God is with us

READ: Isaiah 7,8; Psalms 66; 1 Corinthians 11

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 7: 10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

OBSERVATION: Ahaz was one of the wicked kings of Judah who did not walk in the ways of the Lord but worshipped idols (2 Kings 16:1-4; 2 Chron.28:1-4). When the Syrian king and the Israelite king besieged Jerusalem, God spoke to Ahaz through his prophet Isaiah and gave him an opportunity to repent and return to the Lord (v.9). When the Lord asked Ahaz to ask a sign, he replied, “I will not put the Lord to the test.” It doesn’t mean that he did not want to test the Lord. Instead, He was reluctant and not ready to accept God’s offer of grace. Ahaz asked the Assyrians’ help to protect him from the Syrian attack (2 Kings 16:7,8). Though Ahaz was unwilling to ask for a sign, God himself gave him a sign. But the Assyrian king, even after receiving a large sum of silver and gold from Ahaz, “gave him trouble instead of help” (2 Chron.28:20). However, God was faithful in his words and gave Ahaz a sign of the virgin birth of Immanuel. God wanted to tell Ahaz that he could help him from his enemies. For the Hebrew word Immanuel means, God is with us.

Some people doubt that whether it was a messianic prophecy or applicable only to Isaiah’s time. Biblical prophecies often refer to things that would happen soon and would occur much later in the future. Here we see the prediction about the arrival of the Messiah. This prophecy is fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ (Mt.1:23, Lk.1:31-35). The wicked Ahaz wanted to please the pagan gods with the hope of receiving their help (2 Chron.28:23-25). But he did not get any support from them. God is always with us, whether we agree with it or not. When we allow God to work in our life, he saves and delivers us. In difficult times, humans who could help us may abandon or trouble us. Our help “comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Ps.121:2). “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Ps.46:7,11). He is our ever-present help.

APPLICATION: The greatest promise of God to me is, Jesus the Immanuel is with me always, “to the very end of the age” (Mt.28:20). Therefore, I fear nothing. I must allow God to work in and through me. God’s plans are better than my plans.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for being with me through your Son Jesus Christ. Lord, help me be with you always and live with the conscience that God is with me always. Amen.

- Arputharaj Samuel
+91 9538328573

Day - 248