Yesterday, we reflected on why God the Father did
not send His only begotten Son, Christ, to us as soon as He was thinking to
send him. Now we know that it is rather for our benefits as it allows us to
build character so that we can grow to be the best we can be. And God only
wants the best to be saved into His Kingdom where Christ reigns as the King.
So, during the time until Christ arrives, we need to remain alert and on guard
so that we can work on preparation to welcome him and at the same time, working
on ourselves to become the best place for Christ to arrive and dwell. If he had
come immediately, we would not have that time. However, it does not mean that
we can take it easy or slack off – just because he will not come so soon. What
we sure do not want to is to find out that he has arrived while we are off
guard.
With this in mind, today, we are going to reflect on
possible signs of Christ’s coming. For this, we fast-forward the history from
the time when Adam and Eve were being kicked out of the garden of Eden to the
time when King Ahaz ruled the Kingdom of Judah from 735 BC to 715 BC.
First, we need to know about the Kingdom of Judah
(Southern Kingdom) and its historical background, as well as its political problem
during the time of King Ahaz.
After Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, they
became like God (in Trinity) (Genesis 3:22), in whose likeliness and image they
were created (Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1), because they ate the forbidden fruit
(Genesis 3:5). And they gave birth to Cain and Abel. But Cain killed Abel
(Genesis 4:1-16). Because of this, God punished Cain to be a restless wonder on
the earth (Genesis 4:12). Though restless, Cain and his wife gave birth to
Enoch, and Cain was building a city (Genesis 4:17). So, Adam’s offspring
continue to grow but there are two lines: Cain’s offspring line, being proud to
be self-reliant, and Seth’s offspring line, trusting God and benefiting God’s
care (Genesis 4:17-26). So, the humans grew in number, as offspring of Adam.
However, so did the wickedness of humans (Genesis 6:5). Because of the
increasing sinfulness of the humans, God grieved and decided to wipe out the
humans along with animals and birds – except Noah, who found favor in God’s
eyes for his righteousness and blamelessness (Genesis 6:6-9).
So, God wiped out all, except Noah and his family
and some animals that Noah’s family could accommodate in the Ark (Genesis
6:11-8:22). Then, after the flood, there was a new beginning with God’s
covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:1-17). And out of Noah’s offspring, in the line
of Shem, one of Noah’s three sons, Abraham was born (Genesis 11:10-27). So, God
called Abraham (Abram) and his wife, Sarah (Sarai) to migrate to Canaan, with
promise and blessing to make Abraham a great nation (Genesis 12:1-9).
Because of the faithfulness of Abram, God blessed
him and Sarah with the land to settle in Canaan, assets, like livestock, and
two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Because Ishmael was born of Hagar, Egyptian
maidservant to Sarah, he and his mother, Hager, were asked to leave the house
of Abraham by Sarah, though Ishmael’s father was Abraham. Isaac, on the other
hand enjoyed receiving exclusive love of his mother, Sarah, and his father,
Abraham, in growing up. During these years of Isaac’s childhood, God tested
Abraham’s faithfulness, asking him to bring Isaac as sacrificial offering to
God. It was extremely difficult but Abraham chose to faithfully do as God asked
him to do. But, when Abraham was about turn Isaac into the sacrificial offering,
God spoke to Abram to stop and explained that it was a test of his
faithfulness. Being so pleased with Abraham’s steadfast faithfulness, God
blessed Abraham and promised that his offspring will be so numerous and prosper
in the land of Canaan. And so it happened as Abraham’s offspring continued to
grow more upon Jacob, who is a grandson of Abraham and a son of Isaac.
Jacob had twelve sons (Genesis 29:31-30:24;35:16-18,
23-26) and one daughter (Genesis 30:21; 34:1). The family of Jacob prospered in
Canaan. One of Jacob’s twelve sons, Judah, is an ancestor of King Ahaz (Matthew
1:2-9), and is also an ancestor of Jesus (Matthew 1:2-16).
On this family lineage from Abraham to Jesus
(Matthew 1:2-26), Ahaz became king of Judah in 735 BC and ruled the House of
David (Kingdom of Judah) until 715 BC. And, it was during that time when Ahaz
was king of Judah, the Kingdom that David secured, taking over Saul, who was
the first king but not so good (thus, “fired by” God to let David fix the
problems left by Saul). After David, Solomon further expanded the power of the
Kingdom. However, Solomon fell to sins, though he started out very well as
king. Because of this God told that the kingdom will be divided after Solomon (1
Kings 11), and so it happened. Thus, once one united Kingdom of Israel, the
Davidic Kingdom, became divided as the Kingdom of Israel (Northern Kingdom)
with its capitol in Samaria and the Kingdom of Judah (Southern Kingdom) with
its capitol in Jerusalem.
The Kingdom of Israel (Northern Kingdom) and the
Kingdom of Judah (Southern Kingdom) were actually brothers to each other, as
they used to be the same one united Kingdom. However, these two kingdoms could
not get along always.
It was when Assyria was rapidly growing in its power
for hegemony (dominance). Including both the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom
of Judah, Assyrian Empire became a serious threat to small kingdoms around
Assyria.
