God With Us
4/16/26 Bible Thought (Isaiah 6-7)
Main Idea: God is a God who intervenes in history and visits His people.
A Look at the Text:
In Isaiah 6-7, we see God’s intervention in the lives of His wayward people. First, there is the commissioning of Isaiah. Isaiah, though unclean, wasn’t unclean beyond the reach of God’s grace and mercy. While human beings cannot resolve their own sinful plight, God is able to cleanse even the most vile sinner.
With this, the cleansing of Isaiah becomes a paradigm for what God intends to do with Judah as a nation.[1] God is a God who intervenes in the lives of His people in acts of redemption, and this becomes no clearer than what is foretold in the seventh chapter.
King Ahaz, a wicked king, was presently on the throne of Judah. We met him back in 2 Kings 16, last week. It was a rough time for Judah. The Assyrians were consolidating their power, and there was pressure for Judah to join an anti-Assyrian alliance with Israel and Syria. Yet, Ahaz refused, choosing rather to pay off the king of Assyria (2 Kings 16:7-9).
To this, Isaiah offered the hope of deliverance. With a message from the Lord, Ahaz was assured that these two nations and their threats would come to naught. He was even allowed to ask God for a sign to prove His Word.
When Ahaz refused, the Lord responded that He Himself would give a sign: a special son would be born, Immanuel, one who showcased that the Lord was with them (Isa. 7:14). Before the boy even knew right from wrong, Ahaz’s plight would be over (Isa. 7:16).
God was going to show off His mighty power by delivering them. Even more, the consistent sending of messengers and messages to His wayward people showcased God’s amazing grace towards His undeserving people.
Bringing it Home:
Yet, God’s grace is shown nowhere greater than in the coming of the Immanuel—Jesus Christ (see Matt. 1:23). The initial fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in his own day would showcase that God was with them as He delivered them from their enemies, yet that was only a partial fulfillment of this grand promise.
In Jesus Christ, God literally came down. For Christ is the incarnate Word (see John 1:14) who was both with God and who was Himself, God (see John 1:1-2). “God with us” wasn’t just an assurance that was proven through divine action; now it was proven through divine presence in the incarnation. The coming of Christ reminds us that God is forever with us. Though He seems distant, He is present. Though the world is dark, His light forever shines.
God literally came down.
This message, “God with us,” is eternally shown in the incarnation. The coming of Christ should forever be a source of hope for us, even in the most hopeless situations. There is nothing too hard for the God who fashioned the heavens as the work of His fingers, and this same God is with us.
Challenge:
Do I ever feel God has abandoned me?
Let us never forget that God has forever drawn near in Christ. We can have the sure hope He will never leave us nor forsake us (see Heb. 13:5).
[1] David Jackman, Teaching Isaiah: Unlocking Isaiah for the Bible Teacher, ed. Robin Sydserff, Teach the Bible (Ross-shire, Scotland; London, England: PT Media; Christian Focus, 2010), 74.
Love that you’re using content from PT Media! They’ve got great stuff from David Jackman, Robin Sydserff, Christopher Ash et al .. (and of course I’m bias being a student at PT haha!)
I just did a study on the Immanuel sign and learned that many people believe there was a near fulfillment and a distant fulfillment in Christ's incarnation. When you bring in Isaiah's sons, it turns into a 3D image of God's divine work and plan. Either God will be with you in if you follow him, or he will be with you in judgement if you follow the path of Ahaz.