If you'll turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, the book of Isaiah chapter 7. Isaiah chapter 7, we'll consider together that prophecy that Reverend Voss referred to in his sermon this morning. He referred to a lot of prophecies and this was one of them. Isaiah chapter 7, the prophecy of Emmanuel. We're going to consider this passage of Scripture together, beginning in Isaiah 7, verse 1, and concluding in chapter 8, verse 8. Isaiah chapter 7, hear now the word of our God. When Ahaz, son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, king Rezan of Aram, and Pekah, son of Ramalia, king of Israel, marched up to fight against Jerusalem. But they could not overpower it. Now the house of David was told, Aram has allied itself with Ephraim. So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind. Then the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out, you and your son Shir Jashub, and meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the washerman's field. Say to him, be careful, keep calm, and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood, because of the fierce anger of Rezan and Aram and the son of Romalia. Aram, Ephraim, and Romalia's son have plotted your ruin, saying, let us invade Judah. Let us tear it apart and divide it amongst ourselves and make the son of Tabeel king over it. Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says. It will not take place. It will not happen. For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is only Rezan. Within 65 years, Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is only Ramalia's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights. But Ahaz said, I will not ask. I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said, Hear now, you house of David, is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 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 Emmanuel. He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, The land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria. And that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices and the rocks and on all the thorn bushes and at all the water holes. In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the river, the king of Assyria, to shave your head and the hair of your legs and to take off your beards also. In that day a young man will keep alive a cow and two goats and because of the abundance of the milk they give, he will have curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey. In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be only briars and thorns. Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briars and thorns. As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briars and thorns. They will become places where the cattle are turned loose and where sheep run. The Lord said to me, Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen, Maher Shalal Hashbaz. And I will call in Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberakiah as reliable witnesses for me. Then I went to the prophetess and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, Name him Maher Shalal Hashbaz. Before the boy knows how to say, my father or my mother, the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria. The Lord spoke to me again, because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Romalia. Therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the river, the king of Assyria with all his pomp, It will overflow all its channels and run over all its banks and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it, and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, O Emmanuel. Thus far the reading of God's word, might he bless it to us. This is one of the great prophecies that's often remembered during this time of the year. This Christmas season, which we often associate with times of peace and good news in the world. That wonderful picture of a virgin giving birth to a son. A son who will be God with his people. But as you can see from this prophecy and this passage, the scene here is anything but peaceful. It's anything but pastoral. It wouldn't look very nice on a bumper sticker or on a lapel pin. You wouldn't make a manger scene out of this particular passage of Scripture. It's not a word of peace. It's a word of great trouble, of troubled times for God's people, dangerous times, times of great disturbance and great distress. That's where we see this prophecy, This prophecy that the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. And so I want to think with us together about this prophecy. Lord willing, next week we'll have the opportunity to consider the second half that leads into those famous words of, Unto us a child is born and a son is given. We want to consider this sign that comes to this people, this sign that comes to this king in the midst of his trouble. And we want to consider three particular things about this prophecy. This prophecy is a word of hope. This prophecy is a sign of judgment. And this prophecy is a sign of restoration. And that's what we want to consider tonight. First, the words of hope. As we see from this passage, this is a people who need a word of hope. There are terrible things afoot in Judah. The king has learned that Israel and Aram, two enemies, have banded together and have come against Judah. This is virtually the same introduction that we have in 2 Kings 16 when the story of Ahaz is told. And if you want a project for this week, you could read 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28 to learn more about this king and about his times. But Isaiah is referring specifically to the problem he faced when these two countries were banding together. Now, it can be a little confusing as this passage goes on. It's Aram and Israel, sometimes called Ephraim. So, boys and girls, if you hear Israel and then you hear Ephraim, it's the same thing. It's just a different name for the same thing. It's two nations, both to the north. And they are banding together and they are coming against Judah. God's people. And we have this king who is afraid. A king whose kingdom is really under serious threat. There's not only the larger threat to the region, the king of Assyria and his forces, there's now a local threat coming from the north, from Aram and from Ephraim. If we read the other accounts in the Bible, the kingdom is also troubled