SCRIPTURE: ISAIAH 7
MEMORY VERSE:
“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.” (Isaiah 8:14)
THE SIGN OF EMMANUEL (vs. 1-25)
When Ahaz was the king of Judah, Syria and Israel wanted to depose him. Assyria and Egypt were also on the move. The Lord spoke to Ahaz telling him to ask a sign whether in the deepest depth or in the highest heights. (v. 10). But King Ahaz trusted his own wisdom. He pretended to be very spiritual by refusing to ask a sign. His rejection was a rejection to the Lord and his messenger Isaiah. Instead, he bought aid from Assyrians with silver and gold from the temple by signing a treaty with the king of Assyria only to see him broke it.
Syria and Israel were virtually out of the picture as promised by the Lord. But Assyria became the new threat. Israel was invaded by Assyria and the nation came to an end. The Assyrians invaded Judah during the reign of King Hezekiah but God defeated them. However, Assyria humbled Judah because God’s people did not trust God’s Word. They put their faith in man’s treaty instead of faith in God that can bring victory.
THOUGHTS:
King Ahaz appeared to be righteous by refusing to ask a sign even through the Lord had told him to ask. Ahaz did not want to know what God would say. Sometimes, we also use some excuses such as not wanting to bother God so that we won’t be communicating with Him. Remember to listen to God’s voice and obey what He says.
Isaiah prophesized the birth of Jesus When God told him: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel” (v. 14). The prophesy had been fulfilled when Jesus was born by virgin Mary and he is called Emmanuel.
In that day, the Lord will use a razor from the King of Assyria to shape their head, beard and the hair of their legs. To shave Judah’s hair was a symbol of total humiliation. Shaving bodily hair was an embarrassment, an exposure of nakedness. In the Old Testament, a person who has been set apart for the Lord had to shave his head as part of the cleaning process.
Judah’s rich farmland would be trampled, covered with briers and thorns. It will no longer be a place of agricultural abundance. It will become a pasture land for grazing animals.