“For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me no to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” Isaiah 8:11-13
What a beautiful verse, which on its own can impart to us great wisdom and usher in peace. In the context, this verse is even more powerful! This came to the prophet Isaiah in the midst of an Assyrian attack on the people Israel. An enemy invasion is of course, terrifying but what Isaiah has in mind here is not just the immediate danger Israel is facing, but also the larger picture of the covenant. Given the current circumstances, it would be understandable to doubt how God would bring about the promises of the covenant. What about the nation of descendants promised to Abraham who would bless the nations? What about the Davidic king on the throne, through whom a Messiah would come? In chapter 7, God spoke the promise of a sign— a baby born to a virgin called Immanuel and the promise of the beauty of peace and blessing he would bring with them. Then immediately, another child is born and God says that before he can even speak, the nation of Israel will be taken to Assyria.
How was a promise of a baby not yet born supposed to be a sign to them? What comfort does this bring in the face of their current circumstance? The promise of Immanuel was a promise that God would remain faithful to the covenant. That the current circumstances they were facing were not negating the plans and purposes he was accomplishing through their nation. See, we in the West tend to look at circumstances from an individual level, the people of Israel were a communal culture—the success of Israel was the success of the individual. Here, God is promising great hope through the very fact that he is consistent in his character and in his promises. The doctrine the church derives from this truth across Scripture is the doctrine of divine immutability—that God does not change. God can tell Isaiah to not fear what others are fearing because Isaiah is firmly rooted in this very truth! God—despite what he sees around him HAS NOT CHANGED. The sign of Immanuel was the promise that God would remain faithful to the covenant.
What import does this hold for us today? What current circumstances are clouding your vision and impairing your faith and hope in the promises God has made?
Perhaps your finances are tight and it is very difficult to believe that God promises to care for his children.
Immanuel.
Perhaps you’re battling anxiety and holding on to the truth that God brings peace to his people seems ridiculous.
Immanuel.
Maybe you’re reading the news or scrolling through Facebook and it feels like all you see is corruption and pain and you’re finding it hard to hold on to truth that God is moving and working here and now.
Immanuel.
Perhaps this season you feel lonely—whether its because you’re isolated or because you feel that nobody truly sees you for who you are or what you’re walking through and you’re desperate to feel the promise that you are never alone nor forsaken.
Immanuel.
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Immanuel must be the North Star that guides our hope, because the weight of daily life is bound to bring us down otherwise. Bills and pain and disappointment and sickness and fear have no place to stand before the one who conquered death. The God who stood before the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden and promised that someday, One would come who would trample the head of the serpent also promised Isaiah that in the midst of the sin and destruction of his people that one day a child would be born who would usher in peace. He has come and he has overcome. We must hold that as our guiding truth because it’s evidence to our souls that God’s promises never fail—he doesn’t change his mind. It’s not possible in his nature.
So, we pray that today you draw hope into whatever situation and context you are in. We pray that the historical way God has acted in the lives of his covenant people would serve as a key that unlocks the shackles of doubt or fear or apathy that are binding down your spirit. We pray that your spirit would rise above the things you see in the physical and dwell in the realm of the spiritual as well—abiding in the love and peace available to us through the blood of Christ. “A thrill of hope… the weary world rejoices.”
-CB