Show Notes
Isaiah 8 & 9
Where does hope come from? The short answer is God, but why do we so often settle for gloom and doom? Why can’t we get past the quagmire of distress and despair? For a vast amount of time, the history of Israel and Judah was threatened or subjugated by foreign kingdoms and empires. The issue for them, as it is for us in the current situation we find ourselves in, is where we place our trust. Where is the place of absolute security? In Isaiah 8, we discover that Isaiah and his children’s names are signs to the nation of God’s faithfulness in delivering His people from the threats around them. Even as the nation of Judah was trying to overcome threats to their lives, they needed to discover that God was their only real hope and refuge. What was true for them is equally true for us. We must find our strength and hope in him. It is in this context some amazing verses that speak to us of the Christmas story. Possibly the most notable verse speaking of what transpired that first Christmas is Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” We know that Immanuel means, ‘God with us,’ as Matthew tells us in Matthew 1:23. We need that assurance that God is with us in every life crisis. Isaiah continues in chapter 8, where the nation is once again being threatened by outside forces, which in turn causes internal polarization. Isaiah then speaks words of reassurance that God is with us: “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! Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.” (Isaiah 8:9-10) What is Isaiah saying? When people rise up against God’s people, not as an instrument of God’s correction, but as a strategy to destroy God’s people, their plans will fail. God is with His people. God will protect and help us. It was critical for them as it is for us to live in this quiet confidence and hope and not allow what we see happening around us to terrify and imagine the worse.
