"Stand Firm in Faith" Sermon: Isaiah 7:1-9

“Stand Firm in Faith”

[Isaiah 7:1-9]

May 27, 2018, Second Reformed Church

            Isaiah receives his call to the ministry:  he sees the holiness of God and God cleanses him of his sin and its guilt, and God gives Isaiah the call to preach the Gospel, and God tells him that the effect will be that no one will listen and God will severely discipline Judah by the hand of the Babylonians.  Still, God keeps His promises, a remnant will return, and from that remnant, the Savior will be born.

            King Uzziah dies, and his son Jotham, and then his son Ahaz ascends to the throne.  Ahaz is faced with threats of war, and he has to choose whether to trust God or not.

            First, we see, the fear of Ahaz.

“In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David was told, ‘Syria is in league with Ephraim,’ the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.”

At this time, the two kingdoms of Israel exist:  Israel and Judah, and they occasionally went to war with one another.  Israel and her king made an alliance with Syria – just north of Israel – and her king – and they planned to attack Judah and Jerusalem, the capital city.

We may remember that Jerusalem is built on a mountain overlooking a cliff and it well fortified all around.  So, the only way someone can wage war against Jerusalem is to go uphill and straight ahead at the city – which is a difficult thing to do!

So, Jerusalem is very difficult to defeat, but when Ahaz heard that Ephraim – that is, the northern Kingdom of Israel – had made an alliance with Syria to wage war against Jerusalem, it seemed like a done deal.  With these two powers together, surely they would take Jerusalem.  And Ahaz and all the people of the city of David were terrified – their hearts shook with fear.

And we can understand that reaction, can’t we?  If the President announced that there was good intelligence that Russia and China had formed an alliance and they were going to bomb the United States out of existence, our hearts might shake like the leaves on the trees in the wind, right?

            But should we fear?  Do we ever have a reason to fear?

            God says we only have one reason to ever fear:

            Jesus says, “So have no fear of [those who persecute you for My sake], for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:26-33, ESV).

            Jesus says we are not to fear – we are not to be afraid of – anything or anyone who can only kill our bodies.  We are not to fear anyone who can only physically kill us.  We are only to fear God because He can send us – body and soul – to the torments of Hell. 

Rather, we are to fear God – we are to be in awe of Him – we are to respect Him – we are to obey Him – we are to submit to Him – we are to trust Him – no matter what anyone says or does – because God values His people – He loves us, and sent His Son for us, and will never lose us.

            Understand, I am not there yet either.  There are times when I have feared.  And I have repented of my sin.  If the Almighty God is truly Sovereign and has told me not to fear anyone, and has promised to always love me and value me and keep me – no matter what may happen – for the sake of the work of Jesus – someone may kill me – kill my body, but I have no reason to fear, because I will live again.

            Now, we should still be wise.  We should still use the knowledge we have to keep safe.  We should still avoid being in situations where we will be injured or killed.  We ought not to go down the alley where known muggers are – simply because we believe and trust God – no!  Avoid that alley.

            Ahaz should not have feared the combined forces of Syria and Israel coming against Jerusalem.  No, he should have gathered his generals and planned their defense.  He should have trusted God for his future and the future of Jerusalem.  He should have sought out Isaiah, the prophet, and prayed to God for wisdom.

            And I know there are some – in the light of recent murders – who have mockingly said, “thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers.”  What about that?  We pray when we hear about killings around our nation – is it just a lot of hot air?  Not if we really believe that our God is the Sovereign God Who controls all of Creation and all of history – if we are asking Him to intervene – to comfort – to do something – to guide our politicians in wisdom – this is the greatest thing we could ever do.

            And still, we shouldn’t stop at “thoughts and prayers,” because we have the privilege to elect our representative politicians.  We have the privilege to contact them and tell them that we think they are doing wrong – or have done well.  We ought to do whatever we can based on what we understand of God and His Will, even as we call on Him in prayer.

            And so, Ahaz should have gathered the generals and Isaiah for their wisdom, and Ahaz should have prayed for God’s intervention and wisdom having heard of the imminent attack on Jerusalem.

            Instead, Ahaz fears.

            Second, Isaiah tells Ahaz to do nothing.

“And the LORD said to Isaiah, ‘Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,’”

Since Ahaz doesn’t call for Isaiah, but stands there shaking, God sends Isaiah to Ahaz with a message from God – and God tells Isaiah to bring his son, Shear-jashub, with him.  Why?

We’re not told, but it could be to teach Shear-jashub about God.  But it could also have to do with his name.  Frequently in the Scripture, we find that people are given names for very specific reasons – having to do with what their name means.  The name, Shear-jashub, means, “a remnant shall return.”  Get it?

“King Ahaz, Isaiah is here, and he brought his son, ‘a remnant shall return’ with him.”  Poke – poke – poke – “a remnant shall return” – God is Absolutely Sovereign, Ahaz, there is nothing to fear.

And Isaiah meets King Ahaz at “the end of the conduit of the upper pool.”  We’re not told why Ahaz was there, but scholars explain that Jerusalem still received its water via aqueducts at this time – an underground water system would not be installed until King Hezekiah.  In looking at the aqueduct system, the end of the conduit of the upper pool was the most vulnerable spot.  This was the likely place that attackers would disrupt or poison the water system going to Jerusalem – so Ahaz is probably inspecting it and setting up tighter security in that area.

