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Scripture Reading: Isa. 7; Isa. 8
In this message we will cover chapters seven and eight. Here we have the sign of Christ's incarnation given in God's dealing with the unbelief of Ahaz, king of Judah, who was under the dread of Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, who were defeated by the king of Assyria, who invaded the land of Judah.
In 7:1—8:8 we see God's dealing with the unbelief of Ahaz, king of Judah.
Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, went up to attack Ahaz at Jerusalem, and the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people quivered as the trees of the forest quiver in the face of the wind (7:1-2).
Jehovah sent Isaiah to say to Ahaz, "Be careful and be quiet; do not fear, and do not be fainthearted because of these two smoking firebrand stubs, at the burning anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah" (v. 4). The son of Remaliah was Pekah, king of Israel. Isaiah went on to say that their evil plan against him would not stand and that it would not happen (vv. 5-7). Then Isaiah said that Rezin and Damascus of Aram, and the son of Remaliah and Samaria of Ephraim would be shattered (vv. 8-9a). Finally, Isaiah said to Ahaz, "If you do not believe, surely you will not remain standing" (v. 9b). Here we see the principle that it is by believing that we are able to stand.
Jehovah wanted Ahaz to ask for a sign (7:10-25). This sign is related to the ushering in of Christ, who was born of a virgin.
Ahaz said that he would not ask and would not try Jehovah (v. 12). Isaiah considered this as exhausting the patience of his God (v. 13).
Verse 14 says, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and will bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel." Immanuel means "God with us." This word concerning a virgin bearing a son is quoted in Matthew 1:23 and applied to the Lord Jesus.
The actual fulfillment of this sign was the birth of a son by Isaiah's wife (8:3). The son was named Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means "Swift is the booty, hastening is the prey." This name indicates the carrying away of the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria before the king of Assyria (8:4).
Until the child knew how to refuse evil and choose good, he would eat curds and honey. This indicates that the land of the two kings whom Ahaz dreaded would be abandoned, made desolate, by the king of Assyria (7:15-16).
Isaiah 7:17-25 and 8:5-8 speak of the invasion of the army of the king of Assyria. Thus far, we have four parties: the party of Aram, the party of the northern kingdom of Israel, the party of the southern kingdom of Judah, whose king was Ahaz, and the party from Assyria. God sent the army from Assyria in the northeast to deal with the king of Aram and the king of Israel, who were threatening Ahaz.
The people of Judah rejected "the gently flowing waters of Shiloah" at Jerusalem, waters which signify the tender blessings of the divine provision (8:6a). Furthermore, the people exulted in Rezin and the son of Remaliah (v. 6b). Therefore, the Lord said that He would bring upon them "the mighty and abundant waters of the Euphrates" (signifying the strong and great army), the king of Assyria and all his glory (v. 7). It would overflow all its channels and go over all its banks. It would sweep through Judah, overflowing and rising until it reached the neck, and the spreading out of its wings would fill the breadth of the land of Immanuel (v. 8). Here we have the fifth party — Immanuel.
Jehovah would whistle for the flies (signifying the soldiers) which are at the ends of the rivers of Egypt and for the bees (signifying the soldiers) which are in the land of Assyria, and they would all come and settle in different places of the land of Judah (7:18-19).
In that day the Lord would shave with a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates, that is, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the legs, and the beard as well (7:20). The hair on the head signifies glory, and the hair on other parts of the body signifies strength. Thus, the glory and strength of Judah would be removed through the "razor" of the king of Assyria.
In that day everyone left behind in the land would eat curds and honey, because the vineyard, all the land, and all the hills would grow thorns and thistles and would be good for the cattle to roam in and for the sheep to trample, but not good for the harvest to grow in for producing grain as people's food (7:21-25). This indicates that the land of Judah would be devastated and destroyed.
The expression "land of Immanuel" (8:8) indicates that the land of Judah, the Holy Land, is Christ's territory invaded by the conquering army of the king of Assyria. This is the land that Christ will inherit to build up His millennial kingdom with His two elect peoples, the chosen Jews and the chosen believers.
The land of Immanuel has been occupied by invaders for twenty-six centuries. It has been occupied by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes and the Persians, the Greeks under Alexander the Great, the successors of Alexander, the Romans, and the Moslems. If we are those who know the Bible, we should pray for the current Middle East situation in this way: "Lord Jesus, You are Immanuel. Lord, remember the good land promised by God to His people. That is Your land. O Immanuel, the invaders are filling up Your land. How long, Lord, will You allow this to continue?" I hope that we will begin to pray in this way.
