Mid-week Advent: The Lord Will Give You a Sign--Himself!
“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). Ahaz, the king of Judah, was in a tight spot—mostly of his own making, and he was very afraid. He was facing two enemies, the northern kingdom of Israel and Syria, both of whom were looking to conquer the Promised Land. To make matters worse: Ahaz was looking in all the wrong places for help. When God offered to help, Ahaz refused, and sought an alliance with heathen Assyria instead. Rather than worshiping and trust the Lord, Ahaz was bowing down to false gods—he even sacrificed his own son as a burnt offering to one idol. We could cite more examples of his faithlessness, but that’s enough to demonstrate that Ahaz was dead in sin and an enemy of God. But Ahaz was the king of Judah, and God had promised to preserve a remnant of Judah. Therefore, God sent Isaiah to the wicked, fearful king and said, “Ask a sign of the Lord you God; l...