Isaiah 52:1-12 - "The Lord’s Coming Salvation" (PALM SUNDAY)

As we focus on the  last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, we begin with His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 

This  event is described in all four gospels [1] and it  is  specifically prophesied  by the prophet Zechariah (Zech.9:9) and in so many other indirect ways  in the  Old Testament, such as this passage in  Isaiah, which precedes  the  famous Isaiah 53 passage  which we shall  consider on Easter Friday.

Today we remember the occasion   when Jesus,  the  chosen  servant of God[2] came riding on a humble donkey   to fulfil  the work that the Father  had given  Him to do in laying down His life for His people[3]. 

As He entered  the city, He was received  in the manner of  a conquering King, although “he had no  form or majesty  that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him…”  (53:2), and yet the crowd  received Him  with  these words, 

"Hosanna[4] to the Son of David”. 

This   was tantamount to saying (and so  it was understood  by the Pharisees e.g. in Lk 19:39) that He was the long expected Messiah of Israel.    

In Luke’s account of the triumphal entry, Jesus  following His entrance into Jerusalem is deeply disturbed at what He sees. 

He weeps over Jerusalem  (see Lk  19:41- 44 ; and see  also  Lk  13:34 – 35).  

This is followed  by the famous  temple cleansing (Lk. 19:45-48; Matt 21:12-17)

It is particularly   Lk  13:34 – 35 that gives us an insight  into  the spiritual state of Jerusalem. 

It was this city  that  had killed the prophets. 

It was this city that would kill the Son of God, and amazingly, Jesus  knew that  this was going to happen! 

What was the purpose for which Jesus rode into Jerusalem to lay down His life?   It was  to hand Himself over to wicked men  to do what they had wanted to do all along, BUT  in this  atrocious act  He  would  also make atonement for the sin of the world! 

By His  death He would  secure  eternal life for  all his own people,  for all those “who did receive Him, who believed  in His Name” (John 1:12). It was  ultimately  to secure for them a  future, not in this earthly Jerusalem, but  in the new, the heavenly Jerusalem, the home of every true believer  which Jesus went to prepare in John 14:1-4  and of which  we read in   Revelation 21.

Now we know from the history of Jerusalem  that she had been  besieged and captured many times. In the days of  Israel’s  occupation of Jerusalem[5], this city was  sacked  eventually by the Babylonians in around  586 BC. She  was  burned and destroyed and her  people taken into exile in  Babylon, just as  Isaiah and Jeremiah and others had said. But before that, approximately 135  years  earlier,  in the days of Isaiah,  this city  was also threatened by the Assyrians  who did in fact capture the northern territory of Israel and with it 10 tribes, who were sent into  exile in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:5ff).   All prophets, particularly the  major  prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, and later the Lord Jesus, God’s final Revelation (Hebr. 1:1-3) saw  that the continued rebellion  of this city  that had experienced  so much  of God’s favour, in terms of hosting  the temple of God, and therefore  the visible presence of God in Israel, that this city  would  face the wrath of God.  This leading  city  of the Jews   had lost the vision   of God in her midst.

Isaiah’s  prophecy  can be divided into two parts. 

The first part, chapters  1-39  focus on God’s judgement on Israel and the surrounding nations  for idolatry, injustice and reliance on foreign powers rather than on God

The second part in chapters 40 – 66,  is known as the 'book of the messianic  servant'. It offers  comfort to  the exiled people, and  the promise of the return of a remnant. 

Isaiah’s vision is big!  

Not only does he  include future events from his own perspective in about 722 BC;  Isaiah also  sees  the restoration of Israel  after the Babylonian captivity, much later in 520 BC, when he was long dead. 

But more  than that, Isaiah’s  prophecy anticipates  the  ministry and mission of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ (whom we shall meet as the suffering servant in  Isaiah 53) more than 700 years later! 

And from our perspective Isaiah  foresees  even more than that. He foresees  the rule  and restoration  of all things under Christ  in  days to come, which,  even from our perspective is STILL  in the future!

From the present perspective  of Isaiah, and from Christ’s perspective, when He rode into Jerusalem, and also  from our own perspective, this earthly Jerusalem  was and is  anything but a holy city.   

But  Isaiah  sees  beyond that,  and he, like His Messiah, the Lord Jesus look  to the far future  when things will look very different. 

And it all began  on that day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. 

On this day  He came to  Jerusalem  to  secure the future  of  the inhabitants  of a far greater Jerusalem. He came to  do this   in His death  and resurrection, described  in Isaiah 53. 

