The sermon based on Isaiah 7:14-25 by Scott Brown explores the prophecy of the virgin birth of Emmanuel, 'God with us,' as the ultimate hope for humanity. It highlights the historical context of King Ahaz's fear and political strife, emphasizing that true hope lies not in earthly alliances but in the divine plan of salvation. The sermon discusses the significance of the virgin birth as a central doctrine of Christianity, affirming God's orchestration of history and the miraculous nature of Christ's birth. The rejection of this sign by Ahaz leads to the downfall of his kingdom, serving as a warning against trusting in earthly powers. The message underscores the importance of recognizing Emmanuel as the singular hope in life's trials, aligning with God's eternal plan for redemption.

So his reading is Isaiah chapter 7 verses 14 to 25. Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Curds and honey he shall eat, and he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good.

The land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father's house. Days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah. And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will whistle for the fly, that is, the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. They will come and all of them will rest in the desolate valleys and in the clasps of the rocks, and on all thorns and in all pastures.

In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor with those from beyond the river with the King of Assyria the head and the hair of the legs and will also remove the beard. It shall be in that day that a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep. So it shall be from the abundance of milk they give, that He will eat curds, for curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land. It shall happen in that day, that wherever there could be a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, it shall be for briars and thorns. With arrows and bows men will come there because all the land will become briars and thorns and to any hill which could be dug with the hoe you would not go there for fear of briars and thorns, but it will become a range for oxen and a place for sheep to roam.

Father God, as we contemplate the truth of Your Word, Lord may you multiply the labors of Scott Brown as he preaches today. Lord, that the hearts may be ready for the heaviness, Lord, and the miracle and the miraculous parts Lord that you have ordained of the birth of Jesus Christ. Lord we pray Lord that this message Lord will reach all the hearers today and that also many may come to you, as the most important birth In all the history, Lord, is talked about and preached today. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Among the many happinesses that there always are when you open up the Word of God, there is in this passage of Scripture such a blessing for all of us, and to be able to repeat these beautiful words that are in Holy Scripture, the words surrounding The prophecy of Immanuel to come and to bring tidings of comfort and joy is such a blessing, and I'm grateful we're gathered here to celebrate these marvelous prophecies that are brought to us here in this passage.

Well, Isaiah 7 stands really before us as a beacon of light in the midst of the most pressing issues of life, and that is this, that there's really only one hope, and that is the Gospel. And that is the primary message that is in this passage, that in God's eternal plan of salvation, he sends his son, Emmanuel. Verse 14 is the heart of the entire section. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." Now, this verse appears in the midst of this historical narrative.

It actually is strange to come across it, because it's in the midst of a tremendous fear in the heart of Ahaz. And he's In the midst of political intrigue, national strife, difficulty, thousands of people have been killed. And in the midst of this narrative comes this bright spot in verse 14. And So far what we've learned in chapter 7 is that this is really a conversation between Isaiah and Ahaz. Isaiah has his son with him, Shiar Jeshu, whose name means the remnant shall return.

His very presence is a declaration of this great and wonderful gospel that's going to be proclaimed here in this passage of scripture. And so we can't forget that this is a conversation that is going on between Isaiah and Ahaz. And Ahaz is absolutely full of fear. The Northern Alliance wants to depose Ahaz and to replace him with Tabeel. And he understands that.

And there's already been enormous difficulty from this conflict that has been going on. And so the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, speaks to King Ahaz, whose heart is full of fear of the kings of the earth and And he has already said to a has take heed and be quiet Do not fear or be faint-hearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands Isaiah comes to a has really to bring a message of comfort that there is comfort, but it's not in any hope of the kings of the earth. It's not in any of his own alliances or in his own schemes. It's really one and only that really exists for him for a hope. And that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so here is this conversation that's going on. I want to remind us that this conversation is happening at the end of the aqueduct on the highway to the Fuller's Field. And there's this moment of time, this freeze frame in the life of Ahaz that is taking place here. And as we move on to this next section, I just want us to recognize This isn't a new situation. This is the same situation that we were speaking of last week.