by Edom, which is to the southeast, and the Philistines who are to the southwest. So north, south, east and west, the kingdom is in trouble. And Ahaz learns that these neighbors of his are now coming against him and he's told by the prophet in verse 6 exactly what they're coming to do. They're coming to invade Judah, to tear it to pieces, to divide it amongst themselves and to take away the throne from David's house and to put some unknown person named the son of Tabeel on this throne. And this news is so frightening to the king and to the people that we're told they shake like trees in a stiff wind. We know what that's like. Just a few days ago, we had winds blowing through from the coast that shook the trees, and that's how the people felt. Like trees shaken in the wind. Their hearts were quaking. They were full of fear. And the Lord tells Isaiah that he's to go and find the king, the king who is at this very specific place, we're told. He is at the end of the aqueduct, in verse 3, of the upper pool on the road to the washerman's field. Now anytime we're given details like that, we need to ask why in the world we don't know where these places are? What are we being told here? It seems that what's happening is Jerusalem was a very defensible city. It was a strong place to defend. The problem was their waterways were not very defensible. They were fed by a slowly moving stream that was all overground. So if an enemy came and besieged the city, one of the first things they could do is cut the water supply. And it's likely what the king is doing here. He's worried about the invasion. He's worried about them coming up against Jerusalem. and he's looking at his water supply. And one of the advantages of living in Southern California is we have a really good sense of what the weather is like in Judah because the weather there is just like the weather here. And if your water supply gets cut off here, it's going to take a long time to be replenished. If you're only counting on a few inches of rain a year, there's not much hope if your water gets cut off that you'll be able to hold out. And so we have this picture of a worried king under attack from all different places and he's checking his defenses and saying, how am I going to hold up? How are we going to withstand this onslaught of enemies? And the Lord says to Isaiah, go and tell this king it will not happen. Don't be afraid. Don't worry about these people who are coming against you. In verse 4, we're told, they are just like, he's told, be careful, but don't worry about them, because they're just like smoldering firewood. Isaiah loves to use sort of word pictures against one another. Their fierce burning anger. The Lord says, don't worry about their fierce burning anger. You know what their fierce burning anger is like? It's like those pieces of firewood in a campfire that aren't giving off any light. They aren't giving up any heat. They're just smoking in your face. They're not good for anything. All you do when you get a campfire like that, the only thing to do is to put them out. They're not good for anything. All they do is just smoke, little stubs smoking. The Lord says that's what their fierce anger is like. Their fierce anger is burning. It's like two smoldering pieces of firewood. Then the Lord goes on to say, why are they so weak? Why are they so insignificant? Why are they so ready just to be extinguished by the power of the Lord? Well, look what the Lord says in chapter 7, verse 7. He says, it will not take place, it will not happen, for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only resin. What the Lord has done is He's mentioned their land, their capital city, and their king. He said, what is the land of Aram that I should regard it? The land of Aram, its head is Damascus. And who is the head of Damascus? It's only Rezin. He says, and let's talk about Ephraim. In 65 years, Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. And why is that? Ephraim, the land, what's its capital city? Samaria. The head of Ephraim is Samaria. And who is the head of Samaria? It's Ramalia's son. He doesn't even get the benefit of the mention of his name. We're told earlier it's Pekah, but the Lord says he's Ramalia's son. Not even worth mentioning. What is the implication that comes to Ahaz by this prophecy? The Lord is saying, the head of your land, Judah, is Jerusalem. And the head of Jerusalem is David's son. The head of Jerusalem is Ahaz, the line of promise. My people. Don't be afraid of this other people, these lands that are people with cities that I don't care about and kings that I have not appointed to rule my people. I have appointed my people in Judah. I have appointed my city, Jerusalem. And I have appointed David's son as king. And when these people come against my people who are unknown, they do not prevail. Because I am with you. I will be your guard. I will be your shield. And Ahaz is told, if you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. now it's important that we pause here and consider what does this have to say to us we are not in a beleaguered Jerusalem surrounded by Philistines and Edomites does this have anything to say to us well I think it does because we too are living in a world that is surrounded by the enemies of God that is surrounded by forces that are opposed to God that are opposed to His gospel and to His kingdom. And they are arrayed all around us all the time and there's always a temptation to look at the world around us and to be afraid of it. To wonder if we can stand up under it. To be inspecting the church's strong places and saying, will we be able to hold on? If we are besieged like this from the world, will we be able to stand up under it? And the wonderful word of God that comes to his people is remember who you are. Remember who I have made you. You are my people. You are my sons and daughters. Sons and daughters of that heavenly city that cannot be shaken. Don't be worried about the things that surround you in this world. Remember who you are. Remember who the Lord has made you. And know that if you stand firm in your faith, you will stand firm. That's what the Lord says to Ahaz. If you stand firm in your faith, you have to do that or you will not stand at all. And another word comes to Ahaz, along with that word. It's a remarkable thing. The Lord says in verse 11, Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights. The Lord comes to him and says, I've given you this word of hope and I offer to confirm it for you with a sign. Ask of me a sign and I will give it to you. Anything, as high as heaven or as low as the earth. And what's really remarkable here is that the Lord identifies himself as your God. Because if we know anything about Ahaz, he was one of the most wicked kings. If you were putting together a hall of shame for the kings in the Bible, He would be top five. He did things like offer his son to the fires of Moloch, sons of David, as human sacrifices. He took away the altar at the temple and fashioned an altar like they had in Damascus. He put up idols and altars all over Jerusalem. We're even told that under every green tree he offered sacrifices. He was a wicked king. He never acknowledged the Lord. He always turned to pagan idols and to pagan gods. But yet here the Lord comes to him and says, yet stand firm in your faith. Ask of me a sign. Set your hope in the Lord who will be your God, despite all your wickedness and evil. Despite all these things that you've done, the Lord will still be your God, that covenant name that we have all in capital letters. The covenant Lord will still be your covenant God. Ask of him a sign. What's his response to this wonderful word, that the Lord will still make peace with Ahaz if he will yet turn? Verse 12, but Ahaz said, I will not ask. I will not put the Lord to the test. Now, at first we might say, we've heard that before. Didn't Jesus say not to put the Lord to the test? Isn't that a good answer? But you see, it's the first thing he says that sets it off as a bad answer. Because the Lord says, ask for a sign. It's a command. And he responds with direct disobedience. I will not ask. I will not put the Lord to the test. And Isaiah reacts very strongly to that. As if to say, put the Lord to the test. You've done nothing but put the Lord to the test. And now when he offers you peace with him, protection for you and for your family, what is your response? You will not ask? Isaiah says, do you have to try my patience along with the patience of God? So this word of hope then turns into a sign of judgment. Look what Isaiah says in verse 13. Hear now, you house of David, is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 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 Emmanuel. It's very interesting in this section when Isaiah is chastising Ahaz, he's not speaking to him simply in the singular. He's not just saying, you are the problem. He's saying this is a symptomatic problem of the whole house of David. The whole house of David is a problem. If you look in your NIV in verse 14 at the note that's below, the note on verse 14 says the Hebrew is plural. You see, Isaiah has gone beyond just talking about Ahaz here. All these yous are plural. Hear now, you house of David. Is it not enough to try the patience of men? will you all try the patience of my God? Therefore, the Lord will give you all a sign. You see, this is a condemnation of more than just Ahaz. This is a condemnation of all of David. The Lord is saying, I have continually offered David, reminded that promise that David was going to be a house forever sitting on my throne, And David has been a constant disappointment and a rejection to me. So instead of confirming the word of hope with a sign of hope, I'm going to confirm this word of hope with a sign of judgment against David. The virgin will conceive and bear a son. How is that a sign of judgment? The Lord is saying, David, you're not going to have anything to do with this son that's coming. The house of David, this son will not be a result of your work. The virgin will conceive and bear a son. In other words, this sign is telling David's house, you're not going to have any part in this one who's coming. I'm going to remove that privilege from David's line. David's sons will not father this king who is to come. There will be a conception without David. Without the will of the house of David. The Lord is saying, I will raise up an heir of David that won't have anything to do with David's house. In the sense of David's will or David's action. The virgin will conceive and bear a son. You might say he is reckoned a son of David. And that's true through Joseph as we'll see later. But you see, the real hope of every king who was following after David, they should have had a messianic hope that maybe my son will be the one. Maybe my son will be that Messiah that's been promised. Maybe my son will be the one that will be the consolation of Israel. What does Ahaz do? He takes his sons and he offers them as burning sacrifices to foreign gods. The Lord says, I've had it with David. David cannot produce that Emmanuel that the world needs and that my people should be looking for. And so I will take the initiative out of David's hands and I will do it myself. The virgin will conceive and bear a son and she will call his name Emmanuel. The privilege is even taken away from David of naming the child. The virgin will name the child. If you consider in the Christmas story, What happens when John the Baptist is going to be born? His mother says, call him John. Everybody says, that can't be right. Better go ask his father. His father better name him. And the father says, his name is John. See, that was a privilege of the father, not the mother. And so that's another insult to the house of David. The virgin will conceive and she'll call his name Emmanuel. And when he's born, he won't be born into a land flowing with milk and honey. because that's a sign of judgment that comes as well. He's not going to drink flowing milk. He's going to eat curds. The milk will have turned to curds in the land, and people will struggle to keep alive one cow and two young goats. And the king of Assyria will come in, and he'll sweep away these little enemies. But we have this amazing picture of these waters flowing over the land. The king of Assyria is going to come. He's going to sweep away your enemies, but He's going to overflow that and He's going to swamp this land too. Until you're not just a house of David under judgment, but it's all the people. Where there were vineyards, the vineyards will be gone. They'll just be briars and thorns. And the places you once cultivated, you'll be afraid to go because of the wild animals and because of the