In preparation for that let's  take a look at  this text[6] which precedes the phenomenal  events of Isaiah 53,  and view it  just as the triumphal entry  precedes the phenomenal events of the week that lay ahead:

1.Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Obviously,  the prophet is not speaking here of  a political  entity  called  Jerusalem. He is speaking  of  that future city where  there  shall be no sin – the heavenly Jerusalem of  Revelation 21. That  is the city that Jesus ultimately  came to establish when He came riding into  this sinful Jerusalem, that killed the prophets, and therefore the prophet continues …

2. Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 

What did the Lord Jesus  achieve  in his death and resurrection?  He  purchased  freedom  for a people in the dust, a people enslaved by sin. He freed them  for citizenship in the new Jerusalem,  by the shedding of His blood.

3.  For thus says the Lord: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” What does this   mean?  In context  this  would refer to the Babylonian captivity. Babylon acquired   Judah and paid nothing for  her when they took her captive in 586 BC. However,  roughly 70 years later under Cyrus  the Persian and then Artaxerxes [7]  she was freed  without the payment of money,  when men like Ezra and Nehemiah led the people back to Jerusalem  from captivity, being in fact supported by the Babylonians to rebuild Jerusalem[8]. But in a greater sense it would mean  that the sin which our  first father Adam committed, and of which we had borne the fruit, would now  be borne  by Christ in His death, BUT no  one has  to pay for their redemption. It was free for those who would take it.    

This  was the purpose for which  Jesus  came to ride into the city! 

4 For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. 

Israel’s first stint away from their   earthly Jerusalem in Canaan  was  experienced when they had lived  for 430 years in  Egypt, after which they returned under Moses and Joshua  to Canaan, their promised land.  Then  David  established the   physical Jerusalem  for Israel, but under  the often foolish rule of his  grandsons, substantial chunks of the kingdom were gradually lost – first under the  Assyrians, who   claimed the northern kingdom of Israel.  

In Christ’s day the  Jews were oppressed  by the  Romans, and the Jews hoped for  their Messiah  to return to  deliver them from the  Roman yoke. But was this ultimately the yoke  that  they needed to be  delivered from? Was not the yoke of sin their ultimate problem?  And who alone could effectively deal  with sin, if not the Son of God? And so Jesus rode into Jerusalem …

  

5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and continually all the day my name is despised. Many a time when Israel was  attacked by her enemies (no doubt, due to their own foolishness, which resulted in the hand of God being lifted from them),  their enemies  were  blaspheming the  name of God  when they  taunted  Israel: “Where now is your God?”  (e.g. Ps 42:10;  115:2; Joel 2:17). In truth, this was also  the  general attitude of the Jews   to Jesus. When he hung on the cross they mocked Him, saying: “He saved others, let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One.”(Lk. 23:35). The truth was that in continually  mocking Christ they were continually mocking the work of God. 

And so Christ rode into Jerusalem on  this day  to make a distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous!  

6 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.” In the  historical context  the  release from Babylonian captivity and the rebuilding of Jerusalem would be  a true testimony  to the power of God.  Nehemiah confirms this in Neh.6:15,16  when he says, “… all the nations around us …perceived that this work  had been  accomplished with the help of our God !” But in a greater sense  the greatest work  would be the   establishment  of the  eternal city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, which would be populated by  those who had been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.  

Jesus came riding  into  Jerusalem  to  declare that He would do this ON THE CROSS!   

This  is  therefore what gives rise to the next verse!  Here is the gospel  of the good news   for all the people… for all the nations !

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Paul quotes this passage in Rom 10:15.  The point is that whatever historical situation brought  the good news  in Isaiah’s day, he was looking much further, when our  Messiah  made the gospel  terms  effective  by His death and resurrection.

For this reason Jesus came riding into Jerusalem.

8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy;  for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion.  In the  historical setting this  was accomplished  when God restore the Jews to liberty under the leadership of men  like  Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Yet again,  and in a greater sense, these things were fulfilled in Christ’s coming into Jerusalem  for this purpose – that He might lay down His life for a great number of people  and to establish  for them a city whose foundations cannot be shaken.

9 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.  Historical deliverance happened  under Cyrus, (2 Chron. 36:22,23). The  Lord  displayed his power among the Medes and Persians, but afterwards he made it visible to all the nations. But again, see the ultimate fulfilment  in this  text. The Abrahamic covenant  is being fulfilled, as not only Jews but  gentiles  were participating in the salvation of God in Christ. 

All this began  to be fulfilled  in Christ riding into Jerusalem  to lay down His life for  Jews and gentiles. 

11 Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. 12 For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. In context  this was a call to  all  the Jews to leave Babylon, and to leave the things of Babylon behind. Those  that were  carrying the vessels of the Lord ( i.e. the vessels  for the temple), the priests, these were to be  especially consecrated. 