In order to deal with this growing Assyrian threat,
king of Israel and king of Syria formed alliance and invited Ahaz to let Judah
join in their alliance to defend each other against Assyria. To this, Ahaz
refused. Instead, Ahaz tried to secure Judah by forming alliance with Assyria.
This made Israel and Syria unhappy, of course. So, they attacked Judah (2 Kings
16:5; 2 Chronicles 28:5–15; Isaiah 7:1).
It was the historical context when God made another
indication of the coming of the Messiah, through Isaiah to Ahaz.
First, through the mouth of Prophet Isaiah, God assured
Ahaz of His care for him and the Kingdom of Judah:
Take
care you remain calm and do not fear; do not let your courage fail before these
two stumps of smoldering brands, the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans
and of the son of Remaliah because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah,
has planned evil against you. They say “Let us go up against Judah, tear it
apart, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there”
(Isaiah 7:4-6).
Rezin was king of Syria, king of Arameans, and the
son of Remaliah was Pekah, king of Israel (Northern Kingdom, also known as
Ephraim). Apparently, Rezin and Pekah were trying to depose Ahaz out of his
throne of Judah and replace him with the son of Tabeel, who was from the
alliance of Syria and Israel (Ephraim), in their plot against Judah.
So God continued to tell why Ahaz should not worry:
It
shall not stand, it shall not be! The head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of
Damascus is Rezin; The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is
the son of Remaliah. Within sixty-five years, Ephraim shall be crushed, no
longer a nation. Unless
your faith is firm, you shall not be firm (Isaiah 7:7-9).
God tells Ahaz that the allied forces of Syria
(Aram) and Israel (Ephraim) will not be a threat to Judah, as long as Ahaz
keeps his faith in God.
And God invited Ahaz to ask for a sign to verify the
God’s promise for Ahaz and the Kingdom of Judah:
Ask
for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as Sheol, or high as the sky! (Isaiah 7:11).
But, Ahaz refused to take on God’s invitation to
trust His plan for him and the Kingdom of Judah, saying,”I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” (Isaiah 7:12).
Ahaz’s refusal to trust God sure disappointed and
frustrated God. Perhaps, it irritated Him, too. So, did God cursed Ahaz?
No. Even though Ahaz remained sinful, God still
wanted to help Ahaz and bring him to believe Him and in His care. Thus, God
said:
Listen,
house of David! Is it not enough that you weary human beings? Must you also
weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman,
pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel
(Isaiah 7:13-14).
God was speaking to Ahaz, as a parent disciplines.
It is like saying, “Isn’t it enough trouble
to bring headache to people for your stubbornness (stubbornness to refuse to
trust me and take up my plan to help you)? Now, you are also wearing me off!
Listen, kid, I will give you a sign so that you will believe and accept my plan
for you. And the sing is that the young woman, virgin, will become pregnant
with a son, who is to be named Emmanuel”.
Now, we have reflected on God’s promise to send
Christ, His only begotten Son, in two incidents: In response to the sin of Adam
and Eve – Genesis 3:15 and In response to Ahaz’ sinfulness and refusal to side
with God – Isaiah 7:14.
Out of anger, God could have cursed and destroyed
Ahaz before the joint forces of Rezin (king of Syria/Aram) and Pekah (king of
Israel/Ephraim) would do. Instead, God announced His plan to send a sign of
Christ’s coming. And, this time, it is a young woman – young virgin (עַלְמָה/almah) becoming pregnant with a
son, who is to be named Emmanuel. And this took place during the reign of King
Ahaz (735BC-715BC). So, this prophetic announcement of a sign of Christ’s
coming was announced more than 700 years before the actual pregnancy of Mary,
the Blessed Virgin, the Immaculate Conception.
700 years – too long for this plan of God to come
true? Not so to God (2 Peter 3:8). That is why we need to remain vigilant until
the coming of Christ, as the wise virgins kept their lamp oil (Matthew
25:1-13).
So, what was prophesized in Isaiah 7:14 against Ahaz’
sin was announced by Angel Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) and also to Joseph in
his dream (Matthew 1:18-25), more than 700 years later (but it was like less
than one day to God, given 2 Peter 3:8).
First, God hinted His plan to send Christ to destroy
Satan, while Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden for their sin against God
(following Satan’s way, instead of God’s way)(Genesis 3:15). And, another
indication was made in response to Ahaz’ sin (siding with Assyria for the security
of Judah, instead of siding with God)(Isaiah 7:14).
Through these God’s indications of sending Christ,
we also know that what is behind God’s plan to send Chris to us is His love-mercy
that our sins cannot cancel.
Remember, Psalm 136. In its all 26 verses, it sings
that God’s steadfast love-mercy (חֵסֵד/chesed)
endures forever.
That is also why God did not destroy Cain, allowing
him to bring child. And that is why God did not wipe out all humans but saved
Noah’s family, hoping that good ones will arise out of Noah’s offspring. So,
Abraham came, in whose legal lineage that Christ is found, because Mary married
to Joseph.
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