In Isaiah God's dealing with the nations began mainly with Babylon (13:1—14:23). This corresponds to the great human image which the king of Babylon saw in Daniel 2. The king of Babylon was the head of gold. Babylon actually began with Babel in Genesis 11. The words Babel and Babylon both signify confusion brought in by division. The enemies of God's people in the Old Testament began from Babylon. In the New Testament the enemy of God's chosen people, the church, still is called Babylon — Babylon the Great (Rev. 17—18). Babylon was the head taking the lead to invade and devastate the Holy Land. Eventually, Babylon will be the last one to damage God's elect in the New Testament. However, both the religious Babylon (the apostate Roman Church) and material Babylon (the city of Rome) will be destroyed. Even the termination of Babylon is included in the sign of a virgin conceiving a son called Immanuel.
We should not think that the prophecy in Isaiah 7 and 8 merely concerns things that are past. On the contrary, the sign of Immanuel is still being fulfilled today. Where is Immanuel? According to Isaiah 6, Immanuel, full of the splendor of His human virtues, is in the heavens sitting on the throne. The real strategy concerning the Middle East is in His hand, and He knows what the outcome will be.
The sign in Isaiah 7:14 has had both an actual fulfillment and a real fulfillment. As we have seen, the actual fulfillment was the birth of a son by Isaiah's wife. The real fulfillment of the sign given by God to Ahaz, king of Judah, was the Lord's incarnation (Matt. 1:20-23), which issued in Immanuel, that is, God with us, for the salvation of God's people. All God's people, those who are of Israel and those who are of the church, are saved by Immanuel.
Immanuel is all-inclusive. He includes the Savior, the Redeemer, the Life-giver, and the all-inclusive Spirit. Immanuel is first our Savior, then our Redeemer, then our Life-giver, and then the all-inclusive, indwelling Spirit. We need to realize that the all-inclusive Spirit is Immanuel. On the one hand, this all-inclusive Spirit is the Shoot of Jehovah; on the other hand, He is the Fruit of the earth (Isa. 4:2). He is God and man. Such a one is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).
In Isaiah 8:9-22 we have a revelation concerning Christ as Immanuel.
Christ as Immanuel is for one to overcome the nations in their equipping, counseling, and speaking (vv. 9-10). God is with the one who thus overcomes; He is his Immanuel. The last part of verse 10 says, "For God is with us." The words God is with us are a translation of the Hebrew expression immanu El.
Christ as Immanuel is also for one to be instructed by Jehovah not to walk in the way of this people, not to be in their conspiracy, and not to fear what they fear, nor be awed by what they are awed by (vv. 11-12). Because the people had become degraded, the one instructed by Jehovah was not to follow them. Rather, this one was to sanctify Jehovah of hosts, regarding Him as the One to fear and the One to be awed by (v. 13).
In 8:14 and 15 we have a further indication that Christ is all-inclusive. In verse 14 Christ the Immanuel becomes a sanctuary to God's people. As the sanctuary, Christ is our dwelling place. Christ is a sanctuary to us, but He is a smiting stone to smash the image in Daniel 2 into pieces. He has also become a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel. Christians may know Christ as the rock cleft for us but not as the rock of stumbling. Many Jews have been stumbled by Christ. Moreover, Christ is a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Christ as Immanuel causes the prophet to bind up the testimony, that is, the law, seal the instruction among his disciples, wait on Jehovah, who hides His face from the house of Jacob, and look eagerly for Him (vv. 16-17).
Christ as Immanuel also makes the prophet and the children whom Jehovah has given him, typifying Christ and the believers (Heb. 2:13b), for signs and wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts, who abides on Mount Zion (Isa. 8:18).
Finally, Christ as Immanuel causes God's people not to inquire of the necromancers and the familiar spirits, but to inquire of God, and not to inquire of the dead on behalf of the living (v. 19). God's people were to go to the law and to the testimony, speaking according to this word with the dawn in them, and not going through the land hardpressed and hungry, so that they rage and curse their king and their God, turning their face upward and looking to the earth, but there being nothing except distress, darkness, and gloom of anguish and they being thrust into darkness (vv. 20-22). We should not listen to anything other than God and His instruction. This God today is Immanuel. Thus, we must come to the New Testament and listen to the four Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation.