The redeemed would not need to  leave in haste as they had done when they left Egypt in the Exodus. They were completely free. God would go before to lead them and behind to protect them as they journeyed to their Promised Land (cf. Exodus 13:21-22; Exodus 14:19-20). In our context, it is important that we need to leave the city of destruction and make sure that we are on the  road to the heavenly  Jerusalem. (Pilgrims Progress)  

Here then,  in this  part of  Isaiah’s prophecy  the dual implications of the prophet's promises are very clear.  

1. The Babylonian captivity  formed the background  to what  Isaiah  said, 

2. ... but  Isaiah  had the larger issue of  SIN SLAVERY  in mind.  Return to the land was in view, but even more so, the opportunity to return to the Lord through spiritual redemption was His greater focus. 

God would deal with the result in Israel's case, captivity, but He would also and more importantly deal with the great cause of  every man's   problem, namely sin !

All this Jesus  came to do when he rode on that donkey  into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  

Hallelujah, what a Word! 

Hallelujah, what a Saviour! 

AMEN .

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[1] Matthew 21: 1- 11 ; Mark 11:1-11 ; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-19

[2] Note the four servant   passages  in this regard :  42:1-9; 49:1-7 ; 50:4-11 ; 52:13-53:12

[3] i.e. as the Lamb of God for His sheep

[4]  Lit. “save now”

[5] This city was captured by David from the Jebusites  in  2 Samuel 5:6-10 , after which it was called “the city of David”

[6] The proper  parameters for this text is  Isaiah 51:1-52:12. The chapter division at 52:1 is unfortunate . Similarly  the chapter division should not begin with 53:1, as it does, but should start at 52:13.

Outline of Ch.  51:1- 52:12 : 1. A threefold  call  to listen :  i.e.  51 : 1; 4; 7   2. A threefold  exhortation to awake  : 51:9;17 & 52:1  

[7] Ezra 1:1; 4:7

[8]  Ezra 1:2ff ;Neh. 2:8

ISAIAH 8 DARKNESS BEFORE LIGHT

 

Isaiah 7-12 (The Immanuel book) provides us with the fuller picture behind the fulfillment of the prophecy in Matthew 1:21-23, announcing the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Isaiah 6 we previously considered Isaiah’s vision of God in the temple and his subsequent call to the prophetic ministry. Isaiah was commissioned to prophesy to a hard-of-hearing, non-understanding, unresponsive people (Isa.6:9-10). The prototype of this sort of person is Ahaz, the king of Judah. 

In Isaiah 7 Isaiah was called by God to convince Ahaz that he needed not to fear the alliance between the northern kingdom of Israel and Syria, threatening to attack Judah and Jerusalem. He needed only to put his trust in the Lord.   Ahaz did not want to trust the LORD. He only trusted in a political alliance with the Assyrians – the most powerful nation at that time.

Isaiah challenged Ahaz to trust in the Word of the Lord, even offering him to ask for a sign from the Lord (7:11) which king Ahaz declined. Isaiah then cried out in exasperation: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (7:14).

We have seen that God speaks to a deaf, unresponsive, dull people. (Darkness) 

DARKNESS BEFORE LIGHT! 

We must remember that He does this because He is committed to the fulfillment of His own covenant, which in time would be fulfilled in His Immanuel – the Saviour (Matt. 1:21-23) the Lord Jesus Christ, born to redeem God’s foreknown children. (Light) 

 ISAIAH  8

8:1-4 Then the Lord said to me…

The God of the covenant is absolutely committed to His eternal plan- but “He does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

Isaiah is now commanded to make a tablet and write upon it these words, “Belonging to Maher Shalal Hash Baz“, translated “speed- spoil- haste –booty “.  A very odd statement, but enough to arouse the curiosity of the people and to provoke questions. Keep the context in mind. This message relates to the threatened invasion of Jerusalem by the northern kingdom, which is allied with Syria.

God instructs Isaiah to get two reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah[1] to testify that Isaiah had indeed written this banner. But the prophecy isn’t yet completed. It also had to become flesh in the form of a son that would be born to Isaiah’s wife[2]. When that son is eventually born (at least 9 months later), he will receive that prophetic name, which conveys that same message. His name was intended to be a sign (see 8:18) to Ahaz and to Judah. 

In 8:4 we are informed that before this boy would be able to talk, the Assyrians would successfully attack the Syrians and Israel, utterly defeating them, and therefore swiftly carrying off the spoil or booty.  Please note – God was going to do this! Ahaz did not need to enter into an alliance with the Assyrians to protect himself.

