Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test." And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:10-14)
In this context, King Ahaz of Judah is terrified because Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel have joined forces together against the southern kingdom of Judah (7:1-2). Judah is very small in comparison and Ahaz knows that by itself Judah doesn’t stand a chance. Thus, God sends Isaiah to encourage King Ahaz and let him know that God stands with Judah and will come to her aid. He should not fear the kings of Syria and Israel (vv.3-4). To bolster Ahaz’s faith, God commands him to ask for a sign, any sign, and God will cause it to happen to assure King Ahaz that God is faithful and will not abandon Judah (v.10). Ahaz, however, does not ask for sign, saying, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” Ahaz believes he is being humble in not asking God for a sign; however, when God commands someone to ask for a sign, to not do so is not humility but disobedience. God takes it as an afront to his authority and power and so says to Ahaz, “Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?” In other words, do you think God is not able to do whatever sign you might ask? Nonetheless, God will give Ahaz a sign anyway. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This is the sign God will give to show that he is ever faithful to his promises, that he is ever faithful to his people. A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel. This name in the Hebrew literally means “God is with us” (immanu = with us + El = God). Seven hundred years later, an angel will appear to a Jewish carpenter in Nazareth through a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." The apostle Matthew then adds, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus” (Matt. 1:20-25). In the birth of Christ, we celebrate not just the birth of a king, not just the birth of God’s son; we celebrate the incarnation of God himself--Immanu El—God with us. In the birth of Christ, God takes on human form and is born in Bethlehem in order to redeem a people to himself, to fix what Adam and Eve had ruined. This is what Advent is all about.
0 Comments
I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. (Psalm 2:7)
Psalm 2 is one of the two pillars of the psalter that the reader must pass between as they enter the prayer book of God’s people. The book of Psalms is the prayer book of God’s people in that it is the only book written with God as the intended audience. It is the only book in the entire Bible written from the perspective of God’s people to God. Every other book in the Bible is God speaking to his people. The book of Psalms is God’s people speaking to God through prayer and song. As we enter this prayer book, we must pass through Psalm 1, which brings us to attention. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers” (v.1). Psalm 1 brings us to attention and Psalm 2 bids us to worship God and “kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way” (v.12). The psalm begins by God asking why the “nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” Why do the “kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed (vv.1-2). Initially, this would have been thought to be speaking about the kings of Israel. But as we read on, it becomes apparent that God has someone far different in mind. The psalmist goes on to say that God has “set his King on Zion” and that he laughs at those who think they can thwart God’s plan, those who plot and gather against God’s anointed one (vv.4-6). But who is this anointed one? Is it one of the kings of Israel? Verse 7 makes clear whom God is speaking of. “I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’” In the New Testament, the apostle John echoes these words with reference to Jesus when he writes, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” And then again he says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:14, 16 NASB). It seems clear that John had Psalm 2 in mind when he wrote these words. Jesus is the Son begotten of God the Father. And regarding this son, Psalm 2 exhorts all peoples, “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (vv.10-12). Christ, the King, the Son of God, has been born into the world and it is the wise who will fear God and rejoice with trembling, who will bow the knee to his Lordship and kiss the Son lest they perish eternally. Three-thousand years ago, God prophesied that he would bear a Son and that son would be king--King of kings and Lord of lords—and that all humanity has a debtorship to worship him. Advent is about celebrating the birth of God’s only begotten Son, the King of creation, who was born in Bethlehem to be worshipped by all. Go and tell my servant David, “Thus says the LORD:...‘When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.’” (2 Samuel 7:5, 12-13)