You know, lots of time has passed, but this is not a different kind of situation, even though we are in a different text. And so There's this fearful man standing before the prophet. And there's, he's a man with enormous turmoil in his soul. We understand what that is like in our own lives, how we stand in the midst of the stream of our lives and there's a tremendous point of stress. Maybe it's sorrow, maybe it's loss, maybe it's a fear of something.

There's pressures from the without and fears from within. Like the Apostle Paul spoke of in 2nd Corinthians 7, He says, for indeed when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. But we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, and inside were fears. Well, as this is existing in the heart of Ahaz, God is coming to this man, this wicked king, and he says, stop listening to the fear in your heart.

Stop listening to the saber rattling from without. Stop speculating about the outcomes. Listen to me. Trust me. Trust me alone.

And then, and then he, he asked, the Lord asks Ahaz if he would like to ask for a sign. And he says Tragically, no, I don't want your sign. I don't want to hear from you. What a terrible thing when a man says that and rejects the will of the Lord, who refuses to lay down his fears and trust the Lord when he refuses to find all of his hope in the sign of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's exactly what will happen here.

Now I put in your outline a timeline just so you can get some coordinates We were having a discussion in our family about about how all this works I'm not going to run through it here, but I just want you to see with your eyes where we are You know from really from creation to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD in 975 BC the kingdom was divided this the season of history that we're speaking of here surrounds 722 when Sennachera will come and sack the northern kingdom. And then later on in 586, and Ebikineser will come, and the Babylonian captivity will begin. But this is the time frame that we're in. We're most likely before 722 BC when this thing happens. And here is this very profound moment in the life of the king, this opportunity to humble himself and to repent of his sins, The moment of opportunity.

There are times, critical moments in our lives, when we take a position or we make a decision and it affects everything. I just want to remind us that's the same situation that we're in in this passage of scripture. But now Isaiah, as he's meeting with this man who's absolutely gripped with fear, he delivers in the middle of this historical narrative the doctrine of the virgin birth, which really was prophesied in Genesis 318, now spoken of again. And it's remarkable that the virgin birth is brought up here. And this astonishing miracle right dropped in the midst of this moment of time with this man, this wicked king Ahaz, a light, a beam of light shines down, really of hope for him.

And as we have said, he does reject it. And it's a messianic prophecy that is delivered here. And it shows us a number of things. One thing I just want us to recognize is that it shows God's perfect orchestration of history, that ultimately every single event in history points to one single event in history. Everything in history has been designed by Almighty God, ordained from the foundation of the world that there would be a son to be born.

He would be born of a virgin. This prophecy is about the most important event, and it's really the event around which everything in history has to be understood. You cannot understand anything in history unless you understand this verse and this principle of history that God orchestrates history with perfect timing. And so he is, all of history is driving to this moment of the sacrifice for sin will be sent into the world. The establishment of a new and better covenant with new and better promises and the bringing together of the people of God into one great spiritual family throughout the whole earth.

This is the purpose of history, to rescue a bride, to come to sinners and bring them and to snatch them out of the mighty waters of their degradation. All the hurts, all of the pains of their lives. God sends His Son in order to heal the wounds of all the nations. Well here's one thing that we know, is that God the Father and the God the Son had conspired for this since before the foundation of the world, that He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that actually He was slain before the foundation of the world as well. So what is being revealed here in Isaiah chapter 7 is part of the continuity of scripture in the way that God Continues to reveal his will he's playing his hand He's giving information to his people so that they know this one thing, He is God.

He controls history. Nothing can stay His hand. And He's kind, He's compassionate. And He comes to rescue sinful humanity. And so, that's why we read this word, therefore, in verse 14.

Therefore, therefore why? Because Ahaz does not want to hear from God. Because of this, he will hear from God through this sign. And in the midst of this is this contrast of the house of David which will be preserved, the house of the devil which will be destroyed, and the house of David which will continue on. And it shows really the power of God.

So this word therefore and then the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Camp on these words the Lord Himself. He uses the word Adonai implying omnipotence that God is mighty, that He will bring all these things to pass. Ahaz wants the support of an earthly king, but God gives him the presence of a king from heaven. He desires a fallible king.

God gives him a perfect king. He desires a king with swords and horses. God gives him the hosts of heaven to look to, to understand that he is almighty. In one way, I think what Isaiah is saying to this man is, you've rejected my king, now I'll give you your king, and he will shave you to nothing, and he will destroy you. And I think it's implied here is that the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Emmanuel, God with us, He's the King of blessing.