thorns. You'll have to take your bow and arrow with you because it's now a dangerous place. It's not a safe place. Because judgment will come on the land and on the people in the land. A razor from beyond the river will come. We're told. And to shave all the people. It's a terrible sign of judgment. We have that sign even in that child that Isaiah names with the funny name, Maher Shalal Hashbaz. It's a name that simply means quick to the plunder, quick to the spoil. And it's a way of saying that's what Assyria is going to be to Israel and to Aram. They're just going to come through and quickly to spoil them. The problem is Assyria is not going to stop at that. It's another part of the story of Ahaz that we hear. He appeals to Assyria as a loyal vassal and says, come and rescue me. But that's not what happened. And Syria comes and they torment Judah as well. Until Judah is whittled down to just about nothing but Jerusalem. And it's into that kind of world, into that kind of land, we're told in chapter 8, verse 8, that when the rivers have swept over Judah, swirling over it, passing through it, and reaching up to the neck, it will cover the breadth of your land, O Emmanuel. This is to be the world into which the Emmanuel will be born. where his land will be swamped with foreign invaders. But he will not reign in a palace on a throne, but he will be born into poverty of a wasted land and a ruined kingdom. And you see, this is exactly the kind of land that Jesus was born into. As we heard this morning, under the thumb of Herod, of Herod's children, who were ultimately under the thumb of Rome. Another power that the people had appealed to and had said, save us. And Rome had come in and conquered them and occupied them and were ruling them. That's the world into which Christ was born. You see, it was a sign of judgment on the house of David and on Judah, on the land and on the people. We don't want to end on that note because there's also a wonderful sign of restoration that we're given that's attached to this promise. Because when the land has failed, when the kings have failed, when the kingdom is ruined and the land is barren, God will be with us. That's the wonderful promise. That even amidst all that danger, all that trouble, all those difficult times, at that point God will be with his people. The Emmanuel will come. The promise will be fulfilled. And there will be a sign of restoration. And that's what we want to conclude with. Look with me to Matthew chapter 1. The fulfillment of this prophecy, the conclusion of this word. Matthew chapter 1, verse 18. Matthew writes, This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. You see, this is the fulfillment Matthew identifies of this prophecy. That another messenger from God comes to the son of David and says to the son of David, the virgin has conceived and is bearing a son. Don't be afraid to take Mary home. this word comes to a son of David. A son of David who does not sit on a throne in a palace. He's not a rich king. He's a poor carpenter. And the Lord comes to him and says, what is conceived of your bride-to-be is of the Holy Spirit. And when he's born, you're to take him, and you're to name him Jesus. You see, this is a sign of restoration. Because this son of David is being restored where the rest of the house of David has failed. The prophecy was the virgin will conceive and she'll name him. That privilege will be taken away from the house of David. But now the angel comes to Joseph and says, you are to take him. You are to name him. Because even though he's not conceived of you, he is your son. He is of the house and the line of David. And the question is, what will Joseph do? How will he react? Will he react the way that the people, the sons of David have reacted in unbelief and not following the word of the Lord? No, what sets Joseph apart is that he obeys. You see this wonderful restoration. We're told by Matthew in verse 22, all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said. And then we're told in verse 24, what does Joseph do? He woke up and he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son and he gave him the name Jesus. You see, the Christmas season begins with the restoration of David. Joseph, as that faithful son of David, responds in faith to the word of the Lord. And the privileged position that David enjoyed has been restored through Joseph. You take the son and you name him. You name him not just God with us, but God will save us from our sins. We know what happens from there, from that restoration of David. The people are restored. The lands are restored through this one who is Emmanuel, who has come to be the king of his people. That's the wonderful promise of Christmas. That's the wonderful promise that is held out to us. That this is a season not just of peace, but peace that has been won by that faithful king who's come into the world, that he comes with healing in his wings, that he heals David's reproach through Ahaz's unbelief. And it will go on to heal the land and to heal the people and to make it a greater land, a heavenly land, and a greater people, a heavenly people. It's a sign of restoration. It begins at Christmas with this king coming to the world. And so let's thank God for this king who has come. Let's thank God for the restoration he brings to David, to the land, to the people. And that Emmanuel who is coming again to fully repair that which is left to be done in this world. And to bring us all into that heavenly land he's secured for us by his work. Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for Emmanuel who has come into the world. And we thank you that he has called Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. We thank you, Lord, that he has come. We thank you, Lord, that he was born into a world where he did not sit on a throne, where he was born into a poor family in a plundered land, and that he has raised up to be glorious King of kings and Lord of lords. We thank You that He has come into the world. We thank You that You have made Him known to us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. May we be those who stand firm in faith in Him, knowing that if we stand firm in Him, we cannot fail. And that the restoration of Your people will be completed in Him when He comes again in glory. Speed that day, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.