8:5-10 God continues to speak strongly through Isaiah: “The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.” 9 Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered;  give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered. 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.  

“This people“ refers to the northern kingdom of Israel. These 10 northern tribes (under Jeroboam) had separated themselves from Jerusalem and the temple. They had refused the gentle waters of Shiloah. The waters of Shiloah flow from the Gihon spring into Jerusalem.  At Gihon,  Solomon, the son of David, was anointed and declared to be king (1 Kings 1:32-35). It was also here that Isaiah first found king Ahaz (7:3) who was worried that the enemy would cut off this water supply from Jerusalem.  

These people, the northern kingdom had alienated themselves from that life giving water, and from the LORD a   long time ago.    God was against them!

The Lord says here that they (the NK and their ally Syria) would endure the Assyrian flood, which would threaten Judah as well, BUT Jerusalem would not be conquered at this time. The Assyrian waters would well come “up to the neck” (8:8), but no further.  This happened in king Hezekiah’s day, when Jerusalem was threatened by the Assyrians, but there the Lord struck down 185 000 Assyrians (2 Ki.19:35) !  That was basically the end of Assyria. 

A strong point is made in 8:9,10 that this is Immanuel’s land!  THEREFORE (and not for any other reason) we are reminded once more that God’s plan and promises cannot be thwarted by any human power.  8:10 could also be loosely translated, “Go ahead, make your crazy plan; it will fail” 

All this begs us to reflect upon a very comforting doctrine: The sovereignty God!  No weapon formed against God and His purposes will stand (Isa 54:17).

To contextualize that:

Every opposition against God’s kingdom will fail.

Everyone that wants to exterminate the people of God – the true church (from among all nations)  must fail!   

The reason is plain. God is with us, and if God be for us, who can be against us?  (Rom 8:28). The true church (the qahal or assembly of God) is in Immanuel’s hand. Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church! (Matt. 16:18). She is Immanuel’s land, Immanuel’s treasured possession, Immanuel’s bride!

This thought gives rise to the next section in 8:11 – 22 

ISAIAH 8:11-22

The LORD continues to speak to Isaiah, and from these remaining verses in chapter 8 we must draw at least three  powerful conclusions 

1. 8: 11-13 In times of spiritual threat we must guard our hearts and minds by not following a pragmatic route of escape.  Isaiah is warned not to follow the unspiritual thinking of the world around him: “For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.”

Godly people must learn not to fear what people around them fear. Godly people must fear the LORD alone. They must believe His Word.

 2.   8:14-15: Know that God is either for you or against you. There is no middle-ground: “And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”  The Lord is either a sanctuary or a stone of offense/ stumbling (Gr. skandalon) for all people. In the OT the sanctuary was the holy place where He promised to dwell and where people were invited to dwell under the shelter of His wings. But He is also a stumbling stone for those who will not take Him seriously. 

So too Jesus is there either for our protection or our downfall. The old prophet Simeon prophesied this about the Lord Jesus:  He is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel“ (Luke 2:34).  Many people stumble because they disobey the message about Christ (1 Peter 2:8). To those who believe in Him and obey Him, He will be a sanctuary.   Jesus is either a snare, a stumbling block or a Saviour.  What is He to you? There is no third way, and no one can ultimately get away from Christ. He is the coming Judge!

3. 8:16-20 Hold on to the Word of God and not on to lies: “Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching (law) and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”

When times are desperate it is important to hold on to God’s word. In such times it is important to be aware of false prophets.   What God has said through Isaiah was God’s word.  “The LORD spoke thus to me with His strong hand upon me (8:11).

Note that Isaiah’s family signs and symbols that communicated truth. One of Isaiah’s sons name, (Shear-Jashub- 7:3) promised that there would be a remnant; another son’s name, Maher-Shalal Hash Baz was a prediction that swift destruction would come on Judah’s enemies. It happened while this boy was still a baby who could not yet talk! And don’t forget that Isaiah’s own name means “the Lord saves”, a gospel message in itself!  Immanuel would INDEED appear in the fullness of time   in the flesh (Jn. 1:14, Gal. 4:4) and in the line of David centuries after Isaiah spoke!

Sadly, those who reject God’s word always seek alternative counsel and wisdom, therefore we are not surprised to read that they turned to mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter (8:19). By so doing they broke God’s law (Deut.18:9-13), preferring to hear a word from the dead over the Word of the Living God.  They were rejecting the law and the testimony (8:20)

In doing so they ultimately lost their heritage, their blessing, and their life. Their unbelief would bring distress, darkness, and fearful gloom in time to come, and if it were not for the amazing mercy of God they would have remained in darkness. So, the words in 8:21& 22 are all too true: “They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.”