He's the one with the tree of life. He's the one with the fountain of life. He's the one with the bread of life. He's the one with the curds and honey. He's the one that brings blessing.

But this other king, he will take you down. And he will shave you. Again, we see these contrasts all throughout scripture of How the kings of the earth are compared with the king of heaven. We saw Pharaoh Pharaoh the abusive king the one who gave his people no rest no Sabbath all he had was work and abuse And yet the King of Kings comes and he delivers. He delivers out of bondage.

He sets you free. He brings you into the land of milk and honey. And I think what's happening here is God is trying to make very clear to this man Ahaz that there is a better king, but he will not listen. And he says, he will give you a sign. Now, a sign is a symbol of something.

It's either a symbol of something in the past, like a wedding ring, or other times it's a sign in the future. This is a sign for the future. Hundreds of years in the future, this sign will finally be made clear. And we learn here that God is not in a hurry in his plan. He does have a redemptive plan and he's not in a hurry.

You know, if you think about it in terms of history, you know, in God's scheme of things, you know, A thousand years is as a day. And he is working his plan. And it's also true in our own lives. Our lives are very short to us, but in God's great scheme, they really are just a blink of an eye. But God has every moment of our lives orchestrated as well.

It's no different in His larger redemptive plan than it is in your life in your redemptive plan. That God has you on a timeline, and He will raise up different things in your life to sanctify you, to bless you. He does it out of His loving kindness. He does it because He loves you. There's no son whom He receives that He does not chastise.

And He brings trials. He does it because he loves you. He does it because he desires to to burn away the poisons that are in your soul that have been built up. He does it because he loves you. And this is what we see here, I will give you a sign.

And the sign is really a sign for the remnant that he is to strengthen their faith. Because when he says he will bring you a sign, he uses the plural. So he's not just speaking to Ahaz, he's including Ahaz, but yet he's speaking to the whole nation. He's giving the whole nation a sign. In other words, their whole corporate life is being spoken of here, And he is speaking of this remnant, that God will continue David's house, that there will be someone sitting on the throne, 1 Kings 8.25 will be fulfilled, there shall not fail the man in my sight on the throne of Israel." And this sign affirms God's promise that He will preserve His people and that the kingship of David will not fail.

So the sign is both a curse to Ahaz, but it's a sign of blessing to the remnant. It's a sign of hope that yes, though there will be many trials ahead, there is a sign that God will preserve his people. And Ahaz is rejecting the sign, the covenant, and the promises, but God is much bigger than Ahaz. And really, this principle forms the whole message of the book of Isaiah, that God will come to judge his people. And he will separate the wheat from the chaff, but he will preserve a remnant.

And that's the essence of the name of Isaiah's son, Shier Jashub. The remnant shall return. And so in the midst of these threats around him and the fears within him, there's only one hope on the table, God with us, Immanuel. And then we see in verse 14 this word, behold. Behold.

It's a solemn announcement. The word has to do with a very important observation that needs to be made, that there is a most important event in history. And as I said before, this is the center of history. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for sins is the center of all of history. And We have to just make sure that we understand our coordinates in history and that this event where there will be a moment to behold, something to take your breath away, this will be the center of all of history.

And this center of history is identified by what happens in the life of a virgin. And this is the doctrine of the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's been debate, particularly among liberal scholars, on the virgin birth. Liberal scholars saying well it may not have been a virgin. The word, the Hebrew word amah can mean virgin.

It's almost always used of virgins but it can also be used of young women. But when the Old Testament was translated into Greek in 250 AD, when the Septuagint was written, The Greek translators used the word Parthenos, which means only virgin. It's the only thing that it can mean. And in fact, it's the word that is used for the Parthenon, which is built in Athens. Athena was a virgin, a virgin goddess.

And the word can only mean a virgin, not just a young woman. And so there are a number of views that have been presented. First is that this is a local woman who gives birth, maybe, to Hezekiah. Or secondly, it relates to two different children. There's Hezekiah and then second the Lord Jesus Christ.

