going on, the setting here for the promise of Emmanuel as we find it this morning. For most of you it's known and it's just review, but if you've never learned it before, God's people, Israel, divides into two kingdoms in the Old Testament, right? After the first king, Saul, and then second king, David, and third king, Solomon. Solomon's son, Rehoboam, is king, and in his day, the northern ten tribes rebel under Jeroboam. Jeroboam leads the rebellion against Rehoboam, and so you end up with two kingdoms. You can see it on the map there. The northern kingdom is called Israel. They are the ten tribes in rebellion. They're not following the son of David. But the southern kingdom is called Judah. And this is about the year 734 B.C., where we're at this morning, 734 years before Christ. Ahaz is king in Judah, and Pekah is king in Israel. And then if you notice on the map, I've circled Israel and Syria, and put between them the Syro-Ephraimite alliance, because Israel and Syria have joined forces together They are seeking to attack Judah, but they've joined forces because, as that large arrow shows, they are being attacked by Assyria. Assyria is the world power of the day, the increasing power, and Syria and Israel fear Assyria. And so they've made this coalition, this alliance, but they're also themselves bringing pressure down on Judah. And that's where we find ourselves this morning in our text here. Isaiah chapter 11. Ahaz is king in Judah. Isaiah 11, the word of God. Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remalia, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told to the house of David, saying, serious forces are deployed in Ephraim. So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind. Then the Lord said to Isaiah, go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shir Jezeb, your son at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool on the highway to the fuller's field and say to him, take heed and be quiet. Do not fear or be faint hearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands for the fierce anger of resin and Syria and the son of Amalia. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Amalia have plotted evil against you, saying, let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tobel. Thus says the Lord God, it shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezan. Within 65 years, Ephraim will be broken, so that it will not be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Ramaliah's son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established. Moreover, the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God. Ask it either in the depth or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord. Then he said, hear now, O house of David. Is it a small thing for you to weary men? But will 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 Emmanuel. curds and honey she shall eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father's house. Days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah. And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will whistle for the fly that is the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. They will come and all of them will rest in the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks and on all thorns and in all pastures. In the same day, the Lord will shave with a hired razor with those from beyond the river with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the legs, and will also remove the beard It shall be in that day that a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep. So it shall be from the abundance of milk they give that he will eat curds, for curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land. It shall happen in that day that wherever there could be a thousand vines with a thousand shekels of silver, it will be for briars and thorns. With arrows and bows, men will come there, because all the land will become briars and thorns. And to any hill which could be dug with a hoe, you will go there for fear of briars. You will not go there for fear of briars and thorns, but it will become a range for oxen and a place for sheep to roam." And then I'd like to also read these first 10 verses of chapter 8, since I think they go with that. And maybe we could turn up the mic just a bit. I'm losing my voice a little bit. Excuse me. Moreover, the Lord said to me, take a large scroll and write on it with a man's pen concerning Maher, Shalal, Hashbaz, and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to record. Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jepar Kiah. Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, call his name Aher, Shalel, Hoshmaz, for before the child shall have knowledge to cry my father and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria. The Lord also spoke to me again, saying, and as much as these people refuse the waters of Shiloh that flow softly, and rejoice in Rezan and in Ramaliah's son. Now, therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them the waters of the river strong and mighty, the king of Assyria and all his glory. He will go up over all his channels and go over all his banks. He will pass through Judah. He will overflow in Passover. He will reach up to the neck, and the stretching out of his wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Emmanuel. Be shattered, all you peoples, and be broken in pieces. Give ear, all you far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing. Speak the word, but it will not stand. For Emmanuel, God is with us. Let's bow and ask for God's blessing. Our Father in heaven, open your word to us, we pray, and grant us your grace. We need your help, and we pray that you would visit us here in Jesus' name, amen. Congregation of Christ, fear has come upon God's people in our text here. In these days of King Ahaz, King of Judah, fear has come upon the people of Judah. They're being threatened, greatly threatened, and they're in trouble. And we know what fear is as human beings. We've been afraid. Boys and girls have been afraid, right, of the darkness of night, or fear at the thought of taking a test at school, or fear to think what people will say about us, what schoolmates or friends might think. When we watch the news, we get afraid sometimes, right? What's going to happen in this world? When we read about investing, maybe we get afraid, will we have enough money to retire, or will I run out of money in retirement? When we see car accidents in the aftermath, maybe we're afraid to drive. When we see how wicked our culture becomes, we become afraid. For children and grandchildren, what will this world bring? Maybe we're afraid of health issues. We are afraid to have the test at the doctor's office, afraid to hear the results. Maybe we're afraid of losing someone, afraid of being alone. Where did fear come from? Where's the first place in the Bible you read of fear? Adam, where are you, God said. And then he replied, I heard the sound of your voice, and I was afraid. Afraid of me, your God? The one who made you and who loved you? Well, I ate the fruit you commanded me not to eat, saying if I would eat of it, I would surely die. That's why I'm afraid. I ate. That's what Adam should say. You see, fear comes to the world through sin. Fear comes to the world through the penalty of death. Fear has taken over the world because we've sinned against God. But you know what God did? As we were hiding behind a tree in fear, God came with a promise, the promise of a son, Genesis 3.15, that he would give the woman a son who would deal with this big mess that we've created. And that promise of Genesis 3.15 goes on to unfold through the rest of scripture. When you come to 2 Samuel chapter 7 and God tells David, your son, I will give you a son who will build my house and sit on the throne forever. Now we learn that this son of the woman will be the son of David. And this is to be the promise that's supposed to undergird God's people in the days of Judah and King Ahaz. Ahaz is a son of David, and they're supposed to be living by this promise that there's going to come a son of David's line who will save us. But instead, they are given to fear. And it's in that context that God brings the promise of Emmanuel. Let's consider that this morning. God proclaims judgment and grace and the sign of Emmanuel as he confronts the fearful. First thing we see is a fearful king who's summoned to believe. The second thing we see is a faithless king who is warned of the consequences of his unbelief. And then finally, we see the future king who brings true security. Well, first of all, the fearful king. As I said, the situation is about the year 734 BC. As I mentioned on the map there, King Ahaz and Judah are afraid of Israel to the north and Syria to the north of them. These two, Syria and Israel, have come against them, have formed a coalition against them. And things aren't going well. Things aren't going well. They've plotted. In fact, you read in chapter 7, verse 6, They're saying, let us go up against Judah and trouble it, let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves and set a king over them, the son of Tbil. So they're saying, let's go throw Ahaz off the throne and put in our own puppet king and that way Judah will be on our side and help us against Assyria. You can imagine Ahaz is scared. He'll probably lose his life if they capture the city. His kids, his sons will probably be wiped out as well. The people of Judah are afraid. What's going to happen to them? There's already been great devastation. You can read 2 Chronicles 28 that Israel has already killed 120,000 valiant men in Judah. They took captive 200,000 women and children and so forth, though they released them subsequently. A key port city has been taken over and is probably hurting Judah's economy. And so what is Ahaz to do? Well, we know what leaders do. We often see President Trump in the news, surrounded at the table with his cabinet, his officials. He meets with them, and they discuss options. What can we do? You can imagine how King Ahaz is calling in all of his foreign policy experts