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Whom shall you fear?

Sun, Feb 14, 2016
Teacher: Joe Wiltshire
Passage: Isaiah 7-12
This sermon was not recorded, the full text is included instead.

Message text

Whom shall you fear?

Isaiah 7-12

At the crossroads

We all face moments in life where we come to a crossroads.

Where we face a decision that, whichever way we decide, its

going to seriously affect life from now on - affecting the

direction we’re heading, maybe the place we live, changing the

friends we will see if we take one road as opposed to the other.

And sometimes those crossroads moments will affect things

permanently as it becomes impossible to turn back the clock.

As we hit Isaiah chapter 7 today King Ahaz of Judah was at

such a crossroads in his life.

16 years have passed since the end of chapter 6. 16 years since

Isaiah had bee taken into the throne room of God. 16 years

since that moment when he had been confronted with God’s

holiness and therefore his own sinfulness. 16 years since God’s

cleansing fire had made atonement for his sins. 16 years since

Isaiah had received his commission to be God’s messenger to

God’s people. 16 years have passed, the whole reign of King

Jotham is passed over with absolutely no comment. And so it

has been16 years of silence from God. No word is given to

Isaiah to speak. No message for the people to hear. But now

King Ahaz has just risen to the throne, a young man of 20 years

of age taking the burden of responsibility following the death of

his father, Jotham. And he is at a moment in time when his own

life and his nations entire future would now depend on how he

responds to God’s silence being broken.

For Ahaz faces a moment of national crisis and God has

something to say to him. Chapter 7 verse 1 sets the scene:

7:1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of

Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of

Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could

not overpower it. 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.

The year is 734BC, and two kings - the king of Israel to the

North and the king of Aram to the East have made a pact to

invade Judah and install a puppet king on the throne. It wasn’t

a recent decision - for years they’ve been building massive

armies, and through the latter part of Jotham’s reign there’s

been border incursions, rural towns had been sacked and

burned, and the borders moved. And the combined weight of

these nations was now threatening to come right down into the

heartland of Judah. And Ahaz, little more than a teenager,

comes to power. And its at that moment that God’s 16 year

silence is finally broken. Verse 3

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. 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. 5Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah's son have plotted

your ruin, saying, 6 "Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart

and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king

over it." 7Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'It will not

take place, it will not happen, 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.

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.'"

What does God have to say through his prophet? Do not be

afraid, trust God - despite the evidence of the losses already,

despite the fear that has been struck into the hearts of the nation.

despite the size of the armies facing you who are threatening

your downfall and destruction - they will not succeed!

Its a message of hope. God will wipe out your enemies - be

calm, do not lose heart, - all you need to do is trust in God and

he will bring them down. But there’s also a warning: if you

won’t trust God - well then you won’t stand at all. And so here

is the crossroads: will Ahaz trust God’s word through Isaiah.

Will he hear, will he understand, will he turn and be healed?

Before we come to the answer - notice that Isaiah had to bring

his son along with him - Shear-Jashub. And it might not be

immediately obvious why a kid has to come to this critical

meeting. Indeed over the next couple of chapters we are going

to be told about 4 children - three of Isaiah’s sons and one

mystery child still to come.

And what happens as these chapters move along is Isaiah’s

children become signs to King Ahaz which reinforce the

message their father has to speak. It’s much like with Hosea

who was prophesying at the same time where his marriage

becomes the sermon illustration to a nation gone astray. And

whose kids also served as a warning to the people. And its like

in the 8th Century BC God ramps up the message dramatically

and perhaps to underscore the incredibly stark words of his

prophets - their extreme family lives are a testimony as well.

And in Isaiah’s case the message he was to give is reinforced

through the names of his sons who stand as a testimony to

God’s truth. Its a bit like in the 18th and 19th century with

names of godly characteristics from the Bible -, faith, charity,

patience, hope, chastity. And this whole section of Isaiah from

7 to 12 revolves around 4 children - the first of which is his son

Shear-Jashub who he is to bring to this critical meeting. And

that doesn’t mean much unless its translated into English -

which for the life of me I can’t figure why the translators don’t

just do that in the first place.

For Shear-Jashub’s name means two things: First it means “a

remnant will return.” And it also means “a remnant will

repent.” The Shub bit at the end of his name means either

return or repent. A remnant will return, a remnant will repent.

And you can see why its so significant that Isaiah has to bring

his Son - a Remnant will return, a remnant will repent to meet

the new king Ahaz whose ruling a country in the grip of a full

scale invasion. It reinforces the message of hope - there will be

survivors - but it also is a call upon Ahaz to do what both his

father Jotham and his grandfather Uzziah would not do in their

weakness - both loved God a little bit but both failed to do

anything whatsoever about the rampant idolatry of the nation of

Israel. For all around the countryside - on every hill and under

every tree were shrines set up for the worship of Baal, and

Asherah and Molech and every other god of the nations around

which God’s people were to abhor. Idolatry was running

rampant amongst the nation that were supposed to be God’s

own people. And so Shear-Jashub is a message to Ahaz - God

has a remnant but you must also lead the nation into repentance

and godliness. ***

How does Ahaz react to this message? Well not very well, as it

turns out. And everything goes pear shaped. Verse 10

10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask the LORD your God

for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest

heights." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the

LORD to the test."