In this chapter, God makes a covenant, a solemn binding promise, to King David that after his death he would someday have a descendant whose throne and whose kingdom would last forever. This clearly is not a reference to King Solomon. As great and as wise as he was, his kingdom and his throne did not last forever. In fact, shortly after King Solomon’s death, the kingdom is torn in two by his son, Rehoboam, and his rival, Jeroboam. Jeroboam will rule the northern kingdom of Israel until it’s fall to the Assyrian Empire in the 8th century BC, and Rehoboam will rule the southern kingdom of Israel until its destruction by the Babylonian Empire in 6th century BC. Both Solomon and Rehoboam, and every king thereafter who reigns in the southern kingdom of Judah are physical descendants of David, but none of their kingdoms last forever. They all come to an end until…Matthew 1:1. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Matthew goes to great length to show in his gospel that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise given to King David one-thousand years earlier. Matthew mentions Jesus as the “son of David” no less than ten times. Far more than any other gospel writer. Mark and Luke each mention Jesus as the Son of David only three times, and John never uses the phrase at all. It is Matthew who records the angel speaking to Joseph in a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:20-21). And Luke records the angel saying to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk. 1:30-33). Christ was born in fulfillment of the promise given to King David, to establish his kingdom, a kingdom that will have no end, a kingdom that has and continues to advance throughout every nation and every continent as the gospel moves forward, plundering people from the power of sin, Satan, and death, and bringing them into the kingdom of God. Advent is a time to remember the birth of our King who will someday dominate and control the entire world! I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!" (Num. 24:17-19 ESV)
This prophecy occurs in one of the most fascinating and humorous stories in the Bible for this is the story of Balaam attempting to curse the people of Israel. He had been hired by the king of Moab (Num. 22) and offered a large monetary reward for traveling a great distance of about 400 miles from the north (Num 23:7). Contrary to what many believe, Balaam was not a good person. He was not a prophet of God. He was by all accounts a worshipper of pagan gods. While Balaam appears to be a righteous person, speaking only what God commands, the Bible never speaks positively of him (Num 31:16; Dt 23:4-5; 2 Pet 2:15; Jude 11; Rev 2:14). Hence, the point of the story of Balaam and his talking donkey is to show that the God of creation is in sovereign control of everyone and everything, including pagan sorcerers and their donkeys. During Balaam’s fourth and final oracle, his fourth attempt to curse the people of God, in part he says, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!" Balaam sees a star rising out of Jacob, another name for the nation of Israel, and he sees a scepter, a king, rising out of Israel. This is likely the prophecy and the scripture passage the Magi were speaking of when they came to Herod in search of the infant Jesus. “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." They saw the star rise over Jacob (Israel) and came in search of the newborn king. But what is also interesting is that Balaam goes on to say that this star which rises out of Israel “shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!” Though this does not happen at Christ’s first advent, scripture tells us this will happen at his second advent. Someday the King will return at the head of an angelic army and will destroy all the enemies of God’s people (Rev. 19:11-16). During Advent we celebrate the first advent of the King of kings and Lord of all lords, and we look forward to the second advent when He will once for all destroy all the enemies of God’s people! And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. (Leviticus 16:21-22)
Leviticus chapter 16 describes the Day of Atonement. This is the most important day on the Jewish Old Testament calendar. On the Day of Atonement, just once per year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies within the temple, the inner most part of the temple. The Old Testament temple was constructed of three parts. The courtyard which contained the large laver for washing the sacrifices and the large alter for burning animal sacrifices, the Holy Place inside the temple building which contained the golden lampstand, the table of showbread, and the alter of incense, and then the Holy of Holies (aka, Most Holy Place) which contained the Ark of the Covenant, considered to be the throne of God. Once per year, the High Priest would take two perfect goats without blemish. One would be sacrificed and then its blood would be cast on the Ark of the Covenant as a way of making an atonement (a covering) for the sins of God’s people. With the other perfect animal, the High Priest would lay his hands on the animal’s head and confess all the sins of God’s people, essentially placing their sins upon the innocent animal and then releasing that animal to wander in the wilderness, essentially carrying the sins of God’s people from the presence of God. This goat is also called the Scapegoat. The author of Hebrews tells us that “when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (9:11-12 NASB). Christ was born into the world to be the perfect and great High Priest for his people, to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins and to be the Scapegoat we so desperately need. These blessings come to us by faith alone in Christ alone. Christ was born in Bethlehem not just to be king, not just to be our High Priest, but to be the once-for-all sacrifice for sin. Advent is a time to celebrate the birth of our great High Priest who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for us. |
Past Articles
April 2024
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of Cookies |