The third view is that it is Christ alone. I believe this is the correct view. He's speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus Christ alone. And we have to answer the question, does this passage teach the virgin birth? Absolutely it does teach the virgin birth.

And the problem with it is that virgins don't give birth. You have to have a miracle for that. And that really is the point. And so, the whole doctrine of the virgin birth offends our rationalism, it offends our understanding of science, and it blows away our view of the world that God does not intervene mightily in the world. If you don't believe in the virgin birth, then you cannot believe in God's intervention.

You cannot believe in the miracles of Jesus. You cannot believe, really, anything of the supernatural power of God, all the way from the gigantic, massive historical, geophysical works of God that are spoken of in the Bible, the partings of the Red Sea and the various remarkable physical things that have happened, all the way down to the very miracle working power of the Holy Spirit in your own life. If you cannot believe the virgin birth, you can't believe anything else in terms of the miracle working power of God. Because it so offends our rationalism, and it so contradicts this sense of a closed system that we somehow have a temptation to believe that we were born into. But the truth is, you know, billions of people have been born, but only one single person has been born this way.

It's really interesting to me to think about the virgin birth in terms of the way that American society relates to it. You know, it might surprise you that a majority of the people in America, though they wouldn't be considered Christians, believe in the virgin birth. About ten years ago, the Harris Poll found that 79% of Americans believe in the virgin birth. But also 27% who call themselves non-Christians also believe in the virgin birth. Go figure.

I don't have any explanation for that. It's a strange fact that most of the people in America, almost 80 percent, believe in the virgin birth. It's just very surprising. But the proof of the virgin birth is really found in the power of the Spirit of God. In 1st John chapter 4 we read this, by this you know the Spirit of God.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God and this is the spirit of the Antichrist which you have heard which was coming and is now in the world." This idea of the Son of God being born of a virgin marks you as either believing as of the Antichrist or as a true believer. Now it's more than just an intellectual ascent of belief here, which is obvious. But this is a mind-bending miracle. How the word came flesh.

Can anyone somehow give some explanation that satisfies every brain? I don't think so. You know, how does God become man? It's beyond our feeble, fevered brains to explain with perfect ability. But Christ was born of a virgin, and an infinite God became man.

And it's so difficult to get our arms around it because mankind begets defects. We are fallen in every way and as we procreate, we recreate defects in the gene pool and in the souls of mankind. That's just the way that it is. There are physical defects and spiritual infirmities. And the only solution to mankind's problem is to have a perfect sacrifice, A lamb that is spotless, that is without blemish.

And so, this matter of the virgin birth is something that is really a hinge point in the whole doctrine of redemption. That if the Lord Jesus Christ was born tainted, and yet man, and yet Son of God, The whole doctrine of salvation falls apart because you must have a perfect sacrifice. And the virgin birth answers that question. So without the miracle of the virgin birth, there could be no sinless son and therefore no sacrifice for sins. And here's how the formula works.

No sinless son, no sacrifice for sin. No incarnation, no salvation. That's the formula. And while it is that each person in the world gets half his chromosomes from his father and the other half from his mother, we know that a miracle took place in the coming of the Son of God. And that miracle is tied directly to the Gospel.

We know that He had to be made like His brethren. That's really the heart of the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth. In Hebrews chapter 2, verse 17 speaks of it, Therefore in all things he had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted. He is able to aid those who are tempted.

And so He had to be made like His brethren in order to become a faithful and a merciful high priest. The whole pool of mercy that we are baptized in would have been impossible if the Lord Jesus Christ had not been made like his brethren. And this is a key point in the doctrine of the virgin birth, that he was made like his brethren. Now, an angel spoke to Mary about how it would happen. We're not left in the dark about how He was sinless and man at the same time.

And if you can open up your Bibles to Luke chapter 1, and you'll see it in verse 30. I'm going to read from verse 30 to verse 35. And you'll see the secret of the sinlessness of the Son of God and how it happened. How it happened that the normal way was upended by a work of the Holy Spirit. Then the angel said to her, Mary, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of God, of the highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there will be no end.

Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I do not know a man? And the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore also, the Holy One who is born will be called the Son of God. There is the answer to how there is a sinless Son of God. It was a work of the power of the Holy Spirit that overshadowed her, that completely enveloped her, that changed things within her, and made it so that the Holy One who is born would be called the Son of God.

