The Messianic Prophecy in Isaiah 7-9

Uzziah, a great king for Judah was dead. He had spent the last years of his life separated from the people he ruled and from the family he loved. In his arrogance, he had entered into the temple, a place only priests could go, in order to burn incense. For his arrogance, God immediately struck him with leprosy, and the beloved king was banished as unclean. Jotham, his son, ruled in his place and did so for sixteen years before he himself would die. He was a chip off the old block as they say, “And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD according to all that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still followed corrupt practices,” (2 Chronicles 27:2)[1]. Judah had known two kings who had been good kings, yet even under their guidance and rule, the people continued to creep closer and closer to apostacy. Neither Uzziah nor Jotham had torn down the high places (cf. 2 Kings 15:4, 35), which were unauthorized worship-centers scattered throughout the land. As John Wesley coined, “what one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” And so it was with Ahaz, Jotham’s son, who took the throne upon Jotham’s death.

Ahaz not only, “made metal images for the Baals,” (2 Chron 28:2b), “sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills under every green tree,” (2 Kings 16:4), but also “burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel,” (2 Kings 16:3b). Ahaz, King of Judah—in the line of King David—had embraced idolatry and even human sacrifice. Thus it ought not surprise one to read that Judah was attacked by their enemies—Syria and Israel (Ephraim). Surely, the Lord would judge Ahaz and his nation for their atrocities and defiance. The Lord’s judgment was devastating as “Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers,” (2 Chron 28:6). Soon after another 200,000 (men, women, and children) are taken captive (cf. 2 Chron 28:8). Yet it is in the midst of this distress and judgment that Isaiah was sent to Ahaz.

King Ahaz was rightly frightened by the strength and ferociousness of Syria and Israel. Isaiah was sent, not to condemn him but to calm his fears. God’s message was “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah,” (Isaiah 7:4-5). God promised to destroy both nations in due time, but only if Ahaz trusted in the Lord. “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” It was at this point that God, through Isaiah, called upon the king to seek a sign. This was rare for God to do. Generally, the rule is not to test God, but in this case this king who trusted in the power of metal images and demonic idols, was told to put God to the test and see how powerful He was. “But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test,” (Isaiah 7:12). This was not said out of humility but out of arrogance. Rather than bow his heart to Yahweh, he bowed it to the Assyrian king. “So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, ‘I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me,’” (2 Kings 16:7). In spite of Ahaz’s defiance, God gave a sign anyway. “Therefore, the LORD himself will give you a sign, ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,’” (Isaiah 7:14). As D. G. Firth rightly said, “[T]hough in Isaiah 7:10-17 it is Aha[z]’s failure to understand [he should rule within the context of God’s salvation] that leads to the promise of Immanuel, so that even where the Davidic kings fail, Yahweh continues to provide his people with security symbolized in the child.”[2] Immanuel being a name that means, “God with us,” is thus the literal embodiment of God’s salvation. This would be what is known as an “already-not yet prophecy,” thus have an immediate fulfillment, and a later, more drastic and truer fulfillment. In the immediate context, the timing of the destruction of Syria and Israel was Isaiah’s main argument. As John Oswalt noted,

[T]he virginity of the mother is not the most significant point. Rather, God is saying that before a child conceived at that time would reach age 12 or 13 (v. 16), the two nations of which Ahaz was so terrified would cease to exist. But in the long term, this sign, higher than heaven and deeper than hell. . . referred to the coming of Jesus Christ, the true Immanuel (Matt 1:23), and the virginity of his mother was vitally important.[3]

The question as to whom it was named Immanuel in Isaiah’s day misses the point the prophet was seeking to make. The person in the 8^th century is unimportant in this context. What was important was that God was proving Himself to be with Judah: Immanuel, God with us. For God to prove Himself in this manner was to bring security to Ahaz and the nation. One must remember the context of the prophecy: “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint. . .” “It is the presence of Yahweh that brings security.”[4] Yet, at the same time, because of Ahaz’s faithlessness, God would bring more judgment upon Judah through Assyria’s king (whom Ahaz trusted to deliver him and his people). “In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and that hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also,” (Isaiah 7:20). Whether Isaiah was speaking euphemistically about the feet or he simply meant that the men would be shaved head to toe, the message was clear that Judah would be humiliated by the king of Assyria. So they were. “The God whom the psalms led the people to believe would fight on their behalf turns out, in his sovereignty, to be the one who is planning their judgment for sin.”[5]

