We are in the midst of a power struggle between the world and God, between the sacred and secular. In Matthew 1:18-25, the Gospel reading for the fourth Sunday of advent, the author quotes a prophecy out of Isaiah that presents a sign to the wavering King Ahaz that God is all powerful; a child will be born, called Immanuel meaning God with us, and before he is old enough to understand right and wrong the two kingdoms that Ahaz feared would be destroyed. Many believe that though this prophecy was aimed at Isaiah’s immediate context, it also serves as a foreshadowing of Christ. What’s so striking is that in the same way that Christ’s birth accents the power struggle between God and the world, the situation in which Isaiah made the prophecy also shows the struggle between the vulnerable power of God and the macho, strutting power of the world.
Isaiah 7:10-16 (New International Version)
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] a sign: The virgin[b] will conceive and give birth to a son, and[c] will call him Immanuel.[d] 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
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] a sign: The virgin[b] will conceive and give birth to a son, and[c] will call him Immanuel.[d] 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
Ahaz claimed that he did not want to test the Lord, yet his blatant hypocrisy proved more offensive to God than asking for a sign. He said that he wouldn’t test the Lord because he was afraid that God would not be able to produce a sign. He didn’t believe that God could protect his nation from the other nations who were bent on destroying them. Instead he decided to place his faith in another nation, and he was destroyed.
Do we sometimes face the temptation to place our faith in another power? Maybe we’re not so sure that God will come through for us? In 1 Kings, the prophet Elijah ran for his life from Jezebel because she wanted to exact retribution against him for murdering the prophets of Ba’al. While running, God appeared to Elijah and spoke to him, but it was not in a way that we would typically expect God to appear.
Do we sometimes face the temptation to place our faith in another power? Maybe we’re not so sure that God will come through for us? In 1 Kings, the prophet Elijah ran for his life from Jezebel because she wanted to exact retribution against him for murdering the prophets of Ba’al. While running, God appeared to Elijah and spoke to him, but it was not in a way that we would typically expect God to appear.
1 Kings 19:9-14
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
God’s voice did not come in an earthquake or a great fire; it came in a small whisper. God could have addressed Elijah in a great manner similar to the way he sent fire to light the altar, but instead God’s sign to Him came in the quiet.
God sometimes made a great show of His signs, usually in an exasperated attempt to catch the attention of an unconcerned audience. Yet, when it came to His greatest personal appearance and revealing on Earth, He chose to come in the most unlikely of figures, a child. His power was revealed in the vulnerability of a child, which ultimately is more powerful than the military might, financial prosperity, and prideful fame that world offers.
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