and his military commanders and asking, you know, what are our options here? What can we do? What can we do? But Isaiah tells us, chapter seven, verse two, that The heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people are moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind. They are quivering and they are wavering. And it's into this situation of great fear that God sends his prophet in verse 3, the Lord said to Isaiah, go out to meet Ahaz. Isn't that marvelous that the Lord in his mercy, he knows what's going on in Ahaz's heart. He sends his word. It's comforting for us this morning to know that the Lord knows what's going on in each one of our hearts as we sit here this morning in a worship service and maybe our mind is wandering and we have no interest this morning in maps or old history because we have a present crisis and the Lord knows. He knows your mind, he knows where you're at. And he sends Isaiah to meet King Ahaz, and he tells Isaiah where he's gonna find him. You're gonna find him outside the city, out by the aqueduct. Because Ahaz is out there, presumably inspecting the water supply to find out if it's vulnerable and if we can face an attack and a siege by Israel and Syria. And God says to Isaiah, take your son with you, Shier Jashub. And not because it's take your son to work day for profits, but because his son bears the symbolic name, it means a remnant shall return. It's a word of hope. God will bring a people back to himself. We saw last week in Isaiah 6, right, the Lord promised that there would be a people who'd return, there would be a holy seed, a stump. And there's a promise here, comfort. And so comes this prophet Isaiah out of the city to meet with King Ahaz. And the prophet speaks with boldness here, with boldness. He says in verse four, take heed and be quiet. Do not fear or be faint hearted. For these two stubs, the king of Israel, the king of Syria, they're just smoking firebrands, just a couple pieces of burnt up wood in the fire pit, charred ends of logs, they got nothing left in them. Don't be afraid. What a word to come to the quaking king of Judah and to come with prophetic authority and to say on behalf of God, do not fear. You are the king of Judah. You are son of David. You are my people. Don't be afraid. It does not fit with faith. You have nothing to fear. I'll be with you. Lord commands the king of Judah to put away the fear and to lead the people rightly. God says in verse 7, it shall not stand. Their whole plan to throw you off the throne, it will not stand. Will not stand. And then God says at the end of verse 9, if you will not believe, surely you shall not be established. After all the words of comfort, that it will not stand, they're going to be defeated. Syria's going to be defeated. Israel's going to be defeated. And remember they are. The Assyrians are going to carry them away captive. They're going to be defeated by Assyria. And after the words of comfort, then that warning at the end of verse 9, which is sort of a play on words, because the same word is used twice. The ESV translates it like this, if you are not firm in the faith, you will not be firm at all. If you will not be firm in the faith, you will not be firm at all. This one commentator puts it, verse 9b, does not say, if you don't believe, my word will fall. But it says, if you do not believe, you will fall, while my word will stand. It's a call to faith. It's a summons to faith. Remember what Proverbs 18 says, the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. Whether or not you believe, the name of the Lord will stand, the tower will stand. But the only way you'll be saved is if you run to the Lord. There's a summons here for the king and for all of his people in this very stressful time to rely upon the Lord. And you know, it is, brothers and sisters, isn't it, in the days of stress and turmoil that our faith is tested. Because it's one thing to say next week at the Lord's Supper or tonight, the words of the Apostles' Creed, I believe in God the Father Almighty. But it's another thing to really believe. Remember how the Catechism puts that in Lord's Day 9? What does it mean? What do you believe when you say, I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and that the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them as eternal counsel and providence is my God and Father for the sake of Christ. I trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul and will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this vale of tears. To believe is to put trust in the Lord. It's to work that out in the stresses of life. God is calling, King Ahaz is calling Judah, he calls us this morning to a living act of faith. If we don't believe, God will still be God. But if we don't believe, we will not stand. Christ is king regardless, but we are only safe if we run to him. One commentator describes Ahaz in his situation room contemplating his options with his finger on the panic button. That's a good picture, because the panic button, you see, is what? The panic button is