Isaiah at this point, in the midst of their suffering, calls for Judah to repent. He calls on them to remember Yahweh their God and all that He has done. As if speaking on behalf of the remnant who did repent or have been faithful, Isaiah proclaimed: “Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him,” (Isaiah 8:16-17). Yet for whom should they wait? The greater and truest fulfillment of Immanuel; the one who would sit upon David’s throne and reign forever.

     For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this, (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Immanuel, God with us, would sit upon David’s throne and secure His kingdom once and for all. The coming Messiah was still future for Isaiah and the remnant, but Isaiah was assuring them all that though He was still to come, He was sure to come and justice was coming with Him. “The king who brings justice to his people also ensure their security and prosperity (šālȏm), though only because Yahweh ensure it.”[6] The day was coming when all the enemies of God’s people would face God’s wrath. “For the wicked burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke. Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land is scorched, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no one spares another,” (Isaiah 9:18-19). This was true in Isaiah’s day and will be true when the Messiah returns (cf. Rev. 18-19).

 

[1] The Holy Bible, The English Standard Version, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2007), shall be cited throughout this text unless otherwise noted.

[2] D. T. Firth, “Messiah” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, ed. Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 542.

[3] John N. Oswalt “7:14 virgin” in The NIV Zondervan Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 2015) 1333.

[4] Firth, “Messiah” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, 542.

[5] H. G. M. Williamson, “Isaiah, Book of” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, ed. Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 373.

[6] Firth, “Messiah” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, 542.

The Gloom and the Glory

Christmas is meant to be a joyous time. It’s hard to get away from people without them saying something like, “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.” But what about those who can find no reason to be merry or no motivation to be happy? Solomon wrote, “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda,” (Proverbs 25.20, ESV). In other words, pressing a person to be happy, whether through song or through words, can be cruel like stripping them of their coat when it’s freezing outside, or even irritating and explosive.

It isn’t that people don’t want to be happy during the holidays; it is that there is so much going on in their hearts and minds that it makes Christmas a time of darkness rather than of light. Real life isn’t like the Hallmark Christmas movies. Things don’t always work themselves out by Christmas morning. Peter doesn’t always make it home early to make some Folgers coffee that wakes up the family.

Widows and widowers have lost their life-long spouse. Parents have lost their children. Children have parents who are oversees fighting wars. Families are homeless. Families are watching loved ones fighting cancer or some other disease, hoping for one last Christmas. Fathers and mothers are without a job and cannot afford even the meagerest of Christmas gifts for their children. Families are torn apart because of harsh words spoken years ago or even just yesterday. Many are dreading visiting family knowing that someone they love will be passed out drunk before Christmas dinner is even served.

If we were to stop and think for a moment, we’d realize that these are the people are the people who can really understand Christmas the best. Who better to understand the marvel and beauty of light than those who are in a dark place?

Today is the first Sunday of Advent; it is a time when we remember what it was like to expectantly wait for the coming of the Messiah, not knowing when it may be. Today we have a date in mind when expectation will cease and celebration will begin: December 25. There was no such date for the Jews. Their date was simply known as “someday.” From the time of Adam and Eve, it was “someday.” Through the time of Abraham, Moses, and David, it was always “someday.” Someday never came though. Solomon took the thrown. After Solomon, Rehoboam split the kingdom because of his hubris. Jeroboam immediately led the northern tribes into idolatry, while the southern two tribes we less idolatrous. The northern tribes fell further and further into disarray as king after king lost control of the country. It was to these people that Isaiah wrote in the ninth chapter.

This morning we are only looking at the first two verses in this chapter. The first reality that we look at is the gloom of the people. As we get into more of the history of those to whom Isaiah wrote, we will see that they indeed lived in great darkness. The second reality is the glory that was promised to come to those who lived in gloom. Finally, we will see the gospel of hope. The gloom, the glory, and the gospel.