Devotional – 021310

My church had another Reading Service. A Reading Service at our church is when we read together as a congregation a portion of Scripture prior to preaching through it. We’ve been going through the book of Isaiah, and last week we read through chapters 7-12.

Chapter 6 gets a lot of attention, and rightly so, because of Isaiah’s vision of God on the throne. Chapter 7, however, intrigues me more at a human level. What I mean is that it reveals more of the human condition in which fear of circumstances rules our hearts instead of trusting in the sovereignty of God.

In chapter 7, during the reign of Ahaz, the prophet Isaiah is attempting to present to his people the vision of God that has come to him in chapter 6. In 7:2 Aram and Ephraim are preparing for war against Israel and as a result, “the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” (NIV). Ahaz, in an attempt to find security goes to Assyria, Judah’s enemy, for aid. Isaiah tells Ahaz to trust in God and to look to God for help but Ahaz wants “a sign” (7:10). Then the famous passage of a child named “Immanuel” is given as the sign (7:14).

On the surface there seems nothing remarkable about the sign that God actually gives. Why would a future birth of a child comfort Ahaz? But then you look into the meaning of the name “Immanuel,” for “God is with us” and you see what John Oswalt called “double significance.” Oswalt goes on to say, “Its meaning is that God is with us and we need not fear what other human beings may do to us. The first significance is for Ahaz’s own day. He need not go to Assyria because God is with Judah.”

History tells us that Assyria eventually conquers the Northern kingdom of Israel years later. The opening they needed to accomplish this was given by Ahaz as a result of his refusal to trust God. Before we dismiss Ahaz as a failure and move on, I want to point out that as a Christian living under the New Covenant, we have the benefit of the Holy Spirit, the finished work of Christ on the cross, His resurrection, the promise of His return, and the text of Scripture. Dispute all of these eternal blessings, I find myself pursuing worldliness in much the same way Ahaz did. I often wonder if personal security is more important to me than pursuing God and investing in His kingdom.

The story of Ahaz, and others like it, steer me back to pursuing a growing trust in the Lord. This only happens if I learn more about God’s character and His goodness towards us realizing that I don’t need a vision like Isaiah’s to do so but the text of Scripture, which He has provided.