not

an alliance,

but this is

submission

as a subject.

And he gives

tribute to him,

not just any old tribute,

but as well as

the wealth

of the palace treasury.

He gives the gold

and silver

from the temple,

the things

that were dedicated

to the worship

of God.

And yes,

the king

of Assyria

will come

to his begging.

He will come

with his armies,

but he doesn't

care

at all

about Judah.

He is only

interested

in expanding

his own power.

the one thing

that Ahaz

is unwilling

to trust

is God.

But Isaiah

brings the message,

if you do not

stand firm

in your faith,

you will not

stand at all.

The same God

who will bring down

resin and pekah

is the God

in whose hands

Ahaz is.

If he does not

turn back

to God,

he too

will fall.

However,

knowing

Ahaz's

lack of faith,

God tells him

to ask for a sign,

any sign

that he wants,

to show

that the message

given through Isaiah

is reliable

and to be trusted.

We often see

asking for signs

being criticised.

For example,

Jesus would say

a wicked

and adulterous

generation

looks for a sign.

Asking for a sign

is seen

as showing

lack of faith.

But here we see

that God is willing

to give a sign

to Ahaz

precisely because

his faith

is lacking.

But Ahaz

does not want

a message

or a sign

from God.

on the face

of it,

it sounds

like piety.

In fact,

he uses

almost the same

words that

Jesus would

later use

when tempted

by the devil.

I will not

put the Lord

to the test.

But this is

false piety.

He does not

refuse

because of his

faith.

He refuses

because he has

already decided

what to do.

He believes

he has no

need for God.

And above all,

he does not

want to be

inconvenienced

by what God

might expect

of him.

I wonder

if there are

times

when we don't

want to see

what God

wants to show

us

because we

do not want

to hear

what he might

be telling

us.

We don't

want to listen

to his

word,

to hear it

preached,

because we're

scared of

what we

might be

expected to

do in

response.

But despite

Ahaz refusing

to ask,

God gives

a sign

anyway.

And so we

come to our

final and

biggest point,

a sign

that can be

trusted.

Once again,

we see that

despite Ahaz,

God is

faithful.

God is

not the

sign,

but it's

not the

sign,

but it's

not the

sign,

but it's

not the

sign,

but it's

not the

sign.

God is

no longer

speaking to

Ahaz.

He is

speaking to

the nation

at large.

Ahaz has

refused a

sign,

but he will

give a sign

to the

nation that

they might

believe.

And it's

not the

sort of

sign that

they might

have been

expecting.

It's the

birth of a

son,

a specific

son with

a specific

name.

Actually,

there are at

least three

sons mentioned

in this

passage,

and they all

have significant

names that

communicate a

message to

the people.

people.

In chapter

eight, we

read of

Isaiah

fathering a

son with

the mouthful

of a name

Maher

Shalal

Hashbaz.

This name

means something

like quick

to the

plunder.

And the

prophecy is

given that

before he

can even

say mama

or dada,

the first

words that

most children

speak,

Assyria

will come

in and

plunder

their enemies.

the nations

that they

feared so

much will

fall to

the might

of Assyria.

So has

the plan of

Ahaz worked

out after

all?

Assyria will

solve all his

problems.

We need to

keep reading

because in

verse seven

of chapter

eight, we

read,

the Lord

is about to

bring against

them,

that's against

Aram and

Israel,

the mighty

floodwaters

of the

Euphrates,

the king

of Assyria

with all

his pomp.

It will

overflow

all its

channels,

run over

all its

banks,

and sweep

on into

Judah,

swirling

over it,

passing

through it,

and reaching

up to the

neck.

Assyria will

come against

Aram and

Israel.

Unlike a

river which

has burst

its banks,

it will keep

on going

into Judah.

Tiglath

Pileser is

not a

friend that

can be

trusted.

And is

that not

the same

with things

we trust

in, to

save us

from the

things we

fear?

Be it our

job, our

friends, our

family, our

savings, our

pension, even

the vaccines that

we're pinning our

hopes on, they

may all be

good, they

may all help,

but ultimately

they cannot be

fully relied on

and may

fail us.

At the

beginning of

chapter 7,

another son of

Isaiah was

mentioned,

Shir Yashub.

This name

means a

remnant

will return.

Yes,

things are

bad.

Yes, they're

going to get

worse, but

God is still

faithful.

He has

made promises

to his

people and

he will

not abandon

them.

