PODCAST
A Sign of Hope
December 2nd, 2013
Isaiah 7:1-16
We are sign seekers. We listen to our favorite prophets about weather, the market, elections, and whatever else we want to know about. But let one of our prophets be wrong, and we act as if they are responsible for our bad decisions.
King Ahaz of Judah was in the same predicament. The Northern Kingdom had allied with Aram against Judah. Everyone knew that they would lose the battle. However, Isaiah said that God told him that the Northern Kingdom would not win. He encouraged Ahaz to ask for a sign from God. Ahaz didn’t want a sign because it would confirm that Isaiah was right. Better to live in fear than know the truth.
Into this climate of political power plays and hopeless futures, God sent a sign anyway. “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Do we really understand that this is our sign too! The birth of Jesus confirms that every promise and prediction of God is true and will bring hope, no matter the context.
Author: Debbie Salter Goodwin