We also know that it was God who prepared his body. When we think of this marvelous miracle, this mind-numbing problem of the word becoming flesh, We also have to recognize that it was God who prepared his body. Hebrews 10-5 says, Therefore when he came into the world he said, sacrifice an offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me." Not only did the Holy Spirit come and overwhelm Mary, something else happened. God Almighty prepared His body. This has never happened in the history of the birth of human beings into the world, where God so specially prepared the body of the Son of God to be born sinless and yet, at the same time, to be like his brethren.

This was, without question, the greatest miracle that ever occurred in the history of the world. And it happened in a womb. Isn't that remarkable? God takes the most common place, the most tender place, and he does a mighty miracle, which actually, as it turns out, becomes the miracle that forms the very centerpiece of all of history, and it casts forth a vision of the mercy of Almighty God towards sinners. He uses a womb to declare salvation.

Now there is so much that we could say about that. Because the womb really is designed by God to declare salvation. God has given seed so that we would raise up godly seeds so that they would declare the glory of God from one generation to another. So that it would be fulfilled, as Asaph said in Psalm 78, that the generations that would come out of the wombs of women, that they would do one thing, they would declare the great things that he has done, that they would sing his praises, that they would be the happiest people in the world, knowing of the kindness of the Lord. God has designed a womb for that purpose.

And he uses the womb of Mary, where a body was prepared and the Holy Spirit overwhelms her for one single purpose. So that out of that womb would come the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. And He would be one who would teach all other disciples to go and sing forth the praises of Him who lives forever, to speak of His goodness and His mercy, to speak of His power, to speak of His judgment, to come and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, Out of a womb. It's so remarkable. He is a sinless sager.

He was born of incorruptible seed. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 18 also gives us more understanding of this whole doctrine of the virgin birth, because after all, Isaiah chapter seven, 14 to 25 is about the virgin birth. And first Peter chapter one, verse 18, we read of this incorruptible seed. Not, Not only was the Spirit of God the transforming power, not only did God prepare a body, but also it was incorruptible seed. This is another way that we must understand the doctrine of the virgin birth.

Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, he was indeed foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. Because all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers and its flower fades away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word by which the gospel was preached to you." And so the doctrine of the virgin birth hangs on the presence of incorruptible seed.

And the Lord Jesus Christ was born of perfectly and absolutely incorruptible seed. And that seed is actually given to mankind. And we are also born of incorruptible seed. So that our corruption would put on incorruptibility. And when we repented of our sins and turned to the Lord Jesus Christ, a miracle happened.

Incorruptibility was imputed to our souls. And there began a work of sanctification, where the corruptions were continually worked out, where the sins were identified, and over time, God sanctifies his children, and he does it through the incorruptible seed that is growing. You know, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a seed that grows. It's the smallest of seeds, but it grows so big, and it provides such a blessing. And so the doctrine of the virgin birth hangs on these things.

You know, I love the way the Westminster larger catechism speaks of the virgin birth. How did Christ, question, how did Christ, being the Son of God, become man? Answer. Christ, the Son of God, became man by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary, of her substance and born of her, yet without sin. Question 47.

How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth? Answer. Christ humbled himself in his conception and birth in that being from all eternity the Son of God in the bosom of the Father. He was pleased in the fullness of time to become the Son of Man made of a woman of low estate and to be born of her with diverse circumstances of more than ordinary abasement. For there's so much to say about the virgin birth.

But the virgin birth satisfies the problem of our own human condition, that Christ comes as the perfect, spotless, sacrificial lamb to fulfill all the requirements of the law of God. And this is the theme of all of Scripture, that the seed of the woman will destroy through a supernatural provision the works of the devil and there is no such thing unless there is a virgin birth. The whole of Christianity hangs on Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14. It is the center of history. It is the center of every good thing.

And it's the center of the only hope that was played before Ahaz, the man who was so fearful of the kings of the earth, he was so wrapped up in his own life and his own destiny that he could not see the sign and he did not even want it, even when it was given to him. Notice that the mother names the child. Matthew focuses on one word, Emmanuel. And she shall call his name, Emmanuel. And The term means, it's so familiar to us, God with us.

