Advent in Isaiah: The Sign of Immanuel

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Call to Worship — Psalm 98:1-4
• Hymn — Joy to the World
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 29–30
• Scripture Reading — Luke 2:8-21
• Hymn — Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer
• Hymn — O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
• Sermon
• Hymn — O Come, All Ye Faithful
• Benediction
• Doxology

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Sermon Title: Emmanuel — Sign of Power, Preservation, and Presence

Scripture: Isaiah 7:1-17

I. Emmanuel Is a Sign of the Power of God for His People

A. The historical context: King Ahaz faces a crisis of power

1. After the kingdom split under Rehoboam, Judah (south) and Israel/Ephraim (north) became separate kingdoms — the division referenced in Isaiah 7:17 as "the day that Ephraim departed from Judah"
2. Israel (Ephraim) allied with Syria (Aram) to resist Assyria, and when Judah refused to join, Israel and Syria turned against Judah (Isaiah 7:1-6)
3. Ahaz devised a strategic plan to ally with Assyria rather than trust in God

B. God's call to Ahaz: fear the Lord alone, not the nations

1. Isaiah 7:9 — "If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all"
2. God offers Ahaz a sign as deep as Sheol and as high as heaven to demonstrate his power (Isaiah 7:10-11)

C. Application: Whatever enemy assails God's people, the incarnation is God's proof of his all-sufficient power

1. Paul calls the gospel "the power of God unto salvation" — Emmanuel is that power made visible
2. The virgin birth is God's declaration: "I am all you need"

II. Emmanuel Is a Sign of the Preservation of God for His People

A. The singular and plural "you" in Isaiah 7 is key to interpretation

1. Singular "you" in verses 10, 16, and 17 addresses Ahaz specifically — judgment falls on him for rejecting the sign
2. Ahaz becomes a vassal puppet to Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, as recounted in 2 Chronicles 28
3. The Davidic kingdom deteriorates from Ahaz onward — eventually Jerusalem falls to Babylon in 586 BC

B. God's covenant with David (2 Samuel 7) appeared in serious jeopardy

1. By the time of Christ's birth, an Edomite (Herod) sits on the throne as a Roman vassal — not even of Israelite descent
2. Yet into this situation, the son of David, Emmanuel, is born — fulfilling the covenant promise

C. The virgin birth is the ultimate sign of God's preserving faithfulness

1. Parallel to Genesis 15 — Abraham doubted the promise, and God gave him a sign: "Look toward the heavens, if you can number the stars — so shall your offspring be"
2. Genesis 15:6 — "Abraham believed God, and he counted it to him as righteousness"
3. Application: In days of dejection, God points his people to Emmanuel — proof that he is for us and will preserve us to the end (the perseverance of the saints is better called the preservation of God for his people)

III. Emmanuel Is a Sign of the Presence of God with His People

A. The "Emmanuel Principle" runs throughout redemptive history: "I will be your God and you shall be my people and I will dwell in the midst of you"

1. Pre-fall: God walks and talks with Adam and Eve in the garden
2. Wilderness: pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night
3. Tabernacle, then the permanent Temple
4. The incarnation: God descends not in cloud or fire or stone, but in a child born of woman
5. Trajectory: garden → cloud/fire → tabernacle → temple → baby in the manger → our hearts by the Spirit

B. The curds and honey detail (Isaiah 7:15, 7:22) identifies Emmanuel with the afflicted remnant

1. Isaiah 7:22 — the only time these two Hebrew words appear together; it describes the small, devastated remnant left after Assyrian devastation
2. The plural "you" in verses 13–14 shows the sign is for the people suffering under Ahaz's unfaithfulness, not for Ahaz himself
3. Emmanuel eats curds and honey with the remnant — he identifies with the afflicted people

C. The sign points to a faithful Davidic king — the opposite of Ahaz

1. 2 Chronicles 28:27 — the people refused to bury Ahaz in the tombs of the kings, a sign of divine judgment
2. Born of a virgin by the Spirit — not born after Adam, not born in sin — Emmanuel is the perfect, faithful king who can lead his people to eternal victory

D. Jesus fulfills the Emmanuel principle by coming to the spiritually destitute

1. Matthew 23:13 and Matthew 23:4 — the scribes and Pharisees shut the kingdom of heaven and lay heavy burdens on the people, just as Ahaz's unfaithfulness brought devastation on the remnant
2. Jesus comes not for the righteous but for sinners — he "eats curds and honey" with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners; he welcomes little children
3. Application: Emmanuel's presence is for the spiritually poor, those who hunger for righteousness, those who know they need a physician — you need only one guide: Jesus Christ