Hope is Here

O. T. #1578 "Hope is Here"
Dec. 4, 2019
Isaiah 7-Part 8

LET IT GLOW

We left King Ahaz refusing to ask God for a sign, but God gave it to him anyway. It was due to his pride and lack of faith in God to defeat Judah's enemies. Since God revealed His plan of the birth of a coming Savior, Ahaz should have realized that Judah was not going to be annihilated.

Did you know that God gave Isaiah three prophecies of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. They are found in 7:14, 9:6, and 11:1 and 10. As we come to those scriptures, we will discuss them. Writers in the New Testament quoted those, also. Matthew quotes 7:14 in Matthew 1:23.

Hope is here and now for you and me. Jesus Christ came to earth, died in the cross, and rose from the dead. He who knew no sin became the sacrifice for our sin so we came be in heaven eternally. It is through faith in Him that this happens. Do you believe in Jesus? Have you asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior? That is why we celebrate Christmas. He is our hope of life after our death.

Was Isaiah able to look down through history to the time of Christ?
Isaiah's prediction of the coming of the virgin-born Son can literally look down through history to the time of Christ, while the time-indicator of His growing to discernment within a couple of years of His birth is used to illustrate the fact that within a couple of years Judah would be rid of her nemesis. (Falwell)

 Don't you like it when a plan comes together?  That is our God. In less than two years Judah's enemies would be defeated. The symbolism in verse 16 indicates Syria and Ephraim (Israel) would loose their kings.

Folks, are we trusting in our God or are we trusting in our government?

LET IT GROW

For the rest of chapter 7, Isaiah reveals his vision in verses 17-25. The king of Assyria brought destruction upon Israel and it fell in 722 BC.
We previously studied the history of Israel and Judah back in the books of the Kings and Chronicles.

Life Application Study Bible gives us a summary of what happened to Judah, as the flies and bees were symbols of God's judgment:

• Egypt and Assyria did not at this time devastate Judah.
• Hezekiah followed Ahaz as king, and he honored God; therefore God held back His hand of judgment.
• Two more evil kings reigned before Josiah, Manasseh and Amon, of whom it was said that no other king turned so completely to the Lord (2 Kings 23:25).
• However, Judah's doom had been sealed by the extreme evil of Josiah's father, Amon.
• During Josiah's reign, Egypt marched against the Assyrians. Josiah declared war on Egypt, though God told him not to.
• After Josiah was killed (2 Chronicles 35:20-27), only weak kings reigned in Judah.
• The Egyptians carried off Josiah's son, Jehoahaz, after three months.
• The next king, Jehoiakim, was taken by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon. Egypt and Assyria had dealt death blows to Judah.

That is a lot of history of Judah. The land "flowing with milk and honey" would soon be overrun by briers and thorns because Judah turned away from worshiping God.
Take courage, friend, for God spared a remnant that would eventually return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple and the religious system of the Jews as the worshiped God.
Not only is God love, but He is wrath, also. We will read about them in the next chapter.

As we look forward to celebrations of our Savior's birth, let be sure to pass in God's Word as truth and how He has kept His promises to our children and grandchildren. The Messiah was promised and came.

LET IT GO

Love God with all my heart. 
Share His love with someone today.