to call for Assyria, not Syria, but Assyria, to come and to save him from Syria and Israel. This is King Ahaz's great temptation. Instead of going to the Lord, relying upon the Lord to call for a foreign power to come and save him, to make an allegiance with a pagan king. As we're called to faith this morning, what is our panic button? What is the thing that we are tempted to put our trust in other than the Lord? As we sit down with our room of counselors or with our own thoughts, what are the options we see? What are the things that we might put trust in? Or we could ask it this way, what are the unholy alliances that invite us? If we would just make a little compromise, we would find safety. You ever have that at work, that you're tempted just to make a little unholy compromise because then you can get out of this mess? You ever attempted to do that in your life as a believer, just to make a little compromise, just to make a little alliance with a pagan power of some sort, because then it will give you relief, it will give you happiness, it will bring you the money you need. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established. Do you see what God is saying to King Ahaz here? He's saying the real crisis is not the Syro-Ephraimite alliance. The real crisis is not you got two kingdoms above you are pressing down on you. The real crisis is the crisis of my word, the crisis of your faith. Will you believe my word? Your great trouble is not all the men out there. The great issue of the day is this. Will you look to me, your God, and rest in me? And that's instructive because God says to us this morning that the issue is often not what you think the issue is. The issue always comes back to this. Will you stand before your God and believe? Will you be firm in the Lord and believe? Take heed and be quiet. Do not fear or be fainthearted. Don't worry about their plans. It shall not stand. But then secondly, we see the response of a faithless king. Notice that secondly, the faithless king is warned of the consequences. The Lord gives Isaiah another word in verse 10 of chapter seven. Moreover, the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God. Ask it either in the depth or in the height above." This is such a wonderful word. God, the all-merciful God, bends down here to to this rebellious king and he stoops down to this man who is doing a bad job believing and he says, here, you're having trouble believing? Ask me for a sign and I'll do it for you. You can choose the sign from the depths of Sheol, from death below, or you can choose the sign all the way up to the highest heavens. Choose whatever you want and I'll give you that sign so that you can believe. Is this an amazing God or what? The God of the covenant. Gives him a blank check. Next week we plan to celebrate the Lord's Supper, and this is a sign, isn't it? It's a sacrament, a sign and a seal, and God gives it to us because of our weak faith. He says, here, you're having trouble believing? Here, it's difficult to say in your trial, I really believe in God the Father Almighty? Well, touch it. Taste it. Feel it, smell it. It's that real. My promise is that real for you. And what is Ahaz's response to this glorious invitation? Ahaz says, verse 12, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord. Oh, what a holy king. He knows Deuteronomy 6, verse 16, you shall not test the Lord. No, I won't test God. Is he a holy king? No, he's a wicked king. By the way, he's very wicked. He worships Baal. He sacrifices his children to false gods. You can read about him in Kings and Chronicles. And this is a pretend piety. He's rejecting God. He doesn't want a sign because he's already made up his mind. He's gonna call up Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria, on the phone and say, send me some help and I'll do whatever you want. Maybe you can imagine a husband and a wife who are having a bit of difference of opinion as to whether something should be done, whether they should send their children to a certain school, or whether they should spend a bunch of money on something. And the wife is having real conscience issues with the direction her husband is leaning. And she says, well, we've talked about it so much. Can we maybe just go talk to the elders or pastor about this? And he replies, no, we should not bother those busy office bearers with our little trouble. They have important work to do. Not because he's worried about the church, because he doesn't want to hear an answer contrary to what he's choosing to do. And that's King Ahas. No, I don't need a sign. Remember how different that man was with the demon-possessed son who cried out to Jesus, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief, help my unbelief, give me strength to believe. But Ahaz is on the way to Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria. 2 Kings 16 verse 7, so Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath to please their king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel who rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. Sold out the Lord of the covenant to get help from Assyria. made an alliance with a pagan king. And how does the Lord respond to such hypocrisy? Verse 13, here now, O house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Verse 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. There's that great Christmas promise. You don't want a sign, Ahaz? Well, I'm gonna give you a sign. Not your choice, it's my choice now. Immanuel, I'm gonna give my people a new king, a righteous king. Despite all of your failure, Ahaz, For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good. Notice the judgment that comes in verse 16 and following here. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. I think it could be the land that you're tearing up. Your land will be forsaken by both her kings. The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father's house. Days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah. Judgment's coming. Judgment's coming. We'll come back to verse 14 in the third point here, but notice this judgment. Notice who it is that's going to ravage the land of Judah. This is really important. Who's going to destroy you, Ahaz? Who's going to destroy Judah? Is it Israel that you fear? Is it Syria that you fear? No, it's us, Syria, that you're calling upon for help. The one you're praying to is your savior. And then you get these little snippets in verse 18 through 25. You get four little pictures of the destruction that's gonna come. In verse 18 and 19, they're gonna come like a swarm of bees. In verse 20, you're gonna be shaved. Your legs and your beard, you're made ashamed. Verse 23 and following, all your vineyards are gonna turn to thorns. And then in chapter eight, the Lord, says, chapter eight, verse one, moreover, the Lord said to me, take a large scroll and write on it with a man's pen concerning Mahar, Shalal, Hash, Baz. Okay, it's another symbolic name, means speed, the spoil, hasten, the plunder. And so God's gonna have him do that in front of witnesses, and then Isaiah has another son, verse three, And the Lord said to him to call his son, Mahar Shalal Hashbaz. Preachers' children today have no idea how easy they have it. They could be named after sermons. But this son bears another symbolic name, about the coming plunderer of Assyria. They're going to be sunk. And at this point, Ahaz might be high-fiving all of his cabinet members. Look, Assyria is going to destroy Samaria. Assyria is going to destroy Israel. We have done it. We were so wise. It paid off. Aren't we glad we made the phone call? Aren't we glad we sold all God's gold to Assyria? But then the hammer falls in Isaiah 8, verse 5 and following. The Lord also spoke to me, saying, inasmuch as these people refuse the waters of Shiloah that flow softly, that is the Lord's deliverance. And inasmuch as they rejoice in or rejoice over Rezin and Remalia's son, now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them the waters of the river strong and mighty, the king of Assyria. And all his glory, he will go up over all his channels and go over all his banks. He will pass through Judah. He will overflow and pass over. He will reach up to the neck. You see what's happening? You put all your hope in Assyria, and guess what? You're going to get killed by Assyria. Or at least the water's going to come up to your neck. You know, sometimes we do congratulate ourselves for our compromises. You know, it's easier to ask for forgiveness later, right? Worked out so well, I know I shouldn't have done that, but I did it, and now I ask God for forgiveness, and now I got my way, and it all worked out. Ahaz might have thought that. God says you asked for Assyria, I'm gonna give you Assyria. Assyria's not just gonna come flooding in over Syria and over Israel and then suddenly stop when it gets to Judah. I'm gonna send Assyria over you like a great flood. You want Assyria? Then I'm gonna give you Assyria, the Lord says. You know, false saviors are always like this, aren't they? Well, at first, we seem to hire them for our price, right? We name our price. We will pay Assyria this much gold. We will pay, we'll make this far of a compromise, but no further. And the enemy, the false savior, they seem satisfied with that, but they always come back for more, right? You can illustrate that, obviously, very easily with drugs and alcohol. At first, it's a little relief. You got what you wanted. And then it takes over your life. But it can happen in other ways, when you idolize marriage or children, right? You finally get married or you're given a child and you got it, but if that's an idol, then pretty soon you can't enjoy it. You're always expecting too much out of your marriage partner. You're ruining the marriage. You're always expecting too much out of your children. You're ruining your children. You see, false saviors are never satisfied, false gods always demand more and more and more and more. Put your hope in money and guess what? Pretty soon money owns you. When you call upon a false god to save you, you make a deal with the devil