And if we had time, I would give a sermon about God, and then with. And then I would give one about us, God with us. And it would, you could probably go for hours on those three words alone. And again, this term, Emmanuel, also forms the blessing of this whole passage. We could speak of God, God who is with us, the Holy One, separate, and yet He is with us in all of our fleshliness.

How does holiness dwell with mankind? This is another miracle, that God in His love has determined to be with His sinful creatures. He is with us. It has to do with accompaniment. It has to do with occupying an immediate position of proximity.

He is actually with you. You know, the person sitting next to you is very real, and God with you is also very real. It is no less real than the person sitting next to you. He was a real man who was eating of the blessings of the earth. Verse 15, curds and honey shall he eat.

Curds and honey are figurative in the Bible. You know about the land of milk and honey, the promised land, figurative of heaven. Curds and honey are spoken of as blessings of abundance in the Scriptures. Oh, how I love honey. You know, we had an intern this last class that didn't like honey.

That was a theological problem to me. But, you know, if you can't love curds and honey, I don't know but anyway the Lord Jesus Christ ate curds and honey and in the midst of this This difficulty in the land of that day curds and honey were still still available. One of the great commentators, Mottier, says, curds and honey was royal food. And so, instead of normal food, he was eating royal food. The abundance, you know, the whole concept of the abundance of the Son of God, even though He had no place to lay His head.

He did eat of curds and honey. He did eat well. And even at His birth, He was given riches by the wise men who came. The Lord Jesus Christ ate the curds and honey. And it says that He would know to refuse the evil and choose the good.

This is a difficult statement. Perhaps it means a number of things. It could have been a test of his righteousness, that he was fed curds and honey. He was fed so well. It was a test of abundance.

And He wasn't like those who, when they find themselves in abundance, they fall into corruption. Maybe you've seen that. When a person lives in hand-to-mouth, they're actually happier and they're more holy. And then when they get abundance, they change, and everything centers around them now. But the Lord Jesus Christ did not follow that pattern.

He didn't allow the curds and honey to lead him astray, and so it says, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. In other words, he has given this as a test, perhaps, is the meaning here. The significance of the word Immanuel looms so large. The term only appears three times in the Bible. Here, Isaiah 8 and Matthew chapter 1.

But it's a term that ought to be so comforting. He is with us in our temptations, he's with us in our sorrows, he's with us in our trials. And oh, would it had been so different for Ahaz if he had known it when God had showed him that he need not fear the alliances of man, that the rattleings of the sabers were irrelevant because there was God. There was a sign of a God who was with us. You know, in the midst of all the threats around Ahaz, all of his fears, he did not know that there was a hope in Emmanuel.

What a tragedy that is. The timing of the sign, verse 16, one of the more difficult verses, read the commentators and get confused, That's what I would recommend. But, you know, how do you sort this out? And because the timelines are difficult to establish, my view is that This verse, before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both of her kings. And this is just that before Christ comes, these kings will be destroyed.

He will come far after the time when the kings will be destroyed. Isaiah has spoken of things coming together in 65 years, but exactly when this time happens, I'm not really sure. My view is that he is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, and before that, but a long time before that, these two kings will fall. The two kings that Ahaz fears will fall. These smoking firebrands, the ones that Isaiah says, they're just smoke, they're just blowing smoke.

They will fall a long time before the sign of the Messiah comes. It's a very difficult passage in that sense. But what we do know is that Isaiah is giving Ahaz, He's giving him an appeal that amidst all the threats around him, there's only one hope, and that is in Immanuel, in the sign of the Messiah. And brothers and sisters, that is our only hope as well. I don't know what's going on in your life, but hithis I do know, if you've bowed your knee to the Lord Jesus Christ and you have loved the sign of His appearing, If you love Him, then He is your only hope in the midst of whatever is upon you now.

He is your only hope in this world. And then we see in this passage the results of trusting in man. The terrible fallout that will come upon Ahaz is spoken of in verses 17 through 25. The Lord will bring the King of Assyria upon you, and your people, and your father's house, days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah. What he's saying is that something terrible is going to happen, something worse than anything that has happened from the time of Rehoboam when the kingdom was split in two here until the time of Hezekiah.

