Friday, December 14, 2007
Isaiah 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.
AN ADVENT MESSAGE TO: AHAZ
During his reign over Judah, Ahaz was very unfaithful to the LORD, and led the people of Judah away from the worship of the true God. In fact, of all of Judah's kings, Ahaz was by far the most godless. Because of his unfaithfulness, the LORD allowed the King of Israel and the King of Syria to wage war on Judah and Jerusalem. King Ahaz and the people of Judah had seen what these two kings were capable of and were afraid of what they would do to them.
But the LORD sent the prophet Isaiah to King Ahaz to assure him that He would not allow Israel and Syria to terrorize Judah. Instead of being thankful, king Ahaz was arrogant enough to say that he did not want or need the help of the LORD.
The LORD had promised to deliver Judah from the hand of Israel and Syria, and even though Ahaz and the people had rejected that promise, it would remain true. Ahaz had his chance and now, whether he wanted it or not, the LORD would give him a sign. But the sign would not be for proof of their deliverance from Israel and Syria; it would be a sign of a much greater deliverance.
This deliverance would come through one who would be different than any other person who has ever lived. The difference would be that this Savior would be both True Man, and also True God. God had promised Adam and Eve, Abraham, Judah, and even king David that the Savior of the world would come from their descendants. This coming king would be from the line of kings following David, but this King would come to bring spiritual peace to earth through His work on the cross.
This Son of the virgin was Jesus -- Immanuel or "God with us." The LORD was referring not to the Child's actual name, but to what He would be. Jesus would be true man and also true God. In Jesus, God and man were brought together in one person for our deliverance.
