Come to us. Amen. Amen. Let us turn to the reading of God's Word from Isaiah chapter 7. That's page 727 in the Bibles under the seats and just a few words as you're turning there about a three-part series we're going to Lord willing have here. Isaiah 7 this morning Isaiah chapter 8 next Sunday morning and then the start of Isaiah chapter 9 on Christmas morning. This is our plan. Related to that, I was thinking we'd look more at the end of the chapter, but we'll actually take some of those themes as they come into chapter 8 next week. We're really just going to pick out certain things. cover all of chapter 7 and if anything we're looking especially at verses 9 to 14. It's kind of our focus. We'll pick some other things out, but we'll read the chapter in its entirety and just another brief word here before we begin this little three-part series coming into Christmas. This is a time of spiritual distress and unbelief in the nation of Israel, all 12 tribes, even though they're broken apart now, this is a time of national and international distress. Lord willing, we'll take that as more of a focus next week, just the distress, the destruction which is going to come upon the Promised Land. in the immediate future and the long impact that's going to have. Just to kind of take one verse that summarizes the distress of the situation, verse 17, the Lord will bring upon you and your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah. What is that? is the major tribe of the Northern Ten Tribes. So sometimes that Ephraim stands for the whole Northern Kingdom. So in other words, Ahaz, these days are going to be so dark, it's going to be worse than anything since that day when the kingdom broke apart after Solomon's death. And that was 250 or so years before this. This is going to be the darkest day in centuries. It's a time of brokenness and distress. And it's into that time that we get these beautiful and detailed promises of the Messiah. That's the backdrop. It's the light of the promised Messiah that shines brightly into a very dark time. And that's kind of our It's kind of our overview. That's how we're going to go from Isaiah 7 to 8 to 9. And this morning we're looking at Isaiah 7. Again, especially at verses 9 to 14, but we'll read the chapter in its entirety. Let us hear the very word of God. 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 Remeliah, the king of Israel. came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 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 shaked before the wind. And the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shir Jashub, your son. at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the washer's field, 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 Remeliah. Because Syria with Ephraim and the son of Ramaliah has devised evil against you, saying, 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. Thus says the Lord God, It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass, For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within 65 years, Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. 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. Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz. Ask a sign of the Lord your God. let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask and I will not put the Lord to the test. And he said, hear then, O house of David, is it too little for you to weary men that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. 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 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. The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah, the king of Assyria. In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes, and on all the pastures. In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the river with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also. In that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep. And because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds. For everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey. In that day, every place where there used to be 1,000 vines worth 1,000 shekels of silver will become briars and thorns. With bow and arrows, a man will come there, for all the land will be briars and thorns. And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briars and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread." So far the reading, the holy word of God. A dark time, a broken time, a time where There will be the breaking of the land by war, a time which is full of spiritual brokenness. Into this time, we have the promise of the child of light. Out of darkness, we have the promise of that one child who is unlike any other child. His name is Emmanuel, God with us. Emmanuel is one of His many titles. Jesus is His personal name. And so when Matthew records the birth of Jesus, it is this prophecy, Isaiah 7, verse 14, that Matthew quotes from. In Matthew 1, describing the basic details of the birth of Jesus, and making it very plain that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. Matthew says this in Matthew chapter 1 verses 18 to 23. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. People of God, it is this promise which Isaiah gave so long before the birth of Jesus. It is this promise of of light and salvation in the Messiah who was then yet coming, yet to be the child in the manger. It is this promise that shines brightly when we see the brokenness of this time. Even as people of God, it is the promise that shines brightly when we consider our own brokenness, our own need for that only perfect and sinless child whose name is Jesus, Savior, Emmanuel, God with us. So our theme is this. Wait for the child of peace who ends the brokenness. And our first point is the brokenness in the house of David. And then our second point is promises in the house of David. These days of King Ahaz, they were troubled days. We'll talk more about the king of Assyria next week, Lord willing, but just the brief overview is that Assyria is right now the world power. Egypt still has some power, but Assyria is way more powerful than Egypt right now. And Assyria, everyone knows, is going to come down and wipe out everybody in the greater Palestine area. They're coming. They're going to conquer the land. And so faced with the danger of a Syrian invasion, what are these smaller nations in the area of Palestine going to do? Nations like Ephraim or Israel, the northern 10 tribes. Judah, the southern tribes where King Ahaz is. like Syria, which is not to be confused with Assyria, the mighty power coming down to wipe everybody out. People like the Philistines and people like Tyre and Sidon. What are all those little nations going to do? How are they going to stand against the mighty Assyrian invasion? Well, the northern tribes of Israel, usually called the Kingdom of Ephraim here in this chapter, they have a plan. They're going to try to unite together with these other smaller nations. Maybe then we'll stand a chance. Maybe then we'll fend off those Assyrians. And so Pekah, the king of Israel, Ephraim, makes an alliance with Rezin, the king of Syria. Verse 1. And then they make a scheme together to increase their power. And one of the steps of their increase of power is this. we're going to conquer Judah, and then by conquering Judah before those Assyrians march down, we'll have more land, we'll have more armies, we'll make our coalition bigger, all in this attempt to try to fend off the Assyrians. So the evil plan is detailed a little bit in verses 5 and 6. And so Isaiah says to the king of Judah, don't be afraid, that's verse 4, Because Syria and Ephraim and the son of Ramaliah has devised evil against you, saying, Let us go against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeal as king in the midst of it." That detail in verse 6 is no small detail. What are they doing? What are the northern ten tribes who should be the people of God? They should have been, all this time, under the rule of David's house, because God has made special promises to David's house and David's throne. Instead, what are they doing? They're making this alliance with Syria, and they're saying, look, we're going to come down, we're going to wipe out the house of David, And we're going to set up our own puppet king, some son of Tebiel, whoever he is. And together, we're going to fight against the Assyrians. It's no small detail. It is the threat of the end of the House of David. And what is Ahaz? the son of David, the king in the house of David, what is he doing? He's shaking like a leaf in the wind. That's the picture of his fear in verse 2. They're shaking like leaves in the wind. They're like, I mean, we're going to get wiped out. Our throne is done. That's it. It's over. Before the Assyrians even march down, we're going to be wiped out by the Israelites and the Syrians. So Isaiah is reminding Ahaz of the situation. Ahaz knew all of this, all these things that Isaiah is reminding him of in verses 5 and 6. But Ahaz has forgotten. He is not the king of just any kingdom, in just any city, sitting on just any throne. He is the king of God's special chosen people, in God's special chosen city of Jerusalem, in the specially chosen and promised line of David. Ahaz, what are you doing? Why are you shaking like a leaf in the wind? Do not be afraid. And know, verse 7, thus says the Lord, it shall not stand. It shall not come to pass. These little firebrands to the north, they're not going to conquer you. Ahaz, why are you shaking with fear? Now, people of God, again, it's one of those times where we dive in and we're like, I've got to slow down, I've got to read 2 Kings 16 to try to get some of the background, what's going on, I'm trying to keep track of all the kings, but it boils down to this. We look out at the world and we say, wow, I can't do it. That's what it boils down to. We look out at the world and we say, I can't handle it. I can't handle their attacks against God's promises. I can't handle how strong the world looks. God's not really going to preserve me, is he? God can't really protect me. God's promises won't really stand sure. The problem of unbelief is, therefore, how Isaiah brings all this declaration, verses 2 down to 9, to a conclusion. Look at the end of verse 9. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. That's what it boils down to. Ahaz, stop shaking like a leaf in the wind. Stop thinking so much about what's going on in the world. Remember God's promises. Remember where God has placed you. You are not just any king in any city of any kingdom. You're the king of the house of David. When God gives a special promise to you in this special place as the king of his special people, it will stand. And if you stand by faith, he has promised to make you prosper. If you stand by faith, you will stand. But if you are not firm in faith, then you will not be firm at all. Isaiah is aware of everything that's going on. Isaiah knows perfectly well all of the political and earthly situations. But he boils it down to a matter of faith. Will you stand by faith? But is faith the response of King Ahaz? No, it is not. Isaiah comes to speak to him again. It's verse 10. It may be that this was a couple days later or maybe he's just picking up kind of part two of the same day. But whatever it is, he picks up a new strain in verse 10. And again the Lord spoke to Ahaz through his prophet Isaiah. And then verse 11, Ask a sign of the Lord your God. Now, essentially, it's an imperative. It's a command. It's not, you may ask. It's ask. Ask a sign of the Lord your God. Now, people of God, we now live in a time when the fullness of God's revelation has come and we know that we're not supposed to just go looking for signs and miracles. We're not supposed to say, well, God, if you do some miracle, then I'll believe in you. But God, of course, can perform a miracle whenever he wants. And there's various times throughout the history of God's revelation where God either offers or commands a sign. And here God commands Ahaz, king of Judah, king of the house of David, to ask for a sign. It's a gracious command. What is it meant to do? It's meant to break down his unbelief. Ask a sign. You can ask anything. It can be as deep as Sheol. It can be as high as heaven. But you must ask for a sign. It's a unique situation because Ahaz is not just any person in any position at any time. It's a gracious command, but it is a command. Here is a person who had to ask God. for a miracle. But what does Ahaz say? Verse 12, but Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord God to the test. What did he just do? Well, he just quoted from Scripture. That's Deuteronomy 6, verse 16. You shall not put the Lord God to your test. I just quoted from Scripture, therefore what I said is good, right? No, you just took God's Word and tried to turn it back upon God Himself and to blame God? What pious sounding unbelief. God, you just commanded me to ask for a sign. Oh, but look, I know I'm not supposed to put the Lord God to the test. And the heart of the matter is, I don't want to trust in God. I want to trust in the king of Assyria. We know that from the following chapters from the historical account. That's what's really in Ahaz's heart. Well, look, I'm going to get back to those Syrians and Israelites, because I'm going to get the king of Assyria on my side, and I'm going to show them what's what. That's what's in his heart and mind. He doesn't want to ask a sign. He doesn't want to believe. He wants to look to another power in the world to be his comfort and his strength. And so he says, I'm not going to put the Lord to the test. Oh, and look, I just quoted from Scripture while I did that. I must be right. Knowing a little bit of Scripture and twisting it against God, what evil is this? And what sadly common evil is this? Is this not what we see again and again in our culture? Our culture where so many people have been in church for part of their lives or perhaps a good portion of their lives but now they're not in church anymore or they're not in a faithful church anymore and what do they do? They have some knowledge of scripture and they use it and they twist it against God's holy law and God's revealed will. And so how often do we, just to pick one example, hear something like, judge not, lest you be judged. And what is it used in the context of? It's used in the context of, well, don't speak about God's law in relationship to this situation. And if you do so, you're judging. And didn't you hear, judge not, lest you be judged? What are they doing? They're going back to Ahaz's broken unbelief of this time. Look, I'm the king of Judah. I know the Bible. I'm not going to put the Lord God to the test. Look, I just quoted Deuteronomy. But what is it? It is unbelief. It is the lie of the devil to take a small portion of the Word of God and to try to twist it as though we could take God's own Word and throw it back against God Himself. What evil is this? What brokenness? of unbelief. People of God, we can and we should quote scripture, and we can quote short portions of scripture. We must do so with an understanding of the context, with an understanding of what God meant when he said it. We can say, judge not lest you be judged, but we should say that with an understanding of Matthew chapter 7 and with an understanding of Jesus' exposition of the law of God and the whole Sermon on the Mount and the broader context of Matthew 5-7. We must understand that it was a rebuke against false teachers and all of these things. Brothers and sisters, turn with me to Matthew not 5-7, but Matthew chapter 4, because there was another son of David who quoted from the same verse, but in a much different way. The devil is tempting Jesus while Jesus was on earth, And we read in Matthew 4, verses 5-7, Then the devil took Him, that is Jesus, to the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written, He will command His angels concerning You. And on their hands they will bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone. What's the devil doing? The devil is quoting scripture, twisting it to make a temptation. How does Jesus respond? Jesus responds in verse 7 by quoting scripture rightly. