God With Us

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14b

 

Life is complicated, and the older I get, the more alarmed I become concerning the state of my country and the world. . . And that is why we read so much of Isaiah this time of year.

In Isaiah’s day, the people of Israel wrestled with the same things we do. They wrestled with ambitious leaders whose foreign policy was questionable and who hawked their own ideas of economic and social engineering. What did God have to do with the course of building a nation anyway? The upper class rose. The poor remained poor. And the country slowly rotted from within. The saying is true then as it is now: There was no blessing that well-meaning human beings and good government can’t mess up. And that is what it was – a mess.

In comes the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah’s name means “the Lord saves.” That alone would give you an indication of the course correction of this story. Isaiah was married and was the father of at least two children. He was also well-educated. He served as an adviser to a number of kings. From the beginning, God gave Isaiah the eyes to see the mess for what it was. He educated his king as to what was right and what was wrong – about justice – about how current policies pushed the working poor into despair – about defending the lives of fatherless families and orphan children. These matters were large, and Isaiah pointed toward the need of God’s assistance. They could not fix the mess. God could. But the administration of the country of Judah would not listen.

Isaiah then pointed to the Savior who was to come from God Himself.

“The Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us).” (Isaiah 7:14)

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

The child of whom Isaiah spoke was not to come for a number of centuries. Judah’s immediate future was war with Babylon – a war she would lose. Her survivors were rounded up and marched to Babylon. Even in this faith-testing wait, the words of Isaiah were remembered, and the hope of a Savior who is “God With Us” was kept alive.

During this Advent, come to worship! We will explore the meaning of our Savior who is Immanuel – God with us. On Wednesdays, come straight from work. You don’t even need to cook! A meal will be served, and then we will gather for worship.

“For to us a child is born,” Isaiah says. Tune your ears to the amazing sounds that remind us that God is with you. For us, a Savior has been born.

Keep and live the faith.
-Pastor Dave Dahl