Now it might sound like a really godly and noble answer Ahaz

gives. I mean isn’t that what the Law of Moses specifically

says - Deuteronomy 6:6 - do not put the Lord your God to the

test? Isn’t that exactly the same thing Jesus quotes when he is

tempted in the wilderness? And hadn’t Gideon tried God’s

patience by doing exactly the opposite and insisting on sign

after sign rather than just believing God when he spoke the first

time?

No, this isn’t like any of this times - its very different - because

God has told Ahaz to ask for a sign. It’s one thing to quote

God’s law to the Devil in refusing to sin. It’s quite another to

quote God’s law to God because you don’t want to do what he

says. It’s called hypocrisy and God hates it. Think of Jesus’

vehemence at the Pharisees when they point to their devotion

which stops them obeying the very commands of God. “You

hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their

lips, but their hearts are far from me. When God tells you to

do something, the answer should be - absolutely:

And there are all sorts of moments in our Christian walk when

we are confronted with the truth of God’s word. And the

temptation comes every time to say no. But God will not be

mocked. And so if Ahaz will not ask for a sign - well he’s going

to get one anyway - in the form of another child.

Immanuel - God is with us

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? 14Therefore 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.

Now that should sound familiar. But one of the problems we

have when we read the Old Testament is we jump too fast into

the New Testament. We know the angel says of Jesus before his

birth that he will be called Immanuel - God is with us. And so

we read Isaiah 7 and think wow that’s really nice - God is

coming to hang out - what a nice sign. But who is this child

Isaiah speaks of. Well I take it that Isaiah is to have a child and

is to name him Immanuel. It could be that he’s talking about

Ahaz wife having a child, but the vast majority of Jewish and

Christian experts agree Immanuel’s the name Isaiah is to give

his next son by his young wife. Virgin can just mean young

woman. But its like a lot of Old Testament prophecy there’s an

immediate thing in mind - and a future fulfilment it points to in

Jesus.

And in this case - Immanuel is a sign to Ahaz because God is

about to show up, God will come to us. But its not going to be

happy: verse 14

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

call him Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he

knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 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. 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."

God is going to show up - but what is God coming to be with us

going to mean for Ahaz and Judah? Devastation. Yes God’s

word stands Pekah, king of Israel and Rezin king of Aram are

going to fail - God has promised they will not succeed - but

Ahaz because of the hardness of your heart - something worse

will come - the king of Assyria. And its not to help: Verse 18

18 In that day the LORD will whistle for flies from the distant

streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. 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. 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.

You are going to be stripped naked Ahaz. That’s what it will

mean when God shows up to be with us. That’s what Immanuel

points to. And that’s borne out in the following chapters. But

there’s a third child first: 8 verse 1

Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

8:1The LORD said to me, "Take a large scroll and write on it

with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will call

in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable

witnesses for me.” 3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she

conceived and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said to me,

"Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz”

Well that’s a bit of a handful. Lucky they didn’t have to fill out

all the government forms in triplicate every 3 months for health

care. What does Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz mean? Quick to the

plunder, swift to the spoil. Its about the ransacking of the

nation. Why should Isaiah name his third son such a long

name and with such nasty connotations? Because verse 4

4 Before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother,'

the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be

carried off by the king of Assyria."

Well that’s good news for Judah isn’t it - Aram and Israel will

be destroyed by the Assyrians within a year or two. The two

cities mentioned were the capitals of those nations. And when

they did fall, there was great rejoicing in the streets of

Jerusalem. But God has more to say - verse 5

5 The LORD spoke to me again: 6 "Because this people has

rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over

Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore the Lord is about to

bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River - the

king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its

channels, run over all its banks 8 and sweep on into Judah,

swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck.

Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, O

Immanuel - (O God is with us)

God with us, not to bring life but destruction - and what an

image - the water bursting its banks in a flash flood. Think of

the destructive power of the floods in Brisbane a couple of

years ago. Or if you’ve ever been a bushwalker or gone

canyoning you know must get as far above the creek as possible

or you will be swept away. That’s what Assyria will be like.

9 Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all

you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare

for battle, and be shattered! 10 Devise your strategy, but it will

be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is

with us.

And that is what it is like when God visits in judgement. It is a

horrifying message Isaiah is to bring and to which and his

children are to be signs.

And I don’t know if you had been called to do Isaiah’s job, to

be the prophet and to name your children as a testimony to God’

message - both of hope and of destruction - how would you

have felt? Would you do it? Would you run from God’s

commission? Would you gratefully accept it.

