The Sign of Immanuel

Isaiah 7:1-14
Key Verse 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Nowadays an increasing number of people doubt the existence of God. People also doubt God's love. But in the passage we can find several clues (or signs) that should convince us that God exists and cares for us. In this passage, we see how God showed his care for a king named Ahaz by giving him many signs.  But Ahaz still didn't believe, so God gave him the greatest sign: Immanuel. Let's see how the Lord helped him out.

First, through troubles

Look at v. 1. Here we see that the kingdom of Judah was attacked by two other kingdoms: Aram and Israel.  Look at verse 2: “Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.”

This situation was frightening for Ahaz, the king of Judah, and for all the people. They were so afraid that they could not stop shaking. But the truth is that they should not have been afraid. They were God's chosen people. God had always watched over them and protected them. So, why were they so afraid? It is because they forsook the Lord.

But even though they forgot about God, God did not forget about them. In fact, God even provided this frightening event to give Ahaz and the people the opportunity to learn faith in God and personally experience that God is with him.

For those who are in the Lord, troubles serve as God's messengers. They work as wake-up calls for God's people. 

If you are a college student, you are supposed to study hard. If you do not do the homework and goof around all the time, sooner or later, you will end up with bad grades like D's or F's. These bad grades are wakeup calls. They send a clear message: Do not neglect school studies.

In the case of Ahaz he became a king of Judah at the age of 20. He ruled Judah 16 years and then he died. During his early rule, he got involved in all sorts of wickedness. He abandoned the worship of God, and went for the man-made religions. He got involved in idol worship, demon worship, and occult practices. 2Ch 28:1-5. Then troubles started rolling into his royal palace, giving him a loud wakeup call.

Nowadays the U.S. has been hit with a lot of problems, such as the bad economy. These troubles are good for it shows us that God is living. And God wants to speak loudly to the people of America. And we do know the message: that is, do not spend more than you can afford, or before borrowing money always think about paying back.   

Does this mean then that when you do not have any troubles God is not with you? No. When the good times are rolling, still God is with you. This is because both good times and bad times come from the Lord. Listen to what King Solomon says: "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future." Ecclesiastes 7:14 

The bottom line is this: when troubles hit you, remember that that is the sign that God is living. He loves you so much that by sending some troubles your way, God helps you to wake up, come back to your senses, and turn to God.  

Second, God helped Ahaz by sending His servant, Isaiah

Look at verse 3: “Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field.”

In the days of Ahaz although God was still living and working with him, Ahaz did not believe in God. Maybe in his head he had some head knowledge of God. But he did not think that God could make any difference to the problems he had in life.  

But God came up with a practical sign showing God is living and working. And the second sign we need to consider this afternoon is the existence of God's servants such as the Prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 8:18 he even calls his family members “signs” from God.  Look at v. 3. This verse begins with "The Lord said to Isaiah..." The Lord is not visible. But to Isaiah God's voice was made audible. Just like I speak through the speaker system that you can hear my voice, so also God who was living was able to talk to Isaiah. Isaiah heard God's voice, and he went to talk to Ahaz with God's words.

This sign i.e., the existence of Isaiah, is one of the most tangible and practical signs that God is with his people in all generations.  

On a personal level, each and every day I sense that God is with me and I confirm this as I look at the people the Lord put in my life - my wife, my children, my grand children, missionaries and shepherds, pastors and evangelists, and many more. So if you doubt whether or not God is with you, by all means I would encourage you to go and look for God-loving people such as pastors or your personal bible teachers. And the Lord will bring to your life a lot of blessings in and through them.

Third, God helped Ahaz through His Word

Let us read vs. 2-12. Here we see the expressions, "Then the Lord said to Isaiah..."; "Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says..."; "Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz..."

In the passage in times of trouble the Lord God gave Ahaz the word of God as one of the sure signs by which to know God is with him.  

The third way for all to know that God is with us is the existence of the Bible. Bible is a miraculous book. One of the reasons why we say it is a miraculous book is because it contains the prophesies which foretell the things to happen down the road, and as the time passes things unfold exactly as prophesied.  

For our practical purposes today, the Bible is one of the most reliable sources to help us be assured that God is with us.  

God gave Ahaz His word to help Ahaz meet the challenges with the assurance of victory. And had Ahaz relied upon the words of the Lord, he could have not only weathered the ordeals and prosper.  

Fourth, miracles that could convince Ahaz of God's care for him

(If you do not ask God for anything, even if God gives you what you need, you would not recognize that it is God giving it to you, so you miss the opportunity to know that that God indeed cares for you.)

As the Prophet Isaiah was speaking to Ahaz, Ahaz was still shaking because he was afraid of the threats coming from hostile nations. When fear holds a grip on you, it is difficult for you to listen to what God's servant says.  

So what did God ask Ahaz to do? Let us read vs. 10-12 again. The Bible is a miracle book. It records tons of miracles, such as the sun stopping and moving backward on its orbit, water standing up, rock producing water, or Aaron's dry staff budding and producing almond overnight, and much more.  God gives these miracles as signs of his loving care for his children.

In our day to day life miracles happen all the time. The other day I was driving to Norwalk Superior court. On the way it was raining hard. The minivan I was driving suddenly stopped running. The engine died. I was right in the middle of the afternoon traffic. Oh, my God. Then from the AM Radio 980, the anchor said, "The engine must be cold and wet. Try again." I got the message. Restarted the engine, but this time pressing the gas pedal real hard. Then brooom, it started up. I don't know whether or not I can call it a miracle. But the important thing is that the car started.  

But Ahaz did not believe in miracles. So he said, "I would rather not put the Lord to the test." What he said sounds spiritual. But he said this to hide his unbelief. He did not believe in God because he was not willing to put trust in God, for he believed in something visible like missiles or tanks.

Fifth, God helped Ahaz by giving him the greatest sign: Immanuel

Even after God gave Ahaz many convincing signs of his love, still Ahaz didn't get it. Did God give up? No. Since these did not work, he came up with the sure sign of his care. Let us read v. 14. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." As used here “sign” refers to a device that points to something or someone.  Sign itself is not the primary focus. The primary focus is on its function, that is, the Son of God to be born of a virgin called, "Immanuel" meaning "God with us."  

This prophecy which was fulfilled about 8 centuries after Isaiah's encounter with Ahaz points to Jesus' identity as "God with us." Speaking of this fulfillment the Apostle Matthew shares the good news in Matthew 1:18-23. Let us all stand and read this passage.  

Matthew says that Jesus is God with us. To many this identity of Jesus may sound impractical or at most hard to grasp, so one may ask, "Hey, Jesus died about two thousand years ago. He is no more with us. How can he be with us?" God understands so he came up  with an answer, which is Immanuel. This title indicates that Jesus is the way for us to get into a personal relationship with God. (For those who are interested, I would encourage them to fill out the form entitled "Yes, I want to know more about Immanuel,” and give it to the ushers wearing a Christmas hat at the door of this room, so that we can provide you with necessary information.) But since I have you this evening, I would briefly say the following:

1)God is holy, and all men are sinful, so that we are separated from God.
2)God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins so that we would no longer be separated from God.
3)Jesus' name is “God with us” and through Jesus the relationship with God is fully restored.

Conclusion: this evening we learned about the sign of Immanuel. Of all the signs of God being with us, Jesus Christ the son of God born of a virgin is the sign of all signs of God with us. We say Jesus the Son of God is the sign of signs for Immanuel because for all who believe in Jesus, God forgives them of their sins, pours the Holy Spirit upon them, so God can literally live with them and work with them.   

One word: Jesus the Immanuel