THE OLD TESTAMENT SPEAKS TO YOU!   

Do not be tempted, like Ahaz, to reject God’s law or the word of His prophets (OT) or like Judas, the final Word that was spoken by Jesus (Hebr.1:1-3), and communicated by the apostles.

If we reject God’s revelation and direction in favor of human saviours or by consulting the dead etc. we will not have light at all but darkness, and the despairing gloom that comes with it.

On Christmas day we are going to take a close look at Isa 9: 1-7, in which we see Immanuel dispelling the gloom of people that have been walking in darkness. We will take a good look at the child with the four Names, in ALONE can be all our hope.

Thank God for Immanuel. Thank  God that  the darkness  cannot extinguish the light. 

Amen!

 

 

 

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[1] See 2 Ki. 16:10-16;18:2 This Zechariah  cannot be identical with the prophet  and author Zechariah, who prophesied around 520 B.C.

[2] The title ‘prophetess ‘ was probably given to Isaiah’s wife here because she was literally the bearer  of the  Lord’s Word, incarnate in her son  (Motyer, p.90)

ISAIAH 7:1-14 THE IMMANUEL SIGN

 

Isaiah 7 contains the prophecy of the virgin birth of a son called Immanuel (7:14)[1].  The name of Immanuel and the circumstances under which he was conceived are as mysterious and unique as was the life of king Melchizedek,  who is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days or end of life…”  cf. Genesis 14:17ff cf. Hebr. 7:3. The mystery   is thankfully lifted when we read Matthew 1:20-23. But more about that in a moment.

We may be somewhat surprised when reading and meditating on this text. It does not come across very “Christmassy”[2]  at all when we consider the historical picture. Sadly,  many Christmas sermons are sentimentalized and rarely ever recognize the historical context and prophetic profundity of these texts.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Isaiah’s commission begins with a great vision of God  (6:1-8). It ends with a very difficult commission and message  from God in 6:9,10. There, God said to Isaiah,

“Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Let us consider the basic facts. 

Isaiah was commissioned to preach the Word of God to a proud and stubborn people.  He is called to speak to a people who do not want to hear or see the Word of the Lord – in fact, in addition to their own rebellious spirit, God has added judicial blindness, so that they are actually twice hardened: they hardened their own hearts and God hardened their hearts! The concept of judicial hardening in also found in 29:9-13. In New Testament language, these  are a people handed over (Rom. 1:18ff) 

On Isaiah’s very first assignment, God called Isaiah to speak to king Ahaz in Jerusalem. He found king Ahaz at the upper pool near the Washer’s field (7:3). Ahaz was concerned that the water supplies were going to be cut off by the invading armies of Syria, allied with the Northern kingdom of Israel. The message from God in  7:4 was this,

 “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 (Pekah) the son of Remaliah, the current king of the Northern  alliance.”  

Isaiah’s message  to Ahaz in a nutshell: Call him to trust in me – His God!

Ahaz, although he was a descendant of David (and mentioned in the covenantal line of the Messiah – Matt. 1:9), he wasn’t a godly, spiritual man who trusted in the Word of the Lord.  In 2 Ki.16:3 we read that, “he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. 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, Ahaz trusted more in an alliance with the Syrian king than in the God of his father David.  And it’s going to bite him: “Within 65 years, Ephraim – the Northern kingdom  would seize to be a nation (7:8). This is exactly what happened. Indeed, within 65 years the Northern Kingdom and their Allies, Syria would be destroyed by Assyria (2 Kings 15:29; 16:9). All this happened, just as God said it would.  The study of the prophecies and their fulfillments in history are a great testimony to the reliability   and authority of Scripture. 

ASK FOR A SIGN (7:10–17)

Against this terrible background we find a God who is good, and kind to rebellious and ungrateful people.

He sends Isaiah to Ahaz at the upper pool (7:3), worried about the water supply which may be cut off by the invading armies. Isaiah comes to him with words that we would not have expected to be spoken to this godless, faithless king. Isaiah comes with an encouraging (good news) message from God. BUT along with this he also brings a warning: “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” [7:9]

Isaiah finds king Ahaz apathetic to this positive challenge. So, God in His patient mercy says to king Ahaz in 7:10-11: 

“Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 

He is saying,  Ahaz, you don’t believe me? Ask me to confirm this to you via a miraculous sign.

God is surely patient with this faithless son of the covenant, and there is the key! Why does God do this? He does this for the sake of His covenant and for the sake of the throne of David, and for the sake of the Messiah, and not because Ahaz deserves God’s patience.