Because we

read the

floodwaters

will only

come up to

their neck.

They will

not

ultimately be

destroyed.

If God

was not in

control,

if God was

not restraining

these mighty

armies, they

would have been

completely

annihilated.

the children

of Israel

would have

been wiped

out.

God's

promises

would have

failed.

And

ultimately,

the promised

Messiah would

not come.

And we

would not be

here today.

Which brings

us to the

third child,

in that

well-known

verse,

verse 14,

which is

quoted in

Matthew 1.

Therefore,

the Lord

himself will

give you a

sign.

The virgin

will conceive

and give

birth to a

son, and

will call

him

Emmanuel.

This

sign is

promised to

a nation

fearing

annihilation

by powerful

armies.

This sign

is promised

to a

godless king

who has

led his

people astray.

Where they

might be

looking,

for great,

powerful

deliverance.

They are

given the

sign of

a child.

But the

sign is

given to

give them

hope.

Much of

prophecy

seems to

have multiple

fulfilments.

It speaks

of events

near at hand

when it

was written,

and also

speaks of

things that

happen in

the future,

sometimes the

distant future.

future.

And it

seems that

this is

one of

these

prophecies.

The

events we

are told

it will

precede,

the

destruction

of their

neighbours

that they

fear,

is in

the near

future.

So it

seems that

this verse

must have

had a

fulfilment

at that

time.

There are

many

theories on

who this

child might

be,

but that

is one of

the questions

that we're

not going

to be able

to answer

today.

But if

this verse

wasn't

quoted in

Matthew,

referring to

the birth

of Christ,

we would

just stop

there,

think nothing

more about

it,

it would

be yet

another

obscure

prophecy

to

ancient

Judah.

But it

is.

And that

brings us

to the

other

difficulty

in this

verse.

What does

the word

which is

translated

virgin

actually

mean?

Many of

your Bibles

will have

the footnote

or a

young woman.

It seems

that this

word just

means a

young

unmarried

woman.

Virgin

is implied

but not

explicit.

This would

just be a

question for

the academics

and Hebrew

scholars if

it wasn't

something that

is used

frequently to

attack the

credibility of

the Christian

faith.

People love

to point at

this and

say,

see,

it doesn't

mean virgin.

The virgin

birth is all

made up just

like the rest

of your

faith.

Except that

argument doesn't

work.

the Greek

translation of

the Old

Testament,

which is

quoted in

Matthew's

Gospel,

uses the

word

parthenos,

which is

precise in

its meaning.

But even if

it wasn't,

even if this

verse in

Isaiah never

existed,

the Gospels

make it

explicitly clear.

In Luke's

Gospel,

Mary asks,

Mary is not

stupid.

She knows

about the

birds and

the bees,

and therefore

she knows

that she

cannot

conceive a

child.

In Matthew's

Gospel,

the angel

tells Joseph,

what is

conceived in

her is

from the

Holy Spirit,

and then

explicitly goes

on to state,

he did not

consummate their

marriage until

she gave birth

to a son.

Why am I

laboring this

point?

Because it's

important.

if Jesus

was just

another baby

conceived in

the normal

manner,

as all of

us are,

then he is

just human.

And if

Jesus is

just a

man,

yes,

a man

somehow

specially

anointed by

God for

a special

ministry,

filled with

the Spirit

in a special

way,

then we

have a big

problem.

Because if

Jesus is not

fully God,

then he has

no power

to offer

forgiveness.

He is just

a man

spouting nice

platitudes,

a man who

is mistaken

about his

own identity,

a man who

ultimately died

an unfortunate

death.

At best,

he is like

one of the

high priests

who had to

offer sacrifices

for his own

sins,

before offering

the sacrifices

on behalf

of the people.

people.

But also,

if God is

not fully

man,

if he was

just some

sort of

avatar,

just a

pure spirit

wearing flesh

as a

costume,

then he

cannot represent

us.

He does

not understand

our weakness.

He can't

act on our

behalf before

his Father.

Savior.

If Jesus

is not

fully God

and fully

man,

then he

cannot be

our Savior.

I wonder

if the

disciples,

looking back,

re-read this

verse,

and it struck

them.

Oh,

so that's

what it

means.

A virgin

conceives.

we never

in our

wildest

dreams

realized it

meant that.

We assumed

it was just

poetic.

But now

we see,

now we

know what

Isaiah was

talking about

all that

time ago.