And Isaiah and “a remnant shall return” arrive and tell Ahaz that they have a word from God for him:  “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint” – literally, “be careful to do nothing.”  Especially, do not form an alliance with another nation to fight this war.  Rather, trust God, do not fear, God will fight this battle for you and with you.

Trust God, don’t take any action unless God tells you to – against “these two smoldering stumps of firebrands.”  Isaiah – and God – are making fun of the leaders of Israel and Syria – this is belittling language – like calling someone, “little rocket man.” 

“The firebrand” was the piece of wood used to ignite a fire – it was the incendiary device used to set off an inferno – and God calls Israel and Syria, “smoldering stumps” – God belittles them and says that they are burnt out.  There’s nothing left to them.  There’s smoke, but that’s about it.  “Don’t be afraid of them – there’s nothing to them – there power has been squelched in My Sovereignty.”

God tells Ahaz not to be afraid of the evil they intend against him – specifically setting up the son of Tabeel as king.  Who was the son of Tabeel?  He is lost to history, but the point of the threat is that he is not of the line of David.  Israel and Syria were threatening to kill off the line of David – to end the Davidic kingship in Jerusalem.  And that terrified Ahaz.

But it shouldn’t have, should it?  Because God promised that that Savior would be born of the line of David, and God is utterly Sovereign over all of history and His promises never fail.

Do we believe God’s promises?  Do we believe that Jesus will return and restore the earth and bring His kingdom in its fullness to earth?  Do we believe that if we die first, we will be with Him eternally, and we will be changed – glorified – brought – body and soul – into that kingdom?

Do we trust God now?  Do we seek His wisdom?  Do we strive to obey Him?  Do we show thanks for the gift of salvation?

Are we willing to obey even when God says to trust and do nothing?

Third, we are to stand firm in faith, or we will not be firm at all.

“thus says the Lord GOD: ‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”

God tells Ahaz it will not happen:  Rezin and the son of Remaliah will not conquer Jerusalem.  In fact, within sixty-five years, Rezin will be dead and Ephraim will be conquered.

The God of history tells Ahaz not to worry – not to be afraid – not to seek alliances with others nations – to wait, to trust, to do nothing – because what they are threatening will never happen.  God is very specific in what He wants Ahaz to do, and He is very specific in telling Ahaz when these things will come to pass.

And God warns Ahaz, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”

If you do not receive the Word of God as true and respond to it by believing it and trusting it and obeying it, you will fall apart – you will begin to deny little things, and then greater things, and then you won’t believe anything God says – you will finds gods better to your liking.

Do you hear the Word of God read and receive it as God speaking – inerrantly and infallibly – everything we need to know for life and salvation?  Are you thankful to God and show your love through obedience?

Or do you think, “This is a two thousand year old ‘how to’ manual.  Of course it needs to be updated.  Of course there are things in it we now know are untrue.  Of course this book is full of errors that can’t be taken literally.”

One of the overtures sent to our General Synod is from a Classis that asks that the Reformed Church in America – our denomination – affirm that to be reformed is to recognize that the Bible is a living document and our understanding of it and its meaning continually changes through the ages.

Really?  If we affirm that, then there is no reason to believe anything in the Bible – we can just make up what we want and call it our “understanding.”  And we will pray for our General Synod today.

Ahaz hears the Word of God – “don’t do anything – believe the promises of God – a remnant will return” – but he is not firm in his faith.  He does not believe that God will keep His promises.

Ahaz turns to worship idols – false gods, and he even offers his son up as a burnt offering to Moloch.  Then we read:

“Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. At that time Rezin the king of Syria recovered Elath for Syria and drove the men of Judah from Elath, and the Edomites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, ‘I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.’ Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin” (2 Kings 16:5-9, ESV).

And:

“At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help. For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. And the Philistines had made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the LORD. So Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the LORD and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him” (2 Chronicles 28:16-21, ESV).

So, what does this mean?

Ahaz did not stand in faith.  He turned to other gods and made sacrifices to them, and when Syria and Israel attacked, he made an alliance with Assyria.  And Assyria swept in, and they slaughtered Syria and Israel, including Rezin – just as God had promised – and Tiglath-pileser took many captives from Syria and Israel and brought them to Assyria.

And Ahaz gave Tiglath-pilesar gold and silver from the Temple of the Lord and from the king’s palace, but that was not enough for Tiglath-pilesar, who demanded more and more tribute.  And Ahaz continued in his wickedness until he died at the age of 36, but he was not buried with the other kings, because he was so wicked.

Ahaz did not stand in faith and sold out the wealth of the nation and lived a life of wickedness and was cut off in the end.  If he had stood in faith, God would have saved him and Judah, and they would not have been financial slaves to Assyria.

What will you do when you hear the Word of God?  Will you stand in faith because it is the Word of God?

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we have many people around us – even in our church and pulpits, who deny that the Bible is Your Word – God’s Word – Holy and True.  Lord, fill us with God the Holy Spirit that we would stand firm in faith – that we would receive Your Word, obey Your Word, love You, and show our thanks.  Strengthen us and help us trust You and Your Word no matter what happens.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.