God tells Ahaz to choose a sign as evidence that the  message  from Isaiah is true: 

“Make it as difficult as you like – make it as deep as Sheol, or high as heaven" (7:11).  

What an offer – what an opportunity to see God at work. Imagine you were given that opportunity!   What would you have asked for?

Astonishingly we read in 7:12: 

“But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.”  

Some think here that Ahaz is being merely   humble or modest - perhaps he is thinking about Deut. 6:16, “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test”.  But, as others have pointed out correctly, when God invites us to ask for a sign, we are not putting God to the test. If the truth be told, Ahaz response actually masks a very stubborn unbelief. We need no reminder that some of the strongest unbelief hides behind religious language[3]!

Now you can hear Isaiah’s frustration beginning to manifest in 7:13: 

“Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?   

It is very likely that Isaiah was saying this not only to the king but to a multitude assembled at the upper pool at the Washer’s field.  Many may have heard this word that now came to Ahaz (7:14): “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” 

 A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON?

The Hebrew word used here for virgin is ‘almah’. This refers to a marriageable young woman of unblemished and pure character. Many have a problem with this because virgins (by definition) cannot conceive or give birth! And yet this is not a grammatical mistake. Many years before Christ was born, Jewish scholars translated the OT into the Greek language (the Septuagint or the LXX).  When it came to translating this word “virgin” they used the word “parthenos”.  The Greek language here is precise and unambiguous.  A parthenos is a virgin! They did not use the word, “young woman” or another equivalent.

That makes this prophecy is truly astonishing.  Yes, virgins do not conceive; and they do not give birth. So, this was going to be something extraordinary.  Ahaz would be given the opportunity to witness the pregnancy and birth of a son called Immanuel, born to a woman who had no man in her life. This sign was impossible beyond the deepest depths of Sheol and the highest heights of heaven (7:10).

But here is the greater miracle: Hidden deep within Israel’s darkest history and unbelief there is the prospect of a light shining (cf. 9:2). Isaiah, employs prophetic perspective, far above that which even he could understand or fathom, and by which God would be true to His promises to David the covenant king.  A virgin would give birth to a male child. The male child would be called “Immanuel”, meaning “God with us”.   Immanuel is mentioned again in 8:8 & 10. Concerning Him we learn,

• The land which was under the rule of the House of David was His land.
• He is addressed in prayer (8:8). Therefore  Immanuel  must be the LORD. He is the Lord who frustrates the plans of His opponents in 8:10.

All this would have remained a mystery had we not received the interpretation  in  Matt 1:20-23 :

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

 And Luke 1:30-37 reads:

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Please note the deliberate language used here by Mary in  Luke 1:34  And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since a man I have not known? (i.e. I am a virgin) ?” 

From this follows the fact that  this birth is going to be an extra-ordinary birth! 

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born  will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, (here is an extra sign and a confirmation!)  your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

APPLICATION 

1.      Much of the OT (the prophecy of Isaiah by way of application) does not make much sense without the revelation of Christ, our Immanuel. The light of the New Testament  illumines  the Old Testament, which is richly furnished, but dimly lighted. The introduction of light  brings into it  nothing which was not  in it before, but  reveals it in full clarity (B.B. Warfield) 

2.      The Christian faith  rests upon the foundation of this prophecy in Isaiah 7. Immanuel defines  our  Christian faith.

3.      The deliverance of Judah’s hopeless position at the time of king Ahaz comes not by human might or power, but by God‘s miraculous intervention – and that despite the deafness and stubbornness of king and people (or if you like – government and nation). There are simply no human alliances that will get the world out of this sticky mess, this entanglement of sin.  We need the gospel of Jesus. He is the same Saviour that must now come and deliver us from  our messy world. Thank God that, with the help of the NT we know Immanuel. We must boldly appeal to Him in prayer.      

4.      This story of Isaiah and Ahaz proves to us once again, that the gospel comes to us utterly undeserved and unsought.  It comes to us because God is faithful to His covenant. In that covenant He has given a people (a bride) to His Son. The Son has prayed for that bride in John 17.  All that the Father has given to the Son will come.   His  sheep know Him and they follow Him (John 10: 14, 27).  Evil, unbelieving, faithless people like Ahaz will not stand in the way of God’s gospel – in fact, evil people like Ahaz are sometimes overwhelmed by the gospel and brought into submission of the gospel.  The apostle Paul was a spiritual Ahaz before the grace of God overwhelmed him. 

