Isaiah 8 Immanuel

1 Then the Lord said to me, "Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, 'Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.'  2 And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me."

According to plan, Isaiah went to a woman who is identified as a prophetess, a title that most likely identified his wife, and together they bore a son. God told Isaiah to give him the name on the scroll, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which literally means Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty.

First, a bit of ancient history. The name Immanuel was revealed to the prophet Isaiah seven centuries before Jesus was born (see Isaiah 7). King Ahaz and the kingdom of Judah were in deep trouble because the powerful Assyrian empire was threatening to swallow up the small kingdoms of Judah, Israel (the northern Jewish kingdom), and Syria. Israel and Syria wanted Ahaz to join them in an alliance against Assyria, but Ahaz refused. He had secretly made a treaty with Assyria that the other kings knew nothing about (2 Kings 16:5–9), so he couldn't very well turn against his ally. Instead of trusting the Lord to deliver Judah, he was relying on the Assyrians, who were actually his enemies.

When you read Isaiah 7, you meet a frightened king, a trembling nation, and a confident prophet. Isaiah told the king that the only sure way to have peace was to trust in the Lord and not in political alliances. He promised that God would defeat the enemy kings and rescue Judah, and he even offered to give Ahaz a sign from the Lord to strengthen his faith. Hypocritical Ahaz piously refused the sign, so Isaiah gave the sign to the entire house of David to which Ahaz belonged. This was the sign: a woman, then a virgin, would be married and conceive a child and name him Immanuel—"God with us." Before the child would reach the age of accountability—to the Jews, twelve years old—the two enemy kings would be dead and the northern kingdom of Israel would be taken by Assyria. Isaiah delivered this prophecy in 734 BC and in 732 Assyria defeated Syria and in 722 invaded the northern kingdom and absorbed it into its empire. But Judah was delivered; Isaiah's words from the Lord proved true.

In the face of an awesome threat to the house of David and to the people of Judah, he, Ahaz, the  kin didn't turn to Jehovah God for help and strength and wisdom to know how to handle it.   Ahaz has privately and secretly turned over his kingdom and his people to Tiglath-Pileser, the cruel and merciless king of the Assyrian empire.  

So Ahaz was looking over the water supply, and Isaiah says to him by the word of the Lord, "Don't be afraid.  These two tails of smoking firebrands will burn themselves out in no day and in no time.  Look to God and God will deliver you."  But Ahaz had already made in his mind that he was going to offer his kingdom and his people to the hand of Tiglath-Pileser.  

When Isaiah stood before him and made this appeal, we learn from II Kings and II Chronicles that he had already given himself and his people to Tiglath-Pileser.  He had sent an ambassador to the Assyrian king saying, "I am your slave." 

And having closed the temple of the Lord and substituted idolatrous worship in its place, Ahaz plundered the temple of its silver and its gold and sent it to Tiglath-Pileser in tribute. 

So standing before Ahaz the king, Isaiah says, "Thus saith the Lord, 'Ask a sign from the Lord God.  Ask it either in the heavens above or in the depths below.'" 

And Ahaz, having already secretly delivered the kingdom to the Assyrians says piously, hypocritically, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord." 

 

There's more to the name Immanuel than an assurance that God's Word is true. The name teaches us important truths about Jesus Christ and the way He cares for His people.

The Birth of Jesus was

Factual

Unique

Eschatological …. Telos

Prophetical

Genesis 3  seed of the woman

Descendant of David

David spoke of the Messianic Son who would reign on His throne forever:  Psalm 2:7: "…the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee."

The Book of Immanuel

Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Isaiah 8:8-10 "… O Immanuel…. for God is with us."

Matt 1 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.21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus    for he will save his people from their sins."22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means God with us).

Isaiah 7:9 "If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all."

Isaiah 7

•Ahaz refuses the sign

•Instead of trusting in God, Ahaz makes an alliance with Assyria

•God gives the "Immanuel Promise"

•Ahaz would get what he asked for – the King of Assyria!

Ahaz was the last Davidic King….  Until Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

Isaiah 8

It is still Immanuel's land

therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks,8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel."

Jesus Christ is Glorious God! Majesty

Hebrews 1:3: "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person…"

Hebrews 1:8: "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever…"

Jesus Christ is Mighty Mediator He shall save His people from their sins Mercy

Do you see the bookends? Matt 1:21 God with us..Immanuel Isaiah 8 Matthew 28:20 Lo I am with you always to the end of the age. Hebrews 13:5 for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."6 So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

•You are still Immanuel's people

What are you afraid of?

•Financial need?

•Looking unprepared?

•Being embarrassed?

•Rejection by people/criticism?

•Physical well-being?

•Staying single?

•Not getting promoted?

•Giving up control?

•Giving up revenge?

Isaiah 7:9 "If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all."

The commentators try to capture the wordplay in English: "Hold God in doubt, and you'll not hold out." Or, "Unsure? Insecure!"  God literally says, "If you do not firm up, you will not be confirmed."6 In other words, "You'll live by faith, or you won't live at all. But if you do want my support, all you have to do is lean on me." God is attracted to weakness and need and honesty. He is repelled by our self-assured pride. Isaiah 7:9b makes faith in God the central, unavoidable question of our lives. What is faith? It has three components: knowledge of God, persuading us to agree with God, motivating us to embrace God. John Murray, the Scottish theologian, defines faith as "a whole-souled movement of intelligent, consenting and confiding self-commitment. . . . Intellect, feeling and will converge upon Christ. . . . There is a consensus of all the functions of man's heart and mind."

How can you be strong in your faith?

A. A life in God's strong grip

B. A life listening to God's word

C. A life apart from the crowd 13-15

D. A life of fear and fearlessness

E. A life resting in the true sanctuary

F. A life guided by God's laws 18

G. A life inquiring of God 19,20

13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread 1Peter 3: Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

There Is A Decision To Face

•17 And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.

There Is A Direction To Follow

•20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

There Is A Destiny To Find

21 They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry;…. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.

Immanuel: light or darkness? For you?