THE LIGHT OF A SON

Isaiah 7:10-16
Matthew 1:18-25

All right, whose bright idea was it to put Christmas in the middle of the busiest time of the year?  

Life with its everyday demands and unexpected "surprises" doesn't take December off, and the power of Murphy's Law seems to increase exponentially with each passing day.

What's next?  An invasion by alien elves from space armed with candy cane ray guns?  Or the attack of the Christmas Zombies -- "Aaaaaaargh!  Fresh, tasty Figgie Pudding!!"

Wasn't that silly?  Don't you feel better?  I do.  Humor has a way of helping us put things in perspective, to see them in a new light.

That's certainly what King Ahaz needed.  It was during the time in Israel's history when the nation was divided into two separate kingdoms -- Israel and Judah.  Ahaz ruled Judah.  Word had reached the Kingdom of Judah that invasion was imminent.  The king of Israel and the king of Aram had decided to join forces, take Jerusalem and divide Judah between them.  Everyone in Judah was in a panic.

Including King Ahaz.  God sent Isaiah and his son, Shear-jashub to meet with the hysterical King to calm him down.  Why bring the boy?  I think it was because Shear-jashub's name means "a remnant will remain" a reference to the prophecy and promise in Isaiah 6:13 that says that the people of Israel will be like the stump of a mighty oak, and within that stump is a holy seed, the hope of salvation.

God's message to Ahaz and the people of Judah was, "Do not fear."  "Do not fear" -- the same thing the angel said to Joseph in a dream after he decided to quietly break off his engagement to Mary and to Mary when he appeared to her to tell her that she, a virgin, would give birth to the Son of God."

Do not fear.  Despite their plots and their armies, these kings were just ordinary mortals, mere men, whose kingdoms, history tells us, would end in ruin and destruction, their people scattered or taken into captivity.  All Ahaz and the people of God had to do was stand firm in their faith.  But Ahaz apparently was not calmed by this.   

So, then the Lord said to Ahaz, "Ask for a sign from me that this will be true.  A sign as deep and profound as the resting place of the souls of the dead and as high and glorious as heaven itself!"

Ahaz declined, but God gave him a sign anyway -- a sign as deep and profound as the resting place of the souls of the dead and as high and glorious as heaven itself.  A sign that pointed at the coming of the Messiah, the Savior of the world."

"Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us). By the time the child is twelve years old, able to make moral decisions, the threat of war will be over."  (Isaiah 7:14-16, The Message)

Do not fear.  God had a mission and a purpose, and despite wars and rumors of wars, invading armies and centuries of turmoil and dark times, through the people of God, the Lord would bring into the world the light of the Son, Jesus Christ.

Do not fear – Don’t be afraid.  This phrase appears 365 times in the Bible.  It’s a daily reminder that God is always with us.

So, despite a year filled with wars and typhoons and other natural disasters and economic problems and the overall craziness of the world and the hecticness of our lives, God is still bringing his purpose to fruition and working for our good, whether we can see it or understand it.  


Whatever our circumstances may be on December 25, what may or may not be under the Christmas tree, we will be greeted by a brand new day and the shining light of the Son.

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