5.     May God would be pleased to pour out His great gospel grace   into the heart of many an Ahaz today.  May God be pleased to turn the spiritual coldness, apathy and blindness of this present age   once again into a profound love for Immanuel. May His kingdom come. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

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[1]  For the name Immanuel: See Isa 7: 14; 8:8,10

[2] Every now and then we must invent a word to explain ourselves!

[3] Think for instance of the parable of the tax-collector and the Pharisee in Lk 18:9-14. The Pharisee hides his unbelief behind strong religious language

Isaiah 7:1-9 “Be careful, Be quiet, Do not fear …”

 

This is the season in which we remember the birth of Christ. 

Our thoughts are directed away from the commercialism commonly associated with this season. 

Our desire is to  see Jesus again for who He is – Our Immanuel – God with us.   

Our focus in this Christmas season will be upon Isaiah 7- 9. 

The Lutheran commentator H.C. Leupold gives Isaiah Chapters 7-12 the title “Immanuel book”[1], because of the references to Immanuel  in 7:14; 8:8,10. This prophetic section foretells the conception and birth of Immanuel. The gospel of Matthew 1:21-23 links Immanuel to the Lord Jesus Christ.  The NT solves the mystery of this   mysterious Immanuel.

ISAIAH - A Brief Biographical Sketch

His name (Yeshayahu) means “God saves”. Not much is known about Isaiah.  

• He was the son of Amoz (1:1). 
• He was married (8:3). 
• He had at least two children (7:3,8:3). 
• Isaiah 6 contains   his call   and commission to the prophetic office in the year that king Uzziah died (740 B.C.). 
• He lived in Jerusalem. 
• His prophetic activity lasted approximately from 742-701 BC  
• The greatest political event of his prophetic career would have been the fall of the Northern kingdom (Israel) to the Assyrians in about 722 BC. 

No other prophet in the Scriptures has said more concerning Israel’s Messiah than Isaiah.  He foretells the Messiah’s birth in Isaiah 9. He also presents us with a most graphic picture of the Messiah as the suffering and martyred servant who was wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53).  

 ISAIAH 7

Chapter 7 contains the prophecy of the virgin birth of a son called Immanuel (7:14). This Immanuel is as mysterious and unique as Melchizedek who is “without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days or end of life…” (Genesis 14:17ff; Hebr. 7:3).  

Here God commands Isaiah to speak to king Ahaz of Judah[2], who is   presently in a real quandary.  We read in 7:1,2 [3] 

“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…  King Ahaz and the people of the Southern kingdom were clearly very afraid… “the heart…shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind…”.  A very graphic picture of fear!

Isaiah was commanded to speak to Ahaz and the people about this fear in 7:4-9: 

“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 it 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 you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”

Isaiah found king Ahaz at the upper pool. At that time Jerusalem’s water came from the Gihon Spring in the Kidron valley, outside the city. [4] Ahaz was worried about the water supply. It could be easily cut off by an enemy. Isaiah was sent by God to give Ahaz   courage and hope.

Now keep in mind that in Isaiah was warned by God that, “the hearts of this people would be dull…. Their ears heavy and their eyes blind…” (Isa 6:9, 10).   

That would be the mindset of a man like Ahaz.  

He would not hear or believe any word from God through a prophet.  

We must never accuse God of not being patient with His rebellious people. He sends His servants into His vineyard time and again (e.g. the parable of the tenants – Matt.  21: 33-46).  

As Isaiah approaches king Ahaz, he finds a man who had his mind made up. He believed that only Assyria could help him now. To that end he would even give up the temple treasury (the things devoted to God) to Assyria to save his neck.

In 2 Kings 16:7–8 we read 

7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria.

This mindset is disturbingly habitual among God’s people. We are inclined turn to anyone for help before we turn to our God. In Isa. 30:1-3 we find the same mindset.  Israel wanted to trust in Egypt rather than in their God:

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; 2 who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh Turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.

… And these following words in Isa 30: 12-16

12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, 13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; 14 and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to   take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.” 15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” (There is the call  to have faith in God). But you were unwilling, 16 and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore, your pursuers shall be swift.

Isaiah’s message to Ahaz was simple: “Stop worrying! I am in control of these events! Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands.”  See how much God is for Ahaz! He sends a prophet to him with a sure and faithful word. Truly, God does not withhold His word from us. That word says: Be quiet! Trust in me!

Another fact:  Ahaz, the son of Jotham, was a son of David.  Pekah of the breakaway northern kingdom was not of the line of David. Of him we read in   2 Kings 15:23-38 that he had murdered the previous king Pekahiah and seized the throne of the northern kingdom (generally referred to as Israel). The point is that the Lord had no covenantal dealings with the kings of the northern kingdom.  Pekah was merely the son of Remaliah (7:9). 

