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Today's reading
December 5, 2024
Defining Moment
Isaiah 7:4-16
As Assyria began their march to Egypt the nerves of the surrounding nations were frayed. Knowing they couldn't stand against the Assyrian war machine by themselves, Israel (the 10 Jewish northern Tribes) also called Ephraim, formed an alliance with Syria. The new coalition began to pressure Judah (the 2 southern Jewish Tribes) to join the alliance and stand with them. Ahaz the king of Judah rebuffed the invitation. This attitude was an affront to the united kings. They decided that they would be the ones who destroy Judah, not Assyria.
"When the house of David was told,
'Syria is in league with Ephraim,'
the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the
trees of the forest shake before the
wind."
​
Isaiah 7:2 (ESV)
With an afflicted heart, Ahaz began preparing for what seemed like an inevitable siege by redirecting water from an aqueduct back into the city. Isaiah is told by God, to take his son and meet with Ahaz there. Isaiah encourages Ahaz saying,
"Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands."
​
Isaiah 7:4a (ESV)
"It will not take place,
it will not happen,
for the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is only
Rezin.
Within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be
a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is only
Remaliah's son."
​
Isaiah 7:8:9a (NIV)
​
God ensures Ahaz that Judah will not be taken over by Syria and Israel. In fact, both of these nations have their days numbered. But the encouragement turns into a challenge.
"If you do not stand firm in your
faith,
you will not stand at all."
​
Isaiah 7:9b (NIV)
God wanted this to be a defining moment for Ahaz. He wanted him to respond to this crisis with a courageous trust in Him. Through the prophet Isaiah, he even invites him to ask for a sign as proof.
"Ask the LORD your God for a
sign, whether in the deepest depths
or in the highest heights."
​
Isaiah 7:11 (NIV)
But Ahaz knew that if he asked for a sign and received it, he would be obligated to change his ways. This is something Ahaz does not want to do. In an attempt to obfuscate his true motives, he says,
"I will not ask; I
will not put the LORD to the test."
​
Isaiah 7:12 (NIV)
Exhausted by Ahaz' false piety, He gives him a sign that would become a prophecy with a double fulfillment. Isaiah's son had been silently observing the conversation but in an instant, he became an object lesson.
"...Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel. He shall eat
curds and honey when he knows
how to refuse the evil and choose
the good. For before the boy
knows how to refuse the evil and
choose the good, the land whose
two kings you dread will be
deserted."
​
Isaiah 7:14-16 (ESV)
The word virgin was carefully chosen. It could mean a woman who if unmarried would likely be a virgin due to her age. Or, it could mean an actual virgin. The meaning was dependent on the context.
​
The near fulfillment was that these nations that were causing such distress would be destroyed in the time it would take a virgin to bear a child and for that child to know the difference between right and wrong.
​
Ahaz ignored the sign that was given to him and chose to rely on a pagan nation for deliverance rather than God. He went into the temple and stripped it of all its gold and silver. He then sent it as tribute to Assyria's king, asking him to attach Israel and Syria on Judah's behalf. In the end, Assyria would attack Judah bringing them to the brink of destruction.
​
The message of Christmas is found in the perfect fulfillment of this prophecy. A True King was born miraculously to a virgin. While Ahaz had been systematically removing the presence of God in Judah, this child would establish the presence of God inside all who trust in Him once and for all. This child would become Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.
This is Christmas to you.