TOPIC: Christ, The Sign

TEXT: Isaiah 7:10-25

10. Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,

11. Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

12. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.

13. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

14. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

15. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

16. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

17. The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.

18. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.

20. In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

21. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;

22. And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.

23. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.

24. With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

25. And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

KEY VERSE:
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” – (Isaiah 7:14).

MESSAGE

About 734 years before the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, Israel formed an alliance with Syria against Assyria. The coalition sought to attack Judah. Instead of going to God for help, Ahaz, the king of Judah, relied on Assyria.

The Lord was angry with Ahaz for seeking help from a heathen power, instead of from Him. So He sent Prophet Isaiah to him to express divine displeasure with his move and to give a sign of the prophecies of immediate and long-term impact. When a timid and faithless Ahaz refused to give his own sign as requested by the prophet, God offered His own. A Messiah is on the way. He will be of virgin birth, bearing the name Immanuel or God with us. His era will bring peace and put a halt to all the wars among men.

God proves in Isaiah’s message to a backslidden king that in times of apostasy, turmoil and confusion, He is still within reach. He is never hidden from those who make themselves available to His messengers. He can still show mercy by dispatching His faithful and willing servants to deliver His never-changing words of comfort. His “still small voice” can come up louder than the uproar of hostilities. It can rise to swallow the noise of man’s unbelief, philosophy and doctrine.

The prophesied Messiah came nearly 800 years after the Lord revealed Him through Isaiah. He brought God’s calm into man’s troubled sea. Once you believe and accept Him as the only begotten Son of God, you become connected to His peace that sets free from the anxieties of sinful man.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Christ, the Sign is already here.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Ezekiel 29-31

DCLM Daily Manna Devotional 25th December 2022 Message | Deeper Life Devotional Guide was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi. He’s the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.