Isaiah
7 – 11
This is the start of Isaiah’s prophecies of Jesus, the
Messiah. Verse 7:14 is the first in Isaiah:
Suit yourself.
The Lord will give you a proof-sign anyway: See, a young maiden will conceive.
She will give birth to a son and name Him Immanuel, that is, “God with us.”
A
“young maiden” implies a virgin, but apparently is not directly translated from
the Hebrew. The Complete Jewish Bible, which is my “go to” for OT translations,
also uses “young woman” and not virgin. That may have been translated to
“virgin” in other translations to help clarify the significance (since at that
time “young maidens” were virgins). Either way Mary fits the definition of this
prophecy.
Look
at other verses within this reading and you will see many prophecies that Jesus
fulfills. Verses 9:1 & 2 are where Isaiah talks about Jesus’ Galilean
ministry. Verses 9:7, 11:1 and 11:10 all talk about Jesus being from the throne
of David. These were being told to Ahaz to ensure he understood the importance
of maintaining the throne of David. So where Isaiah’s words ring so clear
today, they were of utmost importance then. These words were not to only to
encourage us today, but were also for encouragement to King Ahaz (granted what
is happening to Ahaz is not necessarily good at the time).
Verse
10:15 reminds us that we are not the ones who get credit for anything we do:
But wow, are
they ever mistaken! Assyria seems to think it has used God.
Can
an ax take credit instead of the one who swings it?
Is a saw better than the one who uses it?
Only
if a club or rod can move on its own.
This is really the key when you think of
it. We are really not to take credit for anything. I just reread my blog on
Creation vs Evolution and realize that was not me. I just was the conduit to
attempt to explain where God is in play to an atheistic scientific community.
Where did we get the skills? Where did we get the words? How did things happen
the way they did? We are not in control of any of this, it’s more how we manage
what we are given is the key.
Verse 10:33 reminds us to be humble:
But wait,
look! The Lord, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will
protect you;
He
will cut the arrogant and self-serving down to size.
With terrifying power He will prune Assyria’s branches,
hack
down the high and mighty, and humble all those who think they’re so great.
Remember God will do as he promises and
will always be faithful. I know when you are in the mire of life it doesn’t
make sense, but clarity always comes at the back end. That is the key to peace
and faith in God. I think of Kipling’s poem ‘If” which says “if you can keep
your head, while those around you are losing theirs.” In the poem this was the
measure of a man, while in life it’s our relationship with God. I can go on and
on about life’s little “problems” that ended up being a blessing. One is the
sale of our home in Buford. It unwound into a 6 month fiasco that was ugly and
stressful. I actually remained calm for the most part and watched things
unfold. The end we see it was actually better to delay the eventual sale since
it appears the money that we would have left would have been squandered on
improvements that may now be abandoned. Again we will see what’s on the other
end, but my faith is that God is doing great things and the end is HIS will,
not mine!!
We
are just the jackass that is giving Jesus a ride – Pastor Kevin Queen