In that time, he's saying, nothing worse has happened that is going to happen to you because you've rejected the sign. You know, sometimes we get what we ask for. That's what happened to Ahaz. He wanted an earthly king, and he got his earthly king. Be careful what you pray for.

Be careful what you trust in. If you pray for some kind of earthly help, you might get it. And find yourself without the help of Almighty God, which is your only hope in this world. So by refusing the sign, Ahaz brings in a completely different order for his own destruction. And it would be the Assyrians, the ones that he trusted in, that would come in and bring the destruction.

There's this haunting verse that I read last week where it says, and Assyria did not help him. He made a deal, but the deal fell through, and he trusted in earthly means. You know, are we trusting in earthly means for things? Of course we are. Of course we do.

And I think it's appropriate just to pause for a moment and just ask that question of all of us. You know, I'm aware of ways that I trust in earthly means. And this passage is helpful to identify those things. But what about all of us together as a church? Whole churches can trust in earthly means, you know.

And whole families can trust in earthly means. And individuals can trust in earthly means. But let's make this really clear this morning. Our only hope is Immanuel, God with us. Our only hope is this sign, that a virgin shall be with child, a sinless, spotless lamb of God.

He is our only hope. He is our only hope in life and death. There is only one hope. Do we understand that? You know, I think if we really understood that, we'd be such a happier people.

We would be running around a lot less. We'd be worrying a lot less. If we really understood the meaning of the sign of the Son of God, that He is our only hope. We see here that God calls up the enemies in verses 18 and 19, and it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the farthest parts of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Egypt." So in this, it's amazing again to me just to be reminded in this historical narrative of real things that are going to happen in Isaiah's day and afterward. That this sun, this sun of God is shining over it all, but the contrast of the degradation of rejecting the sun is here.

But what happens here is God is going to whistle for the fly and for the bee. The flies are representative of Egypt. Egypt was a land full of flies. They actually worship flies. And the bee is out of Egypt.

And God is bringing a historical marker. And it shall come to pass in that day, the day that all of Ahaz's dreams will fall apart and not come true. And the Lord Himself will bring the attackers. He is going to bring them. God is sovereign.

He's going to bring these annoying insects in to sting and to afflict from Egypt and Assyria. The words, you know, the word can mean gnats and mosquitoes, you know, just the most, you know, upsetting kinds of insects that will come upon a people. Bees are symbols of destruction and danger. The bees and the flies will come for their destruction. But God is the one who is going to bring them in.

Again, it all comes back to God. It all comes back to God's sovereign hand in history. It all comes back to the fact that He is orchestrating every single thing in history. And one thing that He orchestrates is He orchestrates the bringing in of kings. And if you do not want the king of kings, you will get a king, one way or another.

And so we should recognize how dangerous it is to reject the King of Kings, to reject the sign, because we find ourselves subject to other kings that God brings in. And it says here in verse 19, they will come, all of them, and will rest in the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks and on all the thorns and pastures. These foreign insects will fly in. And then also the people will be shaved from the land. Look at verse 20.

In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, with those from beyond the river, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the legs, and will also remove the beard. So Judah now is compared to a human body where hair is removed. And there's this hired razor. Who is the hired razor? The king of Assyria, Tiglath-Peleser, that's his name.

He's the hired razor. God has hired him. God has whistled for him. Come on in. They rejected my son.

They rejected the sign. And now you come and be their king and see how they like it. And what does he do? He shaves. He shaves the body, the head and the hair of the legs and the beard.

It could mean that the resources are shaved off. It could mean that the people are shaved off and gone. You know, the removal of the hair perhaps is likened to people. We do know that both resources and people are affected. But Isaiah 6, 10, where we were just recently, perhaps explains what happens.

Then I said, Lord, how long? And he answered, until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant. Houses are without a man. So we know that the houses are deprived of people. No one lives there anymore because, well, we know already 120, 000 have been killed.

And then he continues, The Lord has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terabint tree or as an oak whose stump remains when it is cut down so the holy seed shall be its stump." So Isaiah 6 actually gives us both pictures of that there will be deprived of men and there will only be 10% left. And also that the land is desolate. There are two sides, I believe, to this shaving. The depletion of people through the judgment and also through the destruction of the land, through its lack of being cared for, because there are no people.

