Honoring God
David Honors God
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)
The Lord is With You
Isaiah 7:10-17 The Message
10-11 God spoke again to Ahaz. This time he said, “Ask for a sign from your God. Ask anything. Be extravagant. Ask for the moon!”
12 But Ahaz said, “I’d never do that. I’d never make demands like that on God!”
13-17 So Isaiah told him, “Then listen to this government of David! It’s bad enough that you make people tired with your pious, timid hypocrisies, but now you’re making God tired. So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway. Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us). By the time the child is twelve years old, able to make moral decisions, the threat of war will be over. Relax, those two kings that have you so worried will be out of the picture. But also be warned: God will bring on you and your people and your government a judgment worse than anything since the time the kingdom split when Ephraim left Judah. The king of Assyria is coming!”
For Reflection
David's government, a theocratic monarchy, suffered from the ailments of all governments. People with power became corrupted by it. God's people did not share equitably in the gifted resources of God's Creation. The administration of God's law enriched the privileged and disenfranchised the remainder. Isiah's first salvo indicts God's people for their violations of God's will.
Hoping to hear a plea for reconciliation, God asks Ahaz to ask for anything. But Ahaz, unable to understand the plight of Israel's people, answers by revealing his moral delinquencies. By his refusal to ask for a sign, Ahaz discards the burden of his conscience, thereby abandoning his trust in God.
God laments the alienated hearts that have forsaken God. Instead of punishing Israel for their inequities, God offers a sign of his love.
Pray
Pray so that you do not succumb to the seductions of human self-determination. Pray so that you are not defeated by your willfulness. Pray so that you fully embrace the promise of God.
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