Yes Or No To Emmanuel.mp3

The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 is well known to many people :Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).( AMP) But, most people perhaps have never studied the context in which this prophecy was given which reveal some astounding things. Firstly, we should note that GOD Himself is speaking here directly to one individual man through His prophet Isaiah. This man was King Ahaz of Judah, an extremely deliberately vile and wicked man.King Ahaz was the twelfth king of the southern kingdom of Judah. Although his father, King Uzziah had served God faithfully, Ahaz did not do what was right in God’s sight. He was widely regarded as an ungodly, wicked king. And yet, despite the depravity that pervaded Ahaz’s life, God eventually spoke to King Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah, delivering one of the most important prophecies regarding the promised Messiah, the True King of Israel.King Ahaz’s life and history appear in 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings. However, as his reign overlapped with the prophet Isaiah’s ministry, he is also mentioned in several places in the book of Isaiah. Ahaz is listed as a king of Judah, not Israel, because the original nation divided into two kingdoms, each with its own king. Ahaz ruled Judah, the southern kingdom, which did not include the ten northern tribes. During Ahaz’s reign, the prophets Isaiah and Micah ministered to the southern kingdom. Ahaz’s father, King Uzziah, and the three previous kings of Judah had been faithful to the GOD of David. However, the Bible makes clear that Ahaz did not receive GOD's Divine seal of approval. In fact, the biblical authors first introduce King Ahaz as one who “did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his GOD , as his father David had done.” (2 Kings 16:2; 2 Chronicles 28:1) In fact Ahaz did as much depraved wickedness as he possibly could. Some key Scriptures concerning the life and behaviour of King Ahaz are in 2 Kings 16 and in 2 Chronicles 28 where we read of him burning his own children alive to Moloch and making sacrifices and performing pagen rites at every pagan ritual site. He seems to have been on a mission to be as depraved and committed to pagan demonic idols as he possibly he could. He was passionate for depraved evil and determined to rebel in every way against The Word Of The Living GOD. The historical context of Isaiah chapter 7 is this : Pekah, the king of Israel, and Rezin of Syria had allied against Assyria. When Ahaz refused to join, Israel and Syria invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem to remove its king and replace him with a king of their own (Isaiah 7:1-6; 2 Kings 16:5). In response, Ahaz sought help from King Tilgath-pilneser III of Assyria, offering him silver and gold from the house of the Lord (2 Kings 16:7-8; 2 Chronicles 28:16). At first, the Ahaz-Assyrian alliance successfully repelled attacks against Jerusalem. However, the Bible tells us that, inevitably, “Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him (Ahaz) and afflicted him instead of strengthening him” (2 Chronicles 28:20). In Isaiah chapter 7 we read that GOD sent His prophet Isaiah with Isaiah's son, Shear-jashub, which means "a remnant shall return", to tell him not to be afraid that GOD would deliver His people. He then offered Ahaz, personally as an individual, to ask Him, The LORD GOD for a sign, as difficult as he chose as a visible proof that GOD would deliver them. The Hebrew word"ot" translated as sign in Isaiah 7:10 means both "sign" and "miracle". Please note that GOD was talking personally to king Ahaz. In verses 11,16 and 17 of Isaiah chapter 7,the Hebrew word for "you" is singular and directly personal. Verse 10 starts with the word "again" since we see no response from Ahaz to GOD concerning His promise of deliverance. That in itself is astonishing. GOD had promised Ahaz deliverance but Ahaz, it would seem, completely ignored GOD's promise. Yet in His grace and mercy, GOD reached out to him a second time and gave him, personally, the opportunity to ask for any sign he chose without limitation or condition, as deep as Sheol or as high as Heaven. The narrative clearly states it was the LORD who urged Ahaz to seek a sign. BUT Ahaz said no. On the surface he sounded very pious, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16 " You shall not put your LORD your GOD to the test" How interesting that Ahaz knew the Word of GOD and quoted it as did The LORD to Satan in Matthew 4:7 and Luke 4:12. Ahaz was giving lip service however to GOD's word. He knew what it said and did everything he could in his life to rebel against it. Why did Ahaz refuse to seek a sign? Because GOD in His grace and mercy was offering Ahaz the opportunity to see His great grace and majesty so that he would turn to Him and trust in Him to deliver His beloved people. But Ahaz rejected GOD's offer because he rejected GOD Himself and did not want to submit to Him or take responsibility for his life before Him. How many of us are exactly the same as king Ahaz? Many give lip service to GOD's existence but live their lives as if He does not. They love to see young children act out the nativity but they don't want to acknowledge that a virgin did indeed conceive and bear a son Who is called Emmanuel which means GOD is with us. They don't want Emmanuel. They don't want GOD with them, just like king Ahaz did not want Him. Do we as individuals say Yes or No to Emmanuel? Selah Shalom shalom