In contrast to this, Ahaz was born into the Davidic line - the covenant. He could have rested in God’s promises, “… I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:14).   But very sadly, this king could not see that a great and mighty God was committed to fight his battles for David’s sake – for His own glory’s sake. 

Instead of looking to His God, he saw these two earthly kings, who from God’s perspective, were   described as smoldering stumps (7:4). Their fire had died and all that was left was the smoke!   Ahaz should have been comforted by Isaiah’s message.  He should not have been intimidated by their threatening words (7:6). He should have remembered the truth expressed in Isa 40:15-17

“Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. 16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”

Ahaz had to do nothing but to stand firm in His faith in the God of his father David. It was not a leap in the dark. It was a faith in a dependable God. It was a faith that was tested and tried by his many godly predecessors.  Not to stand in faith in this situation would mean the downfall of the nation.  And so it was!

In the course of history, it was not only so that the Northern kingdom would be taken into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 BC, but 150 years later the Southern kingdom would share the same fate, being taken into captivity by the Babylonians.

See how much God is for Ahaz!  See how much grace is extended! Next time (Isa 7: 10- 25)  we will consider an incredibly generous offer from the LORD God to this spiritually weak king, Ahaz. God says to Ahaz through the prophet “Ahaz, ask for a sign to prove that I am the faithful God that will protect you and sustain you…”  (7:10). 

We shall find  that Ahaz fails to make an opportunity of this. 

And we shall see that despite his unbelief God Himself will give a sign – “Immanuel” to prove that He is the faithful God who will deliver His people from their trials and tribulations. But, that will be the subject matter for our next sermon. 

 APPLICATION

• This is the month and time of the year when we remember the birth of our Immanuel – the Living Word, who   was given for our release from   fear and anxiety – and from our own darkness.  The message of Christmas is a message of comfort and joy!
• We too are currently living in a very fearful and anxious age. Many people are fearful and stressed.  Because of this, the modern mental health industry is flourishing. This is nothing new in the history of mankind. In Jesus day, He saw many sick, distressed, demon oppressed, harassed people. These were beset by all sorts of fears and phobias and emotional ailments leading to all sorts of psychosomatic diseases. Many are like the woman who had exhausted her finances to find a cure to her ailment (Mk 5:26). They crowd the consultation rooms of doctors and psychologists. Many of them are religious. They go to church, but their demons of fear and anxiety remain.  Christ (the Wonderful Counsellor- Isa 9:6) appears to be of no help at all.  And the main problem is this:  They hear but do not understand; they keep on seeing, but do not perceive …” (Isa.  6:9).  Like Ahaz and the people of His day they do not respond to the word of the Lord because their fears are great and their God is small.  We cannot hear the Word of the Lord speaking into our fears.  We do not want to believe these words from the Immanuel book, because we are preoccupied with man made solutions,  and  with the words  of   false prophets more than this WORD.  We do not hear these words: ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smouldering stumps of firebrands…”. There is too much noise in our souls!
• Our generation is not firm in the faith (7:9b).  We may not be professing atheists, but we are practical atheists. We trust our purses, and will rob our treasuries to pay for the opinions of secular, man- centred opinion or to find soul deadening medications, drugs, alcohol, spending our money on endless forms of escapism.    We are not a generation that   listens to God.  We accumulate for ourselves teachers to suit our own passions, and we easily turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Tim 4:3, 4)
• We are not committed worshippers. We are not inclined to work from a God- centred faith. We do not disperse from our churches full of faith and confidence in the power in God.  By nature, we are inclined to be Ahaz’s.  We are easily intimidated by people and their opinions. But when it comes to hearing the Word of God, calling us to faith and obedience, it appears as if we are deaf and blind.
• We need Immanuel to restore us. This whole passage begs for a divine solution.  Next time we will consider God’s solution in Isa. 7:10-25. This is the answer to the counsel offered in 7:4

Turn to Him in prayer now as we beg the Father through the Lord Jesus (God with us) by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to take away any such blindness and deafness as there may be.  

May He enable us to look with biblical faith to God, and learn to interpret various intimidating situations before us, not at face value, but with biblical wisdom and insight.  

The Grace of God be with you!

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[1] H.C. Leupold: Exposition of Isaiah (One Vol. ed.) Baker Book House, p.144

[2] See the list of kings  in whose reign Isaiah  prophesied in  Isaiah  1:1

[3] The historical background is found 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16 .The time frame is roughly about 735 BC.

 [4] Under Hezekiah (715-686 BC) a 533 meter underground tunnel was built  to divert   Gihon’s water to the pool of Siloam, within the city walls