And so

back to the

name,

Emmanuel,

which means

God

with us.

We first

see the

significance of

this name

at Isaiah's

time.

In the

events that

were happening,

it would be

easy for

them to

think that

God had

abandoned

them.

But he

wants them

to know

that even

though he

is bringing

the armies

of Assyria

against them,

he is with

them,

and he is

waiting for

them to cry

out to him.

We see the

name mentioned

again twice

in chapter

8,

in verses

8 and

10.

In verse

8, it

seems to

be a cry

of distress.

Many

translations

render it

as,

O Emmanuel.

They

long to

see God

with them.

In the

face of

the destruction

brought by

Assyria,

they finally

cry out to

God.

As the

Christmas

carol puts

it,

O come,

O come,

Emmanuel,

and ransom

captive

Israel.

We see

the response

to this

in verse

10.

All the

plans that

the nations

might make,

however powerful

their empires,

are futile

and ultimately

doomed.

For

Emmanuel,

for God

is with

us.

God

is

fulfilled

in a

far greater

way.

In the

birth of

Christ,

in the

birth of

Christ,

in Jesus,

we see

God with

us, not

just in

some abstract

way,

but instead,

as we read in

John's gospel,

he made his

dwelling among

us.

He grew

up as

a human

child.

He walked

about the

roads of

Galilee and

Judea.

He was

hungry.

He was

tired.

He wept.

He died.

As one

song puts

it,

what if

God was

one of

us?

Well,

he was.

He is the

image of

the invisible

God.

God.

He fully

reveals God

to us.

That's all

very well,

but what

about today?

Well,

Jesus promised,

surely I am

with you

always to

the very

end of

the age.

And he

promised that

he would

give us

another

comforter,

one to

walk beside

us, to

dwell within

us.

He is

with all

people who

have put

their trust

in him,

in the

person of

the Holy

Spirit.

And so we

can sing

the words

of the

song,

I know

who goes

before me.

I know

who stands

behind.

The God

of angel

armies is

always by

my side.

Whom

shall I

fear?

And we

could just

stop there.

fear.

If we

are trusting

in the

God who

is with

us,

then what

have we

to fear?

The worst

that the

world can

do is

nothing if

God is

with us.

In some

ways, we

don't have

to cry

out,

O come,

O come,

Emmanuel.

He has

come,

and he

has promised

that he

is with

us,

and yet

we still

groan.

Yes, God

is with

us, but

we can't

see him,

and we

don't always

feel him.

Yes, we

don't have

the armies

of Assyria

coming against

us, and

yet we know

things aren't

right.

We've

perhaps felt

more than

ever in this

past year

just how

broken this

world is,

and so we

cry out for

something more,

and rightly

so,

because we

have promised,

we have been

promised something

more.

Ever since

our first

parents were

thrown out of

the garden,

where they had

walked with

God in the

cool of the

day, the

ultimate goal

has been for

that day when

once more the

dwelling of

God is

with men.

They will be

his people,

and God

himself will

be with

them and

be their

God.

He will

wipe every

tear from

their eyes.

There will

be no more

death or

mourning or

crying or

pain, for

the old

order of

things has

passed away.

And so to

conclude, we

have seen the

danger of,

like Ahaz,

fearing the

wrong things,

fearing the

things that we

see around us,

terrifying as

they may be,

and spurning

the God who

is in control

of them.

And we have

seen the

danger of

putting our

trust in the

wrong things,

armies,

friends,

savings,

vaccines,

and finding

that they

cannot deliver

everything that

we need.

But failing to

trust in the

God who

can be

relied on and

will never

fail.

And we've

seen how this

was demonstrated

in sending a

sign that can

be trusted,

his own

son,

Emmanuel,

God with

us,

who was

fully human,

fully God,

able to be a

mediator,

the mediator

that we

needed between

us and

God.

And he is

the one that

has promised

to be with

us.

He is the

one that walks

beside us

through all

the fears

and storms

of life.

And ultimately,

he is the

one that

will bring

about that

day,

when he

will be

with us

in a

fuller,

a more

glorious way,

when the

fears of

this broken

world are

a distant

memory.

And so we

can end

with the

final words

of Revelation,

the last

verses of

our Bible.

people.

He who

testifies to

these things

says,

yes,

I am

coming soon.

Amen.

Come,

Lord Jesus.

The grace

of the Lord

Jesus be

with God's

people.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.