Isaiah 7 Dearly beloved,
God places before us the ways of man throughout the Holy Scriptures. Some men humbly bow before the Lord and follow, while others look ahead to their own ways. Some people turn the other direction because the life of Godliness seems to be too difficult for them, while others find their lives as being inseparably connected to Jesus. The Old Testament is full of this. The words that have been read from the prophet Isaiah this evening are well-known words. St. Matthew uses them in his gospel, particularly God’s prophecy to King Ahaz: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Beautiful words for us, but the wicked King Ahaz did not receive those words with the same gratitude and longing. The reason is simple. King Ahaz was the king of Judah. Ahaz had forefathers who were godly kings, but this man was not one of them. King Ahaz was intent on his will being done in his life. Ahaz knew what he wanted. He knew what he had to do to achieve those goals, and he cared nothing for the messianic seed that dwelt within his tribe of Judah. God’s people had gone the way of idolatry. They lived for themselves. King Ahaz, while being king to God’s tribe, worshiped Baal, sacrificed on the altars of Baal, and even had his son sacrificed for his false god. At one point, Ahaz even petitions the help of a foreign nation, seeking protection from foes. Ahaz takes many of the furnishings and gold from God’s house and gives them to the foreign nation as a bribe for help. Ahaz even has an exact replica of a altar of a false god made and placed for use in his kingdom. Truly, Ahaz was sinning against the Lord. And yet, God sends Isaiah the prophet. In doing so, the Lord gives Ahaz an opportunity to repent of his sins. The Lord is merciful and steadfast as the psalmist says. Isaiah is told that he and his own son, Shearjashub, are to go and meet Ahaz in an effort to get him to repent of his unbelieving and independently driven ways. The two are sent with their names bearing meaning to the situation at hand. Isaiah’s name means, “Salvation of Yah,” salvation of the Lord. Isaiah’s son, Shearjashub, is so named meaning “the remnant is converted.” Isaiah represents God’s forgiveness and the Shearjashub represents God’s judgment on Ahaz, for if Ahaz fails to repent, then his end is written and a mere remnant shall remain. God gives Ahaz an opportunity to receive a sign in order to believe. “Ask thee a sign for the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above”(Isaiah 7:11). The Lord is giving Ahaz a chance to be blessed, forgiven, and strengthened. When the Lord commands something, then it is to be done. Not so, according to Ahaz, though. Ahaz retreats not wanting to hear of the fate of his kingdom. Ahaz does not want to hear that his own plans will come to nothing. Therefore, in hypocritical fashion, he retreats to a false piety and quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Like an unbeliever, like the father of lies himself, King Ahaz interprets God’s word out of context. God is clearly saying to ask for a sign. This is how we should view such things in our lives. What God wants us to know, we had better know. What the Lord doesn’t want us to know, he had better leave alone. God’s word and command are not to be trifled with. We are to take what God says, what is written for our learning, very seriously. We are to take it to heart and keep it. God is even so gracious in speaking with Ahaz that Ahaz is implied as being God’s child. “Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God.” “Thy God”....the Lord is being gracious to Ahaz and giving him an opportunity to repent. But it all fails. King Ahaz will hear the prophecy to his peril, while this word spoken by the prophet shall be for all nations a coming blessing: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel”--”God with us.” The prophecy falls in line with the name of Isaiah’s son, Shearjashub, “the remnant is converted.” Judah shall be desolate--only a remnant shall return. The remainder of Isaiah 7 lays this out. For Judah, those places which were filled with fruitful vines shall become a place full of thorns and briers. The head, the hair, and the beard of the people of Judah shall be shaved, which is to suggest that foreigners shall come into the land and make the people naked and without prosperity. The stage shall be set for Jesus. For Jesus shall come into those desert regions, where Satan makes his dwelling in the land of the cursed. Jesus shall bring a blessing. All that is wrong in creation due to sin, shall be made right by the coming of this child from the virgin. Isaiah, while speaking words of judgment, gives words of hope and promise at the same time. Isaiah prophesies later in chapter 35 in contrast to chapter 7. “Then shall the lame man leap as a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert”(Isaiah 35:6). This child of a virgin will bring with Him the authority and the power to restore creation, to redeem the lost, and to make great God’s people. Judah is so named, meaning “the object of praise.” Judah is named this way not so that the plans of kings and men shall be accomplished, but because the “object of praise” is specifically the seed which springs forth from Judah, the child called Immanuel. God is with us. God dwells in our midst. Jesus is cloaked in the Holy Word spoken and preached. Jesus is present under bread and wine. Consequently, the lost, the forsaken, the downtrodden, the poor in spirit are blessed with His presence in these gifts, and the sinner is forgiven and loved. You live as God’s children. The remnant that is converted(Shearjashub) is you. The saints in Christ are loved and holy, clothed with many blessings. Your homeland, therefore, is a land that is full of fruitful vines, the vines of the true wine, the blood of Christ, and out of His mouth pours forth the eternal waters that takes a desolate land and makes it full of life. For in many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son..... -- Rev. Chad Kendall Trinity Lutheran Church Lowell, Indiana www.trinitylowell.org