and there's never peace. In 2 Chronicles 28, they call upon the king of Assyria to help him against the Philistines or the Edomites, and he says no. But he comes and he harasses Judah. And yet, though this is the great consequence of failing to believe, it's striking, isn't it, though? Isaiah brings this heavy, heavy word, yet at the end in verse 8, Speaking of Assyria, he will reach up to the neck, your neck, and stretching out his wings like a great bird of prey, he will fill the breadth of your land. Oh, Emmanuel. Isaiah's heart breaks, he cries out for Emmanuel. God with us, it means. Emmanuel, your land. And that brings us to our third point this morning, the true king. who brings security, Immanuel. It's as if the prayer there to Immanuel, to the Messiah, now brings a different tone, provokes here a sudden shift in perspective that God isn't finished yet. And so suddenly in verses, Isaiah 8 now I'm looking at, Isaiah 8 verses 9 and 10, there's this defiant taunt Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces. Gird yourselves, be broken. Verse 10, take counsel together. Come up with your best plan, your best military strategy, but it will come to nothing. Speak the word, but it will not stand. Four, Immanuel. Now, for some reason the New King James translates it out for us, God is with us, but it's again the same name, Immanuel. For Immanuel, that's the watchword, that's the cry. Do whatever you want, mighty Assyria, but Immanuel. Well, Assyria was powerful. According to the Assyrian records, they had destroyed some 46 walled towns of Judah at one point. Do you remember how they came to Jerusalem in the days of a future king, or Hezekiah, and they besieged Jerusalem? And Hezekiah brought the taunts of Assyria before the Lord into the temple, and he cried out to the Lord. Do you remember what happened? The angel of the Lord goes out, and in one night, 185,000 troops of the Assyrians are slaughtered as they're lying in their sleeping bags. King wakes up in the morning, a king of Assyria and his armies decimated. And he goes back home and he goes to the temple of his God and there his sons kill him. If God is with his people, who can be against them? But these cries of Emmanuel bring us then back to Isaiah 7, verse 14, to that glorious promise that God will give a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel. Isaiah 7, verse 14. It's a very familiar prophecy. Lots has been written on that. Some people argue it doesn't mean it's a virgin and all that kind of goofiness, but I think that's been debunked. Good conservative scholars have shown that Isaiah chooses the very best word to speak of a moral unmarried woman, thus a virgin. And secondly, some have gotten confused by this, thinking that there must be a fulfillment in Ahaz's day. If it's a sign, If God says he's given a sign to Ahaz, there must be a child born in Ahaz's day who's Emmanuel. Maybe there's an initial fulfillment and later a latter fulfillment, but that misses the point. Ahaz has rejected the sign. No, I don't want a sign. Then God says, I'm going to give a sign. And the sign he's given is the Messiah, the son of David, the king. The Lord himself will provide in spite of all of Ahaz's unbelief and in spite of all the enemies of Judah. Now, this Immanuel is going to be unfolded to us in Chapter 9. He's the wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. In Chapter 11, he's the shoot from the stump of Jesse and so forth. We're going to learn more about this child, Immanuel. But notice three things this morning in closing. First, notice that this one will not have the moral weakness of Ahaz. Verse 15 follows the promise, "'Curds and honey he shall eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.'" Ahaz doesn't know how to choose the good, but the coming king does. Jesus Christ never compromised. No matter how hot it got in the kitchen, he did not choose expediency over faithfulness. Ahaz says, no, I won't ask for a sign. I won't test the Lord. That was feigned piety. But Jesus Christ, when tempted by Satan, said to him, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. That was true piety. Our Lord overcame all temptation, despite his aching hunger in the wilderness, despite the threats of Satan, the horrors of hell that lie before him. He clung to his father. He believed the words spoken to him. He's a true king. He leads you in the way, brothers and sisters. He leads us in the way of not being afraid, but being faithful to God. Don't you often say, I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to choose the right way. I don't know how to avoid compromise. And God says to you, I've given you a king who knows how to choose the right. He has chosen the right every day of his life. Now follow him. He'll show you the way. Secondly, notice. Well, before I go on, I have to say, you know, I should go to the New Testament. And you look at Matthew chapter one. And you think of Joseph there having this great dilemma in his life. He has found out that the woman he is engaged to is pregnant. And he's considering