Signs That Point to His Presence

Isaiah 7:1-25

Matthew 1:23

“All this took place to fulfill what the LORD had said through the

prophet:The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they

will call him Immanuel – which means ‘God with us.’”

Matthew 1:23

“All this took place to fulfill what the LORD had said through the

prophet:The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they

will call him Immanuel – which means ‘God with us.’”

Isaiah 7:14

The virgin birth of IMMANUEL is all at once

historically real, prophetically realized

and powerfully relevant.

The Historical Crisis

• The people were in a CRISIS.(1-2a)– Ahaz was a wicked king who did not

follow God. (7:1) – There were other wicked kings

engaged in allied war and siege against Jerusalem. (7:1-2)

• The people were in a PANIC.(2b)– The crisis and its ominous potential

terrified everyone. (7:2)

The Hopeful Message

• God sent two men to Ahaz (3)– Isaiah = Jehovah is salvation– Shear-Jashub = a remnant will

return– The two men met Ahaz at the

conduit at the pool

SECURITYSOURCE

CONTROL

The Hopeful Message

• God sent two men to Ahaz (3)• God sent two messages to Ahaz – “I am in CHARGE and have another

plan.” (7)– “Do you TRUST Me?” (9)

SECURITYSOURCE

CONTROLFaith is trusting

God with the valve handle

The Holy Sign

• God offers to give any sign to Ahaz, but Ahaz refuses. (7:10-12)– God sees through this pious

pretension.– Isaiah sees through it too.– God gave a sign through a pure

conduit.

SECURITYSOURCE

CONTROL

Security is built on the Presence of

One who is greater

The Holy Sign

• God offers to give any sign to Ahaz, but Ahaz refuses. (7:10-12)

• God’s unsolicited sign was a little baby with a big name. (7:13-17)– Immanuel = “God with us”– “God with us” points to His

Presence

The Holy Sign

Matthew sees a second longer range fulfillment

of Isaiah’s prophecy

– only under Holy Spirit inspiration can Matthew have such insights

– Isaiah is not the only prophet to speak such telescopic prophecies

The Holy Sign

Isaiah Matthew

OT IMM NT IMM

The Holy Sign

• OT Immanuel– A royal house

contemporary – A normal conception

to a new bride– A special name– A sign to Ahaz

• NT Immanuel– A working class

family– A miraculous con-

ception to new bride– A special name– A sign to all the

world

A promise of deliverance through Presence

Why the NT Virgin Birth?

• it displayed God’s power and control

• it identified Jesus as the Messiah• it verified the promises of

presence• it circumvented the transmission

of the sin nature

The Horrible Results

• Because of his unbelief, the very thing that Ahaz tried to avoid came to pass. (7:18-25)– God’s judgment turned the humanly

conceived “rescue plan” on its HEAD. (17b-20)

– God’s judgment turned the valuable, rich, secure land into a WASTELAND. (21-25)

Conclusions

• Do not FEAR or panic. • Stand FAST in your faith.• Ask God to CONFIRM His

presence with you.• FOLLOW His plan wherever it

may take you.