Emmanuel
Isaiah 7:10-16 10Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11"Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights." 12But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test." 13Then 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? 14Therefore 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. 15He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16But 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.
Matthew 1:18-25 18This 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. 19Because 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. 20But 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. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”]—which means, "God with us." 24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Isaiah spoke to Ahaz, the king of Judah, for a particular reason and because of a particular problem that Ahaz was facing. Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim were threatening to attack him unless Ahaz agreed to join with them in trying to defeat the super power of the world, Assyria. King Ahaz already had a plan to deal with the threat. He was going to appeal to Assyria for help against Syria and Ephraim. Isaiah has a different plan. A plan rooted in trust in God; a plan of willing to be obedient to whatever God commanded. This trust and this obedience was the key to Judah’s safety. Isaiah had God’s word on it. So he takes that word to Ahaz. He lays it on the line. “Ask a sign of the Lord your God. Ask God to prove to you whether you can trust Him or not. God is reliable. And He will prove it on your terms. Whether it is a sign from Sheol or a sign from Heaven, God will give it to you.” But Ahaz rejects that offer. He said, “I will not ask. I will not put God to the test.” Ahaz rejects the offer on religious grounds as if to say “I will not bother God with something like this.” Ahaz’s refusal sounds like faith, but he simply gave a religious cover up to his determination to seek the help from Assyria, which he did and for which he paid.
Are we familiar with the mind and heart of Ahaz? Certainly we know what it is like to be threatened, to be worried and anxious and stressed. Do we also know how we slip into the disguise of Ahaz? We are worried and anxious and stressed, and we say things like, “Well, this is really something God cannot help with, I am not going to bother God with this. I mean, after all, God has given me a mind to think with for myself.” Do you ever think like that? It can be a cover up for stubborn self will. We appear humble when we are being haughty. We appear sanely religious when we are being rebellious.
The cover up of Ahaz looks unpretentious when it is really a smoke screen for an unwillingness to run the risk of trust, to open up to the call of obedience. We deeply desire one who will deliver us from our distress and overcome our difficulties, but we dig in our heels to the One who comes to deliver us from our own determination and from our distrust.
How does God get through to someone like Ahaz, to someone who seems humble and religious but is really haughty and rebellious? “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman shall bear a child and name Him Immanuel, which means, God with us.”
Emmanuel is God’s commitment to deliver us. Emmanuel is God’s sign that He is more committed to us and our well-being than we are to ourselves. Emmanuel is God’s commitment to us in Jesus, even to us when we have the mind and heart of Ahaz. The Spirit Emmanuel somehow invades the small world of our heart and mind. The mystery of Christmas surrounds us with its words and stories, and nativity scenes. The majesty of Christmas whispers yes to our deepest hopes. And the steadfast love of God in Christ takes hold of us for dear life, as the sheer grace of it all calls us to trust and obey the realness of Emmanuel, God with us.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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