Today’s
Scripture Reading (December 11, 2018): Deuteronomy 18
With Christmas approaching, in many homes,
we begin to retell the stories of Christmas. Retelling the stories includes
watching Christmas Movies, even ones that we have seen many times before. In my
home, we try to find time to watch a few movies, which often includes a rerun
of “White Christmas” with Bing Crosby. We retell stories that include that
great elf, Santa Clause. And, of course, stories that surround the birth of
Jesus.
There are many aspects of the story that have become comfortably known to
us. Sometimes, we lose the element of surprise that the Christmas story
contained when it was first told. Angels
and shepherds, wise men traveling from
afar, and, of course, the Christmas Star. All are stories that we tell with great comfort, but that would have been received in the first century with great
surprise.
But there is also a prophecy that, when the story was first told, probably caused great concern among those who heard
it. The prophecy is found in Matthew’s
Gospel. “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give
birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)”
(Matthew 1:22-23). The problem with the prophecy is that no one considered it
to be Messianic until Matthew told the story of the birth of Jesus.
The prophecy originates in Isaiah 7 in a story of
Isaiah’s warning to Ahaz. Ahaz has just become King. It is a troubling time for
the nation. Ahaz, by the way, comes from very
good stock. His father was Jotham, a good king of Judah. His grandfather was
Azariah, another king listed in the Scripture as one who had done right in the
sight of the God. His great-grandfather was Amaziah, again a king who the
Scripture declares as good.
But the warning signs that Ahaz was not going to follow
in the footsteps of his Fathers comes very early in his reign. Ahaz rises to
power amidst great strife. Assyria is the current superpower on the world stage.
The countries of Israel and Aram have decided to combine forces to resist
Assyria. And they have also decided that they are going to force Judah and
their young king to join them. Isaiah comes to Ahaz and warns him not to
combine forces with Israel and Aram. He argues that God alone will be Judah’s defense and that Ahaz can trust God to keep
Judah safe. And that if Ahaz desires a sign that this is true, God is willing
to provide it.
But Ahaz has other plans. He has no desire to trust
either in God or in Israel and Aram. In the King’s great wisdom, he has decided
to join forces with Assyria. And so he refuses to ask for a sign. But Isaiah gives
him one anyway. “Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of
David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the
patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give
you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him
Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:13-14). It is important to note that the translators have
decided to interpret this verse through the eyes of Matthew. A better
translation of the actual wording of the text would be that a “young woman will
conceive and give birth to a son.” It is a sign given to Ahaz. His son would be
born as a sign of God. His young bride would become pregnant and give birth and would do so in a time of great
distress, all because Ahaz had decided to ignore the commands of God.
Who was the son? We don’t know. But there is a hint
that maybe Ahaz took proactive steps to make sure that the sign of God never
appeared in Judah. The author of Kings makes this statement about Ahaz. “He
followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the
fire …” (2 Kings 16:3). It is just possible that Ahaz decided to sacrifice the
child of promise and the sign of God. And in doing so, Ahaz proved that he had
no intention of following the dictates of God, even willing to sacrifice his own son, violating the command of Moses, in the
hope of avoiding the sign spoken of by Isaiah and proving himself right.
Tomorrow’s Scripture
Reading: Deuteronomy 19
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