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Where Ahaz, the unbelieving son of David, used scripture in an attempt to blame God of tempting him. Ahaz is saying, no, I can't ask for a miracle, even though he's just been commanded by God to do so in a special circumstance. No, I can't. Where Ahaz, the unbelieving son of David, uses scripture to blame God, Jesus, the true son of David, uses the word of God to accuse the devil. And that is always how Scripture must be used. Rightly, in context. Knowing who God is. Who the devil is. Brothers and sisters, we are always called to be on guard against those who still twist the Scriptures to their own destruction. As Peter says it, and 2 Peter 3, verse 16. We need that true Son of David, not these broken kings, not the brokenness of our own rebellion and unbelief. We need hope. We need hope that looks not to the power of the world, but to the promises of God. And that takes us to our second point, because it's into this broken situation, the brokenness especially of unbelief, the brokenness of refusing to ask God for a sign in pious sounding lies, it's into that brokenness that God through His prophet Isaiah, gives this very special prophecy of a very special sign, although Ahaz would not see it. Because it's a special and direct prophecy that would be fulfilled about 700 years later. Verse 14 of Isaiah chapter 7, Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Brothers and sisters, this, this is what we need. There is so much brokenness. There's the turmoil of Wars and rumors of wars and all kinds of distress and then there's the turmoil of unbelief which refuses to trust in God in the face of trial. But into the darkness, into the spiritual darkness of Ahaz and his counselors in this especially wicked generation, into the darkness of of any unbelief, because ultimately, where do we all stand? We all stand as unbelievers and broken sinners. And it's into the brokenness that the words of healing come. Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Oh, there's no earthly son of David who's going to bring blessing. Some were repentant sinners like a David, like a Solomon, and like others, and they brought some measure of prosperity in that special kingdom of old. But ultimately, the kings of David, even the righteous ones who repented of their sins time and time again, they show us there is brokenness, there is brokenness, there is brokenness. We need a different king. What kind of different king? Well, a king who is not even born of a man. We need the true Son of David, who is also the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. There is the answer. There is the light in the darkness. There is the healing in the brokenness. Because there is never going to be an earthly king who is ever going to be able to save anybody. We need the special Son of David, who is not even born of a man. We need the one who is true God and true man. We need the one who doesn't have a name, about God. There's all kinds of names in the Old Testament that are about God, about giving praise to God, about the attributes of God. Emmanuel is a different kind of name. This is the name of one who is God. Emmanuel, God with us. And if there is any doubt, it is dispelled, as we'll see in the coming chapters. God says, this is the answer. This is the light. all of the brokenness of this world, what are we going to do? I'm going to give my own son, born of a virgin. Because we cannot trust in man. We cannot trust in princes. We cannot trust in the most powerful kings of this world. We cannot trust in ourselves because we are all what? We are all broken sinners. But here is the light in the darkness. Here is the sign. Though you refuse to ask for a sign, I will give my own Son. Conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, He came, He lived the perfect life without any sin, bringing healing of every kind. And then rather than looking out for his own interest, trying to win political games to save his own skin, he gave himself up for us on the cross, dying for sinners, conquering the grave. And brothers and sisters, it is Him whom we still wait for. We don't wait for a baby and a humble birth in a stable anymore. But the Bible is very clear, He comes twice. We wait now for Him to come as the man of war on the clouds. And while His first coming is accomplished healing and salvation, because that is where the brokenness of our sin is forgiven, while His second coming His Second Coming will remove all brokenness, all disease gone, all pain gone, all war ended forevermore. We wait for Him. We still wait for Him. He is the light in the darkness. He is the promise of grace and healing that shines through the brokenness. We might get lost in who again is Ahaz, who's Pekah, what's going on? But again, it boils down to this, brothers and sisters, that if we do not stand firm in faith, we'll not be firm at all. But when we stand in faith on the promises of God, then we are firm, whatever the raging world does around us. Because God sent His Son to die for our sins, to heal our brokenness. Amen. Let us pray. Lord God of Almighty, may we never look for the king of Assyria for any earthly idea or strength.