the fact that it can only mean one thing. I mean, what else could it mean? She has been unfaithful. And he's wrestling with this. And he's decided that he's just gonna put her away quietly, divorce her quietly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from all their sins. And then it says, Matthew 1, 22 and 23, for all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. David or Joseph struggling to choose the right way. And the Lord speaks to him. It must have still been difficult, right? Everything was on the line for Joseph. If he puts her away, it's not good. If he keeps her as a wife, then everybody thinks that he was also unfaithful with her. Maybe his carpentry business is in jeopardy, his reputation, the scorn he's going to bear. But God says to him, the word of God's being fulfilled. This is Emmanuel, God with you. Think of Mary. How shall it be? I haven't known a man. The spirit will overshadow you. And she says, may it be to me, may it be to your servant according to your word. The Lord says to the angel, for with God all things are possible. May it be to me according to your word. You see, this is the Savior who leads us in righteousness. Well, secondly, the Savior is a complete gift of God. Born of a virgin means it's not by the will of man. This savior we need is not our doings. Ahaz tried to do. He tried to get smart. He tried to be ingenious. He tried to hire the Assyrians. He tried to pay the bribe money. Somebody has put it this way, the first business of our lives is to learn what it means to stop trying to save ourselves. and to venture all on God. It's great, isn't it? First business of our lives is to stop trying to save ourselves and venture all on God. Salvation is not about us getting wise and smart and figuring things out. Salvation is to say, God, you save. God, you send a savior. God, you produce a savior out of a virgin. Can't appreciate the Emmanuel. promise, and our Emmanuel Savior, without saying, this is a Savior we didn't produce. It's not salvation worked up from below, but it's salvation from above. God saves sinners. Finally, think about that name, Emmanuel. It means God with us. This is the promise that comes to God's people in the face of great threats and that will sustain the true remnant of Israel through the darkest of days, that God is with you. This is a word for people that feel overwhelmed. Feel like there's mighty forces threatening and we are so incapable and we have no options. And the promise comes, God is with you. Nothing in all of creation can separate you from his love. This is a promise for those who are facing temptations. They're contemplating making that compromise. God is with you. It's a word for people who are hurting and people who are lonely. It's a good word, isn't it, for a holiday season when those who have lost loved ones feel a great emptiness? God is with you, not alone, but the God of mercy, God of all comfort is with you. It's a word for people who are worn out and stressed out, poor mothers who are trying to put together a holiday stuff Maybe grow weary of holidays and all the stress that goes, or maybe just in life. It's so difficult to try to be a good mom. It's so difficult to go to work every day and try to provide as a father. It's so difficult to do all these things and worn down by the grind of it all. And the promise, God is with you. It's a word for those who are sick. A word for those who are in pain. Not on your own. Though it feels like it. It's a word for those who are regretful this season, who are shamed of their sin and burdened by a load of guilt and who feel mocked by holiday cheer. Before you were born, the Father was at the cross laying on Jesus all of your guilt. And before you were born, Christ was bearing it on the cross, carrying it all away. And before you were born, the Spirit was strengthening Christ in the human nature to bear that guilt. He's already done it all. You've been reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus. God is with you, he's not against you. And this is a word for those who are afraid of dying. If we trace all our fears back to sin and to death, Hebrews 2 says that Jesus shared in our humanity that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil. and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Fear of death is bondage. Famous John Wesley said upon his deathbed these, some of his last words, best of all, God is with us. Best of all, God is with us. To know that comfort in death is the greatest thing. Many people die in fear. Many people die trying to think there's nothing beyond, this is just the end. But to be able to say, best of all, God is with us in your dying hours. To know that you've been reconciled to God by the blood of Jesus Christ. that your own shepherd has you by the hand. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. That's Emanuel. I will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall call his name Immanuel. So, great enemies, gird yourselves, take up your sword, make your best plan, but it will not stand for Immanuel. Amen.