One happens as a result of the other. You know, if you're not there to cultivate the land, you'll just have briars and thorns. And that's what we see here depicted in verse 20. And then the land is not cultivated, verses 21 through 22. And it shall be in that day that a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep.

So it shall be from the abundance of milk they give that he will eat curds, for curds and honey, and honey for everyone will eat who is left in the land." So you have two things that are shown here. First of all, there's this destruction of the agricultural machinery that was existing. And it was all connected to their lack of trust in God. Do you have any idea how often it is that agricultural destruction is tied to lack of trusting God. And there are different ways that you can explain this, all the way from the most reasonable way and that is that if you have a lazy man who does not fear God, he doesn't cultivate his land, He doesn't take care of it.

He's like the lazy man in Proverbs, you know, whose place is covered with briars. But it goes deeper than that as well, that God does curse the land of those who hate Him. We see that many times in Scripture. Here's one of those times right here for your reference. But at the same time, there'll be an abundance of milk.

The land will not be worked, but the people will be eating of the abundance of milk that these animals will be giving. And perhaps this is just a vision of how God is going to keep the remnant alive. That He's going to give them curds and honey. He's going to feed them. He is going to keep them alive.

God does keep his remnant safe. He does not always keep them from harm, but he does sustain them in the way that he has designed. And then the vineyards have no value in verse 23. And it shall happen in that day that wherever there could be a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, it will be for briars and thorns. And so this means that the the economy that once existed where there was a beautiful vineyard, the vineyards are now dead.

You know what a heartbreaking thing that is. Remember Isaiah's prophecy in the previous chapter, let me tell you about my beloved and his vineyard. It's such a beautiful vineyard. It was so well appointed, but it'll be destroyed. This is that.

Isaiah speaks of it again here, where the land is desolate. And then we see in verses 24 and 25 just how deep that desolation is. With arrows and bows men will come there because all the land will become briars and thorns and To any hill which could be dug with the hoe you will not go there for fear the briars and thorns But it will become a range for oxen and a place for sheep to roam This is a picture of a land where instead of men who are carrying hoes and shovels, instead of their carrying baskets of fruit and the blessing from their land, instead they have to hunt the land and they have bows. There's nothing in the land to cultivate. And it's so bad that they're even afraid to go and even try.

That's what verse 25 says. For fear of the briars and thorns. And then it's just a place where the animals roam randomly. It's a place of destruction. That's the picture that God is giving to Ahaz, poor King Ahaz.

He chose so poorly, he was offered to be given a sign, but he said, I do not want anything from you. I want no sign. And this is The harsh reality of all those who reject the sign of the Son of God, who cannot believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, who was born as a sinless sacrifice, who was born as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who is the bread of life, who is the water of life, for those who cannot accept that or cannot relate to it, this is a picture of what will happen to you. Briars and thorns, desolation and hardship. Torns, desolation, and hardship.

Now let me give you some final thoughts. God is saying, I think, the same thing to us that He says to Ahaz. And we should make this a part of all of our thinking. Do not trust in kings or alliances. He is your only hope.

God with you is your only hope. It doesn't matter where you go or what you experience. God with you is the only thing that matters. Whatever you lose, whatever you gain, only one thing matters, that God is with you. It is the singular issue that defines life or death for any one of us, that God is with us.

And while we're in the midst of our trials and torments and tribulations that happen to us, if we forget this one thing, we have to recognize how hard it is for us. Our only hope is in God's eternal plan of salvation in His Son and the presence of His Son. I've always loved, ever since I read it, The first question in the Heidelberg Catechism. What is your only comfort in life and death? Answer.

That I am not my own, but belong body and soul in life and death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven. In fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to Him, Christ by His Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him." for Him.

The whole question for us today is, where are you putting your trust? And the reality That in the midst of all the threats around you and all the fears within you, your only hope is Emmanuel. God with us. Let's pray. Father, thank You for declaring righteousness, truth, joy in the Holy Spirit, The relief of salvation, hope in the midst of every trial, a way to navigate everything that ever comes to us by the presence of your Son, Emmanuel.

Amen.