And as it turns out this is a crossroads moment for Isaiah

himself. And just like God had a word for Ahaz - so also he has

one for Isaiah, for himself. That was our reading - chapter 8

verse 11.

8:11 The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me,

warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said:

12"Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call

conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13

The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is

the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, 14 and

he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be

a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes

them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and

a snare. 15 Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be

broken, they will be snared and captured.” 16 Bind up the

testimony and seal up the law among my disciples.

It’’s pretty confronting isn’t it? Not what you hear in most

modern day churches about God is it? The is the one you are to

fear, he is the one you are to dread. Oh we make excuses about

why we don’t have to do dread God: We know God is loving

and merciful and kind. So fear - that can’t mean what it sounds

like. And so we dumb down the fear the Lord to mean

something like show God a little respect - kind of like when we

say to kids take your hat off in the presence of adults. And what

we really mean is don’t swear when your in church. That’s the

sum total of fear of the Lord. But its kind of a bit hard to do

here when God says dread him.

In a sense he’s calling on Isaiah to have the same reaction to

God as he’d had all those years ago - 16 years before when he

had found himself in the presence of the Holy God whose

transcendent purity, majesty and power had brought him to ruin

and woe. Remember how he’d fallen on his face crying out

“Woe to me I am ruined, for I have seen God.” The same God

who has just said he can raise up nations to destroy other

nations, the same God who can visit judgement on even his own

people for their sins. The same God who according to Hebrews

10:26 if we deliberately keep on sinning will leave us with no

sacrifice for our sins but only the fearful expectation of

judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of

God. The same God who descibes himself in Hebrews 12:29 as

a consuming fire.

God is not a cuddly teddy bear. He is not a plaything, he is

not a hobby which we can pick up and put down. He is not

anyone to be trifled with.

When you know who God truly is and what he will do to his

enemies and what he could do to you - it is right to fear him.

Indeed it is the grace of God, the kindness of God when he

leads you to fear him like that - remember the hymn Amazing

Grace - God’s grace first taught my heart to what? Fear.

Why is it God’s grace to teach you to fear him, to dread him?

Because then you will understand who you are dealing with -

and then you will understand how incredible his love is, his

salvation is and you will fly to him when he promises to be your

sanctuary, your shield, your defender, your fortress, your

salvation. Indeed you will know that there can be no safety

except with him and in him. And you will flee to him when he

offers protection. Which he does, in the gospel, in Jesus Christ.

Because the fury and wrath which Ahaz and Judah deserved for

their hypocrisy, idolatry and defiance, is the same fury and

wrath which we all deserve for our sin - but its also the same

fury and wrath which all been poured out on his Son in order

that it might not fall on anyone of us who will be careful, be

calm, and not be afraid of what the world may bring against us -

but who repent of our sins and will put our trust in him. God’s

grace first taught my heart to fear - and then my fears relieved.

How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

Indeed that’s why there’s a fourth child in the story. Not one of

Isaiah’s this time - but a promised Son who will be given.

Chapter 9 - pick it up verse 2

A son who will be given:

2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on

those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has

dawned. [Skip down to verse 6]

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the

government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of

Peace 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will

be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his

kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and

righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the

LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Here is the promise of a king totally unlike Ahaz and his

predecessors. One who is completely righteous and just, who is

not a hypocrite, one who knows God’s word and upholds it

perfectly, one who reigns in justice and truth but also in mercy

and kindness. He’s talking of course about Jesus. He is the

only place of safety, He is the only hope in the coming wrath.

He is the only one we can trust and rely on. He is the one who

brings justice, truth and life. He is the one we must fear.

But he’s also the one to find our sanctuary and hope in.

So let me finish by asking - what do you fear? Who do you

fear? Many of us live with fears and anxieties and worries all

the time. We worry about food, clothes, the future, the past,

who will like us, whether we are being seen to be someone.

Some of us have the phobias about spiders, germs, people, and

so on. There are the fears that the vast majority of people share:

financial ruin, cancer, pain, a life that is boring or meaningless,

dementia terrorism. And perhaps the greatest fear which

encompasses many of these things is the fear of death. Why do

we do it? For some its a medical reality for which we need

treatment - but for most of us its just the temptation of a

wandering heart - we just find it hard to believe God when he

says - Be careful, keep calm and do not be afraid. Or when he

says to us with Isaiah “Do not fear what they fear, do not dread

what they dread. Fear God, dread him.”

Ahaz just would not do it. At the crossroads of his life - he

rejected God. And in fear of Assyria sold the whole nation out

to them, stripping it of all its assets, stripping the temple of its

gold and silver and its fittings and he went grovelling on hands

and knees to King Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria - because that’s

who he really feared in the end. Read about it in 2 Kings 16.

But Isaiah on the other hand at the crossroads of his life verse

18 Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are

signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who

dwells on Mount Zion.

Who will you fear? And who will you run to for sanctuary and

relief from all your fears?

 

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