God with us (Isaiah 7:1-25)
AJ, 30th November 2014Part of the Study of Isaiah series, preached at a Fordham Sunday Service service
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7:2 Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
7:3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field.
7:4 Say to him, 'Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood-because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.
7:5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah's son have plotted your ruin, saying,
7:6 "Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it."
7:7 Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: " 'It will not take place, it will not happen,
7:8 for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.
7:9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.' "
7:10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz,
7:11 "Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."
7:12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test."
7:13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?
7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
7:15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.
7:16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
7:17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah-he will bring the king of Assyria."
7:18 In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.
7:19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes.
7:20 In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the River -the king of Assyria-to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to take off your beards also.
7:21 In that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two goats.
7:22 And because of the abundance of the milk they give, he will have curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.
7:23 In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be only briers and thorns.
7:24 Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.
7:25 As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.
1 Comment
Celia Ford
2nd March 2024
Hello Paul…an old friend writing from St Luke’s days…so enjoyed last Sunday’s message…have just lost a very dear aunt and needed your encouraging and reassuring words…she was a believer ,suffered horribly… died peacefully eventually thank God.
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